Originally Posted by
Moonlighter
My thoughts exactly.
The splitter power leads you are referring to are made by Garmin amongst others, to allow one half of the network to be powered while the other is off. The ones I mentioned are a bit different, dual or triple power nodes that all connect thru one T piece with the aim of ensuring the network always has power when one or the other source is turned off.
I don't know what damage can be done with 2 separate power supplies, have never been brave enough to test it, but I guess we will know soon enough. Fingers crossed for you guys that it doesn't damage anything too badly!
Before you add a second power supply, your could try relocating the power supply to a T in the middle of the cluster. That is the recommended practice on larger networks in any case, and usually deals with the power drop issues.
Note that most devices on the network are not powered by it, the newer Garmin GMI-10's are, and things like GPS pucks and the like, all of which have very low power draws. Other devices like MFD's on some examples draw a tiny amount to run their N2K circuits, but not to run their normal functions.
Even the Suzuki engine interfaces are not powered by the bus, they are powered from their connection to the engine, despite what some people will try to tell you.
So not sure what the 7 devices might be that are drawing so much power from the network that a second supply is needed in this case?
Anyway, let us know if you need further assistance. I still think you will need to calibrate, it is a pretty common thing to have to do.
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