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Thread: NMEA 2000 backbone compatibility

  1. #1
    Ausfish Gold Member 552Evo's Avatar
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    NMEA 2000 backbone compatibility

    I’m new to this marine networking thing so this question might be way out there, but I’ve never had it explained to me - I only know what I think I do from online,,,, not that that means much.
    I understand that NMEA is a “standard” but I want to make sure, so I ask the obvious before I buy something that won’t fit.

    Q - will a “lowrance” nmea starter kit work in my simrad nss evo 2 and mercury vessel view system ? I want to link them up. Currently they are both stand alone and I’m hoping to get a better/easier engine user Interface using the MFD as opposed the 4 button option of the VV.

    On a side note I’d also like to make it easier to review the fuel tank level - I’ve never got the VV fuel tank reading to display the “remaining” fuel. I’ve programmed in the “fuel tank” and set the “tank volume” but it stays at 150 litres,
    The fuel usage(L/hr) workS fine on VV.


    My understanding is that the nmea is meant to be a standard that each manufacturer uses, so it would make sense to me I could buy a lowrance kit or a garmin kit and all the plugs should fit. My only “unknown” is if the power lead pin configuration could be different for the different kits to suit each manufacturer?
    Or is there something else to it ?


    Thanks



    Saltwater fishing, boat mad but has a job that gets in the way.

  2. #2

    Re: NMEA 2000 backbone compatibility

    yep so NMEA is the governing body of marine electronics "in a way" and their 2000 protocol which is roughly based of the CANBUS protocol used in cars and a bajillion other industries, the major difference being the physical style connections etc.
    So yep NMEA2K from brand A will more of then than not work with brand B "exceptions of cause"
    though in some cases they make it annoying such as Garmin making their T connectors a different rotation to every other brand so when you join Garmin to Lowrance t connectors they do not line up.. Grrrr.

    Lowrance make some of the cheaper kits. Maetron make some of the nicer and Furuno have some good hard wiring options.

    A. Yes a lowrance NMEA2K starter kit will work with a simrad and mercury vessel view. happily they are all owned built or designed by Navico and work happily together.

    The easier way to monitor fuel level is with a FLUID LEVEL SENSOR. such as the lowrance EP65R which when connected to the resistive sensor on your fuel tank will show what ever is remaining based on the Ohm output.

    what sort of boat/engine do you have?

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  3. #3
    Ausfish Gold Member 552Evo's Avatar
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    NMEA 2000 backbone compatibility

    Quote Originally Posted by chocolatemoose View Post
    yep so NMEA is the governing body of marine electronics "in a way" and their 2000 protocol which is roughly based of the CANBUS protocol used in cars and a bajillion other industries, the major difference being the physical style connections etc.
    So yep NMEA2K from brand A will more of then than not work with brand B "exceptions of cause"
    though in some cases they make it annoying such as Garmin making their T connectors a different rotation to every other brand so when you join Garmin to Lowrance t connectors they do not line up.. Grrrr.

    Lowrance make some of the cheaper kits. Maetron make some of the nicer and Furuno have some good hard wiring options.

    A. Yes a lowrance NMEA2K starter kit will work with a simrad and mercury vessel view. happily they are all owned built or designed by Navico and work happily together.

    The easier way to monitor fuel level is with a FLUID LEVEL SENSOR. such as the lowrance EP65R which when connected to the resistive sensor on your fuel tank will show what ever is remaining based on the Ohm output.

    what sort of boat/engine do you have?
    Thanks moose, I’ve got a merc 150 four stroke with the vessel view, the fuel tank has no level indication at all. I am happy to use the fuel used minus the fuel capacity/150L method. I’ve seen Simrad YouTube vids of the Evo 2 giving that sort of read out - not sure if that’s what I’d get with this setup ?
    I’ve set VV with the tank level and set the fuel fill level to suit but I may be doing it wrong - I can’t seem to get the remaining level display to follow the usage, it stays at 150 litres.
    Anyway for me the VV screen manoeuvring is doable but tedious, that’s why I thought it might be easier to solve on the Simrad coz it’s swipe, pinch and 1 page button for most things,,,,
    The boat is a fibreglass centre console.

    Appreciate your reply thanks.

    BTW I watched your vid about the nmea gear, good work



    Jamie


    Saltwater fishing, boat mad but has a job that gets in the way.

  4. #4

    Re: NMEA 2000 backbone compatibility

    Simrad and Lowrance - same factory so no issues with NMEA2000 compatibility there (hopefully). They do not have "on board" fuel management and rely on a "Fuel Data Manager" module http://ww2.lowrance.com/en-au/Produc...ger-en-au.aspx to provide this facility. I have not personally used this with Mercury engines so a bit of consultation with Navico may be in order to confirm it will achieve what you want may be in order. There are brand compatibility issues (as with all things to do with NMEA) as the manufacturers all have there own "interpretation" of the NMEA's standard - some follow closer than others. As Moose has already mentioned there is an issue if combining tee's from Garmin and Navico - better to stick with one manufacturers tee's for the whole set up unless they are separated by cables.

    Other issues can arise when a sensor or probe from one brand is used on another brands displays - while the actual data may present without issue, any proprietary programming and calibration PGN's (data sentences) won't be present and as such no set up or calibration can be done without a display from the same stable as the sensor - Suzuki had issue with this in so much they chose Garmin as their preferred display provider but their engine interfaces were a Navico product which meant their dealers had to keep a compatible display for programming and calibration.

    Check in the Vessel Views menu to see if there is an option to set either a level sensor or a flow based calculation as a fuel remaining source - I don't know if this is an option with the Merc gear. It is with the Navico stuff. The other thing to confirm is that the Vessel View doesn't attempt to power the NMEA2000 network. If it does you will need an isolation device if you wish to use the network independent of the vessel view.

  5. #5
    Ausfish Gold Member 552Evo's Avatar
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    Re: NMEA 2000 backbone compatibility

    Thanks scottar, re the VV linked to the nmea gear, I did contact Mercury and they were the ones who told me it’s as simple as hooking the VV to the nmea so there shouldn’t be any power issues there.

    Sounds like I will require that fuel data dongle that you’ve linked above, thanks for that, I never knew there was all these add ons. It appears that without this fuel data add on the cumulative fuel data would be lost after each trip ?

    There’s a Simrad YouTube vid of the steps involved in setting up a fuel level system in an NSS EVO2. Pretty comprehensive, and mentions a lot of what you suggested above as well.
    I won’t bother linking that video unless anyone else is interested.



    Saltwater fishing, boat mad but has a job that gets in the way.

  6. #6

    Re: NMEA 2000 backbone compatibility

    I’ve got the vesselview 702 on the same motor which is effectively a simrad nss7 evo2 without sonar. The merc vesselview app is just executable from the home screen, I believe your normal evo2 can just run the Vv app as is, once it has a nmea data feed from the smart craft backbone ( your vv 4 should do this ). I dont get fuel remaining on my VV I get that on my Garmin mfd, but the Vv does display fuel used since resetting to full.
    Ps when I fill I have to reset both Vv and Garmin to full. I am a bit surprised your Vv doesn’t give you fuel used as is.

    At one stage I did have a tank reading on the Vv but that went away when I removed the extra tank that had been setup ( making the Vv think it had twice the fuel ) and can’t seem to get it back without a default then cold setup wizard and I’ve customised the setup heaps. Not fussed at all as a tank level sensor is nowhere near as accurate as the calculated value.


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  7. #7

    Re: NMEA 2000 backbone compatibility

    Quote Originally Posted by 552Evo View Post
    Sounds like I will require that fuel data dongle that you’ve linked above, thanks for that, I never knew there was all these add ons. It appears that without this fuel data add on the cumulative fuel data would be lost after each trip ?
    In a normal Navico set up it won't even calculate fuel used without the Fuel Data Manager. It will only give you an instantaneous economy readout and litres per hour readout. The VV set up may be different - I run a white motor with NMEA2000. My black one is too small.

  8. #8
    Ausfish Gold Member 552Evo's Avatar
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    Re: NMEA 2000 backbone compatibility

    Thanks swof and scottar, between your help and what I've got from Merc,, the whole picture is becoming clearer each day.
    Merc were kind enough after my enquiries to send me a link to ALL the VV reading material anyone could ever need, instead of directly answering my 2 questions. Oh well.
    From what I've read I think I need to update it for a start. I never knew it had a micro sd slot ha ha.

    So it looks like I'll do the update and see if that improves the fuel tank usage display. Then hook up the nmea gear then get that fuel data dongle thing.

    Ive got an as new nmea set off gumtree in the post on its way.

    Cheers.




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  9. #9
    Ausfish Gold Member 552Evo's Avatar
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    Re: NMEA 2000 backbone compatibility

    Had a win today !
    Bought a $12 micro sd card and downloaded the Vessel View update. Loaded onto the VV without issue.
    Fired it up and got feedback displayed for the fuel remaining level.
    Hooray.
    No extra setup required either.
    So now I'll set up the nmea at my leisure.
    I've got till Wednesday off as well.
    Monday is looking good on The Rip so, winner winner kebab for dinner.


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