nmea 2k

[bcbouy]

has any of you retrofitted your boat with the backbone? if so,i'm looking to do it to my alumacraft and add the etec dropdown with a set of icons or maybe an old i command if i can find one cheap.if anyone has done it i'd like to pic your brain.

 

[eshaw]

I don't know if I can help you much but I'm looking at doing it to my boat. What do you need help with?

 

[bcbouy]

Well first off i'm wondering if i need to run a power wire to the gauge or can i get power from the backbone.

 

[eshaw]

From what I've read the backbone has it's own power leads that are referred to as a power node that will run to the battery. There are also two 120 ohm terminating resistors that have to be used, one on each end of the system. Which gage are you referring to?

 

[bcbouy]

apparently you need the tach to run any other gauges in the daisy chain.also the etec 40 will not support the trim gauge in the pro.i need a separate one that isn't digital.so will a 3n1 work? or can i run a 3n1 with a separate trim or a icon pro with a mechanical trim?the trim gauge is the one i'm not sure about.i can get most of the cables on amazon for a lot less than the local etec shop.i'm thinking of the starter bundle to start with.backbone,power,couple connectors and a couple ends.then to the dealer for an etec dropdown and the proper gauge combination.alot of guys use their fishfinders for substitute gauges but mine isn't supportable.i prefer to use it as a finder only.it has no gps.my phone does.and if i were to use one it would be a touch screen,and we cant afford one of those without the wife asking uncomfortable questions,ie: you spent how much????

 

[LDUBS]

Well, I recognize the words battery, fishfinder, and gauge. The rest of it is Greek to me. :LOL2:

 

[eshaw]

apparently you need the tach to run any other gauges in the daisy chain.also the etec 40 will not support the trim gauge in the pro.i need a separate one that isn't digital.so will a 3n1 work? or can i run a 3n1 with a separate trim or a icon pro with a mechanical trim?the trim gauge is the one i'm not sure about.i can get most of the cables on amazon for a lot less than the local etec shop.i'm thinking of the starter bundle to start with.backbone,power,couple connectors and a couple ends.then to the dealer for an etec dropdown and the proper gauge combination.alot of guys use their fishfinders for substitute gauges but mine isn't supportable.i prefer to use it as a finder only.it has no gps.my phone does.and if i were to use one it would be a touch screen,and we cant afford one of those without the wife asking uncomfortable questions,ie: you spent how much????

Yep, I hear ya on the wifey! I know on my particular setup my engine (Yamaha) has to be a 2006 or newer and a 50 or bigger, that's if I want to interface it with the fish finder, mine is a Lowrance unit so it will support NMEA 2000 but my engine is a 2006 40 horse so that's out. I think what you need to do is consult a dealer or do some more reading on the ETEC engines. I know very little about the Mercury products. I do know that it's possible to adapt most any engine to the NMEA system if you want to piece meal it. The hard part is you better know what you're doing or it can be very costly. As far as using something other than a digital unit you can always try using it's predecessor, analog guages. As far as trim guages are concerned you may have to have a dealer set that up as well to get it accurately done. I'm not a fan of having dealers work on my boats either but sometimes it's a better choice. Hope that helps you out some!

 

[eshaw]

Well, I recognize the words battery, fishfinder, and gauge. The rest of it is Greek to me. :LOL2:

It's kind of like looking at the difference between using a calculator versus a computer. :LOL2:

 

[bcbouy]

yeah,i need to do a little more research as to my options before i consult an evinrude tech.i was really hoping to find a couple guys on here who've made the jump into the 21'st century. i'm really surprised more of us haven't researched this yet,especially if they're running high end fishfinders and have even a basic console setup or even a newer motor. my old g3 had basic switches but no console steer,but i did have a brand new tohatsu which was nmea 2k supportable and i could have run it through my other humminbird,but i just heard of this system a short while ago,and the old boat is written off,new one gets delivered saturday.

 

[eshaw]

Good luck. Let me know how it works out for ya.

 

[bcbouy]

well,i finally figured it all out and ordered the power and engine drop down cables for my nmea system.now i'm just trying to decide if i want to go with the evinrude ilink or the yacht devices wifi gateway module.they both do the same thing and the y/d is $200 cheaper .ilink needs the app and the other just needs a browser but no internet.i'm going to pick up a cheap tablet for around $50 and i'll have a dash mounted touch screen that shows all gauges/engine info my engine can possibly show.i believe mercury has a similar system but it's probably proprietary.i was sniffing around on the e-nation website and found a thread about the touch troll control for etec 40-60 hp that drops your rpm's down by 50 rpm increments like my old tiller tohatsu did for nice slow trolling so i jumped on one.now i can junk the drift sock this season.best of all it's plug and play.i just need to drill a small hole and decide where it's getting mounted.

 

[bcbouy]

got my engine interface cable today but no power cable :? .it was in the same amazon order.oh well,installed the engine cable and ordered the wifi gateway module.halfway there.i'll post some pics of the finished project in case anyone's interested.

 

[surfman]

Keep it coming, thanks for the info. I have an optimax on my other boat. I bought it used and the boat came with plain old analog gauges, not the smart stuff. I looked into upgrading and it was quite expensive for the gauge and the wiring harness, don't recall how much now but the engine is an '01 so i had a hard time justifying it. All that would have got me was a smart gauge too so I am just living with the old fashioned analog stuff, it works. If I had bought it new I would have had the smart gauges installed for sure.

 

[bcbouy]

got my wifi gateway module in the mail today.tomorrow i'm going to borrow my wifes tablet and set it all up and configure all my gauge pages.the gateway has it's own web gauges or i can download a gauge app,but i'm going to see how these ones look/work first.i have the option of dials or bars.i'm really just looking for rpm,engine hours,charge,battery volt and maybe fuel rate and oil level if my tank has a sensor,which i think it does.i believe i can get something like almost 80 different dial and bar combinations.now i just need to buy a cheap $50 tablet off craigslist and this part is done.i've spent far less than the cost of the starter kit and a single icon pro gauge.i've been waiting 12 days for my touch troll control to arrive and i can put the engine back together and then it's on to figuring out my bimini enclosure.

 

[bcbouy]

here's where i am so far.the hardest part of all this was the wifi /gauges setup.i know very little about that sort of stuff.and waiting for all the parts to arrive.i think i have somewhere around 20 different gauges/bars loaded.