Raymarine devices and nmea2k and nmea0183 newtork.

[Chuck - Raymarine - Moderator]

Welcome to the Raymarine Forum jweiss,

Q1) I would like to get the data (Fuel Flow, Speed and Fuel Level) onto the a78, but there are no ports available, so how do I get this network to talk to the NMEA2k one and share data.
A1) Of the items which you have listed, fuel flow rate, speed though water, and use of the MFD's Fuel Manager feature would be supported. However, please note that the MFD will only report tank level(s) associated with tanks having a NMEA 2000 tank level sensor installed. The NMEA 2000 backbone to which the third party devices you have listed are interfaced will need to have unoccupied spur socket available to which the MFD's SeaTalkng spur socket will be interfaced via an appropriate length of SeaTalkng spur cable. As you have stated that all port of your MFD are presently occupied, it will be necessary to have you specify what is presently interfaced to your MFD's SeaTalkng spur socket.

Q2) I would like to see the KVH Compass and one of the VHF radio GPS data on the network as well. I believe that having the GPS data and KVM data would provide a benefit.
A2) Should the VHF radios feature a SeaTalkng / NMEA 2000 communications interface, then they would each simply be interfaced as spurs to the NMEA 2000 backbone. If not, then the KVH 1000, and the NMEA 0183 output of VHF radios would each be interfaced to a NMEA 0183 multiplexer (ex. E55059 NMEA 0183 Multiplexer, etc.) and the output of the NMEA 0183 Multiplexer would in turn be interfaced to a third party NMEA 0183 to NMEA 2000 data bridging device (ex. Actisense NGW-1-ISO, etc.). The NMEA 0183 to NMEA 200 data bridging device would in turn be interfaced as a spur to the NMEA 2000 backbone. There are some third party products which combine NMEA 0183 multiplexing and NMEA 0183 to NMEA 2000 data bridging within a single product (ex. Shipmodul MiniPlex-3USB(-N2K), etc.). Before purchasing any NMEA 0183 to NMEA 2000 data bridging device, it is recommended that you verify that it support bridging of NMEA 0183 DSC and DSE sentences should it be desired to have the MFD automatically plot waypoints using the coordinates associated with DSC position reports received by the VHF radios. Additionally, should the VHF radios output GPS data to NMEA 2000 or NMEA 0183, then it would be necessary to configure the MFD's Data Sources feature to specify which GPS data source will be will be used by the Raymarine system.

Q3) I just need to know what I need to buy to make this work. Simple is better. Really, just say these are the "parts" you need, and you connect it like "this".
A3) You need to address the questions raised within the answers to Q1 and Q2. Also note when using third party products (ex. multiplexers, etc.) it will be the owner's responsibility to verify that with the third party product manufacturer that the third party product supports the features/data transfer required.