SeaTalk to Garmin

[andrewsc]

I am planning to uninstall two ST80 Instruments at my helm. This will leave two other ST80 instruments in place so I am not completely ditching the SeaTalk cables to the helm. In their footprint I am planning to install a Garmin 740 plotter.

Two questions:

1. Can I use the existing SeaTalk Cable to the uninstalled instrument to power the plotter?

2. Better still, will the SeaTalk send NMEA1083 messsages to the Garmin so I can see other data from the SeaTalk network?

[r.furborough]

Andrew

1. The SeaTalk bus is usually rated at 3 or 5 amp max. You could try and reuse the cable to supply voltage to the helm from a separate fused source but I would not try and use the SeaTalk bus to provide power.

2. The ST80 was a SeaTalk only system as I recall, to use these istruments with a Garmin unit you would need a Raymarine #E85001 (SeaTalk to NMEA0183) convertor and to use the comms menu option in the Garmin to change the communications protocol from Garmin Proprietary too NMEA0183.

Raymarine Marine Electronics - PC/NMEA/SeaTalk Interface Box

[andrewsc]

Thanks for the response. It means a difficult cable run but at least it will be done right the first time.

[andrewsc]

Got this hooked up today. Great combo, Standard Horizon VHF/AIS with the little Garmin 740. Couple things that were a little confusing in getting the wiring and settings right.

The NMEA ground (green) from the AIS has to be connected to the ground from the plotter.

The nmea output from the plotter (blue) connects to the nmea input on the AIS (blue).

The nmea output from the AIS (grey) connects to port 1 of the plotter (brown).

The AIS output from the AIS goes to port 2 input on the plotter (violet).

In the systems/communication menu on the plotter port one has to be set to nmea standard and port 2 to nmea high speed.

Probably simple to others but took me half the afternoon to get it working. Now that it is working it is indeed a thing of beauty.

[cloudsurfer]

Thanks for this post andrewsc. I'm trying to install a similar plotter, the Garmin 421, to an ST70 stack and an ST4000 autopilot. Did you have to purchase the Raymarine #E85001 box or were you simply able to connect without it?