Garmin GPS to Raymarine S1 autopilot?

[Bad Obsession]

I am about ready to buy a Garmin 441s. I am wondering if I can connect my auto pilot and the Garmin 441 through the NMEA connections or Seatalk. Is this possible? How would I do this?

The GPS would be a Garmin 441s
The Autopilot would be a Raymarine S-1

 

[jsalley]

As long as your Garmin has NMEA 0183 output you can connect to an S1 AP through the connectors on the course computer. That's how my system is set up and it works great.

 

[MJWarner]

We just went through the same issue hooking our Standard Horizon Chartplotter up to the Raymarine Wheel pilot. We had to make a call to Raymarine tech support to find out which wires to hook up, but they were very helpful and walked us through installation and hookup on the phone. They gave us their direct # to call back so we could confirm proper operation when we went out to test it the following day. It works flawlessly.

 

[Bill Roosa]

The key is to understand that NMEA 0183 (NMEA 2000 is completely different and easier) is a "single talker, multiple listener" protocol. You can't put two "talkers" on the same circuit. Most APs and GPSs have two, a listener (data in) and a talker (data out)(and grounds for each circuit).
So the talker (data out) connects to the listener(s) (data in).
They also confuse the issue with + and -, hot and ground...... absolutely no standardization for naming this stuff among manufacturers.
In every CIRCUIT the grounds, (-)s, are connected together. And don't confuse the shield (protects the wires from interference, a chassis ground) with the circuit grounds.

So GPS talker circuit to AP listener (2 wires) and AP talker to GPS listener (2 wires)
Then the question becomes when I get a chart plotter/dept/speed/wind for Christmas which talker should that instrument listen to/talk on?
It can’t listen to both as that would connect two talkers on the same circuit….. which is why 0183 is being phased out.
This may not sound like much of an issue now but you might want to consider where you do you splicing so the chart plotter wiring is less onerous later.

For the record SeaTalk is not going to work with anything that is not RayMarine.

 

[jsalley]

For the record SeaTalk is not going to work with anything that is not RayMarine.

Raymarine sells a translator box ( you can get it from other sources as well) that allows you to use any NMEA 0183 talker or listener on a Seatalk network. Allows interconnection of multiple manufacturers' instruments on a Seatalk network. If I remember correctly, it costs around $100.

 

[FastOlson]

Going to the Source...

I am about ready to buy a Garmin 441s. I am wondering if I can connect my auto pilot and the Garmin 441 through the NMEA connections or Seatalk. Is this possible? How would I do this?

The GPS would be a Garmin 441s
The Autopilot would be a Raymarine S-1

Manual here;
http://static.garmincdn.com/pumac/3307_InstallationInstructions_EN_.pdf

If your boat is wheel-steered, also note the warning on page 10 about mounting position.

L

 

[Bad Obsession]

I just bought my Garmin GPS map 441S. My S1 and the GPS Map 441s are NEMA 0183.

What do I hook up to when I network the two items? What type of wiring mounts/harnesses do I need?

Has anyone else done this themselves and if so what tips do you have?

 

[Maine Sail]

The S1 has a NEMA IN and NEMA OUT port. This is an S1G but the S1 is the same. Sorry for the poor pic quality. Must have been using the P&S camera...

Read both manuals so you set the talking data to the right settings. If you ever need AIS I think your Garmin may need port #1 for that. IIRC the 400 & 500 series have just two 0183 ports. You'd probably want to use port #2 for the AP which if like most Garmin harnesses would be gray TX and purple RX.. If you ever need more ports you may need a multiplexer. There is no need to communicate on Sea Talk as the course computer already has NEMA 0183 built in.

 

[Bad Obsession]

Why do they give you a wiring harness that is only 6 feet long? Most boats have a run for wires that is much longer than that!

I want to mount this near my pedestal but it says to keep a distance of 26" from the compass to the unit. That means that I really can't mount this near my helm area where I would want it to be. I guess that this is because it will interfere with the magnetic compass. It is tempting to mount it near there anyway because I rarely pilot off of my compass and the only scenario that I could imagine using the compass is if my electrical went down and my spare handheld GPS was out of batteries.

Why is it that anytime I want to upgrade things it is a major deal? I am also considering building a new area on the helm to mount items so I can hide the wires really well.

I did get the unit that has be built in fish finder. I have a transom mount transducer. I went with this because I am going to make a mount for the transducer so that I can remove it when I don't want to use the fish finder. This will save me from bottom painting issues (I also have a transducer that does speed through the water which will be really nice since my speed instrument on my boat has been fried since I bought it). I thought about doing a through hull depth finder mount but this could be an issue because I wouldn't want to remove my other depth finder that works. The fish finder is just a nice extra (I jammed West Marine up on their price match and bought the 441S with transducer for $466 because of price match).

I am now debating on if I want to run the wiring for NEMA 0183 because I would have to go down through the pedestal and make a very long run to my computer that is in the cabin near the electrical panel. I could also do an initial install and then do the other wiring later (which sometimes translates to never).

As one of my Uncles said...."There is nothing in a boat that money can't fix." I will see where the budget allows me to go with this one and what I feel like doing.

If I do NEMA I will have to construct a wiring harness to run to the computer and I thing that I will just make all the connections from that harness to the original harness and connect them in a new mounting box on the pedestal.

I guess my biggest issue is where to mount this unit so that it is 26" from the compass, still near the helm where I can control it, and out of the way of normal use.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Oh, thanks Mainesail! Your pictures are extremely helpful as always!

 

[rpwillia]

Keep it simple

Matt, There are multiple ways to hook these up. Since you want to mount the 441 near your helm, you can wire directly from your 441 right to the AP control head. 2 wires should be all you need. You will see in the attached jpeg a picture of the back of the ST6002 control head and the NMEA (in your case your Garmin 441). 2 wires nmea out on one to the nmea in on the other and vice versa for the other.

With Garmin you need to make sure it is putting out NMEA 0183 at 4800 baud - you can find that in your menu. Garmin has their own proprietary format that they default to. Also Garmin uses the power ground as their signal ground.

When you have it all hooked up you can verify they are talking by putting the 441 into Navigation mode heading to a waypoint and engage the autopilot. You will see a few indicators on the 6002 control head, such as distance to waypoint and bearing to waypoint. Kind of nice to see.


http://www.raymarine.com/SubmittedFiles/Handbooks/Autopilots/s1Wheel-Tiller/81282_1_WEB.pdf

 

[Bad Obsession]

So what you are saying is that I just need to hook up the NEMA 0183 + and the NEMA 0183 - wires into the back of the control unit and I don't have to run them to the computer. I was wondering that.

What do you use to attach the two wires into the NEMA port in the back of the control head?

Does anyone have pictures of a similar mounting?

 

[rpwillia]

Don't remember, but it was simple

Matt, It may have been just a bare wire you insert and screw down or a simple lug. For some reason I am leaning toward the simple wire you insert in.

 

[Maine Sail]

Matt, It may have been just a bare wire you insert and screw down or a simple lug. For some reason I am leaning toward the simple wire you insert in.

They take the special 1/8" narrow friction fit/Fast-On connectors used on their transducers..

 

[rpwillia]

Good catch

They take the special narrow friction fit connectors used on their transducers..

I think when I did mine I may have just had regular small ones I squeezed down to fit and they worked fine.

 

[Bad Obsession]

Thanks guys. It doesn't look too bad. I live right by West Marine so I can see what they have there for connections.

I am slowly starting to figure out what I am going to do to get this set up properly. Thanks for the help.

 

[Bad Obsession]

I think that I am starting to understand this but I still have a few questions. I have figured out where I want to mount this, and I figured out some other things.....but I still am unclear of the wire hookup to the back of the autopilot control head.

I believe that I need to run the Blue wire from the Garmin to the + side of the control head and the brown wire to the - side of the control head.

Is this right?

I have the hot and ground run to the pedestal already. This means that the install would simply be connecting hot to hot, ground to ground, and then the blue and brown wires to their proper place on the control head. This sound right?

 

[Jim Seamans]

Hey Matt,

I did this wiring on last two boats with a Garmin 176 and 3010 to a Raymarine wheel pilot. Need to find my wiring diagram, think they are on the boat. Will not be to the boat for about 3 weeks. Do you need it before then????

 

[Bill Roosa]

it is pretty simple once you realize these are COMMUNICATIONS wires not power wires.
The data out/data +/talker connects to the data in/data -/listener and the grounds associated with each are connected to each other but not between circuits.
The major confusion comes when there are two talkers and you have 4 wires: talker 1, talker 1 ground, listener 2 and listener 2 ground on the piece of equipment I'll call talker 1
Then on the other talker (talker 2) you have talker 2, the ground for talker 2 and listener 1 and listener 1's ground
talker 1 to listener 1
talker 1 ground to listener 1 ground
talker 2 to listener 2
talker 2 ground to listener 2 ground

 

[Bad Obsession]

Bill, still trying to figure out what colors go where on the + and - sections.....I do realize that one the sections is data in and the other is data out.

I just need to figure out what color wire goes into + and which one goes into -.

 

[Bad Obsession]

Not sure when I will start the wiring project Jim.....Cold weather tends to keep me off of the boat!