GPS 36 TracPak Wiring
Mr. Allen, Working for Captn Jack's, I have had this same question before. Since the TracPak is strictly used to receive GPS positioning, many of the wires are not necessary. The only wires you will be concerned with are RED (12v power), BLACK (ground), and WHITE (TX1 or transmit data). First, you will have to determine what each wire is on your PC cable. The TracPak's RED will connect to your boat's 12v power supply and the BLACK should hook to a clean ground. The WHITE wire connects to your RX1 (receive data) wire on your PC cable. What the TracPak "transmits" the PC must "receive." All other wires should be capped off in some way. A more secure way to do this connection is to use optical isolation. These devices will prevent any voltage spikes or ground loop faults from damaging your electronics and insuring that there will be no data errors from electric and RF noise. There are variety to choose from, but most will have the following terminals: TX1(A) - transmit data, primary TX2(B) - transmit data, secondary RX1(A) - receive data, primary RX2(B) - receive data, secondary GND - ground 12vDC - power In this scenario, you would connect the TracPak's WHITE (TX1) to the isolator's RX1 terminal, RED to the 12v terminal, and BLACK to the GROUND terminal. You would then hook the isolator's 12v and GROUND terminals to the boat's 12v power and ground. And to avoid any further wire splicing, purchase a PC data cable that has the DB9 plug on both ends. Now simply plug the cable into the computer and the optical isolator and you are ready to go. If you have any other questions or a unique set up, you can e-mail me at dfotinatos@seanet.com Good luck, Demetri
