I have a Lowrance 3000 GPS antenna that I use with my Globalmap 3300c and wonder if it could be used as an external antenna for my Garmin 60CSx if I have a plug for it at the helm. I am setting up an NMEA nework on the boat and wonder if the Garmin can simple be connected to that network to take advantage of the antenna. I know there are far better solutions than a hodgepodge of different products, but all of this stuff was free, so I am trying to make it work.
Sharing a GPS Antenna
- Thread starter wufibugs
- Start date
- Status
How the network works
Each sensor has a transducer that attaches to it with a dedicated cable to the decoding box. The depth has one, the wind instruments have one, the knot meter has one, the GPS has one too. The GPS "transducer" takes magical radio vibrations and feeds them to the GPS unit which "decodes" them to tell you where you are.
With that all said, each of these units is happy as snot to just live alone and disply its data. When you connect them together you get all kinds of "new" relationships like knowing the SOG and the STW can be used to calculate the ocean current speed and direction..... a long list of stuff.
All these devices can talk over a network (NMEA or SeaTalk etc) to share the data. They do not share transducers however. So a GPS can't be connected to a depth sounder transducer to get it to display depth. It can be connected to the network upon which there is a depth sounder (connected to a depth transducer) and will be able to pull the depth sounders info off the net to display it however.
You might be able to splice a Y in the GPS antenna cable to get both to access the GPS ANTENNA transducer but there are issues with most antennas due to them having a pre-amplifyer which is powered by the unit and may or may not let the other unit even access it.
You CANNOT connect anything to the network and get access to any transducer from another device (antenna in this case). another way of saying this is transducers talk to boxes that exchange data on the network. Transducers do not exchange data on the network.
Why do you need two GPS units on the same network???? One is sufficient and having two report their info to the network will certianly cause issues as they will not corodinate the information.
Each sensor has a transducer that attaches to it with a dedicated cable to the decoding box. The depth has one, the wind instruments have one, the knot meter has one, the GPS has one too. The GPS "transducer" takes magical radio vibrations and feeds them to the GPS unit which "decodes" them to tell you where you are.
With that all said, each of these units is happy as snot to just live alone and disply its data. When you connect them together you get all kinds of "new" relationships like knowing the SOG and the STW can be used to calculate the ocean current speed and direction..... a long list of stuff.
All these devices can talk over a network (NMEA or SeaTalk etc) to share the data. They do not share transducers however. So a GPS can't be connected to a depth sounder transducer to get it to display depth. It can be connected to the network upon which there is a depth sounder (connected to a depth transducer) and will be able to pull the depth sounders info off the net to display it however.
You might be able to splice a Y in the GPS antenna cable to get both to access the GPS ANTENNA transducer but there are issues with most antennas due to them having a pre-amplifyer which is powered by the unit and may or may not let the other unit even access it.
You CANNOT connect anything to the network and get access to any transducer from another device (antenna in this case). another way of saying this is transducers talk to boxes that exchange data on the network. Transducers do not exchange data on the network.
Why do you need two GPS units on the same network???? One is sufficient and having two report their info to the network will certianly cause issues as they will not corodinate the information.
- Status