Although wireless systems have gradually made their way aboard modern cruising boats, hard-wiring remains an essential part of most systems, especially when you are matching old and new gear, or using converters. One of the biggest challenge for those of us with terrible fine motor skills is dealing with the tiny wires. Stripping, splicing and connecting these wires isn’t neurosurgery, but definitely not the sort of thing you want to deal with on a rocking boat. But like any installation, it is a job you want to get done the first time-especially when you consider the challenges of troubleshooting electronics faults.
- Raymarines converter kit allows you to connect NMEA 0183 devices to NMEA 2000 compatible devices.
- You have several options for making connections between networked devices.PShas tested several and settled on simple barrier blocks (black). The Eurostrip (white) is also a good option, provided they have pressure plates (seePSApril 2019, How to Connect Small Wires).
- If you already have an AIS transponder, ActiSense and others make NMEA 0183 to NMEA 2000 converters as well as hardware that can link NMEA 2000 to WiFi devices. The converter allows you to connect NMEA 0183 devices to NMEA 2000 networks.
