how to connect DSC radio to Garmin GPS ?

[Bob]

I have a new DSC VHF marine radio with a + & - input for a GPS in NMEA
format. I have my Garmin MAP76 outputting in Garmin format on RS232 to an
older laptop running Mapsource on my boat as a chart plotter. I would like
to get the required signal to the radio - any ideas or suggestions ?
Thanks, Bob

 

[William G. Andersen]

I think you're out of luck, but you should ask Garmin - they were prompt and
helpful to me when I was trying to get my Garmin to talk with my Furuno
radar.
My MapSource (Version 6.3) says to be sure the device's transfer mode is set
to Garmin.
An option would be to use a handheld set to NMEA with a PC cable for the
radio, and as a backup.
For my radar, I bought Furuno's cable and put a DB9 connector on the end, to
receive the DB9 connector from my Garmin.
I use my GPS 12 in a mount on the instrument panel to feed the radar, since
the PC cable has a 12 volt plug and I don't have to worry about draining the
AA batteries all the time.
I have an eTrex that I use as a backup and I have a PC cable for it, too, so
I can connect it to the radar if necessary.

 

[Max Lynn]

What Lisa said originally. Forget the Mapsource bit. It has nothing to do
with the problem. Simply tee off the Data Out + , and Data Out - coming
from the Garmin. These get connected to the VHF's Data In +, and Data In -,
respectively. Make sure the Garmin protocol is set to NMEA out or In/Out .

 

[Dennis Pogson]

What Lisa said originally. Forget the Mapsource bit. It has nothing
to do with the problem. Simply tee off the Data Out + , and Data Out
- coming from the Garmin. These get connected to the VHF's Data In
+, and Data In -, respectively. Make sure the Garmin protocol is set
to NMEA out or In/Out .

If Mapsource requires a Garmin-Garmin setting and cannot be tweaked to
accept NMEA, it will not work with NMEA, therefore the only solution in this
case would be a second GPS, outputting to the DSC VHF. You could of course
change you Mapsource software on the laptop to something better, such as
Oziexplorer.
Remove "nospam" from return address.

 

[William G. Andersen]

MapSource is better.

If Mapsource requires a Garmin-Garmin setting and cannot be tweaked to
accept NMEA, it will not work with NMEA, therefore the only solution in this
case would be a second GPS, outputting to the DSC VHF. You could of course
change you Mapsource software on the laptop to something better, such as
Oziexplorer.
Remove "nospam" from return address.

 

[Dennis Pogson]

MapSource is better.

Just because it's vector? I think not.

 

[William G. Andersen]

because it's so easy to use.

Just because it's vector? I think not.

 

[Bruce in Alaska]

I think you're out of luck, but you should ask Garmin - they were prompt and
helpful to me when I was trying to get my Garmin to talk with my Furuno
radar.
My MapSource (Version 6.3) says to be sure the device's transfer mode is set
to Garmin.
An option would be to use a handheld set to NMEA with a PC cable for the
radio, and as a backup.
For my radar, I bought Furuno's cable and put a DB9 connector on the end, to
receive the DB9 connector from my Garmin.
I use my GPS 12 in a mount on the instrument panel to feed the radar, since
the PC cable has a 12 volt plug and I don't have to worry about draining the
AA batteries all the time.
I have an eTrex that I use as a backup and I have a PC cable for it, too, so
I can connect it to the radar if necessary.

Another possibility to pursure would be, to see if the Mapsource
software can "Output" a NEMA Datastream from one of the serial ports,
and use that
to drive the Radio. Some of the ChartPlotting packages can output NEMA
to drive autopilots, ect, and you can customize the output datastream.


Bruce in alaska who uses this approch for all kinds of things