I was actually the first customer to use the YDEG-04 for this application. I worked with the programmers (who I think are in one of the Baltic republics) back and forth to get the settings right. So, we manipulated a number of parameters manually. I see they have incorporated all that into one of the standard configurations via a firmware update. The documentation for this update doesn't look like it's in the manual as yet but I found it in an update announcement:
"Firmware 1.32 for the Engine Gateway was released in July, but it has new features, which had not yet been announced and were not described in the documentation.
We added support of gensets (it can be turned on with GENSET=ON). This turns on processing of J1939 PGN 65030 (Generator Average Basic AC Quantities; SPN 2444, 2436, 2448), PGN 65029 (Generator Total AC Power; SPN 2452), PGN 65028 (Generator Total AC Reactive Power; SPN 2464, 2456) and output of NMEA 2000 PGN 127504 (AC Output Status).
We also added a setting to request specified PGNs every second from all engines with addressed requests:
ISO_REQUEST=65242,65253,65260
This can be used with engines and gensets which report engine hours (PGN 65253), software version (PGN 65242) or serial numbers (PGN 65260) by request only."
https://www.yachtd.com/news/august_updates.html
If you go this route you will likely have to build up a connector (same is true with the Maretron equivalent) but it looks like you're certainly capable. Both ttmott and I have done this and can probably help. I was able to do the tap right at the J-box which is where my NMEA 2000 network lives. I think Tom's is close to the generator but he already had NMEA 2000 down there.
I'm glad you asked as it looks like Yacht Devices may have solved the one problem both ttmott and I had which was getting engine hours out of the generator. All the other data is "pushed" over J1939 but hours has to be requested. this was the issue I spent the most time with the programmers over but neither of us was able to get that to work.
Thanks great info! It looks pretty straight forward.
It looks like my boat was wired a little different as my genset has a cable running directly from the genset to the smartcraft jbox it is not tied into the engine harness. So I will just take if off the jbox and wire up a connector for the Yacht device gateway. One question on the yacht devices gateway did you wire just the CAN high low? or the power as well? It appears they show power required in their diagram.