Difference between NMEA 0183 and NMEA 2000?

tdschafer

tdschafer

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Aug 24, 2009
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Long island , NY
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Can anyone explain to me the difference here and what exactly these numbers mean? I recently picked up a discontinued Garmin GPSMAP 3205 to network with my 3006c as a back-up unit. I am planning on hooking up both gps antennae and having redundancy. My friend explained that his 2000 system will utilize both or one at the same time? I think it was an either or type situation. Can anyone educate me a little on this system? Thanks.
 
Todd,
Thanks for the info sheet. Even though I have an AS degree in electronics I have been out of that field for 20 years and find that technical jargon a little to cumbersome to comprehend in application terms. I am not sure now if I have too many "Talkers" in this set-up. I know Garmin makes a network Hub that I may have to utilize. I wonder if it is similar in function to the "Actisense" brand in that technical sheet?
 
Well to be honest I haven't read too much on it. I have a Garmin 545s GPS and a Standard Horizon GX1500s VHF. Both are NMEA 0183. There is this converter that can take your NMEA 0183 device and convert it to join a NMEA 2000 network/backbone. See the AT10 adaptor on the left.
AT10Network_web.jpg
 
Todd, lots if not most NMEA-2000 devices include NMEA-0183 ports to allow for backward compatibility. You might want to see if your 3006C has a 0183 port, in that case hooking the units together should be relatively straightforward. If not, here is another 2000-0183 interface device but there are lots out there.

Edit: Answered my own question. A quick Google on the 3006C found its detailed specs with this line about available interfaces:
3 (3005C) or 4 (3006C & 3010C)

data ports allow for NMEA 0183

and proprietary Garmin
 
Last edited:
My 3006C is an NMEA 0183 device. That is why I purchased this older technology, well, that and price!
 
The latest issue of PMY had a nice breakdown on the NMEA 0183, 2000 and Ethernet.

Here's my attempt at paraphrasing:

NMEA 0183: A rulebook that spells out a common language that devices can understand. It uses electrical pulses similar to morse code to communicate to other devices. Only one device can talk but it can broadcast to multiple devices. It only allows for up to 5 devices to be networked. Works good for simple applications.

NMEA 2000: Is completely different. It's still a rulebook for a common language but it spells out which wires and cables should be used and it allows for up to 50 devices to communicate. Multiple devices can talk and multiple devices can listen but only one device can talk at a time. NMEA 2000 is 50x faster than 0183 but it's still too slow for complex data such as video or cartography.

Ethernet: This is what you have in your office and home. Up to 100 MB/sec and can handle complex data and cartography.
 
Todd,


Here's a quick summary from my MFD installation guide:
What is NMEA?​
NMEA 0183​
The NMEA 0183 Data Interface Standard was developed by the National MarineElectronics Association of America. It is an international standard to enableequipment from many different manufacturers to be connected together and shareinformation.The NMEA 0183 standard carries similar information to SeaTalk. However it has theimportant difference in that one cable will only carry information in one direction.For this reason NMEA 0183 is generally used to connect a data receiver and atransmitter together, e.g. a compass sensor transmitting heading to a radar display.This information is passed in ‘sentences’, each of which has a three-letter sentenceidentifier. It is therefore important when checking compatibility between items thatthe same sentence identifiers are used:• VTG - carries Course and Speed Over Ground data.• GLL - carries latitude and longitude.• DBT - carries water depth.• MWV - carries relative wind angle and wind speed data.​

NMEA 2000​
NMEA 2000 offers significant improvements over NMEA 0183, most notably inspeed and connectivity. Up to 50 units can simultaneously transmit and receive on asingle physical bus at any one time, with each node being physically addressable.The standard was specifically intended to allow for a whole network of marineelectronics from any manufacturer to communicate on a common bus via​
standardized message types and formats.
 
Tonka Boater said:
The latest issue of PMY had a nice breakdown on the NMEA 0183, 2000 and Ethernet.

Here's my attempt at paraphrasing:

NMEA 0183: A rulebook that spells out a common language that devices can understand. It uses electrical pulses similar to morse code to communicate to other devices. Only one device can talk but it can broadcast to multiple devices. It only allows for up to 5 devices to be networked. Works good for simple applications.

NMEA 2000: Is completely different. It's still a rulebook for a common language but it spells out which wires and cables should be used and it allows for up to 50 devices to communicate. Multiple devices can talk and multiple devices can listen but only one device can talk at a time. NMEA 2000 is 50x faster than 0183 but it's still too slow for complex data such as video or cartography.

Ethernet: This is what you have in your office and home. Up to 100 MB/sec and can handle complex data and cartography.
Click to expand...

I know for a fact (as I am doing it) you can have more than 5 devices on 0183...
 
tdschafer said:
My 3006C is an NMEA 0183 device.
Click to expand...
Todd, I thought the "Garmin Marine Network" was a pseudo-NMEA 2000 network but it's not. But, my mistake does point one of the nuances of NMEA 2000: some manufacturers sort of adopted the standard but overlaid proprietary features so that their units were not compatible with others, Raymarine SeatalkNG is an example. You have to jump through some hoops to interface Raymarine units with pure NMEA 2000 products. I think this is starting to go away so that there will be true plug and play, which was the original intent for the new standard.
 
Ok, the fog is getting clearer!! So when I install my 3205, I am running the seperate antenna for it in order to work, right?
I mean, if I then network with the 3006c , which also has my depth sounder and radar tied in, they could share info from either unit with the other, yes?

I know Garmin also sells a network expander. See Below:

The GMS 10 Network Port Expander is the "nerve center" of the Garmin Marine Network. This 100-Mbit switch is designed to support the connection of multiple sensors and the GPSMAP 3006C and GPSMAP 3010C chartplotters/multifunction displays (MFDs) to the Garmin Marine Network. The GMS 10 allows users to gain the benefit of Ethernet-like data transfer speeds up to 10 times faster than some competitive systems.

Each networked MFD can be configured independently, and the connections are completely waterproof for operation in corrosive marine environments. The switch has LED indicators for individual line status. Plug-and-play design means that all peripherals are automatically detected and readily accessible once they're connected to the network. Likewise, owners can easily expand their systems by using the same standard data cable to plug additional units and displays into the GMS 10 network ports.

Features of both the GMS 10 Network Port Expander and the Garmin Marine Network:


Is this something that I will also need? I'm sorry for the rather rudimentary questions here but, I want to have some redundancy for my family ocean voyages this summer and am still not too familiar with the electronics that I now have.

Thank you all for your helpful responses thus far!
 
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