Garmin 54cv install question

Feb 18, 2012
71
Rhode Island - USA
Boat Info
240 Dancer (1997)
Engines
Merc 5.7L, carborated, 250 HP, Alpha Drive
I just received my new Garmin 54cv Chartplotter. The instructions do not address the wiring harness! My question is about the blue and tan wires in the harness. It is obvious the red and black are positive and ground, but the on-line install instructions say the blue and tan wires are for adding a NEMS 0183 device. I don't know what that is, so I guess I don't have one! So do I just leave the blue and tan wires hanging?? Thanks...
 
The newer Garmin chart plotters support both NMEA 2000 and the older NMEA 0183 protocols. Both are optional unless you have an add-on device that requires it. (Radars, Auto-pilots, heading sensors, etc.). Just tape up those wires out of the way until such time as you need them.
 
If your VHF has a "Distress" button, use those NMEA0183 wires to connect your Garmin to the VHF. If your VHF doesn't have such a button (under a flip-up door), buy a new DSC-capable VHF. WM has one for $120 after rebate.
 
If your VHF has a "Distress" button, use those NMEA0183 wires to connect your Garmin to the VHF. If your VHF doesn't have such a button (under a flip-up door), buy a new DSC-capable VHF. WM has one for $120 after rebate.

Seriously, this. DSC is one of the best safety options that so few people use. A DSC-equipped VHF radio (that is, any fixed mount radio sold in the last 10+ years) lets you trigger a distress call that tells both the USCG and any area ship the nature of your distress and your exact location - with the location provided by your GPS unit.

A DSC radio also auto-listens for distress calls on channel 70. If it detects one it will alert you, and if connected to a GPS plotter, display the location on the screen so you can render assistance. But for any of this to work the radio and the GPS device have to be connected via those wires.
 
I was beginning to think I was alone in my mission to get as many people as I can "hooked up"!

Sometimes I feel the same way! There's no reason not to use this technology. I'm a big fan. To the point where when my hand-held radio died last year, I would only consider a replacement that included GPS so that it also supports DSC.

When my kids take the inflatable to roam around they also take the DSC-enabled hand-held VHF. Using my fix-mount radio I can make a position request using their radio's ID number. It automatically responds and displays their location on my 10 year old Garmin plotter. Works every time and makes my wife more comfortable. Plus if they get in any trouble they can press a distress button and get help.


A good article on DSC from Soundings Magazine.

Here's a video (8 years old, but still good) about DSC, what it is, and how it works.
 
I just received my new Garmin 54cv Chartplotter. The instructions do not address the wiring harness! My question is about the blue and tan wires in the harness. It is obvious the red and black are positive and ground, but the on-line install instructions say the blue and tan wires are for adding a NEMS 0183 device. I don't know what that is, so I guess I don't have one! So do I just leave the blue and tan wires hanging?? Thanks...

This is the installation manual for your new Garmin unit. Information on the NMEA 0183 connections (blue/tan wires) start on page 4 and describe what to do. If you have a DSC radio, you need to connect the Garmin Receive (Rx) brown wire to the radio Transmit (Tx) wire, and the Garmin Transmit (Tx) blue wire to the radio Receive (Rx) wire. The radio will have different color wires so you'll need to consult the manual or look at the tags on the wires.

This is the user manual for your Garmin unit. Starting on page 26, it tells you the functions and operations of a DSC radio. You can initiate calls from your plotter, and also see the location of other vessels. Lots of functions, all by connecting those 2 wires.
 
It should also be noted that many of the newer VHF radios can output via NMEA 2000 which the 54cV also supports. Given the choice between the two NMEA 2000 is the preferred connection method.
 
WOW.... I feel so uninformed about the new technology. I was away from boating for many years and did not read my GPS owner manual past the first few pages on how to hook it up! The VHF radio that came with my boat is very old and is very basic. It does NOT have a distress button. I will head to my local WM and purchase a new VHF radio that can output via NMEA 2000 and make use of this very important safety feature. I'm happy I gave all who responded the opportunity to point out this safety option to everyone who reads this post.
 
WOW.... I feel so uninformed about the new technology. I was away from boating for many years and did not read my GPS owner manual past the first few pages on how to hook it up! The VHF radio that came with my boat is very old and is very basic. It does NOT have a distress button. I will head to my local WM and purchase a new VHF radio that can output via NMEA 2000 and make use of this very important safety feature. I'm happy I gave all who responded the opportunity to point out this safety option to everyone who reads this post.

When you start hooking up NMEA 2000 devices, there is a little extra work involved. You'll need a back-bone cable, a terminator, a power tap and two drop cables with t-connectors to connect the VHF and the plotter, respectively. Once you have your backbone setup, adding additional devices will just be a matter of connecting them up with a drop cable.

The fine folks at WM will be happy to get you setup with these items, and even happier to charge you twice the going rate :)
 
NMEA2000 offers a lot of options, but if you don't plan to add more devices, then it may be more trouble than it's worth to connect 2 devices together.

When you start hooking up NMEA 2000 devices, there is a little extra work involved. You'll need a back-bone cable, a terminator, a power tap and two drop cables with t-connectors to connect the VHF and the plotter, respectively.

The "T's" can serve as the backbone, so that can save you a cable. Terminate each end, a T and drop cable for each device, and power.
 
WOW.... I feel so uninformed about the new technology. I was away from boating for many years and did not read my GPS owner manual past the first few pages on how to hook it up! The VHF radio that came with my boat is very old and is very basic. It does NOT have a distress button. I will head to my local WM and purchase a new VHF radio that can output via NMEA 2000 and make use of this very important safety feature. I'm happy I gave all who responded the opportunity to point out this safety option to everyone who reads this post.

Awesome! Thanks for stepping up. (sincerely! This offers safety to boats around you as well as yourself, so it's a community thing.)

DSC Radio is Step 1
Connecting to GPS source is Step 2

Step 3 is obtaining an MMSI number and programming it into your new radio. BoatUS (and I believe Power Squadron) allow members to register for an MMSI for free.
 
NMEA2000 offers a lot of options, but if you don't plan to add more devices, then it may be more trouble than it's worth to connect 2 devices together.

You beat me to it.

IMO, for boaters are just connecting an GPS plotter to a radio to get the DSC functiion, NMEA 2000 is a needlessly expensive overkill option. It's like bringing and Abrams tank to a spitball fight. So long as both devices support it, NMEA 0183 will work perfectly well for little to not additional cost just by hooking together a few wires that would be included with the product.

The introduction of NMEA 2000 was a big step forward for networking of more complex and powerful marine devices. It is faster than NMEA 0183, functions as a real network, and helps tie together more and more advanced pieces of boating technology. When you are running more complex systems that have things (especially from various vendors) that include multiple MFD displays, autopilot, heading sensors, radar, AIS transponders, etc, it can certainly be worth while.

The down side is that NMEA 2000 it is considerably more complex than NMEA 0183, requires building a network with specific components, the network itself needs to be powered, and the components are kind of expensive.

Ironically, not all new radios are supporting NMEA 2000 today. I bought a new ICOM 400BB radio 18 months ago. I was frankly quite surprised that a newly released product from a leading vendor supported only NMEA 0183. It was fine though because I only wanted to used NMEA 0183 anyway.
 
Awesome! Thanks for stepping up. (sincerely! This offers safety to boats around you as well as yourself, so it's a community thing.)

Definitely. Kind of like herd protection for flu shots, etc. The more people have it, the better EVERYONE is.


Step 3 is obtaining an MMSI number and programming it into your new radio. BoatUS (and I believe Power Squadron) allow members to register for an MMSI for free.

Correct. You need to get an MMSI from a registration service. BoatUS does do this whether you are a member or not. So does Sea Tow. Be sure to complete as much information as possible about you and your boat.

One word of caution - most radios only let you put an MMSI into the radio once or maybe twice. If you screw up the registration process you'll have to send the radio out for servicing to reset it. This is to prevent fraudulent registrations. Don't worry, you have to confirm the entry on the radio and they have to match both times.

When selling a boat / radio with an MMSI the seller should clear their data from the online registration database (BoatUS, etc) and transfer the account to the new owner.
 
Yikes! I only have a little 240DA Sundancer! I do not have multiple MFD displays, autopilot, heading sensors, radar, AIS transponders, etc. Maybe I better read alot more about this subject before plunging into buying all that extra equipment! I will buy a new VHF radio today though.
 
Yikes! I only have a little 240DA Sundancer! I do not have multiple MFD displays, autopilot, heading sensors, radar, AIS transponders, etc. Maybe I better read alot more about this subject before plunging into buying all that extra equipment! I will buy a new VHF radio today though.

Exactly, you don't need the extras that justify a NMEA 2000 network. Just find a radio that supports NMEA 0183, and connect it to the blue and tan wires on your Garmin. Then go boating!
 
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Yikes! I only have a little 240DA Sundancer! I do not have multiple MFD displays, autopilot, heading sensors, radar, AIS transponders, etc. Maybe I better read alot more about this subject before plunging into buying all that extra equipment! I will buy a new VHF radio today though.
If you buy a Standard Horizon GX2200 you won't need to connect your Garmin wires to it. It has it's own built in gps capability and generates its own data needed for DSC.
 
If you buy a Standard Horizon GX2200 you won't need to connect your Garmin wires to it. It has it's own built in gps capability and generates its own data needed for DSC.

This is true and is a simplified installation. It's also great for boaters that don't have a GPS plotter installed.

However, the downside is that without the connection to the plotter you will not be able to see other boats' locations displayed on the plotter if you have one. This is one of the advantages of DSC interconnections - connection to a plotter allows you to see how far you are from the person calling, and easily navigate to them. A radio with GPS will also be more expensive that one without, and the OP already has the Garmin GPS that will provide the GPS data.
 
Yikes! I only have a little 240DA Sundancer! I do not have multiple MFD displays, autopilot, heading sensors, radar, AIS transponders, etc. Maybe I better read alot more about this subject before plunging into buying all that extra equipment! I will buy a new VHF radio today though.

I look at it as a future proofing exercise. As more and more 2000 widgets come to market its nice to have the infrastructure in place and avoid the need to rewire any time I add a new toy. But yeah. If all you can conceive of is a single MFD and and a radio, adding a backbone may be overkill.

For me, I don't know what I don't know. For example I discovered that while not moving, my chart-plotter orientation was not pinned to my bow, so even if an AiS target was to appear on the plotter, courtesy of my VHF, its position would appear random with respect to my bow. Solution was, you guessed it, another NMEA 2000 device (specifically a heading sensor)
 

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