Uniden VHF to Garmin Chartplotter NMEA 0183

S

Scott9000

Member
Apr 16, 2014
77
Minnesota
Boat Info
2012 190 Sport
Engines
4.3L MPI
I think I understand the basics of NMEA but I can't seem to get the connections to work sending GPS position date OUT of Garmin GPS IN to the VHF. I also want to get the data from the radio back into the chartplotter for DSC positions.

Here are is what I am working with:

Uniden UM415

Brown: NMEA_OUT (-)
Green: NMEA_IN (-)
White: NMEA_OUT (+)
Yellow: NMEA_IN (+)
Black: GND
Bare: Shield/GND
Red:power (on separate harness)
Black: Ground (on separate harness)

Garmin 50DV

Red: Power
Black: Ground (power and NMEA 0183)
Blue: NMEA internal port 1 Tx (out)
Brown: NMEA internal port 1 Rx (in)
Gray: NMEA internal port 2 Tx (out)
Violet: NMEA internal port 2 Tx (in)

The Uniden VHF directions say the following for connecting a GPS:
Connect BARE wire of the cable to the GROUND WIRE on your GPS receiver.
Connect the YELLOW wire of the cable to the GPS DATE OUTPUT WIRE on your GPS receiver. (shows BLUE on the chart for GARMIN)

The Uniden VHF directions say the following for connecting a Chartplotter:
Connect the BROWN wire of the cable to the NEGATIVE (-) wire of your chartplotter's NMEA date INPUT.
Connect the WHITE wire of the accessory cable to the POSITIVE (+) wire of your chartplotters NMEA date INPUT.


I started by just trying to get the GPS position to display on the radio. I wired VHF BARE to GPS black ground that is also connected to the fuse panel and VHF YELLOW to Blue. Nothing. The GPS doesn't show which are + or - and that's where I am struggling.

Any help would be appreciated.
 
Do you try Garmin black to Uniden green? I think that and the other connection you have could do it for transmitting data from the Garmin to the VHF. At least that's how I would have wired it up after reading it.
 
Genius! That did it. The radio is now receiving position data. Thank you!

Any guess on the Uniden to Garmin for DSC? I can't really test until tomorrow when I get my antenna.
 
Ok thanks that makes sense. I was expecting there to be separate grounds for each pair. So I assume:


VHF White NMEA_OUT (+) GPS Brown NMEA internal port 1 Rx (in)

Does it matter if I use GPS Brown port 1 or GPS Violet port 2?

Thanks again.
 
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Actually, ignore my second post. I think I got that one wrong. I think I read somewhere never to connect a talker - to ground. I think you only need to connect the two + wires to carry the signal in that direction. I am going to delete my second post to not have unsure info on here.
 
Last edited:
Finally received my antenna today. Anyone know the easiest way to know if the Garmin is receiving DSC position data from the Uniden? It was easy with the Uniden - it shows right on the main screen it's receiving data from the Garmin.
 
According to my Garmin 441s manual, the plotter only displays the DSC data when initiated on your VHF, if the Garmin is connected to the VHF via NMEA2000. If you are only connected to NMEA0183 then the Garmin will only alert you to DSC calls received by your VHF from a third party VHF.

So if your Garmin works the same then to test what you want you have to knowingly pickup a DSC call from another boat.
 
I had to create an account to say thank you for this post. I was about ready to give up. I was connecting the green wire to every wire minus the black wire because I assumed that was a power wire athat had nothing to do with signal and the manuals were not too clear. My DSC is up and running and working perfectly. Thank you again.
 
Your welcome , and I am grateful for this post. I want to provide a simple option for anyone on my boat to be able to request for assistance even if they don't know how to use a vhf radio. It may save lives in the future.
 
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