Garmin or tablet

b_arrington, RollerCoastr....thanks for the confirmation. Glad to see that I'm not the only one fighting winter blues by playing with electronics at the kitchen table!!!

So I've been trying to get my head around my network design. tmott has such fantastic drawings, I thought that I would lay mine out to see it. At the time, the entire network is under the helm as I only have the VHF and AIS on the network. The MFD (8612xsv) and new DST Transducer are coming soon. So here is my question: As shown on the drawing, can I just run a backbone extender from the helm down to the engine room and then connecting the DST-800 to it via a T-connector and then terminate the network in the engine room? Does the transducer get its power from the network?

I have drawn it out how "I think" it is supposed to go. I'm trying to accomplish this before Spring Commissioning while the boat is in the water. If anyone has any advice or experience in changing out their old depth transducer let me know. I'm looking for a solution that will fit the existing thru-hull.

Jaybeaux

Yep, that's exactly how I did it. As long as the terminator is at the end you should be good to go.
 
Jaybeaux, I have the same transducer in my all-Garmin setup. It came with a fairly long cable, 5-6 meters I believe and does not need an external power connection. Mine is run from the transducer in the bilge to the NMEA 2000 backbone at the helm. It's probably easier to do it that way so unless like there's a reason to extend the backbone like a future plan for other devices in the ER, I would just keep the NMEA network short and run the supplied cable up to the helm. There is a 20 foot limitation to the length of a device cable to t-connector but that probably doesn't apply in your case.
 
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So I've been trying to get my head around my network design. tmott has such fantastic drawings, I thought that I would lay mine out to see it.

Oh man, you really should put some distance between you and ttmott. Do you realize that on one of his drawing he spelled NMEA "NEMA"? It's true. Not to mention the joy he's robbing himself of opening his helm up and looking at wires and wondering, "is this a drop cable, or a backbone cable, or the power cable from a device I decommissioned during the Bush Administration?" I mean, why miss out on those kinds of life experiences? I feel well-rounded myself...

I went the "extended backbone" route, terminating one end on the bulkhead and the other end at the helm. I don't know what else I may add to the network in the ER, but if/when I do, having the backbone down there will make it easy. Works either way though.
 
I had a similar reaction as Alnav; the max length for a device cable is 6 meters abt 20’. It strikes me as a better solution to run a device cable to a backbone of tees than to split the backbone. That is if a 6m device cable is long enough.
 
How do you like the way that the Simrad system functions? I have the 5 inch version of that in the form of Vessel View; I have a lot of trouble locating various functions and recalling where they are in the various menus.
I haven't had too much trouble. I will have to spend a few hours this sprig to refresh my memory. My only regret is that I did not buy the 7". I didn't think I was going to have the room....but I do.
 
Thanks for all of the responses gents! I was doing my "calculations" and even with the 20' backbone extension, and the assumed 20' DST-800 transducer cable length, my voltgage drop is less than 0.75 volts. Thanks for all of the help!
 
What can I say that most everyone else here has already said? I too think the MFD (multi-function display) is the way to go, but, yes, they can be costly. I bought the one we had on our sailboat off of a Craigslist seller. I was able to connect it to the battery of my truck to ensure it powered up and received a GPS signal. I ended up paying $100 for a device that should have cost me four or five times that.
 
Thanks for all the answers, this has really helped a lot. I'm looking at the Garmin Echomap Plus 93SV with a 9" screen. There a couple others in that same category as well. I still have a few months before the boat goes in the water so I can really look into the features
 
Thanks for all the answers, this has really helped a lot. I'm looking at the Garmin Echomap Plus 93SV with a 9" screen. There a couple others in that same category as well. I still have a few months before the boat goes in the water so I can really look into the features

I don't know if your using that with a radar but I have a 94Sv and called garmin to see if it would work with radar and they told me none of the echomaps would work with radar, so you might want to call them to find out yourself.
 
I don't know if your using that with a radar but I have a 94Sv and called garmin to see if it would work with radar and they told me none of the echomaps would work with radar, so you might want to call them to find out yourself.
I wont be using it with radar. To be honest I will probably only use this thing 3 or 4 times all summer long. But you never know, I may have fun with it and use it more that I think
 
I have both a plotter and ipad. The plotter is my backup as it's quite old. I love using my ipad with navionics, and I have access to all my charts and trips on my iphone, computer, etc. If you go the ipad route, you need to get one that is cell service capable. You don't need to activate it, but they are the ones that have a built-in gps. So all you need is that ipad and a power cord.
I'm not new to boating but, I am a newbie as far as chart plotting goes. I boat in Western Ma. lakes and the Hudson River. I'm looking to head out to other areas this coming summer and I would like to be able to see where I am, where I am going, and also be able to map out a safe route and not get lost.
I've been doing some research on different products that I believe will work for me, but I'm not sure if I should purchase a Chart Plotter with GPS, like a Garmin 94sv or a tablet with GPS and use Navionics app? I do not have a WiFi Hot Spot device
I'm not much of an electronics guy so I want to keep it simple, keep the cost down around 7-800 dollars. So I'm wondering what guys are using, and what might work best for my application.
Also, is there a way to tie all my engine data into the device? My boat is older with no type of data link plug.

Thanks!
I purchased the iPad Pro 12.9 3rd generation with cellular and plan on using this for my navigation with Navionics app. I’m using it on the back bay of jersey shore. No ocean. I just purchased a mount that I’m waiting on delivery and can share pixs this weekend if you want. Sea ray 370 Sundancer. For a 13” plotter MFD that I don’t need a fish finder, it cost 2-3 thousand dollars for same size display. $1299 for ipad and will use it for nav, Bluetooth music, web searching, transient slip reserving, boat videos for diy repairs, helm tv, etc etc...I have a sun shade over helm and I’m not worried about over heating, I have iPhone for backup and an older Garmin 7“ still wired if I need it but stored below. 21st century stuff lol.
Also I ordered 12v charger wiring kit for the usb-c so no battery drain.
 
So I haven't pulled the trigger yet but I am probably going with the Garmin GPS Map 942XS Plus. Looks like it will have everything I need including auto routing.
 

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