Pt1: How to connect your Marine VHF Radio to your GPS

How to connect your Marine VHF Radio to your GPS Fishfinder/Chartplotter using NMEA 0183 wiring standards for MMSI Based DCS Communications and Distress Signaling.
Please watch the update video:
• Pt2: How to connect yo...
The specific VHF and GPS models used in this video are:
ICOM IC-M400BBE VHF Marine Radio
Garmin ECHOMAP UHD 94sv
Register for an MMSI Number:
www.boatus.com/products-and-s...
Tags: NMEA 0183, NMEA-0183, NMEA0183, ICOM VHF Marine Radio, Garmin ECHOMAP, MMSI, DSC, AIS, VHF Emergency Distress Calls, DSC Enabled, Enable DSC, Configure DSC, Triumph Boats, Triumph Skiff, Carolina Skiff

[@bobnorton4998]

You know your stuff. Thank you so much. You saved me time and money.

[@davecavanaugh66]

Thanks…make sure you watch the part2 video.

[@qpnoi7192]

3:52 will made me confused on your notes that is Blue to Blue. It should be Blue (gps) to Yellow (vhf). The video itself corrected the connections and also part 2. I have an icom M400BB and this sure helped me and cut short of my research. Thank you very much.

[@davecavanaugh66]

Sorry for any confusion, but glad it helped.

[@Nozlnut133]

Thank you for the information. For the life of me I couldn't figure this out.

[@davecavanaugh66]

Make sure you watch the part 2 video.

[@WillyMcCoyBBQ]

This was a Big help. Used it to connect the Garmin ECHOmap to a Standard Horizon GX1400. Thanks for giving. Mark

[@davecavanaugh66]

Glad to help

[@davecavanaugh66]

Be sure to watch the Part2 video

[@snowayadventures]

ill be doing the same thing, any issues with yours to the GX1400?

[@Tridentllc]

Great video very helpful 100% accurate

[@davecavanaugh66]

Glad it helped - make sure you watch Part 2 video.

[@swampman6416]

Thank you so much!!! That green wire!! - uugghhh....

[@davecavanaugh66]

Glad it helped!

[@CessnaPilot99]

Thanks for showing. Your VHF does not have AIS by the way. Mark Burke mentions this possibility in the other comments but your radio does not have the capability to receive AIS target info from other vessels.

[@davecavanaugh66]

Correct - The radio does not have AIS. I assume if I had an external AIS device, those other two wires (Tx- and Rx-) would connect to it. However, that said, Garmin does mention in the book that I should be able to navigate to vessels in distress or track vessels that send position reports via DSC over VHF. In the Garmin user manual, it looks like the DSC info from other boats is logged in the DSC list, so I assume that means it doesn’t just pop up on the plotter screen. Personally I have not looked at my DSC list, so I will have to check that out. Again, my main purpose for DSC was for distress situations.

[@CessnaPilot99]

@@davecavanaugh66 interesting. Very good point!

[@davecavanaugh66]

Take a look at the Part 2 video.

[@Thomest]

What are the connectors you used for those tiny wires?

[@davecavanaugh66]

Be sure to watch the Pt2 video. They are shown in the video. They are called scotchlok - you can get them off Amazon. Get the gel filled with a red cap. 3 M S UR Scotchlok Connector Terminals - 100pk www.amazon.com/dp/B08S57NYG5/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_VRMR2EA9ZHQ83BPEYV6K?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

[@hugoguzman1210]

Does this wiring will work with a Striker 7SV and a M330 Icom?

[@davecavanaugh66]

Not sure, you would have to test it to see.

[@markburke5410]

With this can you see other boats with ais? I talked to icom and they said you need to connect all 4 wires. then I talked to garmin and they said 3 wires is ok. so who is right

[@davecavanaugh66]

Interesting point. Oddly, I typically fish a lot of remote back water areas and not around a lot of other boaters. My main goal was to enable my radio for DSC distress call purposes and less concerned about seeing other boats on my Garmin maps page. Additionally, I rarely use my Garmin for navigation because the maps suck and don’t provide enough bottom detail. Instead, I use a tablet with Navionics and therefore I mostly use my Garmin for sonar/fish finder capabilities. That said, the next time I’m in a more populated area with a bunch of boats, I will jump into it play around to see if I see other boats. In fact, I’m going to the Keys in a couple weeks, so that might be a good place to test those features out.

[@markburke5410]

So I contacted icom and Garmin and icom said all 4 needed to be connected to compleat the circuit yet Garmin said only 3 were necessary so my question to you is do you have a complete circuit can you see other ais boats on your maps

[@davecavanaugh66]

Check out my updated video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/aqjYmWirrZydkNU

[@markburke5410]

You should also connect the brown to ground to complete the communication right now the gps is only talking to the radio if you connect the brown the radio will send info to the chart plotter like ais boats in your area will show up on your map

[@markburke5410]

Good info though it’s hard to find

[@davecavanaugh66]

Mark - Appreciate the feedback. It seems to be working correctly with the Tx+ to Rx+ and Rx+ to Tx+ which completes the two-way communication path. From what I have read in various documents, connecting that last wire Tx- to a non-corresponding Rx- could damage the sending equipment which is the radio in this case. See footnote 1 on this help document from Garmin. support.garmin.com/en-US/?faq=0kbB2KplF656T5IIpUc4W8

[@CessnaPilot99]

His icom radio does not have AIS, not sure where you got that from? Put your point is correct if his radio did have AIS you would want to connect the output from the radio to the plotter

[@davecavanaugh66]

@@CessnaPilot99 correct - this radio does not have built-in AIS. I replied to your other post with more info.

[@AndrejaKostic]

@@CessnaPilot99 But in general, there are still reasons why you'd want to connect a radio without AIS receiver to a plotter, and it's actually mentioned very briefly on the manual page in the video: It's possible to transfer position data over DSC (but depending on radio config, this might or might not appear in the DSC menu as an option), and the radio can then be configured to send the data to NMEA network. There are the position request and position report DSC messages. With position report, you can send your position to another vessel, and with position request, you can ask another vessel for its position. If the plotter works fine with the radio, and you receive a reply to position request you sent, then the other vessel should appear on plotter. The same thing should happen if you receive a DSC distress alert, so this way, you don't have to transfer the positions manually. There should also be the polling request DSC message, but this should only check if the other station is in range, without transferring the actual position, so nothing should appear on the plotter.

[@solankikishor5736]

Rs

[@solankikishor5736]

Hai