Pt2: How to connect your Marine VHF Radio to your GPS

Update Video: 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.
The original video (Pt1) still has some good content, so take a look:
• Pt1: 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:
• How To Get A FREE MMSI
• 3 Tips for Using a Mar...
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

[@daveengstrom9250]

I appreciate the video. The people who write the instruction books never give enough into for hooking up the wires. They assume prior knowledge.

[@davecavanaugh66]

Hope it helped. Yeah the instructions from two different products are often hard to figure out.

[@erc2thelement]

Thank you for making this video! I was pretty confused on how to wire my radio to my GPS. I have the same setup as you and this is exactly what I needed

[@davecavanaugh66]

Glad it helped!

[@jtdiffen]

Thanks Kevin! This was a huge help. BTW, the wire colors worked with my Std Horizon Explorer VHF as well. Diagram you drew was a huge help. The factory instructions never mention grounding those extra two wires from the radio. 😮

[@davecavanaugh66]

Glad to help😁

[@eugeniorodrigueztribaldos8446]

Excellent video, thanks for sharing.

[@davecavanaugh66]

Glad to help 😁

[@captrandy3307]

Dave, thanks a bunch for this video. I had trouble getting my ICOM radio to Axiom MFD NMEA working. I'm going to try this approach next. The ICOM VHF has a built-in GPS but it has trouble sometimes getting a good signal because of my mounting location below deck. I did not know the USCG had a test call number for DSC. That's great! Kudos to you...

[@davecavanaugh66]

Glad to help. Good point when you have radios mounted out of satellite LOS. Hope it works out for ya. Seems like there would be an option to plug in an external antenna on radios with built in GPS. I getting ready to switch my chartplotter/fishfinder over a Simrad unit so we’ll see how that goes with wiring in the radio.

[@MiniFarmHouse_Melinda_Valentin]

Very helpful!

[@davecavanaugh66]

Glad to help!

[@ecesarchavez]

Great video, thanks for sharing. What kind of cable did you use between the vhf and chartplotter? I need a 5-6’ piece to connect mine via NMEA 0183 - thx

[@coolbreezeak7578]

Lol fuckin love you dude..... been looking on how to connect my icom to my garmin 94sv.... and BAM!!!! Here you are my angle....

[@davecavanaugh66]

Glad it helped 😁

[@halcoxon8782]

Dave Great Video!! Unfortunately you didn't show how your wiring connected to the back of your GPS plate. My Question is : I have a ICOM -M400BB black box and desire to connect it to my Garmin Ecomap UHD 73SV. The ICOM has the NMEA0183 ver.3.01 (4 wires) which need to mate up to Garmin's NMEA2000 (5 pin) port. I can't fine anything on Garmin's site to make the transition / connection. I'm new to this so any assistance is much appreciated. Thanks

[@davecavanaugh66]

Not quite sure I understand what you are saying. You can’t connect NMEA0813 to NMEA2000 without some sort of conversion box. The Garmin power cable has the NMEA0813 Blue/Brown wires.

[@setthehook4me]

Great info! Thank you for putting in the time to show what you did. What were those terminal connectors called? I couldn't make out what you were saying in the video. Thank you

[@davecavanaugh66]

LRONG 150PCS Waterproof Telephone Line Connector, Data Phone Wire Butt Splice Ports UY/UR/UB Crimp Terminal Connectors Assortment Kit (UY/K1 50pcs + UY2/K2 50pcs + UR/K3 50pcs) a.co/d/8G2JM4o

[@setthehook4me]

@@davecavanaugh66 Thank you for the link!

[@mikebatchelder3509]

I have the iComm330 which also needs a connection for GPS, I am using a SIMRAD GO9 which does not have any wires on the back. Can I take a NMEA drop cable and cut of and end to connect to my backbone ? Have you heard of this or have an opinion? SIMRAD and iComm neither can help...my radio also has a GPS puck option but I've been told good luck in finding one.

[@davecavanaugh66]

It looks like the Simrad Go series only supports NMEA 2000, so that won’t work. You will need an external GPS device that supports NMEA 0183 standards - such as a Garmin 17x HVS or something similar. Icom might have one but might be hard to find.

[@Spicy-Tuna]

If you have a GPSMAP 943XSV series: Blue(GPS)-Yellow(ICOM), Gray(GPS)- Green(ICOM), Brown(GPS)-White(ICOM), Vilot(GPS) - Brown(ICOM).

[@davecavanaugh66]

Good info - thanks

[@josephleblanc9869]

I have the GPSMAP 7610XSV series and this color scheme is identical. Connection considerations from Garmin requires connecting the 4 wires this way and NOT to ground since both devices are grounded. FYI

[@Spicy-Tuna]

@@josephleblanc9869 wouldn't it just be easier for you to say : 7610XSV is the same as above? As to not confuse anyone reading your comment. Not sure why you even mentioned grounds as they aren't part of this.

[@jonathanbacon1825]

What if the GPS isn’t showing that it’s communicating but I now have GPS on my radio?

[@davecavanaugh66]

If your radio has a GPS built-in, then you don’t need to do this.

[@jonathanbacon1825]

@@davecavanaugh66 But my radio doesn’t have built in GPS. My Garmin isn’t showing any communication packets being transferred but I received Acknowledgment from Coast Guard test MMSI so i’m assuming it’s working

[@jeffs9530]

Where is the cable that comes from the Garmin? Can you send me a link to buy one. And where does it plug into the back? GPSMAP 943xsv

[@davecavanaugh66]

The power cable on most Garmins includes the extra wires (blue/brown) you need to connect your VHF. This is shown in the installation manual. Quick Google search and this is what I found for your Garmin model: www8.garmin.com/manuals/webhelp/GUID-BF2FF273-008A-482A-A96F-362ADA8996BA/EN-US/GPSMAP_7x3_9x3_12x3_Install_EN-US.pdf

[@jeffs9530]

@@davecavanaugh66 It appears the GPSMAP 943XSV does not come with GPS out because the new Garmin VHF radios have built in GPS. You may want to check me if I'm wrong.

[@jeffs9530]

@@davecavanaugh66 on a added note I can't find a Garmin VHf radio for sale. They are all on back order due to the chip shortage.

[@davecavanaugh66]

@@jeffs9530 the installation manual I provided in the link above is directly from Garmin and it’s dated Feb 2022. Page 9 shows the cable and wires. The reason they always provide NMEA 0183 wires is not everyone has a Garmin VHF radio. Plus there are other device that may need to be connected to the GPS.

[@davecavanaugh66]

@@jeffs9530 there are lots of other radio brands out there you can choose from that have built in GPSs. If you buy a radio with a built-in GPS, then you don’t need to connect up to your Chartplotter. Again this video is intended to show people how to connect radios that don’t have built-in GPSs.

[@joed1319]

Can you show a link or picture of the wire from the gps to the radio

[@davecavanaugh66]

Hi Joe - I’m not quite sure what you are asking since I show the drawing in the video. Feel free to pause the video and take a screen shot and save the picture on your phone.

[@huntsfishingjournal9519]

How would this differ from an nmea 2000 setup?

[@davecavanaugh66]

Many VHF radios and other devices don’t support or have ports for the newer NMEA 2000 capability. So the older NMEA 0183 connectivity is required. Additionally, many newer radios have GPS built in so in those cases, it’s not really required to do any connectivity unless your radio head is below deck and is not picking up satellite signal.

[@Sheetbender]

Looks like your Garmin is putting out rs232. Most newer plotters are putting out rs422. Rs422 is supposed to require tx+ to rx+ and tx- to rx-. No grounding necessary. The positive and negative just means there is a voltage differential between the wires. Rs 422 should at minimum only require two wires to get gps data to the vhf from a gps receiver such as a plotter. Connecting all four should do no harm if your plotter is sending rs422. The way your wiring your Icom to your Garmin may be correct in this situation for rs232, but for most current plotters to vhf rs422 setups, this would not be correct, at least going by Icom's wiring instructions.

[@davecavanaugh66]

Could be. It’s frustrating that the various vendors don’t get on the same page with how they implement the 0183 standard in terms of wire colors and connectivity. I just swapped my Garmin out for a new Simrad and it only required two wires (Tx & Rx) - super simple.

[@Sheetbender]

Adding to my comment: with my Icom m424g the yelow and green had to be reversed for data to be received from my multiplexer. Tx- to rx+,tx+ to rx-

[@pezvela9518]

No vale tu video, las letras no dejan ver nada de lo que pretendes explicar !!! Bad, bad, bad !!!

[@davecavanaugh66]

Sorry to hear it didn’t help.