Connect Raymarine a series plotter to cobra vhf

Captain Crisp

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Hi,
How do I connect my Raymarine to my Cobra VHF radio, so the radio knows my long/lat? The radio has a 2.5 input hole for this purpose, but the Raymarine output is a multiple-pin socket. I'm presuming it's a bit more complex than simply directly connecting them... Or can I do that?
Thanks!
Crisp
 
Your Cobra radio should have come with a GPS interface cable - basically just a jack plug with a 2-core wire attached. If you don't have this, get a jack plug and connect the plotter's NMEA output to it. If it doesn't work, swap the connections.

Incidentally, which a-series plotter do you have? Some won't support NMEA0183 connections.
 
Hi, I bought the boat with all this stuff already in place, but no manuals, cables or anything useful! I managed to access the back of the radio and found the 2 core socket all ready. The Raymarine is an A series... Not sure which one... But it looks like it has the right outputs...
Are you suggesting that I can simply link the Raymarine directly to the 2 core jack?
Cheers,
Crisp

IMG_20200208_091043_compress74.jpg
 
You need to read the respective manuals. They're all online but only Vics knows where to find them. Then find the appropriate colour codes/pin numbers and connect them up. A bit of trial and error works as well and you won't blow up the radio if you get it wrong as NMEA is very low powered.
 
Hi, I bought the boat with all this stuff already in place, but no manuals, cables or anything useful! I managed to access the back of the radio and found the 2 core socket all ready. The Raymarine is an A series... Not sure which one... But it looks like it has the right outputs...
Are you suggesting that I can simply link the Raymarine directly to the 2 core jack?

If the plotter has an NMEA0183 output, yes you can link it straight to the radio. But not all a-series plotters have an NMEA0183 output. If yours doesn't, it may be possible to use a converter to take the GPS data from the SeaTalk network. You need to check which a-series you have and then download the manual from the Raymarine website; this will give details of how to wire it.
 
You need to read the respective manuals. They're all online but only Vics knows where to find them. Then find the appropriate colour codes/pin numbers and connect them up. A bit of trial and error works as well and you won't blow up the radio if you get it wrong as NMEA is very low powered.

Except that not all a-series plotters output NMEA0183...
 
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