Getting NMEA data from a Nexus Wireless Wind Box.

[Joker]

I have a Nexus Wireless wind indicator,and this links through to a box which picks up the data and relays it on from there. The box has 16 connections, and the last four go to something which is rather enigmatically labelled "Network".

I know one of these is a 12 V connection, and another is marked 'screen', so presumably this is connected to 0 V. This leaves two others.

I would like to try and get nmea data from it to connect to an auto helm. Does anyone know how to get nmea from one of these?

 

[Adjag]

I would like to do the same thing, I have a Nexus wind system with its WSI box but it can only show apparent wind (not true) as it's not connected to anything else. If only I could either feed boatspeed into it, or take output from it, I could get true wind speed. But it seems one either needs a "Nexus NX server" or the GND10 box from Garmin (who I think bought Nexus ) to translate the special Nexus signals into NMEA. If anyone knows how to read the Nexus signals that'd be great....

 

[mrming]

I too have the WSI box and have looked into this in the past. The problem is that Nexus don't publish the protocol.

As far as I am aware the only way to do it is to buy the very expensive Nexus Server.

I didn't know the GND 10 supported the Nexus Protocol and I can't find any evidence to suggest that it does - do you have any information showing this?

Edit - it seems the GND 10 does indeed do the job and for considerably less money:

http://www.mailspeedmarine.com/garmin-gnd-10-black-box-bridge

 

[mjcoon]

I too have the WSI box and have looked into this in the past. The problem is that Nexus don't publish the protocol.

That's rather funny... Back when I bought my first Garmin GPS receiver (1997) Garmin did not publish their proprietary serial protocol either. But there was a coterie of on-line engineers who hacked it by observing what Garmin's PC programs did with this link and published the results. I wrote a program for the then-popular Psion pocket computer that provided a more user-friendly interface (I thought) for constructing routes out of waypoints. (That program is still a freebie on my web site, but no-one has the Psions any more!) Gradually, Garmin realised that publishing the protocol themselves would be a Good Thing, offered to publicise my program, and and even gave me another GPS to help me test it!

But I don't know if Garmin will apply the same logic to their Nexus product line...

Mike.

 

[Adjag]

I remember psions -great things but overtaken by ubiquitous smart phones. According to Garmin's website although this gnd10 box does seem to interface with the Nexus protocol it does so to nmea2000, our boat is nmea0183 so I think I'd have to my a converter as well, just seems like too many boxes crammed into a restricted electrics locker.

 

[rgarside]

I still have 3 Psion Mx5's in my cupboard! The last use of them was for recording and displaying traffic on the boat's NMEA 0183 network. Easy to connect, easy to programme, and run forever on 2 AA batteries - curious thing progress!

 

[Joker]

The problem is that Nexus don't publish the protocol.

I thought that might the case. Perhaps I could try and see if it's nmea anyway.

I tired reviving my Psion 5 not long ago. The trouble is that the screen's unusable by today's standards.