NMEA AIS ANT200 to Garmin 620 Chart plotter

[Scubadoo]

Hoping someone out there can give me some advice. I have just purchased a Digital Yacht ANT200 AIS receiver and plan to connect to my Garmin 620 Chart Plotter, quite a simple set-up. But looking at the manuals for both units I just wanted to check the NMEA connections.

Garmin 620:
- Red > Power 12volts
- Black > Negative
- Yellow (tx) port 1
- Blue (rx) port 1
- Brown (tx) port 2
- White (rx) port 2

ANT200:
- Red > Power 12volts
- Black > Negative
- Grey NMEA Out + (ais+gps data) 38400
- Brown NMEA Out -
- Yellow NMEA In + (GPS data) 4800
- Green NMEA in -

I think it should be connected as follows:
ANT200 Grey Nmea (+) to Garmin Blue (rx)
ANT200 Brown Nmea (-) to Garmin Yellow (tx)
ANT200 Yellow Nmea (+) not connected
ANT200 Grenn (Nmea (-) not connected

Any helpful advice appreciated so that I can connect up this weekend.

 

[ex-Gladys]

Hoping someone out there can give me some advice. I have just purchased a Digital Yacht ANT200 AIS receiver and plan to connect to my Garmin 620 Chart Plotter, quite a simple set-up. But looking at the manuals for both units I just wanted to check the NMEA connections.

Garmin 620:
- Red > Power 12volts
- Black > Negative
- Yellow (tx) port 1
- Blue (rx) port 1
- Brown (tx) port 2
- White (rx) port 2

ANT200:
- Red > Power 12volts
- Black > Negative
- Grey NMEA Out + (ais+gps data) 38400
- Brown NMEA Out -
- Yellow NMEA In + (GPS data) 4800
- Green NMEA in -

I think it should be connected as follows:
ANT200 Grey Nmea (+) to Garmin Blue (rx)
ANT200 Brown Nmea (-) to Garmin Yellow (tx)
ANT200 Yellow Nmea (+) not connected
ANT200 Grenn (Nmea (-) not connected

Any helpful advice appreciated so that I can connect up this weekend.

That looks OK, but you will need to configure the GPS Data port 1 to High Speed. If it doesn't work you can just try the port 1 connections the other way round, you won't do any damage, as the comms is only detecting voltage, and isn't effectively passing any current... But port 1 from the AIS to Port 1 on the plotter are the only connections you need.

 

[pvb]

That looks OK, but you will need to configure the GPS Data port 1 to High Speed. If it doesn't work you can just try the port 1 connections the other way round, you won't do any damage, as the comms is only detecting voltage, and isn't effectively passing any current... But port 1 from the AIS to Port 1 on the plotter are the only connections you need.

It's not OK - surely the ANT200 Brown needs to be connected to the Garmin's Black?

 

[FulmarJeddo]

It's not OK - surely the ANT200 Brown needs to be connected to the Garmin's Black?

I was going to say the same. All Garmin kit I have used has a common Negative (-ve), Black. The GPS data In would only be required if you were putting the AIS data out to a non GPS device such as a laptop.

 

[bitbaltic]

Hoping someone out there can give me some advice. I have just purchased a Digital Yacht ANT200 AIS receiver and plan to connect to my Garmin 620 Chart Plotter, quite a simple set-up. But looking at the manuals for both units I just wanted to check the NMEA connections.

Garmin 620:
- Red > Power 12volts
- Black > Negative
- Yellow (tx) port 1
- Blue (rx) port 1
- Brown (tx) port 2
- White (rx) port 2

ANT200:
- Red > Power 12volts
- Black > Negative
- Grey NMEA Out + (ais+gps data) 38400
- Brown NMEA Out -
- Yellow NMEA In + (GPS data) 4800
- Green NMEA in -

I think it should be connected as follows:
ANT200 Grey Nmea (+) to Garmin Blue (rx)
ANT200 Brown Nmea (-) to Garmin Yellow (tx)
ANT200 Yellow Nmea (+) not connected
ANT200 Grenn (Nmea (-) not connected

Any helpful advice appreciated so that I can connect up this weekend.

Agree with others above the setup you suggest will not work. Not familiar with the kit, but I suggest:

You will get AIS data into the GPS if you wire the AIS grey tx to the garmin port 1 blue rx and the AIS brown (nmea tx-) wire to ground, which is likely to be most convenient by sharing the 12v power negative connection of either device (ie connect the AIS brown to the black wire of either the garmin or the AIS but make sure both are ultimately connected to battery negative, not just each other). You will need to set port 1 on the garmin to high speed data.

You seem to suggest that the AIS receives data at 4800 rather than 38400 baud. If this is the case and you really want to send GPS data to the AIS, then you will have to use the garmin's port 2. Set port 2 to standard NMEA speed and connect its brown tx wire to the yellow NMEA rx wire of the AIS. Then, as you did with the AIS brown wire, connect the AIS green wire to a common ground.

However I would check that the AIS can't both tx and rx on 38400 (or, alternatively, that the Garmin doesn't have seperate tx and rx baud rates for each port, but I think that's unlikely). If it can (which I think it might, as it would make sense) you need only connect it to port 1, in this case by connecting the yellow tx of port 1 to the yellow rx of the AIS. This keeps port 2 of the garmin free for future use.

Whatever you do do not connect things labelled as nmea - to things labelled as tx or rx, which are all + connections. Doing so won't work.

Don't forget an inline fuse (around 1.5a but read the manual first) on the 12v power (red wire) to the AIS.

 

[pvb]

You seem to suggest that the AIS receives data at 4800 rather than 38400 baud. If this is the case and you really want to send GPS data to the AIS, then you will have to use the garmin's port 2. Set port 2 to standard NMEA speed and connect its brown tx wire to the yellow NMEA rx wire of the AIS. Then, as you did with the AIS brown wire, connect the AIS green wire to a common ground.

However I would check that the AIS can't both tx and receive on 38400. If it can you need only connect it to port 1, in this case by connecting the yellow tx of port 1 to the yellow rx of the AIS.

There's no reason to send GPS data to the AIS receiver, it doesn't need it. Like many AIS receivers, the ANT200 has the facility to multiplex GPS data from a separate GPS receiver at 4800baud and output it, with the AIS data, at 38400baud. This can be useful for plotters with limited ports and without an internal GPS. However the Garmin 620 has it's own internal GPS receiver.

 

[bitbaltic]

There's no reason to send GPS data to the AIS receiver, it doesn't need it. Like many AIS receivers, the ANT200 has the facility to multiplex GPS data from a separate GPS receiver at 4800baud and output it, with the AIS data, at 38400baud. This can be useful for plotters with limited ports and without an internal GPS. However the Garmin 620 has it's own internal GPS receiver.

yes thought so but I don't know the kit or what the OP was trying to achieve. In that case he needs only make the AIS grey to GRMN blue and AIS brown to ground connections.

 

[Scubadoo]

Thank you so much for taking the time to reply with such detail, just want I needed. I had a suspicion it was not quite right, so the change is to connect the brown to ground - perfect. My set-up is a very simple one, just connecting the AIS to my chart plotter nothing else required.