NMEA cable for my standard horizon cp180i

[braithra]

I want to run the nmea cable from my standard horizon cp180i a 6m run back to my AIS and dsc radio. Can anyone reccomend what type of cable is best suited to this and where i can purchase online.

The cable that came with is is only 1m and has 8 cores in total.

 

[ostell]

Are you sure you need all 8 cores?

Perhaps here

 

[maxi77]

I bought some alarm cable which was tinned, and carries 1 amp. The longest run is about 10 metres and works fine.

 

[theoldsalt]

Number of cores depends on the use of the SH .

Check with the wiring diagram how many you need for your individual configuration with other equipment

See wiring diagram below :-

http://www.standardhorizon.co.uk/files/Standard Horizon Chartplotter Wiring Plan.pdf


Edit : Always use tinned cores to avoid corrosion

 

[Martin_J]

Out of the eight cores in the cable you will probably find that two of them are thicker than the others. These two will be for power and the rest for NMEA data (either in or out).

I would suggest using a sufficiently sized power cable, although you probably have it powered already and then just a data size cable for the NMEA.

As others have said alarm cable will suffice or even ethernet cable (which can be found quite cheaply and is screened). Just chop the ends of the cable off and terminate with (labelled) chocolate block connectors...

You don't say if you have a radio with built-in DSC or not.

If the DSC is separate (then as per the diagrams at the link in the previous post) you will need to use one cable as the 38400 input 'from' the AIS 'to' the plotter and use a 9600 output 'from' the plotter 'to' radio as position. If the AIS is integrated in the radio then we'll have to think again.

If you have a Standard Horizon radio that will recieve DSC then it's useful to take the NMEA 'output' from the radio as per the diagram and put it to an 'input' on the plotter and then you will see DSC information on the plotter. When a Mayday DSC appears it's location will even be shown as a dot on the plotter.

Back to the cables - As per the diagram in the previous post (and in the manual). Apart from power, only five cables are required one of which is earth, so you're down to four and old ethernet cable works for me. Just make a pencilled note on your instruction manual diagrams if your colours change from the ones shown!

 

[ctva]

Luckily for me, our work was getting re-networked so I got some good lengths of network cable off cuts (about 100m but I only used about 4m) and it works a treat.

 

[ostell]

I would not recommend network cable as quite often it is single strand and vibration could break it. If you can get away with 7 core this company may be of use. I believe they sell some products by the metre and there may be a branch close to you.

 

[maxi77]

Out of the eight cores in the cable you will probably find that two of them are thicker than the others. These two will be for power and the rest for NMEA data (either in or out).

I would suggest using a sufficiently sized power cable, although you probably have it powered already and then just a data size cable for the NMEA.

As others have said alarm cable will suffice or even ethernet cable (which can be found quite cheaply and is screened). Just chop the ends of the cable off and terminate with (labelled) chocolate block connectors...

You don't say if you have a radio with built-in DSC or not.

If the DSC is separate (then as per the diagrams at the link in the previous post) you will need to use one cable as the 38400 input 'from' the AIS 'to' the plotter and use a 9600 output 'from' the plotter 'to' radio as position. If the AIS is integrated in the radio then we'll have to think again.

If you have a Standard Horizon radio that will recieve DSC then it's useful to take the NMEA 'output' from the radio as per the diagram and put it to an 'input' on the plotter and then you will see DSC information on the plotter. When a Mayday DSC appears it's location will even be shown as a dot on the plotter.

Back to the cables - As per the diagram in the previous post (and in the manual). Apart from power, only five cables are required one of which is earth, so you're down to four and old ethernet cable works for me. Just make a pencilled note on your instruction manual diagrams if your colours change from the ones shown!

As the 300i has a maximum current draw of 1 amp I suspect that the 180i will not draw any more. All the cables are the same size, but colour coded, and the wiring diagrams in the manual are quite easy to follow. Also if you want to have the plotter mounted in more than one position you can parralel the connections with no problems

 

[LittleSister]

I feel most of the posts above have answered questions other than the one the OP actually asked, or assumed an unlikely familiarity (given the question) with terminology such as 'data cable' and 'network cable'.

As I read it s/he wants to know what sort of cable should be used for the NMEA connections (not the power) to the AIS & radio. I guess s/he means does it need to be screened, is conductor size important, where can s/he buy something suitable for this use online?

I'm interested in the answer to that myself, as I will be doing a similar task soon. I can guess an answer, but would like to hear the advice of those with better knowledge.

 

[Martin_J]

Hi...

ctva and I both used a network cable - like the one that connects your computer to the network.

I agree with Ostell that network cable may be single strange (and not so suitable) but you will find that network cable is all multistrand these days. (single core is occasionally used but kept for underfloor and fixed network wiring in offices where the cables do not need to be moved or as flexible). Alarm cable might on the other hand be single strand! The reasons for wanting a multistrand cable are that it is more flexible and resistant to movement/vibration.

Back to the question...

Hopefully from the picture attached you will see that the red/black power pair are thicker than the remaining cables from the 180i plotter. The cable on the right is the plotter cable and the one on the left is a Cat5 network cable for comparison.

cid-d57b857b59d08b86.photos.live.com/self.aspx/ybw/IMG^_9328.JPG

I still suggest you use a power cable that is sufficient enough for the power for the red/black wires and chop the ends off an ethernet cable (PM me and I'll post you 10m of network cable) for the remaining six connections.

 

[ostell]

Unfortunately the cable that connects you computer to the network can be single strand. It's called cost reduction.

Looking at the photo you gave it would seem that the the cable is unscreened, perhaps you can confirm, so that gets rid of one problem. I asked about whether you are using all connections. If not then the cable suggested in post #7 could be used, even for power if the CP180 takes less than 6 Amps. The burglar alarm cable in post #2 is multi-stranded but will probably require a separate power pair of cables but then you can use the 6 core cable.