Remote nmea alarm

[Ifraser]

Looking foreward to the summer and new engines I am hoping to cruise further afield and anchor in more remote locations. I'm always a little uneasy at anchor because of the perpetual risk of dragging. I sleep in the forepeak and the GPS is about 20 feet away from me in the cockpit so I probably wouldn't hear the anchor drag alarm. So my question is does anyone know of a simple NMEA alarm repeater without having to buy a whole gps repeater. I only need a loud alarm in the forepeak, so don't want to spend much on it...thanks Iain

 

[pvb]

What sort of GPS is it? Many GPS units have an output for an external alarm sounder.

 

[bedouin]

This may be a silly question - but is there such a thing as a NMEA alarm?

In other words is there a NMEA alarm sentence or the alarm an instrument interpreting the NMEA data in conjunction with its own alarm limit

 

[Ifraser]

PVB its a Garmin 182 ( I think!! its several months since I last saw it..) But thats a worthwhile suggestion I must have a look in the handbook.
Bedouin...good point..you may be right that there is no such thing but hopefully by the end of this thread I'll know...maybe I'll just have to sleep in the cockpit if I'm nervous about not hearing the alarm! thanks Iain

 

[pvb]

182 has alarm output...

Yes, the 182 does have an output for a remote alarm, with 100mA max so you'll probably need to add a relay if you want a loud noise.

 

[Ifraser]

oops sorry its a Garmin GPS 128 ... older fixed set not chartplotter...

 

[pvb]

Luckily...

Luckily, the 128 also has an alarm output - again 100mA max.

 

[Ifraser]

Re: Luckily...

sounds like problem solved...thanks PVB I'll look at the unit properly next time I visit the boat. I have just downloaded the manual for the 128 so I should find the details shortly...thanks again, Iain

 

[Ifraser]

Re: Luckily...

Pin 7 yellow wire!...if in doubt read the instructions...maybe I'll do that next time instead of wasting forumites valuable time!!

 

[starboard]

Try Maplin for a small piezo alarm or maybe try this device
http://www.maplin.co.uk/module.aspx?ModuleNo=97364&doy=19m1

 

[starboard]

Or try this
ttp://www.maplin.co.uk/module.aspx?ModuleNo=3219&doy=19m1

 

[starboard]

sorry that should read
http://www.maplin.co.uk/module.aspx?ModuleNo=3219&doy=19m1

 

[colvic987]

Re: Luckily...

If you just wire in a piezo buzzer, it will buzz twice and then stop, you will need to make sure it gives out a loud alarm and stays on, so you can reset it....

I can across this conclusion last year, whilst having the anchor watch set, it did not wake me when it went off....(one of the crew heard it, but didn't wake anyone...

 

[bedouin]

Re: Luckily...

If the alarm is a pulse not a continuous signal then all you need to do is use it to trigger a thyristor (SCR) - that would also get round the current restrictions on the output from the GPS