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Author Topic:   ICOM VHF Hook up to Garmin

Lcdrace posted 09-06-2005 09:04 PM ET (US)
Dose anyone know the wires to hook up for the VHF to interface with Garmin DSC
Moe posted 09-06-2005 09:30 PM ET (US)
It depends on the Garmin exactly which wires. Garmins have serial "COM" ports. Some have just one, some have two or more, for example, COM1, COM2. Each COM port consists of two wires, an IN and an OUT. All Garmin COM port wires are the + side of the signal. Garmin uses the battery power negative wire as the - side of all the COM ports.
Modern Icoms have at least an NMEA IN, and the more expensive versions have an NMEA OUT. These are output on RCA jack(s) where the center conductor is + and the shield is - .
To wire an Icom to a Garmin, you connect the Icom's NMEA IN center conductor to one of the Garmin's COM OUT wires. You then "ground" the Icom NMEA IN shield to any negative power wire.
If the Icom has an NMEA OUT, you connect its center conductor to the IN wire of the same Garmin COM port number you connected the Icom NMEA IN to, and you also ground the shield of the Icom NMEA OUT.
Finally, you must go into the Garmin setup menu and change the protocol on the COM port you used from Garmin/Garmin to NMEA/NMEA.
--
Moe
mitch13 posted 09-06-2005 09:52 PM ET (US)
I had the same question and asked the Tech support people at Icom. "The M402 has an "RCA" style NMEA in jack on the back for connecting the GPS. You will need to aquire an RCA male connector and wire the NMEA out from the GPS (usually blue on Garmin) to the center pin. Connect the NMEA ground (usually black, shared with power on Garmin) to the outer ring."
mitch
Chuck Tribolet posted 09-07-2005 12:08 AM ET (US)
Which Garmim?
Which Icom?
At least with Garmin, the color code varies by model.

Chuck
Lcdrace posted 09-07-2005 12:00 PM ET (US)
Thanks for the help......I have the ICOM IC-M302, and the Garmin 198C Sounder
Chuck Tribolet posted 09-07-2005 01:50 PM ET (US)
Your GPS has two NMEA channels, COM 1 and COM 2.
Radio Yellow (NMEA IN +) to GPS Blue (NMEA OUT COM 1 Tx)
Radio Green (NMEA IN -) to GPS black (Ground)
OR
Radio Yellow (NMEA IN +) to GPS Green (NMEA OUT COM 2 Tx)
Radio Green (NMEA IN -) to GPS black (Ground)
Then setup the right comms format:
Main Menu
Comm
Select Port 1 (aka COM 1) or Port 2 (aka COM 2)
Transfer Mode NMEA In/Out
Speed 4800.
That SHOULD do it. There's some stuff in the advanced setup
where you could shoot yourself in the foot, but just leave
it alone.
Whether to use COM 1 or COM 2.
COM 1 is the only one that can be used for hooking your
computer up to do downloads.
COM 2 is the only one that can do DGPS.
Either can take the radio. Since DGPS is as rare these days
as hens teeth, I'd connect using COM 2.

Chuck
Chuck Tribolet posted 09-07-2005 01:52 PM ET (US)
Radio Green (NMEA IN -) to GPS black (Ground)
means just that. Don't just run radio Green to any handy
ground. Running it direct to the GPS cable will reduce
noise on the NMEA connection.

Chuck
Buckda posted 04-30-2007 10:53 AM ET (US)
*NOTE* this is an old thread. I'm bringing it up to report my pleasure at having CW as a great reference. On Saturday, I was re-connecting the electronics on my Outrage. I just purchased a new GPS and am using the old GPS/Sonar as a secondary device and the new GPS as the Chartplotter/Navigation station.
The I was following along with the new GPS literature/instructions (Garmin 2210) and quickly realized that I needed the wire color code from my VHF to make things work. I have an ICOM M302 radio.
Well, the manual for the radio is 100 miles away in Chicago, I'm in a barn in rural Michigan and I pull out my Blackberry to surf CW.
I do a search for ICOM and DSC and this thread is the third one that comes up.
With exactly what I needed to get the job done.
Thanks JimH - and Thanks Chuck for giving that great information.
Bottom line, the GPS is installed, the boat got washed and I actually got out for a short outing on a local inland lake yesterday afternoon to test the whole thing out. Now I need to get an MMSI number assigned and then find someone else with DSC enabled to have some fun.
Regards,
Dave

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Author	Topic: ICOM VHF Hook up to Garmin
Lcdrace	posted 09-06-2005 09:04 PM ET (US) Dose anyone know the wires to hook up for the VHF to interface with Garmin DSC
Moe	posted 09-06-2005 09:30 PM ET (US) It depends on the Garmin exactly which wires. Garmins have serial "COM" ports. Some have just one, some have two or more, for example, COM1, COM2. Each COM port consists of two wires, an IN and an OUT. All Garmin COM port wires are the + side of the signal. Garmin uses the battery power negative wire as the - side of all the COM ports. Modern Icoms have at least an NMEA IN, and the more expensive versions have an NMEA OUT. These are output on RCA jack(s) where the center conductor is + and the shield is - . To wire an Icom to a Garmin, you connect the Icom's NMEA IN center conductor to one of the Garmin's COM OUT wires. You then "ground" the Icom NMEA IN shield to any negative power wire. If the Icom has an NMEA OUT, you connect its center conductor to the IN wire of the same Garmin COM port number you connected the Icom NMEA IN to, and you also ground the shield of the Icom NMEA OUT. Finally, you must go into the Garmin setup menu and change the protocol on the COM port you used from Garmin/Garmin to NMEA/NMEA. -- Moe
mitch13	posted 09-06-2005 09:52 PM ET (US) I had the same question and asked the Tech support people at Icom. "The M402 has an "RCA" style NMEA in jack on the back for connecting the GPS. You will need to aquire an RCA male connector and wire the NMEA out from the GPS (usually blue on Garmin) to the center pin. Connect the NMEA ground (usually black, shared with power on Garmin) to the outer ring." mitch
Chuck Tribolet	posted 09-07-2005 12:08 AM ET (US) Which Garmim? Which Icom? At least with Garmin, the color code varies by model. Chuck
Lcdrace	posted 09-07-2005 12:00 PM ET (US) Thanks for the help......I have the ICOM IC-M302, and the Garmin 198C Sounder
Chuck Tribolet	posted 09-07-2005 01:50 PM ET (US) Your GPS has two NMEA channels, COM 1 and COM 2. Radio Yellow (NMEA IN +) to GPS Blue (NMEA OUT COM 1 Tx) Radio Green (NMEA IN -) to GPS black (Ground) OR Radio Yellow (NMEA IN +) to GPS Green (NMEA OUT COM 2 Tx) Radio Green (NMEA IN -) to GPS black (Ground) Then setup the right comms format: Main Menu Comm Select Port 1 (aka COM 1) or Port 2 (aka COM 2) Transfer Mode NMEA In/Out Speed 4800. That SHOULD do it. There's some stuff in the advanced setup where you could shoot yourself in the foot, but just leave it alone. Whether to use COM 1 or COM 2. COM 1 is the only one that can be used for hooking your computer up to do downloads. COM 2 is the only one that can do DGPS. Either can take the radio. Since DGPS is as rare these days as hens teeth, I'd connect using COM 2. Chuck
Chuck Tribolet	posted 09-07-2005 01:52 PM ET (US) Radio Green (NMEA IN -) to GPS black (Ground) means just that. Don't just run radio Green to any handy ground. Running it direct to the GPS cable will reduce noise on the NMEA connection. Chuck
Buckda	posted 04-30-2007 10:53 AM ET (US) NOTE this is an old thread. I'm bringing it up to report my pleasure at having CW as a great reference. On Saturday, I was re-connecting the electronics on my Outrage. I just purchased a new GPS and am using the old GPS/Sonar as a secondary device and the new GPS as the Chartplotter/Navigation station. The I was following along with the new GPS literature/instructions (Garmin 2210) and quickly realized that I needed the wire color code from my VHF to make things work. I have an ICOM M302 radio. Well, the manual for the radio is 100 miles away in Chicago, I'm in a barn in rural Michigan and I pull out my Blackberry to surf CW. I do a search for ICOM and DSC and this thread is the third one that comes up. With exactly what I needed to get the job done. Thanks JimH - and Thanks Chuck for giving that great information. Bottom line, the GPS is installed, the boat got washed and I actually got out for a short outing on a local inland lake yesterday afternoon to test the whole thing out. Now I need to get an MMSI number assigned and then find someone else with DSC enabled to have some fun. Regards, Dave