In the commercial marine and Megayacht world CAT 5 runs everywhere on
these boats connecting PLC's to enterntainment systems, to
communication systems right into PC based NAV. Most of this is based
on industrial standards rather then marine standards. It works well
with off the shelf componets that are equally priced to NMEA pieces. I
would like to see a NMEA gateway to another protocol (other then PC)
to allow us to use NMEA 200 data on some of the other equipment
already on these large yachts.

Colin,
I completely agree. There has been a recent thread in this NG on this very
subject. See www.gridconnect.com Their serial to Ethernet gateway products
should be just what you are looking for and they are DC powered. These
completely eliminate the typical NMEA distribution hassle. Please also note
that there are appropriate ruggedized and moisture resistant CAT5 connectors
also available suitable to the marine environment as well.
Steve

wrote in message
...
In the commercial marine and Megayacht world CAT 5 runs everywhere on
these boats connecting PLC's to enterntainment systems, to
communication systems right into PC based NAV. Most of this is based
on industrial standards rather then marine standards. It works well
with off the shelf componets that are equally priced to NMEA pieces. I
would like to see a NMEA gateway to another protocol (other then PC)
to allow us to use NMEA 200 data on some of the other equipment
already on these large yachts.

"Steve Lusardi" wrote in message
...
Colin,
I completely agree. There has been a recent thread in this NG on this very
subject. See www.gridconnect.com Their serial to Ethernet gateway products
should be just what you are looking for and they are DC powered.

If I am correct, all of these products only offer a serial point to point
connection over ethernet, which seems quite pointless to me when you want to
distribute NMEA from instruments to ANY device on the net. None of these
devices offer the possibility to *broadcast* NMEA data to any device on the
net who wants to receive it.

Oh and one other thing: on commercial vessels, including luxurious
megayachts, you will not find standard cheap CAT5 cable because that will
not pass any marine/industrial regulation. The sort of cable used is much
more expensive and meets all sorts of requirements for mechanical, chemical
and fire resistance not found in the usual PC/networking market.

Meindert

Meindert,
I believe you can configure these to distribute by broadcast or by IP
(multiple). I have downloaded the manual. They appear quite capable.

Cable is a problem for me, as I do not have any sources. If you know a good
supplier of 50 or 100 pair 16 ga cable, I would really appreciate the tip.
Steve

"Meindert Sprang" wrote in message
...
"Steve Lusardi" wrote in message
...
Colin,
I completely agree. There has been a recent thread in this NG on this
very
subject. See www.gridconnect.com Their serial to Ethernet gateway
products
should be just what you are looking for and they are DC powered.

If I am correct, all of these products only offer a serial point to point
connection over ethernet, which seems quite pointless to me when you want
to
distribute NMEA from instruments to ANY device on the net. None of these
devices offer the possibility to *broadcast* NMEA data to any device on
the
net who wants to receive it.

Oh and one other thing: on commercial vessels, including luxurious
megayachts, you will not find standard cheap CAT5 cable because that will
not pass any marine/industrial regulation. The sort of cable used is much
more expensive and meets all sorts of requirements for mechanical,
chemical
and fire resistance not found in the usual PC/networking market.

Meindert

"Meindert Sprang" wrote in
:

If I am correct, all of these products only offer a serial point to
point connection over ethernet, which seems quite pointless to me when
you want to distribute NMEA from instruments to ANY device on the net.

If I sold NMEA multiplexers, I wouldn't see any point to Ethernet or TCP/IP
either....(c;]

Next thing you know, they'll be buying Linksys wireless routers right off
the damned shelf and puttin' $5 wifi chipsets in everything!

"Steve Lusardi" wrote in news:gf9nj8$28b$03$1
@news.t-online.com:

100 pair 16 ga cable

Do you realize the diameter this cable will be?

I'd have to hang it from the overhead as it won't fit in the wireways!

Cable is a problem for me, as I do not have any sources. If you know a
good supplier of 50 or 100 pair 16 ga cable, I would really appreciate the
tip.

50 or 100 pair? This is why buss cabling is often a better solution. Going
along a buss means less cabling bulk and weight. There's always trade offs
between buss versus home-run wiring. Buss wiring wins on cost of wire,
weight and bulk savings. It's true you may have higher per-device costs in
terms of connectors and interface intelligence. But that's often a
worthwhile compromise.

Larry,
Effectively, I am bus wiring. The boat has water tight bulkheads and sea
doors between compartments. I have 2 inch pipe ports for through wiring.
Every compartment has a termination cabinet. I will max wire compartment to
compartment and assign paths as required. The use of preformed, multi-strand
cable is easy to seal the bulkhead transits. The DC supply and return is
bussed seperately with dedicated bulkhead connectors, where each compartment
has its own fusing. All AC power is wired ckt by ckt from a custom made
distribution panel with large contactors and electronic relays which allow
source switching and load balancing though dedicated 2" bulkhead ports to
buss blocks in each compartment. If you know a source for the multi wire 16
ga cable, please let me know.
Steve

"Larry" wrote in message
...
"Steve Lusardi" wrote in news:gf9nj8$28b$03$1
@news.t-online.com:

100 pair 16 ga cable

Do you realize the diameter this cable will be?

I'd have to hang it from the overhead as it won't fit in the wireways!

"Larry" wrote in message
...
"Meindert Sprang" wrote in
:

If I am correct, all of these products only offer a serial point to
point connection over ethernet, which seems quite pointless to me when
you want to distribute NMEA from instruments to ANY device on the net.

If I sold NMEA multiplexers, I wouldn't see any point to Ethernet or
TCP/IP
either....(c;]

Oh I do. There is a market for multiplexers that collect NMEA from various
devices and distributes it over ethernet to several computer systems on
board of larger vessels. Preferably with the possibility of converting
certain NMEA data into Modbus for use on the numerous PLC systems on the
same vessels.

Meindert

On Fri, 7 Nov 2008 13:31:29 -0800 (PST), wrote in
:

In the commercial marine and Megayacht world CAT 5 runs everywhere on
these boats connecting PLC's to enterntainment systems, to
communication systems right into PC based NAV. Most of this is based
on industrial standards rather then marine standards. It works well
with off the shelf componets that are equally priced to NMEA pieces. I
would like to see a NMEA gateway to another protocol (other then PC)
to allow us to use NMEA 200 data on some of the other equipment
already on these large yachts.

Why? External Ethernet is all that's needed in the recreational marine
environment.
--
Best regards,
John Navas, publisher of Navas' Sailing & Racing in
the San Francisco Bay Area http://sail.navas.us/