We’re fans of Yamaha here. But we also believe that there are some things they do in their rigging that do not take into consideration what customers may need after the boat leaves the showroom floor. Command Link to NMEA Rigging is one example.
From a purely technical perspective, Command Link does have some advantages over NMEA 2000. For example, a properly installed Command Link system has less likelihood of containing what is called a ground loop. This wiring mistake generally causes noisy signals and possible performance degradation, or in it’s worst case, data loss.
But NMEA 2000 is an industry wide standard. So this is kind of like the VHS/Beta discussion back in the VCR days. Standards drive adoption of technology. Whereas, proprietary approaches does the opposite. In general, the marine electronics industry has been moving more and more towards standard NMEA 2000.
Now for the good news. NMEA 2000 and Command Link are close enough that they can both be part of the same network installation on a boat. However, it’s not as simple as some people think.
If you are confused about how to install your fish finder on a boat with Yamaha’s Command Link, you’re not alone. We get plenty of emails and calls about Command Link to NMEA Rigging. We can help. There are plenty of solutions here, or feel free to contact us about your particular project.
We also have information on this on our YouTube Channel.