NMEA CommandLink - Blog - Golden Channels

Tag: NMEA CommandLink

Is NMEA CommandLink but a different connector?

Kind of. Mixing the two can often get you into trouble.

To learn more about how to properly get communications running between your fish finder, outboard, and other devices, check out our boat electrical blog here.

For More Information

We love to teach fishers and boat owners how to get more out of their investment. So, we have a number of learning resources available for you, our customers.

Our Learning Section on our website

For further information on Marine Electrical DIY Tips, try our YouTube Channel:

Golden Channels on YouTube

These cables come with a two year free, no questions asked replacement warranty. See our warranty terms section on our website for details.

Finally, we love talking engines, fish finders, and networking. So, if you need help, please email us and we can help:

Contact Golden Channels

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.

We helped someone this week that was trying to use a little box made by Yamaha that adapts CommandLink to NMEA 2000.

Let’s just say that this is not our recommended way to get engine data from a Yamaha. But if you must use one of these, you need to hook it up in the following manner.

The 4 pin connection on this box goes to your CommandLink Hub at the back of your boat.

The 4 pin cable with just blue and white wires runs from the CommandLink Hub to inside the Yamaha Engine.

The NMEA network connects to the NMEA connection on the little box, joining the NMEA network with a short cable, a TEE, and probably a terminator, if that is the end of the network.

Any other combination will not work.

CommandLink to NMEA is an interesting discussion. If you have a hybrid, with both systems in your boat, this might lead to problems.

We have lower cost alternatives. To find out more, drop us an email.