If you’re confused about the difference between Yamaha Command Link, NMEA, and Command Link Plus, you’re in good company. I’m going to try to give you an exact explanation of how these are the same. I’ll also tell you how they are different.
Most importantly, I’m going to tell you when to use one and not the other, and what to expect.
NMEA and Command Link are electrically identical. Connect one of our Yamaha NMEA 2000 cables to your Yamaha outboard. Or, connect your NMEA 2000 network to your existing Command Link system using the Yamaha Command Link to NMEA 2000 gateway. The exact same engine data will display on your fish finder as if you had the Yamaha NMEA 2000 gateway.
But, it may appear differently with only the NMEA 2000 cable, and not the Yamaha Gateway present.
Also, devices designed and manufactured by Yamaha, such as their 6Y8 gauges, run perfectly fine when properly connected to an NMEA 2000 network using our Golden Channels cables. If you want to see more about this, here is our video showing how to do it.
Same Engine Data, but Different Display
If you only used the Yamaha NMEA 2000 cable or our bundle, your installation may require a bit more work. This depends on the fish finder you are using.
Some fish finder brands and models have specific displays that will turn on when the Yamaha NMEA 2000 Gateway is present. All NMEA 2000 fish finders will still display the same engine data on their screens.
However, if your fish finder recognizes when the Yamaha NMEA 2000 gateway is present, your installation will not require minimal fish finder settings changes.
You may find that suddenly you have a nice engine screen you didn’t have before, with all the correct information showing up where you would expect it.
Generally, the process for setting up a Yamaha NMEA 2000 installation without the Yamaha NMEA 2000 gateway consists of running all the connections and turning on the fish finder.
You will need to crack open the fish finder manual and go through the settings menus to specify where on the screen you want engine temperature, oil pressure, and so on.
You only have to do this once, unless you reset your fish finder or replace it.
Command Link Plus is Different
Now, what is the difference between Command Link / NMEA and Command Link Plus? In a word, plenty.
First, Command Link hubs don’t come in different models for the two systems. The hubs are just connectors and wires. They don’t care what signals are going through them.
But, almost everything else does. Command Link Plus is based on J1939, and although electrically it is somewhat similar, devices using J1939 or Command Link Plus will not talk to NMEA 2000.
One of the simple ways you identify if your boat has Command Link, or Plus, is by checking if your boat has “Fly by Wire”. Boats with this setup will be Command Link Plus. All of the rest will be standard Command Link.
If your boat is one of the ones with standard Command Link, we can offer you simple and relatively inexpensive ways to have both NMEA 2000 and Command Link in your boat. One example is our Yamaha Command Link to NMEA Custom Bundle. These solutions give you the best of both worlds, and preserve your existing cabling investment. These same elegant and inexpensive cabling solutions MAY work for Command Link Plus equipped boats, but each situation requires us to look at what you have for existing equipment. If you are an owner of a Command Link Plus equipped boat, and you are trying to connect a fish finder, or any other NMEA 2000 equipment, please contact us and we will get in touch to discuss your options. In some cases, we find boats that have up to 3 different ways the can be accomplished, and we will explain your options to you.
If you are just starting to decide how to connect your electronic devices together, and are looking for the most efficient way to connect all of them, we recommend sticking with NMEA 2000. The reason for this is mostly due to NMEA 2000 being an industry standard, versus Command Link being proprietary to Yamaha.
But, regardless of what you have now, Golden Channels can help. Just contact us with your questions.
I have a humminbird apex fish finder with a nmea 2k network. My 2015 sea hunt 24 edge has a yamaha f300-xca engine and a command link or plus, not sure but the command link hub has all the ports used. I purchased a command link/ command link plus nmea gateway with connector. From what i understand i think I need another command link hub, a command link backbone connector, and some caps for the unused power port (red cap) on the second hub and two white caps for the unused ports on the second hub. Is this right? Anything else I need to be aware of?
John, we may have a more cost efficient way to get everything connected. What have you got connected to the existing Command Link Hub Device ports?
Hello, I have single command link hub with 1 open device port. There is no existing NMEA set up. My goal is to connect a new Hummingbird Xlplore and see engine data on the Xplore, and also be ready for additional NMEA connections. Is the command link device port essentially a NMEA backbone and is it already powered? Or will the NMEA network require its own power connection? There is so much conflicting data out there and no one has wiring diagrams for the connectors so it’s hard to tell. I see cables that connect to the cl device port with male or female NMEA ports. Any help is appreciated.
Hi Brett. Thanks for your post. First, you should only connect power in one location to any NMEA 2000 or Command Link network. Multiple power connections create significant signal noise. We have our NMEA-GC-493 that is specifically designed for what you are trying to do. It creates one network with both NMEA and Command Link devices. It is included with the bundle builder here: https://goldenchannels.com/product/yamaha-command-link-to-nmea-custom-bundle/
I have a 6Y8-20 round gauge. I have no network, single 2007 T50TLR with about 15 feet of blue and white wire (engine end) and the gauge end has a 4 pin connector with blue,white, yellow and black wire. Gauge will power up then is blank. I’ve read that I need resistor caps but I don’t have anywhere to put them. What am I missing here?
Thanks for dropping us a line, Jim. Assuming the 6Y8 gauge is the tach and not the speedo, the fastest way to get it working is an NMEA 2000 network with our Command Link to NMEA adapter cable in either the 18″ or the 40″ version, depending on which is better for your specific helm layout. The signals that your engine provides on it’s connector are extremely low power. Without a shielded and properly terminated cable setup, the engine information simply won’t make it. If you would like to send me some photos of what you have now, and let me know if you want your fish finder to also display engine information, assuming it supports NMEA 2000, and let me know the model of boat you have, I can put together a parts list and we gaurantee it will work for you.