Demystifying Yamaha Command Link, Plus, and NMEA 2000

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.

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.