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I'm new with all this new gadgetry, GPS's etc. (whatever happened to plain old charts) But something came to mind last night.
Due to another post of mine re: props for fuel economy I thought about these fuel flow meters. Then I realized I'm eventually buying a GPS. I have a fishfinder. Doesn't this add up to 3 transducers? Are transducers generic? Surely you can use one for all items?
Peter, you have a transducer for your fishfinder. It is looking down into the water. A GPS has an antenna, it needs to look up at satelites. The fuel flow meter needs a sending unit that is attatched to the fuel line to tell the unit how much fuel is passing down the line. Where it gets complicated is that some of the units can talk to each other. I have a combination GPS/fishfinder. I just installed a fuel flow meter and supposedly, the GPS will talk to the fuel flow meter to tell it how fast the boat is traveling over the land. I also have a paddle wheel that is suppose to tell me how fast I am traveling through the water. I wish I had never intalled the paddle wheel. The GPS speed over land is the only important speed for me. I get to see if the fuel flow meter and the GPS can "talk" this Friday. John
JMARTIN,
I think your last few statements are what I was asking and we'll know on Friday. Will these items talk to each other. More important, before I go on a spending spree, will different brands talk to each other?
Thanks.
Edited by cdnwhaler on 05/07/05 - 7:57 AM
1984 Outrage 22
Well, the Lowrance GPS is not talking to the Navman flow meter. I told the Navman that the "speed" was going to come from the GPS, and I told the GPS to send the speed to the Navman. The wire diagram for each unit and instructions are a little murky. I will try again with a different wire hook up and report back. The flow meter was pretty cool. I can see gallons per hour, used, and remaining. I did a rough calibration with fuel I actually put in versus fuel the Navman said I used and they were real close. When I tried to make them exact, I screwed it up. I went from 10 to 11 gallons an hour at cruise to 2 to 3 gallons an hour. So, I reset it to factory defaults and have to reprogram again. The problem I have with electronics is that I do not want to take the time to learn how to use them, I want to go boating or fishing. Time to get back to the boat and get it done right. John
Well, interfacing units... A standard protocol allowing units to exchange data is NMEA183 and other proprietary by FURUNO, SIMRAD.
This protocols is made of a predifined sentences allowing devices to exchange data.
You have to check (or ask seller) for ability for a device to send or understand the required verbs. Some devices have only a limited number of verbs. Be sure you get the adapters/plugs for each device and the documentation for connecting wires in the right way.
