Nmea 2000

[FisherTim]

I'm about to get a new boat, and I want to make sure I wire this one as properly and cleanly as possible.
2 days ago, I had no clue what N2K was, I've been doing a bit of reading up on it, but would like to hear from some with experience.

1) Can NMEA control switches (Can I use my Chart plotter to control my lights, bilge, etc)
2) Is NMEA Reliable?
3) What kind of things can be hooked onto N2K, and what can't?
4) Do you splice a long length of "BackBone" or do you buy it in small chunks?
5) Is it practical for use on a 19' boat?

Anything you have to say about it, I'm happy to read.

Thanks

 

[noluck]

anything that hooks to it will be nmea2000 specific and had its own backbone that will be formed with t's as you add more stuff, no light switches or bildge pumps are nmea2000 that i know of

 

[finaddict]

1. No
2. Yes
3. GPS antenna, VHF radios (Most valuable with AIS), Engine gauges (oil temp, oil pressure, water pressure, voltage, fuel flow, etc), radar, trim tabs levels, fuel levels, autopilots, depth-sounders, multiple transducers, stereos, this is all I can think of right now I am sure there is more
4.Answered by noluck
5. Absolutely. Creating your own network to have all this information at your fingertips, makes you a more informed and potentially safer boater

 

[sly_karma]

Put an N2K network in my 19.5 boat back in spring. I use it for fuel flow and fuel level sensors that display on Lowrance HDS; as others mention there are quite a few other devices that can be added as well. So I have two HDS displays, one at helm, one aft; both can display the fuel data (and battery voltage). Note that for data-intensive applications like sonar, you will need ethernet connection between displays. I have one sonar transducer but depth shows on both screens. Once set up and configured correctly, both the ethernet and N2K systems require no operation, they just work to display your desired data.

 

[chris.heatley1]

When I bought my electronics I was looking for the most expandibility on one screen so I ended up going with the Simrad go 7. With nmea 2k I can add anything without buying more expensive screens.
As others have mentioned the backbone is a very simple wiring standard, each new device just T's in. For now I just have my fuel flow meter and transducer, but if I ever want to get a radar or AIS radio I just have to wire them to my conveniently located backbone rather than to the helm. But more importantly no need to buy screens