Need feedback, Is Lowrance Elite 7 HDI compatible w SH GX2150 AIS VHF

[ciscokidd]

I have recently just purchased the Lowrance Elite-7 HDI Chartplotter/Fishfinder specs here Lowrance | Elite-7 HDI Hybrid Dual Imaging Fishfinder / Chartplotter - LOWRANCE | Marine Electronics. The only Networking Connectors it has are Output NMEA 2000, NMEA 0183

I'd like to buy the Standard Horizon Matrix AIS GS2150. I am trying to confirm that it will work with the Lowrance which only has 1 NMEA output port. Based on what I see in the specs it appears it will
Welcome to StandardHorizon.com

Am I reading/understanding this correct? Appreciate the feedback. I have emailed to both , was planning to buy the VHF at Boat Show here but need to confirm, SH rep said yes, Lowrance rep was unsure and another said "should" wtf.

 

[cjjjdeck]

Re: Need feedback, Is Lowrance Elite 7 HDI compatible w SH GX2150 AIS VHF

I haven't done this specific install, but your post made me curious as to how the wiring is set up for each unit. Both units communicate via the NMEA 0183 protocol, so they should understand each other. Based on the wiring info I've attached, the color of the accessory wiring coming out of the radio has some differences to the color of the wiring of the Elite 7. I would say a call to Lowrance technical support would be in order to see if the wiring matches up regardless of the color scheme each unit has.

I own products from both these manufacturers and have been very satisfied with their performance.

Good luck!

 

[jhebert]

Re: Need feedback, Is Lowrance Elite 7 HDI compatible w SH GX2150 AIS VHF

The literature from Lowrance on the ELITE 7 HDI is not clear on the NMEA-0183 ports. The operating manual seems to mention only one port and only one direction: output. The installation guide mentions two ports with bi-directional input-output.

Go to the SETTINGS menu of the ELITE 7 and select the NMEA 0183.... submenu. This should bring up a new window. Take a screen capture so we can see what options appear in the window. This should confirm if the device has one or two ports, and if they are bi-directional or not.

The Standard-Horizon radio has the ability to provide both AIS information and GNSS information on a single port. This is advantageous and works around limitations when other devices have only one port. So having only one port on the ELITE 7 is not a limitation.

With the confusion about the capability of the Lowrance ELITE 7 NMEA-0183 operation, at the moment all that seems possible in terms of connection of the radio and the chart plotter is for the chart plotter to output GNS data to the radio. If that is all you want, then it appears this capability is described.

If you want the radio to output data to the chart plotter, for example the AIS data--which is what I assume you want because you are buying a radio with an AIS receiver--this remains to be determined because of the ambiguity and lack of information from Lowrance. It would be a shame if their ELITE 7 did not provide for accepting data from the radio. They should have an NMEA-0183 listener (or input) port, too.

Even if further inquiry shows the ELITE 7 has an NMEA-0183 listener (or input) port, the chart plotter device itself must also have the capability to display the AIS data. To display AIS vessels on a chart plotter is now a reasonably common expectation. Any NMEA device should give the user a clear listing of what NMEA data can be displayed. There should not be ambiguity about this. To show AIS positions, the chart plotter should mention it supports AIS. Typically support for AIS is indicated by mentioning the chart plotter has support for the AIVDM datagrams. These are typically sent over NMEA-0183.

It is amazing to me that Lowrance replies with "not sure." You need to contact someone at Lowrance who is familiar with their products and can give you an answer.

 

[Normg3]

Re: Need feedback, Is Lowrance Elite 7 HDI compatible w SH GX2150 AIS VHF

I think you might be out of luck.. according to the FAQ "NMEA2000? networking (for external GPS and waypoint sharing only)". I also looked through the documentation and I did not see any listing of the specific NMEA PGN's that the unit is capable of receiving. I would email Lowrance support and see if you can get a list that the unit is capable of receiving. I suspect that you will have to get into the Gen2 Touch before you find AIS support. I am als assuming that you are really interested in the AIS functions of the VHF, so if you indeed find out the unit can read AIS to make life a lot easier I would go ahead and purchase the Lowrance Link-8 instead.

 

[ciscokidd]

Re: Need feedback, Is Lowrance Elite 7 HDI compatible w SH GX2150 AIS VHF

Well I finally was able to get an answer. the Elite 7 HDI unit will not display AIS data.The output is bi directional however when the tech entered the sub menu there is no AIS ability. So in terms of connection of the radio and the chart plotter, it is for the chart plotter to output GNS data to the radio or share way points between gps units.

So I have to decide on either forgoing AIS capability and save some money on AIS VHF since I would just need a new DSC VHF or spend more and move to Garmin 526S or 546S and an AIS receiver giving up screen size also moving down to a 5" vs 7"

 

[jhebert]

Re: Need feedback, Is Lowrance Elite 7 HDI compatible w SH GX2150 AIS VHF

The output is bi directional...

I think you mean the NMEA-0183 port is bi-directional. An output is by definition not bi-directional. A bi-directional port has a NMEA LISTENER and a NMEA TALKER.

The ELITE series is positioned as a lower-price tier compared to the HDS models. I guess you have to give up something when you move down in the product line. It sounds like having the chart plotter display AIS data was not retained as a feature in that product tier. You ought to consider a Lowrance HDS unit.

If you would like to see how Lowrance HDS units display AIS data, you can see several screen captures of AIS data from my Lowrance HDS-8 in an article I wrote about AIS data display on chart plotters. See

continuousWave: Whaler: Reference: AIS Ship Spotter

See the section under the subheading "AIS Target Display on HDS-8." The HDS display of AIS data is somewhat rudimentary. It is not able to show the actual ship dimensions, the outline of the ship, or the location of the ship GNSS sensor relative to the ship's dimensions, as other, more sophisticated chart plotters can show. I think you will find the above article to be interesting.

 

[ciscokidd]

Re: Need feedback, Is Lowrance Elite 7 HDI compatible w SH GX2150 AIS VHF

I think you mean the NMEA-0183 port is bi-directional. An output is by definition not bi-directional. A bi-directional port has a NMEA LISTENER and a NMEA TALKER.

The ELITE series is positioned as a lower-price tier compared to the HDS models. I guess you have to give up something when you move down in the product line. It sounds like having the chart plotter display AIS data was not retained as a feature in that product tier. You ought to consider a Lowrance HDS unit.

If you would like to see how Lowrance HDS units display AIS data, you can see several screen captures of AIS data from my Lowrance HDS-8 in an article I wrote about AIS data display on chart plotters. See

continuousWave: Whaler: Reference: AIS Ship Spotter

See the section under the subheading "AIS Target Display on HDS-8." The HDS display of AIS data is somewhat rudimentary. It is not able to show the actual ship dimensions, the outline of the ship, or the location of the ship GNSS sensor relative to the ship's dimensions, as other, more sophisticated chart plotters can show. I think you will find the above article to be interesting.

Thanks and will read through the article, learning as much as I can If I decide to pass on AIS I may even step down to the Elite 5 and just get a decent DSC VHF and be done with it. The Garmin route is more costly and I do not think I will go the HDS route due to budget and whether I truly need it.

 

[jhebert]

Re: Need feedback, Is Lowrance Elite 7 HDI compatible w SH GX2150 AIS VHF

The Standard-Horizon radio does a nice job of displaying AIS targets on a small LCD screen with a simplified plotting circle. With an AIS radio you can still get the data, but you just won't be able to display it on the chart plotter if the chart plotter does not support that function.

Another aspect of integration of the radio and the chart plotter is being able to see the position of other vessels plotted on your chart plotter when they send you a remote DSC vessel position report. Among our group of cruising boaters we exchange vessel position reports all the time via DSC. These also show up on my HDS chart plotter. You can see an example of that in

DSC Radio Position Request
DSC Radio Position Request - Moderated Discussion Areas

I would think that this capability would be practically universal among modern chart plotters. To check, look for an indication that the chart plotter can accept NMEA datagrams for DSC and DSE.

 

[ciscokidd]

Re: Need feedback, Is Lowrance Elite 7 HDI compatible w SH GX2150 AIS VHF

Wondering if I can get some feedback/advice on a choice of one of the 3 DSC VHF fixed mount radios I could pair to my Elite 7 DHI chartplotter. I have a budget of $225

Lowrance Link 5 $180
Lowrance Link-5 DSC VHF Fixed Mount Marine Radio - LOWRANCE | Marine Electronics
http://www.lowrance.com/Root/Lowrance-Documents/Lowrance_Link-5_Flyer_AMER_JUN2012-LOWRES.pdf

Standard Horizon GX1700W VHF w GPS - $218
Welcome to StandardHorizon.com

Icom 504A a little above my budget though
ICOM Canada :IC-M504

Thoughts? Trying to figure which route gives best connectivity of data since I am limited with my Elite 7 HDI chartplotter choice, also gave thought to whats below as it may be all i need
STANDARD HORIZON Eclipse DSC+ GX1200
Welcome to StandardHorizon.com

 

[jhebert]

Re: Need feedback, Is Lowrance Elite 7 HDI compatible w SH GX2150 AIS VHF

Wondering if I can get some feedback/advice on a choice of one of the 3 DSC VHF fixed mount radios I could pair to my Elite 7 DHI chartplotter. I have a budget of $225.

In addition to the radios mentioned above, NAVICO has another VHF Marine Band radio with NMEA-2000. The SIMRAD model RS12 VHF Marine Band radio is a reasonably priced radio with a NMEA-2000 interface. It does not have an AIS receiver. The MSRP of the SIMRAD RS12 is a modest $239. Retail price will be less.

The attraction of the RS12 is its NMEA-2000 interface. Connecting the RS12 to your chart plotter and your GNSS receiver will be very simple if those devices are also NMEA-2000 devices.

I'd get the Simrad RS12 instead of the three you mentioned. This will eliminate the three days/three weeks/three months of hair-pulling trying to figure out the NMEA-0183 interface connections.

 

[jhebert]

Re: Need feedback, Is Lowrance Elite 7 HDI compatible w SH GX2150 AIS VHF

I haven't done this specific install, but your post made me curious as to how the wiring is set up for each unit. Both units communicate via the NMEA 0183 protocol, so they should understand each other. Based on the wiring info I've attached, the color of the accessory wiring coming out of the radio has some differences to the color of the wiring of the Elite 7. I would say a call to Lowrance technical support would be in order to see if the wiring matches up regardless of the color scheme each unit has.

I own products from both these manufacturers and have been very satisfied with their performance.

Good luck!

NMEA-0183 interfaces are never wired color-to-color, even if the color coding were consistent, which it seldom (almost never) is.

 

[ciscokidd]

Re: Need feedback, Is Lowrance Elite 7 HDI compatible w SH GX2150 AIS VHF

In addition to the radios mentioned above, NAVICO has another VHF Marine Band radio with NMEA-2000. The SIMRAD model RS12 VHF Marine Band radio is a reasonably priced radio with a NMEA-2000 interface. It does not have an AIS receiver. The MSRP of the SIMRAD RS12 is a modest $239. Retail price will be less.

The attraction of the RS12 is its NMEA-2000 interface. Connecting the RS12 to your chart plotter and your GNSS receiver will be very simple if those devices are also NMEA-2000 devices.

I'd get the Simrad RS12 instead of the three you mentioned. This will eliminate the three days/three weeks/three months of hair-pulling trying to figure out the NMEA-0183 interface connections.

Thanks for your feedback as this is all new to me and I am trying to figure it out as best I can but do require, tips and direction , lol. My Elite 7 HDI has NMEA 2000, NMEA 0183 output only. I have ruled out going with an AIS receiver. So if i understand you correct the Simrad you mentioned would be good match with my chart plotter to receive GNS data , is this correct.

Does the Simrad offer anything over the unit below as I can not see any difference except brand and preference? The Standard Horizon VHF below has he VHF has the following NMEA bare wires:

Blue-NMEA GPS Input(+)
Green-NMEA GPS Input(-)
Gray-NMEA DSC Output(+)
Brown-NMEA GPS Output(-)
Welcome to StandardHorizon.com

This will be m,y primary VHF radio on board and I will also be looking into a handheld for the ditch bag. All comments or suggestions are welcomed

 

[jhebert]

Re: Need feedback, Is Lowrance Elite 7 HDI compatible w SH GX2150 AIS VHF

..if understand you... the Simrad [RS12 radio] would be good match with my chart plotter to receive [GNSS] data...

Does the Simrad offer anything over the unit below as I can not see any difference except brand and preference? The Standard Horizon VHF below has ...the following NMEA bare wires:

[Incorrect listing of wires and signals not quoted]

This will be m,y primary VHF radio on board and I will also be looking into a handheld for the ditch bag. All comments or suggestions are welcomed

(ASIDE: I think there is a mistake in your color coding list above. You might want to check on it. The BROWN conductor is incorrectly described in your listing.)

The SIMRAD RS12 is a VHF Marine Band radio qualified to GMDSS DSC Class-D. It has a NMEA-2000 interface. It also has a NMEA-0183 interface.

I suggest the SIMRAD RS12 as an alternative because it has an NMEA-2000 interface. This will make connecting it to the chart plotter, which also has an NMEA-2000 interface, extremely simple. You could, if you wanted, spend three-hours/three-days/three-weeks trying to figure out how to connect the RS12 to the chart plotter using NMEA-0183, but by using NMEA-2000 you will avoid that problem.

The information you mention about the Standard-Horizon demonstrates the problem with NMEA-0183 interconnection, namely:

--the manufacturers all use their own color codes for the wiring, confusing installers
--the manufacturers make up non-standard names for the signals, confusing installers
--the manufactures apply plus-sign (+) and minus-sign (-) notations, confusing installers
--the manufacturers supply the signals on bare wires, causing installers to have to invent methods of interconnecting

All of that confusion and fuss in installation will go away if you get a NMEA-2000 radio. The radio will have a standardized interface, with a standard connection, that connects to the NMEA-2000 network in a standard way. You will simply install the radio and plug in the drop cable from the network to the radio.

The RS12 offers that advantage compared to the other radios you mention.

There is nothing wrong with using NMEA-0183, but it is just tedious and awkward for most people to install, to interconnect correctly, and to configure the various ports to interoperate.

The RS12 is really a break-through radio in terms of price, because it gives you NMEA-2000 without having to buy the top-of-the-line radio in a manufacturer's product line for $600..

The RS12 is new to the market, so I personally have not used one. I cannot vouch for its quality as a radio. The Simrad brand is usually seen as a premium brand, and the RS12 radio should fit with the rest of the Simrad line of quality marine electronics. But I want to be clear that I can't attest to how it works, because it has just been brought to market in the last month.

 

[ciscokidd]

Re: Need feedback, Is Lowrance Elite 7 HDI compatible w SH GX2150 AIS VHF

(ASIDE: I think there is a mistake in your color coding list above. You might want to check on it. The BROWN conductor is incorrectly described in your listing.)

The SIMRAD RS12 is a VHF Marine Band radio qualified to GMDSS DSC Class-D. It has a NMEA-2000 interface. It also has a NMEA-0183 interface.

I suggest the SIMRAD RS12 as an alternative because it has an NMEA-2000 interface. This will make connecting it to the chart plotter, which also has an NMEA-2000 interface, extremely simple. You could, if you wanted, spend three-hours/three-days/three-weeks trying to figure out how to connect the RS12 to the chart plotter using NMEA-0183, but by using NMEA-2000 you will avoid that problem.

The information you mention about the Standard-Horizon demonstrates the problem with NMEA-0183 interconnection, namely:

--the manufacturers all use their own color codes for the wiring, confusing installers
--the manufacturers make up non-standard names for the signals, confusing installers
--the manufactures apply plus-sign (+) and minus-sign (-) notations, confusing installers
--the manufacturers supply the signals on bare wires, causing installers to have to invent methods of interconnecting

All of that confusion and fuss in installation will go away if you get a NMEA-2000 radio. The radio will have a standardized interface, with a standard connection, that connects to the NMEA-2000 network in a standard way. You will simply install the radio and plug in the drop cable from the network to the radio.

The RS12 offers that advantage compared to the other radios you mention.

There is nothing wrong with using NMEA-0183, but it is just tedious and awkward for more people to install, to interconnect correctly, and to configure the various ports to interoperate.

The RS12 is really a break-through radio in terms of price, because it gives you NMEA-2000 without having to buy the top-of-the-line radio in a manufacturer's product line for $600..

The RS12 is new to the market, so I personally have not used one. I cannot vouch for its quality as a radio. The Simrad brand is usually seen as a premium brand, and the RS12 radio should fit with the rest of the Simrad line of quality marine electronics. But I want to be clear that I can't attest to how it works, because it has just been brought to market in the last month.

Thanks for the feedback, the simplicity of it using nmea 2000 and the Elite 7 HDI are enough reason to go for it ,I want to keep things as simple as possible.
http://www.simrad-yachting.com/en-CA/Products/VHF-Radios-and-Antenna/RS10-DSC-VHF-Radio-en-ca.aspx

 

[jhebert]

Re: Need feedback, Is Lowrance Elite 7 HDI compatible w SH GX2150 AIS VHF

You have linked to the wrong radio. The radio I am talking about is the RS12 radio. Information about the RS12 is available on the Simrad website.

 

[ciscokidd]

Re: Need feedback, Is Lowrance Elite 7 HDI compatible w SH GX2150 AIS VHF

you are correct, they do not yet have the RS12 posted but I found it online the correct RS12 for $181 plus 9.99 shipping. I spoke to Lowrance thinking that 0183 connectivity should be simple if the chartplotter is a Lowrance product as well, one would expect wiring to be pretty simple between the 2 but they could not guarantee, that makes the decision even more simple for me