Lowrance RIM to NMEA 0183 connections.... - The Hull Truth

edsmith03 · 01-03-2009, 04:39 PM

Ok, so I just got my LRA-5000 mounted on the boat and ran all of the cables. Everything powers up properly and works fine. However, I need to connect my Lowrance unit to my Raymarine Autopilot via NMEA 0183 connection... The new RIM has a positive (+) send and receive NMEA 0183 wire...no negative wires. So, I connected the + output wire from the Lowrance to the + input wire on the autopilot. Now, I have a negative (-) input (receive) wire on the autopilot and no where to connect it.... The manual that came with the RIM isn't very helpful, and without connecting the - input to anything, it's not working...

Any ideas???

sstslug · 01-04-2009, 01:07 AM

There is a braided shield cable that surounds the NMEA 0183 wires, that is your negative. The rest of the install should go smoothly. I found out that without connecting the shield as ground my LMS-520C wouldn't talk to my VHF radio or my LCX-112C. When I installed my LRA-1500 and RIM 100 I just hooked it up as I did my VHF, with the shield as ground and everything worked out. I also installed the LowranceNet sensors too so if you need any help with that just let me know as I've already sat on the phone endlessly with Lowrance for you.

edsmith03 · 01-04-2009, 05:44 AM

I will try it today!

edsmith03 · 01-07-2009, 12:51 PM

Update: I got it working now. The shield wire around the NMEA 0183 wires was connected to the negative input wire from the S1000, and it still did not work. I then connected both of these wires to the units' ground wires (both the S1000 and Globalmap are on the same ground block), and it works now. So, not only do they have to be connected, but they have to be commonly grounded with both units.....

kitebuz · 01-07-2009, 01:09 PM

Congrats on the hook-up & thanks for the tip. I will be installing the LRA-4k in a few more months.

LRA5k on the Panga - let's see some pics of it! That's some potent radar.

sstslug · 01-11-2009, 10:13 PM

OOPS!, I guess I DID forget to add that in there. I'm glad you got it going though. Just remember the fuse!!! PLEASE do yourself the favor and DO NOT skip the fuse. Lowrance likes to include a "cheap" fuse holder with their equipment...UPGRADE to a more watertight ATF holder preferrably with a blow indicator fuse. You can find the fuses I'm talking about at any good auto parts store. The blow indicator fuse actually has a light built into it so if the fuse blows it lights up to give you a clear answer to which fuse has blown.

Converted · 01-13-2009, 06:30 AM

I also just bought and installed the lra5000 with the globalmap 8200c. I have everything working except the nmea interface between my rim200 and my raymarine st5000+ autopilot. I connected my two nmea wires fromt he rim to the two wires from the autopilot (tx-rx) (rx-tm) and nothing. I tried every available baud rate in the gps, still nothing. I then tried grounding the bare ground fromt he rim Nmea to the ground block and still nothing. Am I missing something simple here?

TIA

edsmith03 · 01-14-2009, 06:19 AM

If the positive output from the RIM is connected to the positive input on the AP, and the positive input from the RIM is connected to the positive output from the AP, then connect the shield wire from the RIM to the negative NMEA wires (both input and output) from the AP and connect all three of those wires, along with the power grounds from the AP and the Globalmap unit to the same ground block, and it should work....

The key is making sure that all of the NMEA negative wires are connected to the same ground block as the unit and autopilot. I've never had to do this with any other units (and I've connected several devices with NMEA 0183), but for some reason the RIM only works like this....................

ScarabChris · 01-15-2009, 01:29 PM

Hey Ed, I was out in the ranches the other day and I could see that radar from a mile away. That thing is huge, you should be able to spot a seagull turd falling from 40 miles out.

Piscator · 01-15-2009, 04:31 PM

I'm in the middle of researching my S1000 to LMS337 connection due to poor performance. Weird stuff, like hard over to port when the pilot first comes on. Losing it's way in chop and distorted fishing patterns. Serpentine course also.

Just to be sure I understood all the above: The S1000 has an RF ground (black) wire. I understood running that wire and the LMS337 power ground (black wire) and power cable shield (braided silver wire) into the same ground block. Are we also saying that the NMEA 0183 shield wire (which is connected to S1000 blue wire) must ALSO be connected to that same ground block?

By ground block, I'm referring the battery main negative on my helm station power strip.

edsmith03 · 01-18-2009, 07:40 AM

Quote:

Hey Ed, I was out in the ranches the other day and I could see that radar from a mile away. That thing is huge, you should be able to spot a seagull turd falling from 40 miles out.

Yeah, it's almost as wide as my t-top..... I had to mount it in the front of the top, also, because I would have had to weld in plates to mount it in the middle... So I think that makes it look even bigger... I messed around with it a bit last weekend and it was painting birds pretty well for a 4kw unit... I'm happy with it...

edsmith03 · 01-18-2009, 07:45 AM

Quote:

Just to be sure I understood all the above: The S1000 has an RF ground (black) wire. I understood running that wire and the LMS337 power ground (black wire) and power cable shield (braided silver wire) into the same ground block. Are we also saying that the NMEA 0183 shield wire (which is connected to S1000 blue wire) must ALSO be connected to that same ground block?

By ground block, I'm referring the battery main negative on my helm station power strip.

Not necessarily... The RIM "box" that comes with the Lowrance radar was what was causing problems with the NMEA connections... The documentation that comes with the RIM indicated that there was no negative NMEA wire for the RIM, which isn't the case....

If your S1000 and the LMS are communicating, then it's not the wiring that's causing performance problems. If they are not communicating, you will receive a "NO LINK" message on your remote. If you do not receive this message, your units are communicating via NMEA, so that's definitely not the problem. I would say that the S1000 performance problems are more likely a settings issue on the S1000.. I am certainly not an expert, but have you run the autolearn on the S1000 recently?

Piscator · 01-18-2009, 11:45 PM

Not recently. On the punch list for this spring. Thanks for the clarification above. Wiring was a mess under the helm, but in the end, connected correctly. I've sorted all that spaghetti out, loomed it up. I think the NMEA statements out of the Lowrance unit may have been incorrectly configured also.

edsmith03 · 01-19-2009, 01:06 PM

Quote:

Not recently. On the punch list for this spring. Thanks for the clarification above. Wiring was a mess under the helm, but in the end, connected correctly. I've sorted all that spaghetti out, loomed it up. I think the NMEA statements out of the Lowrance unit may have been incorrectly configured also.

I have all of the NMEA output options enabled and speed set at 4800 bps (this is the only speed that also works with my Icom DSC radio), and it works perfectly with my S1000...

I would run the autolearn again and see if that helps..... I know what you mean about spaghetti wiring... I've been there myself.

ScarabChris · 01-19-2009, 05:21 PM

I went through a few RIM modules with my Lowrance radar too. Lowrance took care of me great and its been working great.