Actisense NMEA 0183
Actisense NMEA 0183
Actisense is the authority on NMEA data, building the interfaces and networks that tie a helm together. This is the Actisense nmea 0183 range: the cables and devices for legacy NMEA 0183 wiring.
Browse the full Actisense range or NMEA 0183 from every brand.
Working with legacy NMEA 0183 wiring
NMEA 0183 is a simple serial connection between a single talker and one or more listeners, and unlike NMEA 2000 it has no shared backbone, so wiring gets complicated once more than a couple of devices need to share data. Baud rate is a common source of problems: most 0183 instruments run at 4800 baud, but AIS transceivers typically transmit at 38400, so a plotter or multiplexer that is not set to the correct rate for each input simply will not decode the data, even though the wiring is otherwise correct.
A multiplexer combines several 0183 talkers, such as GPS, AIS and a wind instrument, into a single stream that one listener port can accept, which is usually simpler than trying to daisy-chain multiple devices into one input. Actisense's converters and gateways go a step further, translating 0183 data onto a NMEA 2000 backbone so older instruments can feed a modern chartplotter without replacing them, often the more practical route on a boat with older wiring already in place.
