Digital Yacht

Bridging older instruments to a modern network

Digital Yacht's range covers three overlapping needs on most boats: AIS transceivers for sending and receiving vessel traffic, gateways that convert older NMEA 0183 instruments so their data appears on a modern NMEA 2000 network, and WiFi units that broadcast that data to a tablet or phone running a navigation app. Deciding which you need starts with what data you already have and what you are trying to add to it, rather than the product name alone.

When bridging NMEA 0183 into NMEA 2000, check the baud rate and sentence types the older instrument outputs, since not every 0183 device sends the data a gateway needs to translate correctly, and some older kit needs a specific converter rather than a generic one. AIS Class B transponders vary in transmission method, which affects how reliably larger vessels see you in busy water; check which method your chosen unit uses if collision avoidance in shipping lanes is the priority.