So i ordered a Raymarine Dragonfly plotter/sounder combo which looks the mutts nuts until i found out there is no NMEA data output to feed my shiny new Icom radio DSC funtions
Whichever muppet at Raymarine decided to omit the NMEA output should slapped with a wet fish.
The prospect of spending another £100+ on a stand-alone GPS receiver just for the radio made me shudder. So i decided to look at other options.
Serial output GPS pucks are becoming less common now in favour of USB ones, but i found a few sellers on ebay selling them.
HOLUX GR-213 USB OR FEMALE PS2 GPS RECEIVER UP TO 20 SATELLITES | eBay
I little reading found they send out RS232 data in NMEA 0183 flavour.
I paid £10 including delivery for one by calling the seller.
The only niggle is they need a 5v DC power supply, so i butchered an old USB mobile phone car charger and mounted the guts in a little waterproof case with a suitable fuse.
They come with a PS2 plug on the cable which you need to cut off.
Inside you will find several wires. You only need the RED,WHITE, & GREEN. Cut off the others.
RED = +vcc (5v dc)
WHITE= Ground
GREEN = NMEA Data out
Connect your 5v supply to Red (+) & White (-)
Connect your VHF DSC input to Green (Data+) & White (Ground)
It works perfectly.
I checked the VHF's displayed coordinates on google maps and it was accurate to about 3 meters of my position.
The little GPS receiver is extremely sensitive and picks up a good signal inside my garage, so it could be mounted inside you RIB's console without issues which is where mine is going at the weekend.
Voilla. DSC functions for a tenna
Golliwog
