NMEA 0183

NMEA 0183

The first industry standard marine network specification released over 20 years ago. While still frequently used by VHF radios, most other applications have migrated to NMEA 2000.

Data

A single-talker, multi-listener approach using serial data at low data rates (initially 4.8Kbps now up to 38Kbps). Message formats are standardised to provide cross-vendor interoperability.

Cable System

Uses a daisy chain architecture but there is no standard for cables or connectors. The daisy chain design is low cost and simple but it is susceptible to having a single point of failure taking down the network. Most implementations of NMEA 0183 use terminal block connections which are simple to install but failure prone in a marine environment.

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