Help with translation – Lowrance Waypoint Sharing

Here is a response from Lowrance regarding the ability to share waypoints between “networked” lowrance units. Can anyone understand the response?

Am I asking the wrong questions of Lowrance? First, the documentation states that the interface supported is NMEA 2000. This response deals with NMEA 0183. Do I have to learn the NMEA specification in order to get the answer to my question? Man this frustrates me.

Now lets see if a phone call can help…

Quote:

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Hello Steve,

Thank you for your inquiry.

Here is a list of the status strings for NMEA 0183 output to choose from:

GPS

GLL Latitude and longitude of present position, time of present position fix and status.

RMC & RMB Transmits navigation information messages.

APB Transmits Autopilot information.

GGA Time position fix related data.

GSA & GSV Transmits fix mode, DOP values and satellites in view information.

Sonar

DBT Transmits the depth below the transducer.

DPT Transmits the depth.

MTW Transmits the water temperature.

VLW Transmits the distance traveled through water as measured by the paddle wheel.

VHW Transmits the water speed by the paddle wheel.

We hope this answers your questions. Please feel free to contact us if we may be of further assistance.

Lowrance Customer Service

12000 E. Skelly Dr.

Tulsa, OK 74128

Customer Service: 1-800-324-1356

Lowrance website: http://www.Lowrance.com

LEI: Parts & Accessories 1-800-324-0045

online at http://www.lei-extras.com

> —–Original Message—–

> From: [email protected]

> Received: 2/19/2005 1:23 PM

> To: [email protected]

> Subject: RE: Lowrance Sonar Question

>

> Question:>

First let me say Lowrance is my choice for marine electronics, I have bought lots of different sonars & GPS units.

>

> I fished with a guy last year that used Garmin sonar/GPS units. He was able to “network” the units together to share waypoints. I don’t think the 480 supports this, do any of the newer units have that capability? Do you plan to add that capability in the future?

>

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I called Lowrance and after waiting a long time on hold…

The answer is NO Lowrance products do not support this and there is no plan to support this capability. I let them know that Garmin does have that capability with their units and asked customer service to forward that request on to the company. Customer service said the request would be forwarded to engineering.

I don’t understand why they haven’t implemented this, it seems so useful. A competitor supports it, the link is there, and messages are already being shared. It wouldn’t take much to implement this capability…

Anyway, if you would like to see this capability in your Lowrance units, call customer support at 1-800-324-1356 and let them know.

I believe you can save your waypoints to a chip and then upload them from the chip into a different unit. Not as convenient as linked units, but accomplishes the purpose in the end.

John

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I believe you can save your waypoints to a chip and then upload them from the chip into a different unit. Not as convenient as linked units, but accomplishes the purpose in the end.

John

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I do understand that. Here is one issue with that concept though. I have a great MMC from JollyAnnMarine with high resolution contour maps. Wade can jump in here an correct me if I am wrong but I don’t think I can safely save waypoints to the MMC that has these high resolution maps store on them. So in order to swap waypoints I have to pull the mapping MMC out, plug another MMC in, download the waypoints, remove the MMC and finally place it in the other unit. I just don’t see that as reasonable.

I really like Lowrance products but think I may have to check with Garmin to see if what I heard and saw was correct. That capability alone may be enough for me to skip upgrading my X75 to an LMS332C and buy two Garmin units.

I have been researching Garmin vs. Lowrance and I have read in the specs that Garmin has a proprietary communication mode in addition to standard NMEA mode for communicating between Garmin products (I don’t know if you are limited to communicating between units that are the same model). From what I read, this mode has the ability to import/export waypoints, tracks and just about anything else the unit can store.

I would love to hear from someone regarding how this works in real life.

I have the lowrance H2O. You are not able to save anything to the map chips. I have the Lakemaster minnesota series chip. You’ll never lose your waypoints saved while the mapping chip is installed. I update My lakemaster program on my PC with waypoints every so often. A blank MMC chip is basically only good for transfering. I understand what oyu’re saying But I don’t think taking out my chip and plugging it into someone elses is a hassle. I think a hassle is trying to figure out how to configure 2 GPS units to interface. Think of an MMC chip just as you would a floppy disk. Just using the chips to transfer waypoints into my lakemaster software is simple enough I think. But like I said, I see what you mean. But its hard to keep everyone happy,

What you are experiencing is a feature vs. price point – the larger units all accept 2 MMC chips simultaneously.

I haven’t had this problem with X-15’s, x-19c’s, GM 3K, GM 4K, X-104c and I won’t have a problem w/ this year’s units – X110c and GM 6500c.

No matter what unit you have you cannot write to MMC’s that are pre-loaded with data (hotspots, navionics, reelbottom, etc.) and you can’t copy them – I’ve tried!

Good luck with your choice,

ted

You can copy to Navionics or Lowrance map cards. There is room (memory space) left on the cards. You can then copy the data to another GPS or your computer. This is dangerous as Jeff at Navionics said that it may overwrite their data if there isn’t enough memory left on the card. I have logged chart data onto Navionics cards when I first started to record charts. I didn’t understand that I was to pick a different card in my 2 card slot X-19. Later I copied it to my computer and then deleted the .slg file. This dangerous because if you delete a Lowrance or Navionics map file you will have pay for a new one, so I recommend not recording onto a Lowrance or Navionics map card. Navionics file extension is .001, Lowrance is .lcm or .at5. NEVER delete these files. If you want a detailed description of how to log charts on the correct MMC/SD card go http://www.hightechfishing.com. Look under Lowrance tips and read Session 1. I have pictures and text on how to do it. I also go over this at the Lowrance Schools. Their schedule is on my website. It is getting complicated to run Sonar/GPS these days but the benefits are huge.

I think part of the problem is that the Garmin your talking about is using something like the new NMEA 2000 system to relay data through the GMS 10 network port expander ($250).
http://www.garmin.com/products/gms10/
NMEA 2000 is more than just a data standard like the NMEA 0183, its a hardware standard also. You won’t just run a pair of wires in the boat, its a full networking system.
I just wonder if in the future it will hook to a NMEA 2000 system with the rest of the stuff in a boat or will be isolated and mean you have to run a second set of lines.
Some one correct me if I’m wrong.
WarrenMN

Doc, thank you for jumping in here. Warren, welcome to IDA sir! Good to see you here. Warren and Doc have a ton of knowledge on this mapping/electronics stuff. Thank you guys!

What you could do is remove your Navionics chip or Lakemaster chip (since you have just the one card drawer) and then load the waypoints to your blank MMC/SD card, then place it in unit #2. A little bit of a pain but not too bad.

Also, I still swear I was told that you can transfer waypoints via NMEA 2000. Doc or Warren, have you heard of this?

Thanks, Wade

It would seem logical that they will eventually.

With NMEA 2000 going to be like a series of mini routers you might use at home with your computer, why wouldn’t chart plotter’s share data. But right now, its likely way easier to pop a chip in and out than rerig a boat with special cabling.

What I’m waiting to see is manufactures who have developed their own network schemes like Merc and Garmin, how they will adapt to the 2000 protocol.

Ok,got some good reading if you need to sleep

http://www.lowrance.com/Manuals/Files/NMEA2000_General_%20Information-0154-171-031804.pdf

I don’t know if NMEA 2000 can transfer waypoints, but I will find out! Doc

NMEA does not support the transfer of waypoints. I checked into that.

Garmin uses a different port on the unit and requires a $40 cable.

Reading over their website at http://www.garmin.com/marinenetworking/ , I would bet that cable is only part of what you have to have. From their web page, quote “Boaters can connect a GPS antenna and one remote sensor directly to the MFD. Or, with the addition of the GMS™ 10 Network Port Expander, users can connect multiple MFDs and sensors to the same network. ” MFD’s are the multifunction displays (3006 and 3010),and you saw above how much the GMS 10 was. I’m kind of surprised they charge that much for a network cable.

I haven’t seen this in action, but this is from the Garmin 178 manual. I am assuming that the $40 cable is what is needed to connect, in this case, one Garmin 178 unit to another 178 unit.

Comm (Communications) Tab— lets you control the input/output format used when connecting your

GPSMAP 178/178C to external NMEA devices, a DGPS beacon receiver, a personal computer, another

Garmin GPSMAP 178/178C, etc. If a DGPS receiver is used, WAAS capability is automatically turned to

‘Off’. The unit supports two input/output ports. See page 96 for more information on wiring and NMEA

information. Individual Port settings are:

Port 1:

• Garmin Data Transfer – the proprietary format used to upload/download MapSource data,

exchange waypoint, route, track, almanac, and proximity data with a PC or another Garmin

GPSMAP 178/178C. When you select ‘Garmin Data Transfer’, there are 11 Transfer Modes to

choose from: Host, Request Almanac, Request Proximity, Request Routes, Request Tracks, Request

Waypoints, Send Almanac, Send Proximity, Send Routes, Send Tracks, and Send Waypoints.

Ok, then this isn’t actually a network like the 3006 and 3010. But it makes sense. You have to give some one there credit, its simple. If you can input and output data to a computer port, why not a second unit. Interesting.
I wonder how many other manufactures products could have done this but failed to see it. The guy should get a better mouse trap award for it.

I just stumbled upon this info in the manual. If it was truly a unique function, I would think they (Garmin) would highlight it (i.e. maybe the others also have this capability).

MNEA 2000 doesn’t transfer waypoints but your Lowrance/Eagle will still output NMEA 0183 if you want to hook up units. Doc