Adding a GPS receivert to VHF

I've bought a West Marine (Uniden) VHF580 marine radio for my boat because I didn't have the money for one with built in GPS. Its a DSC radio with GPS capabilities. I've learned that I can add a GPS antenna to it by connecting a simple GPS puck.

Essentially, its signal wire in, signal wire out, and two power wires. Problem is that my boat is a 12v source, an the GPS pucks are typically 5v.

This guy has a nifty little solution he shows here, but doesn't detail any of the wiring - http://theensign.org/connect-gps-vhf-radio/ and I know its not as simple as just buying that box.

Any ideas on how he wired this up? Or any suggestions for the easiest way to get this done?

Use a 12V (automotive) USB charger to get the 5V.

Or any other USB source.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by WØTKX

Use a 12V (automotive) USB charger to get the 5V.

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Looks like that's what the guy who's page Chris linked to did, only he got fancy and put it in a mini-box. Or, if you Google "5V power supply module" you'll get about a quadrillion hits for little PCB units like this one for a couple of bucks each.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by K6BSO

Looks like that's what the guy who's page Chris linked to did, only he got fancy and put it in a mini-box. Or, if you Google "5V power supply module" you'll get about a quadrillion hits for little PCB units like this one for a couple of bucks each.

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After researching some more, I'm no so much concerned with the power supply. I found like 50 million little dc to dc converters on the bay.

What I'm more concerned about is actually connecting the GPS antenna to the radio. The guy in the post connected his via a neat little board. The problem I'm having a hard time understanding is that most vhf radios get their input from a chartplotter output. Will the simple GPS puck supply the necessary data to the radio without going through some sort of software?

I've attached a photo of the back of the radio, and the page from the installation guide. If I buy this antenna and cut the 6 pin connector off I should be able to make direct connections to the radio, correct? I would just use the data in/out wires from the radio, and make a separate connection with the power wires on the antenna through a USB converter?

Am I making sense? LOL

Attachment 14584

Attachment 14585

The chartplotter input speaks NMEA sentences, and so does your GPS (If it's a standard chipset, which is likely). NMEA was a standard built for marine use at first, and adapted by everyone else needing to use onboard systems that can speak to each other.

You can get temp sensors, servo control boards, and data recorders that speak NMEA as well!

Sometimes I tend to complicate things....

Turns out, my GPS/Chart Plotter/Fish finder provides a GPS signal. I just have to buy a $30 power cable that has an integrated NMEA output and I'll have GPS coordinates.

http://www.thegpsstore.com/Lowrance-...dHEaAq3N8P8HAQ

See that? You're not as dumb as you look. (;->) Just don't get like those on a certain scanner site, too lazy to think. They ask the dumbest questions and let the others with one brain cell each network them together on the site into a working brain that does their thinking for them and most often giving answers dumber than the dumb question. "Will putting a resistor between the antenna and the scanner improve reception?" I wanted to tell him an RF choke works better but I just didn't have the heart.