Smartcraft Gauge/GPS help

[billynjuls]

I'm going to post this in the electronics section as well, but I was hoping someone with a Champion had run across this. I have a 2008 Champion 210 Elite that has the smartcraft system. The guy I bought it from had a lowrance x-28 in-dash that he had tied into the smartcraft gauges somehow that it would get a speed comm error until the GPS antenna from the fishfinder got a fix and then it would work. Since it's not tied into it anymore since I removed the lowrance, my speedometer pegs from the left and the right constantly and the speed comm error never goes away. It looks like he had the green NMEA wire that is coming from behind the smartcraft gauge tied into something that made it work. I have no idea what it should hook up to. It looks like it was tied into a yellow wire before. Did it maybe go to the gps antenna for the Lowrance? I have a Humminbird now and there's three wires with the GPS antenna that is used for NMEA which are red, black, and white. Does anyone know what to do about this? Sorry if it's confusing I just have no idea how to tie back into whatever he had to get rid of the speed comm error and have my speedometer working again. Thanks.

Billy

[theclap]

Here's how I hooked mine up. Good luck, and if you have any questions, let me know.

[billynjuls]

Thanks for getting back to me so quick. I had a couple of questions. My NMEA that comes out from behind the gauge says NMEA 0183 + like your diagram shows, but mine is green instead of white w/blue stripe. I also have a Humminbird so I don't have any of those colors. I just have black, red, and white that comes off my antenna. It seems like he had it hooked up like yours since there was a piece of yellow wire still attached by a splice to the green NMEA wire that he did hook it up to the GPS. According to Humminbird website, the white wire is NMEA out so I wonder if that would get hooked up to the green NMEA wire? What do you think? Thanks.

Billy

[Gunflint]

Thanks for this diagram! Just referenced it to properly connect my GPS to my Mercury Smart Gauges. AWESOME!!!

[EuropeanAM]

More information, specific to HUMMINBIRD units and using NMEA-0183 can be found here:

http://www.bbcboards.net/showthread.php?t=292261

[barbarian]

I had exact same set up. I bought my 210 with the 28 in the dash. I added a smartcraft and replaced the 28 with a hds7. I did the install myself with a lot of help from Don at European Marine. Originally after installing the smartcraft, neither of my Champ gauges would work. Don walked me through the process of telling to ID the smartcraft as the master. After that, my rpm gauge worked fine, but my other guage which had speed, trim, water pressure still acted crazy with the needles swinging wildly back and forth. I could disconnect smartcraft and it would work. I figured I could pay somebody, but my smartcraft and HDS unit displayed all of that same info digitally instead of analog so I just disconnected that Champ gauge because it drove me crazy with the needles bouncing all over.

[BILLY]

[mdwhitten]

The steps I used to get GPS signal from Lowrance HDS Gen 3 to Mercury SmartCraft Gauges

Connecting Lowrance HDS Graphs to Mercury Smartcraft Gauge SystemSThe following steps are used to provide a functioning GPS Speedo connection to a Lowrance HDS Graph (unit used in my case was a HDS12—Gen 3 touch.
1. Wiring connection---
Yellow wire from NMEA 0183 harness on graph to white wire with blue stripe from Smartcraft Speedo gauge.

Blue wire from NMEA 0183 graph harness to blue wire with white stripe from SC speedo. NOTE:These connections were wired from on a BassCat Puma FTD at the factory.There was no vessel ground, so it is assumed that the ground was internal to the HDS-12 unit.

2. Once the wiring is confirmed, the next step involves selecting the GPS as a “talker”, or signal provider to the SC Speedo. This is done on the SC Tach gauge, which serves as the “Master” in a two SC gauge setup.The tach setting feeds GPS signal to the Speedo.
(TURN ON THE IGNITION KEY, SO THAT GAUGES ILLUMINATE—YOU DO NOT NEED TO START THE ENGINE. )
This is done by pressing and holding the MODE and + button until the SCREENS selection appears in the digital window. Once in the screens setting, cycle through options until you come to the options that allow you to turn OFF the settings for PITOT and PADDLE, and select YES for the GPS option.Save the option with GPS selected.

3. Move to the SC Speedo gauge, use the MODE and + button just as in #2 to cycle to the GPS setting and select GPS as the option. Save and exit.
NOTE: the steps for items 2 and 3 above are clearly shown in the Mercury user’s guide that comes with the SmartCraft gauges.

4. Now, turn on the Lowrance graph. Hit PAGES buttion.Scroll down menu on left and select SETTINGS, then move DOWN and select Network.
5. Under Network, select NMEA 0183
6. Select PORT, and set Baud rate to 4800. NOTE—BAUD RATE MUST BE SET TO 4800 IN ORDER FOR SC SPEEDO TO RECEIVE THE GPS SIGNAL
7. Turn on all NMEA 0183 sentences under GPS, except GLL—this is for VHF radio and is not need.