Networking Lowrance units with NMEA2000

Networking Lowrance units with NMEA2000 (Lowrancenet) First and foremost, the NMEA Network requires its own power connection to operate. It does not get power through the unit itself. The older LMS and LCX units had a set of wires on the unit power cable which could be used to power your network, this cable is labeled NMEA 2000 Power on a tag affixed to the cable. HDS units require a power node to give power to the network. This comes in the starter kit or can be purchased separately. HDS units can not get NMEA power by using a LMS or LCX power cable. Most important of all - Never use more than one power source for the NMEA connection. Never apply two sources of power to the same NMEA network. If you have one unit or four units connected to a network it will require one NMEA power connection to operate the entire network. This is probably the biggest mistake made by most people, adding additional units to the same network and powering the network again. This will damage anything connected to the network. So always be sure your NMEA network is only getting power from one source no matter how many devices are attached. Cap off any older units nmea power cable and tie it back under the dash. -The NMEA Network power must be put on a switched power source so you can shut it off when not in use. Some boats come pre-rigged withe NMEA2000 network backbone from the boat manufacturer and may use a Power Node to supply power the network. This Power Node is hooked directly into a Tee in the network bus. If your boat has one of these on the network DO NOT power the NMEA power wires from either graph. It is already done. Powering it twice will cause damage to the Module, graph and any sensors. Note** HDS Models would require a Power node to supply power to the Network Bus. In this case you would power your nmea network by connecting one of your LMS or LCX unit power cables marked NMEA 2000 Power to a switched power source. Important to connect this power from only one power cable, any additional units on the network just tape the nmea power wires off individually. Networking HDS Models with NMEA2000 If you are not hooking up an external antenna get rid of the extra Tee. Please note if you are only interested in waypoint sharing all you need to do is connect the two HDS units with an Ethernet cable. No NMEA Network is required unless you are using network sensors like temperature, fuel, interface cables or an external gps module. The NMEA Network is totally expandable, just remove the terminator, add a Tee to plug in your new sensor or unit and replace the terminator back on the new end. It's that easy! Two HDS units Networked * if you are still using an older LMS or LCX unit which is networked to an HDS unit it can still power the nmea network through its power cable. (HDS units can not do this) If you are switching to all HDS units you have to buy the NMEA Power node to power the network. Network HDS to LMS or LCX unit to share the HDS internal GPS antenna Network adaptor cables. Which one do I need? Red to blue? Blue to red? http://primus.lowrance.com/icr/NMEA%...0_adapters.htm Parts needed to network two HDS Models: 1) NMEA Starter kit: N2K-EXP-RD-2 (#124-69) kit includes: Includes 2 terminating resistors (TR-120M-RD, TR-120F-RD), two T-connectors (N2K-T-RD), one 2 ft extension cable (N2KEXT-2RD), and one 15 ft extension cable (N2KEXT-15RD), and a power node (N2K-PWR-RD). $51.99* 1) T connector, N2K-T-RD #119-79 $14.99*