Standard Horizon GX2150 to A032

[Anonymous]

Hello all,

Trying to connect my old(-ish) Standard Horizon GX2150 to my N2K network via 0183 conversion via the A032. So far I have the GPS data from the network successfully being read by the VHF, but the AIS out doesn’t seem to be working. The power light and N2K light on the A032 seem to be working fine, but the 0183 led doesn’t show any sign of life. I am seeing the “heartbeat” of the A032 on my Raymarine MFD in diagnostic mode.

 

At this point, I have 2 theories:

1. The GX2150 doesn’t actually output any AIS data without real AIS targets. When I turn on the demo mode of the VHF, there are 5 AIS targets, but I have no way of knowing whether the demo data is actually being transmitted. And even if it was…

2. The interwebs is full of horror stories (even some here) of Standard Horizon 0183 wiring issues. In fact, to get the GPS data to work, I had to follow the footnote in the manual that suggests to reverse the + and – if it doesn’t work right away. There were suggestions of combining the negative leads, leaving one of the VHF leads disconnected, etc.

 

What I have tried so far:

VHF/A032

In+/Out+

In-/Out-

Out+/In+

Out-/In-

Recommended wiring from both manuals, nothing worked.

 

In-/Out+

In+/Out-

Out+/In+

Out-/In-

Reversed the In lead polarity to the VHF, the N2k GPS data now shows up on the VHF, still no AIS on N2k

 

In-/Out+

In+/Out-

Out-/In+

Out+/In-

Kept polarity swapped on the VHF input, and also swapped on the output. GPS to the VHF still worked, no AIS

 

In-/Out+

In+/Out- AND In-

Out-/In+

Saw this on a couple forums. GPS to the VHF still worked, no AIS. Swapped the VHF Out- with Out+ and still no AIS.

 

I also tried various things at 4800 instead of 38400, pretty much the same results. Any suggestions?

Thanks!

[Technical Team]

Hello,

GPS data transfer: As we understand, by connecting the two devices as shown below, your VHF radio receives the GPS data from the N2K network through the A032 — this connection doesn’t have to be changed.

A032 — VHF

OUT + to IN –

OUT – to IN +

AIS data transfer: Please check the following:

– The A032’s NMEA input baud rate is set to 4800bps by default. Please set the baud rate to 38400bps using the configuration tool.

– Based on the information from the user manual, the VHF radio features an NMEA DSC output and an NMEA AIS data output. Please ensure that the VHF radio’s NMEA AIS output is connected to the A032. If by connecting the NMEA data wires as below:

VHF — A032

OUT+ to IN+

OUT- to IN-

you cannot see any data transfer(due to the different NMEA 0183 specification version), please swap the NMEA data wires similarly as with the other connection:

VHF — A032

OUT+ to IN-

OUT- to IN+.

Hope this helps.

Could you please check what is the firmware version of your A032? Thank you!

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the reply.

The manual seems to indicate that the grey, brown, yellow and white output wires should be connected at 4800 baud, while just the grey and brown output wires should be used 38400 baud (yellow and white are left disconnected).

“Section 10.10: When 38400 bps is selected the AIS sentences (VDM) and DSC sentences (DSC &DSE) both are output on the Gray and Brown wires after a DSC distress, position request or AIS transmission is received.”

In any event, I have tried every combination of grey and brown, and yellow and white, “regular” and “reversed” polarity, and with the VHF and A032 set to 4800 or 38400.

 

To be clear:

Grey and brown, normal polarity to A032 input, 4800

Grey and brown, reverse polarity to A032 input, 4800

Grey and brown, normal polarity to A032 input, 38400

Grey and brown, reverse polarity to A032 input, 38400

Yellow and white, normal polarity to A032 input, 4800

Yellow and white, reverse polarity to A032 input, 4800

Yellow and white, normal polarity to A032 input, 38400

Yellow and white, reverse polarity to A032 input, 38400

 

The VHF has only two options for baud rate, 4800 or 38400, while the A032 has multiple options for either the input or output. In each case, the VHF and both the Input and Output of the A032 was set to either 4800 or 38400.

The A032 version is V2.10.220721

 

Re-reading the above makes me think again that there simply won’t be any AIS sentences sent if there are no actual AIS transmissions received, and the demo mode does not actually send the simulated AIS data. Seems like a waste of a demo mode, and should be easy enough to accomplish internally, but who knows. Guess I’ll have to wait until spring.

[Author]

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