[C320-list] How to get Raymarine Auto Helm to talk to a Garmin Chartplotter

[Scott Thompson]

The control head on the older Raymarine autopilots also have NMEA input 
connections on the back. So the connection does not necessarily have to 
be using SeaTalk. At one point (before I replaced all my electronics) I 
tied these out to a jack on the back of the Navpod where the autopilot 
controller was mounted. I then made up a cable to connect my handheld 
Garmin GPS to the autopilot, through this jack, permitting it to go into 
Track mode on a course defined by waypoints. The handheld sat in a 
cradle on top of the binnacle guard above the instruments. My rather 
distant recollection is that I had to connect 12v power, ground, and the 
two NMEA signal pins, so this wasn't very complicated. The cable was one 
that I purchased from Garmin that already had the connector for the GPS, 
so making the cable was simply a matter of putting the right terminators 
at the other end.

Perhaps you can do something similar with your Garmin if it supports the 
older NMEA standard.

On 10/1/2019 12:05 PM, Charles Martin wrote:
> Has anyone tried to connect the standard Raymarine Auto Helm (uses SeaTalk
> comm) that was factory installed in C320's to communicate with a Garmin
> Chartplotter?  If so, did you use some sort of cross-talk adapter?
>
> Best,
> Chip Martin
> *Bonaventure*, Sail # 767
> (410) 231-0199
> chiprmartin at gmail.com