# Humminbird nmea to icom



## Nate167 (May 1, 2009)

I'm looking for some help here. I purchased a Humminbird 597 HD DI and the NMEA cable to connect it to my Icom M504 VHF radio. I fish lake erie alot at night and want to have gps coordinates sent to the coast guard if I get into trouble. I'm having an issue getting them to talk though. On the Icom there is a NMEA in + and - and a NMEA out + and -. The - seems to be the seething around the wire in the middle. The humminbird only has NMEA out and in. I have connected the humminbird out to the icom in + and the humminbird in to the Icom out + but can not get them to talk. The humminbird connector has a 12v+ and a ground wire but don't see a need to hook these up since the Icom has it's own power wires. Any ideas on how to get them to talk? I have gone into the advanced settings on the humminbird and turned the NMEA option on. I looked in the Icom settings and there is only a setting for sending out info not receiving it. I know they aren't talking because the Icom says no time no position when it should be showing the GPS coordinates. Any help would be greatly appreciated!!!!


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## Nate167 (May 1, 2009)

Bump


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## SPOONFEEDER (Jul 6, 2006)

I have the same icom radio but its hooked to a lowrance. But i do know the nmea in/out - needs to be hooked up. If the hummingbird does not have the "-" side for nmea then hook them to your ground. This should get you working. Also make sure the nmea is turned on in the setup on the radio and hummingbird

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## SPOONFEEDER (Jul 6, 2006)

After rereading your post you say there is a groung on the hummingbird. That is probably were you need to hook up the "-" from the icom

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## Nate167 (May 1, 2009)

Thanks I am going to try that. I also learned from searching the Internet the radio has to be power cycled each time I change the wires around and try to get them to talk


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## Silver Fox (Aug 20, 2012)

I think the previous posts have got you pointed in the right direction but there may be just one small adjustment needed to your wiring in order to fix this. To recap what you have done. 

As you know, you must enable the Advanced settings in the Humminbird 597 HD DI and follow up with turning on the NMEA option. With this done, by default the HB 597 will output the correct NMEA information for a DSC radio to get the GPS position information. 

Certainly not least is the wiring. The starting point is to remember that the NMEA outputs of the talker, both the plus and minus must always be connected to the respective plus and minus of the receiver. 

For the HB 597 interface this is slightly different because it has an RS232 style interface that consists of only an NMEA Out, NMEA In and Ground. So how does that work?

For any product using this type of interface, the NMEA Out and In wires for the three wire interface are the plus side of the wiring and the single connection for minus side(s) of the wiring are actually shared with the battery Ground wire.

The correct way to wire this is as follows;

HB NMEA Output + (white) connects to Icom In + (Inner conductor of the Red NMEA Input coaxial cable)

HB Ground  (black) connects to Icom In  (Outer conductor of the Red NMEA Input coaxial cable)

Important  Do not connect the HB Red 12 VDC wire, cap and insulate this wire, its 12 VDC and will damage any NMEA port it gets connected to. 

Also as outlined in the Icom M504 manual, dont forget to initialize the data connection for the first time by pushing and holding down on the rotary knob for one second after powering on the radio.

Once you have this portion of the system working, you want to make sure that an emergency DSC call will be properly responded to by programming in the 9-digit MMSI (Maritime Mobile Service Identity) code into the radio. Detailed information on programming the MMSI code is contained in the radio installation manual. If an MMSI is not transmitted in a DSC call, the Coast Guard does not know who or what type of vessel they are looking for and any response for help could be delayed.

If you dont have one, the registration to obtain an MMSI code is free. BoatUS sponsors the registration, so go to their web site at http://www.boatus.com/MMSI/ The required information can be submitted online in just a few minutes and you get your MMSI number immediately. 

Hope this helps you in resolving this issue for you, if not certainly contact me and Id be glad to help you with this.

Tight lines!


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## Nate167 (May 1, 2009)

Silver Fox said:


> I think the previous posts have got you pointed in the right direction but there may be just one small adjustment needed to your wiring in order to fix this. To recap what you have done.
> 
> As you know, you must enable the Advanced settings in the Humminbird 597 HD DI and follow up with turning on the NMEA option. With this done, by default the HB 597 will output the correct NMEA information for a DSC radio to get the GPS position information.
> 
> ...


Awesome!!! Thanks for the reply! You have just made my week. I am going to wire it up tomorrow night and will let you know the outcome. Thanks for the info on the MMSI code. I registered for one as soon as I got the new radio. I also did not know about holding the dial in for one second after it's powered up for the first time. Thanks again!!


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