Garmin GPSMAP 541s Technical Reference for Garmin NMEA 2000 Products - Page 11

NMEA 2000 Fundamentals Proper Termination You must install terminators at the ends of your NMEA 2000 backbone for it to function correctly. You have two options when installing terminators on your NMEA 2000 network. 1. Typical Terminators If your NMEA 2000 network is built with correct linear backbone construction, use one female terminator and one male terminator. Install the terminators at opposite ends of your NMEA 2000 network. To NMEA 2000 devices and power Female terminator Backbone extension cable Male terminator Using Standard Terminators 2. In-line Terminators If one or both of the NMEA 2000 devices at opposite ends of your NMEA 2000 network are separated from the rest of the NMEA 2000 network by a length of backbone cable, and the typical T-connector/drop cable/terminator combination is not feasible or is too bulky for the area, use an in-line terminator instead of the final T-connector on the backbone. Connect the final device to the in-line terminator with the appropriate length of drop cable, or connect the final device directly to the in-line terminator, without a drop cable. Standard Termination To a NMEA 2000 device Female terminator To power Backbone extension cable Inline Termination To the final NMEA 2000 device in the backbone on this end. Connect the in-line terminator directly to a NMEA 2000 device, or use a drop cable up to 6 m (20 ft.) long. Do not connect additional T-connectors or terminators. Inline terminator Using an Inline Terminator Caution: Do not use more than two terminators in a NMEA 2000 network. Note: The in-line terminator connects to the NMEA 2000 backbone with a male connector, and to the final NMEA 2000 device with a female connector. Because of this, you can only use one in-line terminator on a NMEA 2000 network. Technical Reference for Garmin NMEA 2000 Products