Garmin GPSMAP 541s Technical Reference for Garmin NMEA 2000 Products - Page 8

NMEA 2000 Fundamentals Linear Backbone Construction Use the NMEA 2000 T-connectors to construct your NMEA 2000 backbone, and extend the backbone with appropriate lengths of backbone cable if necessary. Use one T-connector per device. Use the sides of the T-connector to construct the backbone of the NMEA 2000 network, and use the top of the T-connector to attach a NMEA 2000 device. By using only the sides of the T-connectors to construct the backbone, you create a linear construction to your NMEA 2000 network. T-connectors can be separated by backbone cables or connected directly together. Although the male and female connectors on the T-connectors and backbone cables will fit on all sides of a T-connector, it is very important to use the top of the T-connector only to attach NMEA 2000 devices, not to attach other T-connectors or backbone cables. To NMEA 2000 devices and power Female terminator CORRECT Backbone extension cable Male terminator T-connector installed incorrectly Male terminator (also installed incorrectly) Correct Linear Backbone Construction To NMEA 2000 devices and power INCORRECT Backbone extension cable Male terminator Incorrect Linear Backbone Construction  Technical Reference for Garmin NMEA 2000 Products