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neil-langford avatar image
neil-langford asked

Wakespeed RPM Data on NMEA2000?

I am using the Wakespeed voltage regulator to control a very old (50years) alternator on a Gardner 6 cylinder diesel engine. The engine is a model 6LX, 110hp. The alternator is shaft driven and manufactured in the UK CAV / Lucas. It has a mechanical (rotating shaft) RPM display at the helm. There is no electrical or electronic RPM data coming off the engine.

The Wakespeed unit can communicate alternator RPM to the GX system, which can be adjusted to match and display as the engine RPM. I would like to have this data ported onto the NMEA2000 bus, so that it can be read by other devices on the network (MFD etc).

Will the Cerbo port this RPM data onto the NMEA2000 network?

cerbo gx
2 |3000
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Stefanie (Victron Energy Staff) avatar image
Stefanie (Victron Energy Staff) answered ·

@Neil Langford

Afaik the WS500 sends PGN 127488 ,which includes EngineSpeed aka RPM, out on N2K. Just make sure your Cerbo or WS500 is connected to your NMEA 2000 network,

See also Appendix B in the WS500 Communication and Configuration Guide.

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neil-langford avatar image neil-langford commented ·

Thank you Stefanie .... so, it is becoming clear to me that the Wakespeed to Victron connection cable (supplied by Wakespeed) is actually an NMEA 2000 CAN link .... I thought it was a link for some form of proprietary protocol. So, if I make the link between the devices, and then port one or other to the NMEA 2000 network, then I'll have the data I want in all my network locations. Excellent.

From the Wakespeed and Victron documentation it was not (previously) clear to me that the CANbus connection between the two was NMEA2000. I now get it (I hope).

Thanks for the support. N./


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Stefanie (Victron Energy Staff) avatar image Stefanie (Victron Energy Staff) ♦♦ neil-langford commented ·

Glad it helped.

NMEA 2000 and VE.Can are physically CANBUS, based and compatible with SAE J1939, so they understand each other to a certain degree.

More on that here: https://www.victronenergy.com/upload/documents/Technical-Information-Data-communication-with-Victron-Energy-products_EN.pdf

and the NMEA 2000 chapter in the Cerbo manual: https://www.victronenergy.com/media/pg/Cerbo_GX/en/marine-mfd-integration-by-nmea-2000.html#UUID-a83c95ed-bddc-df66-8225-57beaa572c3a

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neil-langford avatar image neil-langford commented ·

Thanks Stefanie - I'm aware that they are both CANBUS, but it was the Wakespeed documentation that (perhaps just to me) wasn't obvious ..... they don't boast NMEA certification but it seems that they communicate effectively. So, referring to your earlier comments, I note that the Cerbo GX has only one VE.CAN connector. If that is connected to the Wakespeed regulator (with the cable that Wakespeed supply) then I'll need to use the 2nd CAN port on the Wakespeed unit to connect to the NMEA2000 bus. Is that correct? Or can the BMS.CAN port on the Cerbo be used for this (I suspect not)?

I do want full NMEA2000 connectivity for the system, so that the Victron data is available on the Raymarine MFD, Veratron instruments etc etc.

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Stefanie (Victron Energy Staff) avatar image Stefanie (Victron Energy Staff) ♦♦ neil-langford commented ·
The BMS-Can port of the Cerbo does not support VE.Can/NMEA 2000, so you must either connect via the Wakespeed or the VE.Can port to the N2K network. Look at the Cerbo or WS500 just like any other N2K drop device.

Also make sure you have only two terminators in a physical N2K network.

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