NMEA to Introduce New Standards

The National Marine Electronics Association (NMEA) is expanding its efforts to develop uniform standards for interfacing and installing marine electronics equipment. At its Annual Convention last November, the membership approved plans to issue a beta version of the new NMEA-2000 Interface Standard, and to draft a code of Installation Standards in early 1999. The new Standard, which is being developed in cooperation with the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), will be a low-cost, bi-directional serial data protocol, permitting "talkers" and "listeners" to share data. It will be possible for devices such as GPS, radar, electronic chart displays, echosounders, autopilots, engine monitors and even entertainment systems to exchange digital information over a single signaling channel. The association will release the Standard in beta form to an initial group of participants, who will assist in adjusting and debugging the protocol. Also, the NMEA will release a new high-speed version of the existing NMEA-0183 interface during 1999.