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NMEA 2000 gateway (010010004) — Overview
This firmware makes the energy equipment of an NMEA 2000 network part of the MUXEN boat: the Victron installation, an Arco Zeus alternator, a Vetus bow thruster.
It does not copy the NMEA 2000 network onto the MUXEN bus. It recognises equipment. Every device that appears on the NMEA 2000 backbone announces what it is — its class, its function, its manufacturer. The gateway reads that announcement, and when it matches one of the profiles it knows, it creates the corresponding MUXEN device and keeps it alive: a Victron MultiPlus becomes a MUXEN converter, an MPPT becomes a MUXEN solar charger, a battery monitor becomes a MUXEN battery. Equipment it does not recognise is left alone.
Nothing to declare. There is no list of equipment to fill in. Plug the gateway onto a working NMEA 2000 backbone, give the box its own instance number, and the devices appear on the boat by themselves, within seconds — with their instance numbers taken from the NMEA 2000 network itself. See Supported devices — NMEA 2000 gateway for exactly which equipment is recognised, and Reference — NMEA 2000 gateway for what each one makes appear.
It translates both ways. A MUXEN screen can switch a MultiPlus between off, charger-only, inverter-only and on, set its input current limits, and start or stop an MPPT. Those commands are turned into the Victron commands the real equipment expects.
It can also drive the charge. For an Arco Zeus alternator and for a Victron Cerbo GX, the gateway does not only read: it publishes the boat's own battery figures and charge limits onto the NMEA 2000 network, so that the alternator or the Victron system regulates on the MUXEN battery data rather than on its own. That is a deliberate role, it is on by default, and it matters when something else on the backbone already plays it — see Common mistakes — NMEA 2000 gateway.
What it is not
- It is not a navigation gateway. Wind, heading, speed, position and depth are not translated. This firmware is about energy, plus the bow thruster.
- It is not manufacturer-agnostic. The profiles are written against Victron, MG, Arco Zeus and Vetus/Maxwell equipment. Another brand's charger or inverter on the same backbone is not supported — see Common mistakes — NMEA 2000 gateway.
- It does not commission the NMEA 2000 network. The backbone must be wired, powered and terminated, and the equipment working, before the gateway is of any use.
- It does not merge instances for you. Two Victron devices left on the same NMEA 2000 instance stay a conflict; the gateway will try to move one of them, and tell you if it cannot.
Identity
| v1 | v2 | |
|---|---|---|
| Product ID | 010010004 | 010010004 |
| Hardware | CanCan v1 (990010047) | CanCan v2 (990010061) |
| Software ID | 990050002 | 990050002 |
| Version | 5.24 | 6.5 |
| Image | 010010004-app_nmea2000-firmware.srec | 010010004-V2-app_nmea2000-firmware.srec |
Limits
| Devices tracked on the NMEA 2000 network | 64 |
| Translated devices that can hold a configuration | 32 |
| MUXEN instance numbers | 0 – 62 |
| NMEA 2000 instance numbers usable for converters and MPPTs | 0 – 7 |
Read next
- What you need — what to order and how to wire it
- Commissioning — commissioning
- Common mistakes — NMEA 2000 gateway — what usually goes wrong
- Reference — NMEA 2000 gateway — parameters, devices, timings
- Supported devices — NMEA 2000 gateway — exactly what equipment is recognised
- CanCan gateways — what is true of every CanCan gateway