NMEA 2000 network cables

[Bob K]

Want to connect my Raymarine instruments to Garmin chart plotter. The required cables and adapters run close to $200 if using the Raymarine ng cables.  Now looking at standard N2k to try to reduce the cost a bit..  Can anyone recommend a brand/vendor for best price?

[MarcZ]

Do you have Seatalk or Seatalk NG  instruments  ?

[britinusa]

It would help if you provided the models of the equipment you already have (GPS, Wind, Depth, Speed)

Paul

[Bob K]

Sorry for the vague initial post!   Was in a bit of a hurry at the time.   My chartplotter is  a Garmin 721 - brand new.   Want to connect it to my almost new Raymarine i50/i60 Depth Speed/Wind instruments.   The Garmin is NMEA2000 (N2K) .  The Raymarine is Seatalk ng, which is their version of N2K.   Connectors are a bit different to accommodate backward compatibility.  But they should all talk together on an N2K network, using one adapter cable to go between the two types of connectors.

So I initially priced the cable network (requires a backbone cable, a spur cable, a spur ng to N2K adapter cable, Tees or  a 5 way connector, and terminations).  Using ng cable type, the total cost was close to $200.  Unbelievable, right??  For some wire and cheap plastic connectors.  So I then looked into pricing standard N2K cables, as there are multiple manufacturers,.   Didn't do much better.   Sorta reminds me of the inexpensive PC printers with outlandish ink cartridge costs.  Some offer N2K network starter kits which are a better value but don't suit my needs. 

So I thought I'd throw this question out there in the hopes that someone before me did similar homework and hit the jackpot.....

[MarcZ]

I never found an alternative to Raymarine cables

eBay should help in cost reduction to about $100

5 way connector
1 terminator
in-line terminator
Seatalk to NMEA200 cable

assuming that you have 3 spur cables for wind depth and speed

[mainesail]

$200.00 in N2K wiring is pretty cheap these days. It's not all that uncommon for me to have $500 - $800 plus into N2K cabling, converters, network etc. on a large electronics job.