Shipmodul vs Nemo for 0183 bridging?

I'm talking about the Rose Point Nemo and the Shipmodul MiniPlex-3E-N2K

They're pretty close if you go by listed features. But that's not always the same as real-world experiences. I'd be connecting both of using wired Ethernet. There will be a Wi-Fi access point on the same network, but that should have no impact on either one of these. I've learned in the to always use a wired connection whenever possible, if only to avoid the hassles of things powering up when Wi-Fi is down and having to re-join later.

Any observations on which one is more versatile all around? I have seen Peter's review of just about all other 0183 bridges.

I don't plan on using Coastal Explorer, at least not in the near future. I actually bought it some years ago and never really made use of it. The old laptop wasn't very fast, the helm didn't have space and the old E-80 wasn't exactly the most versatile when it came to interop.

The current helm layout doesn't lend itself to mounting a PC or screen. And I'm not displeased with what I get out of the Furuno MFD12 displays I have now.

I do plan on using some Maretron DSM410 displays to monitor a number of things, if that has any impact on the equation. I've heard they're sometimes finicky about what they'll talk through.

I have some Android tablets and phones and would probably like to try to make use of data over Wi-Fi.

I've got an existing Icom M602 radio that's supposedly capable of listening for DSC/DSE sentences (MMSI calling) and sending them out over 0183. But it's also known to be a problematic talker on 0183. It's not connected at all now, so I don't know if that's true or not, but it was mentioned on Furuno's forum as a potential issue.

Thus I'm thinking it might be useful to convert whatever it does send via 0183 into N2K messages, and filter out anything I don't want from it.

Otherwise I start sliding down another slippery slope of changing out the radio. The one I have now isn't dysfunctional and I did purchase a replacement handset for the flybridge remote mic (HM-157 works with an M602 should anyone come searching for those part numbers).

I mean, at some point, yeah, it becomes pointless to keep trying to make old gear work in new ways. Been there, don't necessarily want to repeat that. But for now I do have the fixed element of four MFD12 displays, those are not going away any time soon. Too many other winter upgrades demanding my $$$ right now to pitch that proposal to the wife.

I mistakenly ordered an Actisense NGW-1 (meant to get an NGT-1) but that'd only give me one 0183 in and out. The Nemo and Shipmodul would both give 4 in/2 out.

Obviously the Nemo's going to work well with Coastal Explorer, but how well does it work with other systems using Ethernet? Likewise, does CE support getting data from a Shipmodul? And does N2KView from Mareton work with either of them?

So which one's the better choice?

I haven't tried a ShipModul, but did look into them a few years ago. I probably didn't get it then because it couldn't do whatever translation I was looking for at the time, but that's no longer relevant. I'll be real interested to hear how it works out for those of you who try it.


Nemo can do a bunch of translation from 0183 to N2K, and another set from N2K to 0183. But it's a finite set, and is missing one or two of the important ones I need. I have requested them as enhancements, but don't know where they are in the queue of work.


What isn't clear to me about Nemo is whether is can translate to/from the attached computer, which can be speaking either 0183 or N2K.


Re Maretron, unless something has changed, N2KView, Analyze, and Extractor only work with Maretron's interfaces. Those would be the USB100 for connection to a single computer, or the IPG100 for connection to ethernet where any combination of computers can then access it, within the limits of their licensing.


Part of the challenge is that there is no standard for how a computer talks to a USB or Ethernet interface to N2K. Talking to an 0183 interface is simple since it's just a serial data stream, and appears either as a com port, or a UDP port. But not so with N2K, so they are all different. How an application talks to Nemo, a USB100, an IPG100, or an Actisense are all different. How different, I don't know, but applications always have some subset that they support. I have at least 6 different PC to N2K interfaces because there is always some config tool that requires some other interface to work, and doesn't support the ones I already have. It's annoying to say the least. What's needed is a standard programming API, akin to Sockets for IP communications. But I'm not holding my breath.

Right, so my immediate need isn't to have a computer connection, but if I'm going to spend I'm willing to spend more for versatility.

It's looking like I'll still end up with two different USB-N2K interfaces (Actisense and Maretron), for handling device configs and updates.

It'd be clever to have a PC acting as a network router for all this. Wouldn't be without the complications of an added layer though.

I assume ShipModul documents what translations they do? Also check what frequency they can support. Some messages need to be 5, 10, or even 20 times per second for good performance.

I have both but haven’t installed the shipmodul. It’s going to be my 2k to 0183 bridge. Once I get it setup I’ll report back.

I'm holding off on a bridge pending further comments here. That and further analysis is leading toward using less 0183 and more N2K anyway. Turns out my Icom M602 won't do the one thing I wanted as an upgrade (no hailer support from the remote mic). So attempting to better integrate it's DSC features is probably pointless. Unfortunately that also opens up a whole other can of worms debating radio replacement choices.