Tech Update From Technical Director Steve Spitzer
NMEA 2000®: Protecting your intellectual property
One of NMEA’s important assets is our intellectual property, NMEA 0183 and
NMEA 2000®. I want to concentrate on NMEA 2000® in this article.
NMEA 2000® is the true industry “Open” stan- dard for electronics, electrical and engine data all on the same network. But “Open” does not mean free. There are costs involved. It is the devotion of manufacturers
who continue to produce NMEA 2000® devices that fuels
the growth of this new category of products. As new tech-
nologies are created, the NMEA 2000® Standards Commit-
tee assures that new technologies will operate on the NMEA
2000® network. NMEA does not do this alone. NMEA is
you! A dedicated committee of marine industry experts,
including the USCG Research and Development Center,
works diligently to continually improve the reliability and
safety of the NMEA 2000® Standard.
• Joins two networks into one
• Exchanges all traffic out of
the box
• Doubles physical network limits
- More products
- More drop length
- Longer network
• Optional filtering configuration
NMEA 2000® Bridge
Creates a compact, intelligent
connection between two
networks.
MYSTIC VALLEY
COMMUNICATIONS LLC
www.netsavvy.com • (860) 572-7053
NMEA and the marine electronics industry have
invested numerous resources to establish criteria for NMEA
2000® certified products. The marine electronics industry
created a common set of behavior characteristics for each
product. This set of requirements is actually software mes-
sages that provide a mechanism of commonality among
products. NMEA 2000® defines the message formats for
transmitting information between equipment. It provides
the foundation for products to communicate with each
other and makes sure everything works together, and in a
sense “plays” properly, on the network.
Only NMEA 2000®-certified products meet this rigor-
ous and mandatory set of software requirements. NMEA
tests and certifies that products meet the conditions estab-
lished in the NMEA 2000® Standard.
Some manufacturers market their products as “com-
patible, compliant or work with” NMEA 2000®. Some man-
ufacturers are using the NMEA 2000® messages for their
own networks without getting certified. Some manufactur-
ers have not even purchased the NMEA 2000® Standard
and say their product is NMEA 2000®. These are not certi-
fied products. These products have not been tested and
therefore probably will not work on a NMEA 2000® net-
work and may even disrupt the network. As an IEC-adopted
worldwide industry standard we must ensure that products
are certified to the NMEA 2000® Standard. Why would
companies attempt to circumvent the NMEA 2000® certifi-
cation process? Why would companies need to completely
ignore the entire process? Why would they decide not to
have their product certified?
Is it financial? I doubt it. NMEA reduced the overall
costs of NMEA 2000® standard by more than 25% in 2009.
I did hear from someone in Europe that they thought the
price of NMEA 2000® was $40,000. Certainly, it is not. A
little research would, of course, find that the total cost may
be just a little over $5,000 for the entire standard, one
product code and one product certification. Enveloped into
engineering resources, add a little accounting magic, and
the cost is relatively insignificant over the lifetime of a
product, no matter how small or large the company.
If a manufacturer has an NMEA 2000® manufacturer
registration number and has already purchased the NMEA
2000® Standard, the additional cost for each NMEA 2000®-
(Continued on page 47)
certified product, including product code and product certi-
fication, is only $1,100. So, what is it?
Is it philosophical or is it holding on to old paradigms of
“owning the boat” that is driving this? I cannot answer this.
Yes, change is difficult. Competition is fierce. Better prod-
ucts, better technology and better customer responsiveness
will always be the deciding factor, though. Not following the
industry standard is not the answer!
Thomas Friedman says in this book, “The World Is
Flat”:
“The adoption of common standards for industry elim-
inates the points of frictions among companies and
products. This purging allows companies to continually
improve efficiencies and encourages cross-industry col-
laboration which can advance the freedom of pollinat-
ing ideas. It further fosters creative imagination and
develops enabling tools for new and exciting ways to
create opportunities, products, and profits.”
I have personally seen the reality of what Friedman
espouses. I have seen in the NMEA 2000® Standards meet-
ings fierce competitors collaborate, set aside their differ-
ences and work together for the improvement of the NMEA
2000® Standard. I have seen at these meetings companies
from around the globe develop new alliances, new partner-
ships creating new products.
Unfortunately, there are a number of companies that
are utilizing NMEA 2000®-certified products from other
companies’ investments for their own market gains. This is
not right. This is not fair. It is not ethical. In the end, it hurts
and confuses the boating public. We as an industry are
fighting for fewer recreational and commercial discre-
tionary dollars. Together, we owe the boater a safe and
enjoyable experience.
Another piece of advice from Thomas Friedman’s book:
“When the world starts to move from a primarily ver-
tical (command and control) to an increasingly horizon-
tal (connect and collaborate) form, it doesn’t just affect
how business gets done, it affects everything, how com-
panies define themselves, and how they balance com-
petition and collaboration for the betterment of tech-
nology advancement.”
“Common standards foster and demand new business
practices which are less about
