How Do I Power my NMEA 2000 Backbone?

Question:

I am in Papua New Guinea and I wonder if you would help me to answer a question. None of the blurbs or YouTube videos answer the all important questions about power supply. I have 3 units. a GMDSS VHF Radio; an AIS unit and a B & G Vulcan 9 plotter. They all have power leads to the battery. Now the NMEA 2000 also has a power lead and since so much is made of simplifying wiring, I want to find out if the new 12v supplied backbone cable supplies power to the units? If not, why does the backbone need 12v at all. Thanks, Guy 

Answer:

Hi Guy. Good question, even though your VHF, AIS, and MFD are powered separately, the NMEA 2000 communication bus also needs to be powered by 12 VDC switched power supply.