How Do I Supply Power to the NMEA 2000 Backbone?

Question:

I am in Papua New Guines and I wonder if you would help me to answer a question.  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.  We have a conceptual diagram on our website, https://www.pysystems.ca/site/assets/files/2539/pys_networking.pdf  -Jeff