[jbondy]

We've got a Raymarine C80 mounted in a NavPod at the helm. It is connected via SeaTalk to the S1 Wheelpilot computer mounted on a bulkhead below. We're installing a Ray55 DSC VHF at the nav station and would like to connect it to the C80 GPS so that it could transmit location automatically in a distress situation. To do that, we need to get the NMEA signal from the GPS (out) to the VHF (in).

Secondarily, I believe the VHF can display the location of a received distress call on the GPS if we connect the VHF's NMEA out to the GPS' NMEA in.

The S1's trip computer has both itsd NMEA in and out available. I'm thinking that it would be a shorter run from the VHF to the trip computer so my questions revolve around whether it (the computer) will relay the signals between the GPS and the VHF.

It makes sense to me that the GPS is sending location data to the trip computer, and that the trip computer's NMEA output might be able to be used to pass that data to the VHF. It seems less likely that the trip computer will accept the NMEA data from the VHF and relay it to the GPS, and if it does, how the GPS would know what to do with it.

None of this is covered in any of the manuals. I've written Raymarine tech suppport and have yet to hear back, so I thought I'd try here, too. Any insight into this would be appreciated.

TIA