Connecting NMEA cables

[mainemandean]

I need to connect the tiny conductors between the NMEA cable leaving my DSC/AIS radio, and the cable which has a pinned plug which goes into the back of my plotter.

I can do this with tiny butt connectors, but then if I wanted to remove the radio for any reason, I would have to cut the cable and re-splice later.

Can anyone suggest a pinned male-female connector pair? Preferably one that uses screws, not solder. I am only using three conductors, but I can leave one or more pins unused, obviously, if I need to go to something with more pins.

I do not find anything seemingly made for this. But I am pretty dense re electronics, and really don't know where to look, or what terms to search for. At least that's what my efforts seem to suggest.

Also, if Radio Shack has such an item, would that be boat-worthy?

Dean

[centaursailor]

I had to hardwire a serial port to a USB connection and resort to some additional modifications to get the Gamin to talk to the DSC radio and laptop.
I used small electrical connector blocks, luckily there was a diagram with the Gps and serial port of which color wire was which input. Got it all working and talking without too much hastle.
Wrapped the block in insulating tape and its working away since.
Selecting the right Garmin nema and baud rate settings took more time but got that eventually.
Have it now for the last 5 or 6 seasons without any prolems, I take all the nav gear home out of season and only need to disconnect the single power input.
Safe sailing

[BELLATRIX1965]

I would go with something like this:

12-Position European-Style Mini Terminal Strip - RadioShack.com

Those wires are TINY, so be careful not to grab the insulation vs. the conductor itself. This would normally be mounted in an interior space, so the "marine" aspect should be fine. (Mine between the GPS and the VHF radio has been fine for several years). Happy wiring!