F&C Marine · Marine electronics retrofit & integration
F&C Marine has expanded its marine electronics range with LXNAV Marine, adding a collection of gateways, converters, sensors and displays that can help bring useful existing engine, battery, tank and navigation information into a modern NMEA 2000 retrofit.
The retrofit problem
It usually starts with one perfectly good piece of equipment
Picture an older workboat coming alongside for an electronics upgrade. The engine is sound. The fuel sender works. The battery bank is doing its job. The wheelhouse still has traditional gauges that have given years of useful service.
Then a new display or navigation system is added and suddenly the question is not, “What do we replace?” It is: “How do we make the equipment already onboard talk to the new network?”
That is the part of the NMEA 2000 retrofit market that makes LXNAV interesting to F&C Marine.
The vessel already has data
Engine RPM, oil pressure, coolant temperature, tank levels, battery current and other information may already exist as analogue signals or on an engine J1939 network.
The new system wants network data
Modern displays and sensors increasingly exchange information over NMEA 2000, so the challenge is often conversion and integration rather than wholesale replacement.
One common language
Why NMEA 2000 changes the way a retrofit is planned
NMEA describes NMEA 2000 as a CAN-based marine data network used to interconnect compatible electronic equipment aboard vessels. In practical terms, it gives suitably compatible devices a common network over which information can be shared.
Technical reference: National Marine Electronics Association – NMEA 2000 .
CAN2CAN: when the engine already speaks J1939
A modern diesel engine may already contain a considerable amount of useful information on its J1939 network. The question is how to make that data available to compatible marine displays without installing another set of sensors simply to reproduce it.
LXNAV CAN2CAN is designed for that job. It converts suitable J1939 engine information to NMEA 2000 and incorporates galvanic isolation.
LXNAV lists converted data including engine speed, pressures, temperatures, engine hours, fuel information, battery voltage and supported engine alarms.
In the right application, that makes CAN2CAN a neat starting point for an NMEA 2000 retrofit of a vessel with a J1939-equipped engine.
SmartEMU: when the vessel does not speak digital yet
Not every engine has J1939. Plenty of working vessels still rely on traditional senders and analogue instrumentation.
Those senders can still be useful.
LXNAV SmartEMU converts analogue information into NMEA 2000 data and provides five analogue and two digital inputs.
LXNAV lists applications including engine monitoring, fluid levels, rudder position and engine running hours, with support for a range of voltage, resistive and 4–20 mA sensor types.
SmartSHUNT: putting the battery bank onto the network
Battery voltage alone only tells part of the story. On vessels with substantial domestic or service loads, knowing what is actually moving into and out of the battery bank can be far more useful.
LXNAV SmartSHUNT provides networked battery monitoring and is available in 100 A, 300 A, 500 A and 1000 A versions.
LXNAV also lists state-of-charge and state-of-health monitoring, multiple battery chemistries and configuration through Wi-Fi or compatible E-series equipment.
In an NMEA 2000 retrofit, that information can become part of the same wider vessel-data environment rather than remaining isolated on a separate battery meter.
SmartFLC: keeping the existing tank sender
A fuel or water tank is another good example of why a retrofit should begin with what is already fitted.
If a suitable analogue sender is already installed and working, replacing the entire arrangement simply because a new display expects NMEA 2000 may be unnecessary.
LXNAV SmartFLC converts analogue fluid-level signals to NMEA 2000. LXNAV lists support for European, ABYC/US and Asian resistance standards, with applications including fuel, clean water, waste water and oil.
The result is a straightforward visual story: existing sender → converter → NMEA 2000 network → compatible display.
Position data
GPSN2K: sometimes the simplest addition is a new network source
Retrofit work is not always about translating old data. Sometimes the network simply needs another reliable source.
LXNAV GPSN2K is a compact NMEA 2000 GPS antenna. LXNAV specifies 10 position fixes per second, a 3 m stated accuracy and direct NMEA 2000 connection.
SmartGPS: when vessel data needs to travel beyond the wheelhouse
Once useful vessel information is available digitally, another possibility appears: viewing selected information away from the equipment itself.
LXNAV describes SmartGPS as a vessel tracking device with an NMEA 2000 GPS antenna, live tracking, multiple-vessel monitoring, warnings and access to supported NMEA 2000 data.
That can be particularly interesting for operators responsible for more than one vessel, where location and available network information can form part of a wider monitoring picture.
It is monitoring rather than remote vessel control: the important distinction is that data from onboard equipment can be made available through the LXNAV tracking platform.
E360: the moment an old console starts to feel modern again
Eventually the data reaches the person who actually needs to use it.
This is where the retrofit becomes visible.
The LXNAV E360 is a 4-inch round touchscreen marine display connected to NMEA 2000. LXNAV states that it can display compatible engine, battery, fluid-level, navigation and other network information.
Its round format makes the product especially interesting in an older console where conventional gauges are already present. Instead of making the bridge look as though every instrument has been ripped out and replaced, the E360 can become part of a sympathetic NMEA 2000 retrofit.
The bit that holds everything together
A good NMEA 2000 retrofit is a network, not a pile of boxes
It is easy to focus on the clever part — the gateway, display or sensor. But a working NMEA 2000 system also depends on the less glamorous parts: backbone cable, drop cables, power injection, T-connectors, termination, correct routing and sensible network layout.
LXNAV’s range includes NMEA 2000 cables, power tees, T-connectors, multi-way connectors, terminators, starter kits and engine adaptor cabling alongside the electronic products.
Planning the job
What should be checked before choosing a converter?
The right product is decided by the vessel, not by the photograph on a product page. Before specifying an NMEA 2000 retrofit, F&C Marine would normally want to establish what is already onboard and what the customer ultimately wants to see.
This is also why fault finding matters. Our real-world marine electronics diagnostics and NMEA 2000 fault investigation shows how several apparently separate symptoms can actually be connected through the vessel’s wider electronics installation.
Workshop before wheelhouse
Configuration can start before the equipment reaches the vessel
Some equipment can sensibly be checked or configured before dispatch. That does not replace onboard commissioning, but it can make the installation start from a much better point.
F&C Marine offers marine electronics pre-dispatch setup and bench testing for suitable equipment where agreed programming or configuration is useful before installation.
Where a problem can be assessed without immediately sending an engineer, our marine electronics remote support may also help establish what equipment, screenshots, settings or network information needs checking first.
Where F&C Marine fits
You do not have to replace everything to modernise the vessel
The most interesting part of the LXNAV range is not simply that it adds another family of marine electronics to the market.
It gives F&C Marine additional options when a vessel has useful information trapped in an older engine, sender, battery system or instrument arrangement and the next generation of equipment needs that information on NMEA 2000.
Sometimes the answer will be CAN2CAN. Sometimes it will be SmartEMU, SmartFLC or SmartSHUNT. Sometimes the right job is simply to add GPS, extend the backbone or install a modern display.
And sometimes the first thing to do is investigate the existing vessel properly before ordering anything.
If you are planning an NMEA 2000 retrofit, send us details of the existing equipment, engine, sensors, displays and what you want the finished system to achieve.
Discuss your NMEA 2000 retrofitContinue researching your marine electronics system
If you are still planning the wider installation, browse the F&C Marine electronics knowledge base for practical articles covering NMEA networks, AIS, radio, antennas, radar and vessel electronics.
Manufacturer information: Product capabilities described in this article are based on current LXNAV Marine product information and manuals available at the time of writing. Final compatibility should always be checked against the particular vessel, engine, sender, display and network configuration.
Official manufacturer: LXNAV Marine · LXNAV Manuals & Downloads
Products used in LXNAV retrofit and integration projects
These product pages relate directly to the retrofit paths covered in this guide. Final selection still depends on the vessel, existing sensors, network architecture and the data actually available.
- LXNAV CAN2CAN — J1939 engine data to NMEA 2000.
- LXNAV SmartEMU — analogue engine and sender integration.
- LXNAV SmartFLC — analogue tank sender to NMEA 2000.
- LXNAV SmartSHUNT — battery monitoring over NMEA 2000.
- LXNAV SmartSENSE — environmental data for the NMEA 2000 network.
- LXNAV GPSN2K — dedicated NMEA 2000 GPS source.
- LXNAV E360, E500, E700 and E900 — display options for compatible network data and chart/navigation functions.
Related technical guides: How to Build an NMEA 2000 Network · J1939 to NMEA 2000 Explained · E360 vs E500 vs E700 vs E900