True or False? When a Voltage Drop calculation shows that an end-powered NMEA 2000® backbone will exceed the allowable voltage drop only by 0.1 volts, the installer can move higher LEN devices toward the power tee.

True or False? When a Voltage Drop calculation shows that an end-powered NMEA 2000® backbone will exceed the allowable voltage drop only by 0.1 volts, the installer can move higher LEN devices toward the power tee.

• A. True
• B. False
• C. Not sure
• D. Only with permits

Answer: (A)

Voltage drop on an end-powered NMEA 2000 backbone depends on how much current each device draws (LEN) and how far its power path runs along the trunk. Higher LEN devices pull more current, so their connection paths contribute more to the total drop, especially on the longer, distant portions of the backbone. When the system is just slightly over the allowable drop, moving the higher LEN devices closer to the power tee reduces the length of the current paths carrying the largest loads. That lowers the voltage drop for those devices and can bring the overall network drop back within the allowed limit. Since the margin here is only 0.1 volts, this adjustment is a practical and acceptable way to satisfy the spec.

Voltage drop on an end-powered NMEA 2000 backbone depends on how much current each device draws (LEN) and how far its power path runs along the trunk. Higher LEN devices pull more current, so their connection paths contribute more to the total drop, especially on the longer, distant portions of the backbone. When the system is just slightly over the allowable drop, moving the higher LEN devices closer to the power tee reduces the length of the current paths carrying the largest loads. That lowers the voltage drop for those devices and can bring the overall network drop back within the allowed limit. Since the margin here is only 0.1 volts, this adjustment is a practical and acceptable way to satisfy the spec.