Navico AIRMAR® DST820 Smart Depth, Speed and Temperature Sensor

The Navico AIRMAR DST820 is an advanced NMEA 2000® thru-hull multisensor that combines depth, speed through water, water temperature and vessel attitude data in one compact unit.

Featuring AIRMAR’s highly responsive Gen2 paddlewheel, the DST820 delivers accurate speed readings from as low as 0.3 knots and smooth performance up to 45 knots. It is suitable for sailing, performance cruising and powerboat applications requiring accurate, networked instrument data.

Features

• Measures depth, speed through water and water temperature
• Integrated attitude sensor provides heel and trim data
• New AIRMAR Gen2 paddlewheel
• Responsive speed readings from 0.3 knots
• Accurate speed measurements up to 45 knots
• Fast 5 Hz speed-through-water output
• Depth measurements from 0.5 to 100 metres
• Standard NMEA 2000 network connection
• Bluetooth Low Energy connectivity
• Compatible with the AIRMAR CAST™ app
• Basic and advanced heel-compensated speed calibration
• Plastic retractable thru-hull housing
• Self-closing valve helps minimise water entry
• Supplied with a 6 m NMEA 2000 cable
• Replaces the previous DST810 model 000-15735-001

Specifications

Accurate Speed-Through-Water Data

The DST820’s Gen2 paddlewheel starts responding below 0.3 knots and provides linear speed data from approximately 0.6 knots. Its five-times-per-second output supplies smoother and more responsive speed information than conventional paddlewheel sensors.

Accurate speed-through-water data supports:

• Sail-trim optimisation
• Target-speed calculations
• VMG calculations
• Boat-performance analysis
• Current and tidal calculations
• More accurate true-wind calculations

Airmar Cast App

The free AIRMAR CAST app connects directly to the DST820 using Bluetooth. It can be used to:

• Display live sensor data
• Perform basic speed calibration
• Configure advanced multi-point calibration
• Apply heel-compensated speed corrections
• Enter correction values for multiple speeds and heel angles
• Configure depth and temperature offsets
• Calibrate heel and trim
• Adjust sensor filters and outputs

The calibration settings are stored inside the DST820. Corrected data is then supplied to every compatible instrument connected to the NMEA 2000 network.

Compatible Marine Electronics

The DST820 connects to a standard powered NMEA 2000 network and can supply data to compatible:

• B&G Zeus chartplotters
• B&G Vulcan chartplotters
• B&G Triton and Nemesis instrument displays
• Simrad multifunction displays
• Simrad IS-series instrument displays
• Lowrance NMEA 2000-compatible displays
• Garmin marine displays
• Raymarine displays through a suitable SeaTalkng adapter
• Actisense NMEA 2000 gateways
• Other displays supporting the applicable NMEA 2000 PGNs

Display compatibility depends on the receiving product supporting the required NMEA 2000 data messages.

NMEA 2000 Data Output

The sensor also transmits identification, configuration, diagnostic and proprietary calibration messages.

Vakaros Atlas 2 Compatibility

The DST820 can provide depth, speed-through-water and water-temperature information to a Vakaros Atlas 2 when used with a Digital Yacht NAVLink Blue – Vakaros Edition.

The DST820 connects to the vessel’s NMEA 2000 network, while NAVLink Blue transmits the supported network data wirelessly to the Atlas 2.

The DST820’s internal Bluetooth connection is intended for the AIRMAR CAST app and does not connect directly to the Vakaros Atlas 2.

Hull Compatibility

The plastic housing is generally suitable for:

• Solid fibreglass hulls
• Cored fibreglass hulls when correctly prepared and sealed
• Aluminium and steel hulls when installed according to AIRMAR instructions

Plastic housings are not normally recommended for wooden hulls because expansion of the timber can damage the housing. A bronze version should generally be considered for a wooden hull.

Always verify the housing material against the vessel’s hull before installation.

Installation Information

The DST820 requires a powered and correctly terminated NMEA 2000 backbone. It does not connect directly to a conventional analogue depth-sounder socket.

For reliable performance:

• Install the sensor in clean, turbulence-free water.
• Avoid locations behind strakes, steps, intakes or skin fittings.
• Keep the paddlewheel clear of antifouling build-up and marine growth.
• Ensure sufficient internal clearance to remove the sensor insert.
• Observe the correct fore-and-aft sensor orientation.
• Confirm that the housing is suitable for the hull material.

The self-closing valve helps reduce water entry when the sensor insert is removed for cleaning or servicing.

What’s Included

• AIRMAR DST820 multisensor
• Plastic thru-hull housing with self-closing valve
• Gen2 paddlewheel insert
• 6 m NMEA 2000 cable
• Installation hardware
• Installation instructions

FAQs

1. Does the AIRMAR DST820 sense depth, speed and water temperature?

Yes. The DST820 is a high-end NMEA 2000 multisensor for measuring water depth, speed through water and temperature, as well as vessel heel and trim.

2. Does the DST820 provide accurate speed measurement at low and high speeds?

Yes. The DST820 uses the advanced Gen2 paddlewheel that starts reacting from 0.3 knots and provides accurate speed measurement up to 45 knots with a fast 5 Hz output.

3. Can the DST820 compensate speed readings for heel and trim?

Yes. The DST820 has its own attitude sensor to measure heel and trim. The AIRMAR CAST app allows performing basic and advanced heel compensation of the speed measurement.

4. Can the AIRMAR DST820 be calibrated wirelessly?

Yes. You can use Bluetooth Low Energy to access the AIRMAR CAST app to monitor live sensor information, calibrate speed, adjust depth and temperature offsets and other sensor parameters. Calibration results are saved into the sensor.