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LED Lighting Control

WARNING

Setting some LED light effects or setting the LED lights to react to music may result in lights flashing at various intervals. Consult your physician if you have epilepsy or are sensitive to bright or flashing lights.

NOTICE

Before you can control any connected lights using the stereo, you must first initialize the lights using a compatible chartplotter on the same NMEA 2000® network as the lighting controller and the stereo. See the installation instructions for the Garmin Spectra™ lighting controller or the owner's manual for the chartplotter for initialization instructions. If you do not have a compatible chartplotter connected, you can also initialize the lights using the ActiveCaptain® app on a mobile device.

NOTICE

Using certain LED colors on your vessel, such as red and green, may violate the laws, regulations, and standards related to the use and/or operation of marine navigation lights. It is the user's responsibility to comply with any such applicable laws, regulations, and standards. Garmin® is not responsible for any fines, penalties, citations, or damages that may be incurred due to any such lack of compliance.

If you installed a Garmin Spectra lighting controller, you can use the stereo to activate and change limited features on connected LED lights. You can quickly turn LED lights on and off, select preprogrammed lighting effects, activate saved scenes, and use AUDIO SYNC to configure lights to change color and brightness to music played on the stereo. If needed, more advanced control and configuration of the lights can be performed using the ActiveCaptain app or using a compatible chartplotter on the same NMEA 2000 network and marine network as the lighting controller and the stereo. See the owner's manual for the chartplotter for complete instructions.

Turning LED Lights On and Off

  1. Select Menu symbol > LED CONTROL.
  2. Select LIGHTS and select the lights or group of lights you want to turn on or off.
  3. Select ON to turn on the lights.
  4. Select ON again to turn off the lights.

Turning on LED Light Effects

WARNING

Selecting some LED light effects may result in lights flashing at various intervals. Consult your physician if you have epilepsy or are sensitive to bright or flashing lights.

The Garmin Spectra lighting controller has a selection of preprogrammed lighting effects that you can turn on using the stereo.

  1. Select Menu symbol > LED CONTROL.
  2. Select LIGHTS and select the lights or group of lights you want to use a lighting effect.
  3. Select EFFECTS and select one of the preprogrammed lighting effects to start it on the connected lights.

Starting an LED Light Scene

NOTICE

Before you can start an LED light scene using the stereo, you must use a connected chartplotter to create at least one scene. See the owner's manual for the chartplotter for complete instructions.

  1. Select Menu symbol > LED CONTROL > SCENES.

    A list of previously-created scenes is shown.

  2. Select a scene to start.

Setting LED Lights to React to Music

WARNING

Setting LED lights to react to music may result in lights flashing at various intervals. Consult your physician if you have epilepsy or are sensitive to bright or flashing lights.

NOTICE

Before you can set connected LED lights to react to music playing on the stereo, you must use a connected chartplotter to associate a light or group of lights with an audio zone on this stereo. See the chartplotter owner's manual for complete instructions.

  1. Select Menu symbol > LED CONTROL.
  2. Select LIGHTS, and select the lights or group of lights you want react to music.
  3. Select AUDIO SYNC, and select an option:

    • If you want the lights to react to the intensity of the music playing, select COLOR BLEND.

    • If you want the lights to react to the bass and treble frequencies of the music playing, AUDIO SPECTRUM.

You must use a connected chartplotter if you want to change the colors used by this feature. See the chartplotter owner's manual for complete instructions.

LED Light Control and Configuration Using the ActiveCaptain App

You can connect your mobile device to the stereo using the ActiveCaptain app to configure and control lights connected to a Garmin Spectra LED control module. If the stereo and LED control module are connected to the same NMEA 2000 network as a compatible chartplotter, you should connect the ActiveCaptain app to the chartplotter instead of the stereo so you can use the full features included in the app in addition to the lighting controls. See the owner's manual for the chartplotter for instructions.

NOTE: Before you can connect your mobile device to the stereo, you must either configure the stereo to act as a wireless access point or connect the stereo to a wireless router using an Ethernet cable.

Getting Started with the ActiveCaptain App

You can connect a mobile device to the stereo using the ActiveCaptain app. The app provides a quick and easy way for you to configure and interact with the lights connected to a Garmin Spectra LED control module.

  1. If necessary, set up the stereo as a Wi‑Fi® access point (Setting the Fusion PartyBus Device as a Wireless Access Point) or connect the stereo to a wireless router using an Ethernet cable.
  2. From the application store on your mobile device, install and open the ActiveCaptain app.
    TIP: You can scan this QR code using your mobile device to download the app.

    QR code
  3. Log into the ActiveCaptain app using your Garmin account.
  4. Bring the mobile device within 32 m (105 ft.) of the stereo or the wireless router.
  5. In the ActiveCaptain app, select Connect.
  6. Select the SSID of the stereo or wireless router and provide the password, if necessary.

    The app connects to the wireless network and returns to the main screen.

After the app connects to the wireless router or stereo correctly, an option for Lighting is shown on the Boat Apps tab.

Initializing Connected LED Lights Using the ActiveCaptain App

Before you can interact with any connected LED lights using the stereo, you must first initialize the lights by providing information about the type of light source supported by the connected LEDs.

  1. If necessary, open the ActiveCaptain app and connect it to the stereo or wireless router.
  2. In the ActiveCaptain app, select Settings > Lighting.

    A list of connected LED control modules is shown.

  3. Select an LED control module with connected LED lights that you want to initialize and select Lights.

    A list of all available lights is shown. Any light indicated with a yellow circle must be initialized before it's available for use by the system.

  4. Select a connected LED light from the list.
  5. Select Light Types and select the type of LEDs connected:

    • RGB: The connected dimmable LEDs support a full range of colors.

    • RGBW: The connected dimmable LEDs support a full range of colors and high quality white light.

    • CRGBW: The connected dimmable LEDs support a full range of colors and multiple temperature white light.

    • Single Channel: The dimmable LEDs support one dedicated color.

    TIP: You can select Identify to illuminate the selected light to help identify and test the selected LED type.
  6. Repeat this procedure for all connected lights until all of the intended LED lights are initialized.
GUID-2BF6BEB7-4CE7-4804-9935-F0D912E72FA7 v5
August 2026
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