NMEA Data Multiplexer NDC-4-A NDC-4-A-USB NDC-4-A-ASW NDC-4-A-AIS Full User Manual Issue 1.06 Multiple talker interface for use with the NMEA 0183 standard. Serial data networking of marine electronic devices / instruments. RS232 & USB 1.1 & 2.0 PC interfaces to the NMEA 0183 standard. Actisense ISO-Drive technology for a fully isolated serial data system. Intelligent NMEA filtering on all inputs allows smart removal of NMEA data.
NMEA Data Multiplexer - NDC-4-A & NDC-4-A-USB Contents Important Notices Notices Foreword Introduction General features 5 5 5 5 7 Software updates Connecting devices together 7 8 Connections Connecting to NMEA devices 9 10 Other Connections 11 USB Driver Installation 12 USB Configuration 14 Actisense PC Software suites 15 Using the Control Centre 17 4/5 Opto-isolated input ports 2 ISO-Drive output ports A PC RS232 or USB bi-directional port The basics The NMEA signals The different NMEA st
Is some NMEA data really unnecessary? How to change the Inclusion Lists Set-up procedure Flash Hardware window Advanced Features Control Centre Port Status window Hardware Port Status window Hardware Connection Status window Hardware Information window 23 23 25 26 26 27 28 28 29 Configuration of AIS 30 The NDC-4-ASW Autoswitch 31 Using the NDC ActiPatch 32 Troubleshooting guide 35 Specifications System block diagrams Save your NDC configuration options here Company Information 37 38 39 40 Settin
NMEA Data Multiplexer - NDC-4-A & NDC-4-A-USB Important Notices Actisense and the Actisense logo are registered trademarks of Active Research Limited. All rights are reserved. The contents of this manual may not be transferred or copied without the expressed written permission of Active Research Limited. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
© 2009 Active Research Limited Page 6
NMEA Data Multiplexer - NDC-4-A & NDC-4-A-USB General features 4/5 Opto-isolated input ports Each Opto-isolated input port has a priority level. This defaults to the logical order matching the port numbers, i.e. port 1 has the highest priority and port 4 has the lowest. If the USB cable is not plugged in (or not powered) and OPTO IN 0 is not used to connect to a PC, OPTO IN 0 can be used as a fifth fully compliant NMEA 0183 data input.
Connecting devices together The basics NMEA data is transmitted from an information source such as GPS, depth sounder, gyro compass etc. These data sending devices are called “Talkers”. Equipment receiving this information such as a chartplotter, radar or NMEA display is called a “Listener”. Unfortunately, only one Talker can be connected on to a single NMEA 0183 system at any one time.
NMEA Data Multiplexer - NDC-4-A & NDC-4-A-USB Connections NDC-4-A-USB NMEA DATA COMBINER 99999 Figure 1 – All external connections The NMEA Data Multiplexer (NDC-4) has screw-terminal “Phoenix” type external connections for: 1. Five Opto-isolated inputs. All inputs are of the differential opto-isolated type and use the unique Actisense low current drain circuitry (2mA @ 2.
Connecting to NMEA devices Personal Rx Computer G NMEA A Listener C B NMEA DATA COMBINER + - NDC-4-A-USB NMEA Listener B 99999 NMEA + Listener A G + NMEA Talker 4 + G NMEA Talker 3 B A NMEA Talker 2 + NMEA Talker 1 Figure 2 – NMEA 0183 connections OPTO Inputs The differential opto-isolated inputs are designed to handle a variety of NMEA 0183 device output specifications.
NMEA Data Multiplexer - NDC-4-A & NDC-4-A-USB Other Connections + - Tx Rx G USB Battery / Power Supply PC or Laptop PC or Laptop Figure 3 – RS232, USB and Battery connections ! CAUTION! The USB power and battery power are NOT isolated from each other. The USB and external battery should NOT be connected at the same time unless an isolated power supply is used.
USB Driver Installation (NDC-4-A-USB Only - Note standard NDC-4 units can be upgraded to USB by purchasing a USB upgrade kit). The Actisense NDC-4 makes use of a virtual serial port driver (know as the Virtual COM Port Driver) to interface between the USB port on the PC and the Actisense product. This driver allows software running on a PC to communicate with the Actisense NDC-4 as if it was connected to a standard serial port on the PC, when in fact all communication is done over the USB connection.
NMEA Data Multiplexer - NDC-4-A & NDC-4-A-USB 3. Make sure the ‘Include this location in the search’ option is ticked, and use the ‘Browse’ button to locate the ‘USB Drivers’ directory on the Actisense CD. 5. The ‘USB Serial Converter’ driver is now installed, click ‘Finish’ to complete the wizard, and wait for the ‘Found New Hardware Wizard’ to appear again. 4.
USB Configuration To communicate with the NDC-4, the COM port number that Windows™ has allocated to the USB port needs to be determined. The following guide will walk the user through this standard operation. The Actisense NMEA Data Multiplexer, NDC-4 is completely USB port independent: it can be easily unplugged from one USB port and connected to another available USB port on the same PC without the COM Port number changing.
NMEA Data Multiplexer - NDC-4-A & NDC-4-A-USB Actisense PC Software suites The Actisense NMEA Data Combiner hardware can be configured, monitored and tested using its own dedicated Control Centre software suite. The Actisense NDC can be updated / upgraded using the latest Flash Centre software suite. This section provides a complete users guide to installing and uninstalling these two software suites.
To uninstall Actisense PC software Replace the generic “” text below with the name of the actual software you are installing: “NDC Control Centre”, or “ActiPatch”. 1. If at any time you wish to remove the installed Actisense program, simply use the standard Windows™ ‘Start → All Programs → Actisense → Uninstall Actisense ’ menu option to perform this operation (refer to figure 7). Figure 8 – Uninstall confirmation 2.
NMEA Data Multiplexer - NDC-4-A & NDC-4-A-USB Using the Control Centre The Actisense NMEA Data Combiner hardware can be configured and monitored using its own dedicated Control Centre suite. This section provides a complete users guide to all the Control Centre’s features. This program is currently only available for Windows platforms (98/ME/NT/2000/XP), however, it has been proven possible to use the Control Centre on a Mac running Windows emulation software.
Initial hardware and software set-up Important information - please read. Figure 11 – Control Centre main window (before hardware detected) To access all the NDC Control Centre configuration features, the Control Centre must first detect what type of NDC is connected. This allows the same Control Centre to be used for the NDC-1, NDC-2, NDC-3 and NDC-4 (as they all have different configuration and test options).
NMEA Data Multiplexer - NDC-4-A & NDC-4-A-USB Pull-down menus The main window has five standard pull-down menus. File → Load / Save Configuration File: The Control Centre will automatically save its appearance and all other settings to file “ControlCentre.ini” so that the same settings can be used in subsequent sessions. Comms → Comm Port 1-8: Selects the PC communications port the NDC hardware is attached to. The Baud rate will default to 38400 (the NDC hardware default).
Port Configuration tab The Port configuration tab of the main window allows the user to select the priority and Baud rates of the NMEA and USB / RS232 input ports of the NDC-4 hardware, plus other useful features. Figure 12 – Port Configuration tab Why is there a need for Port Priorities? How to change port priorities and Baud rates Each of the five NMEA input ports can transfer anything up to 480 bytes of data per second, making a total of 1920 bytes/second.
NMEA Data Multiplexer - NDC-4-A & NDC-4-A-USB Extra ARL P-codes: Toggles the enable/disable state of the extra ARL P-code sentences on the RS232 port. These P-codes are used by Control Centre to determine which NDC input supplied which piece of NMEA data. In this way, Control Centre can show what data came from channel 1, channel 2, etc. This ability is also open to any other PC program.
Get from hardware: Reads the current Port Configuration information, for all channels, from the connected NDC hardware. This will overwrite any current settings held by the Control Centre’s Port Configuration; if the current settings must be remembered, the File → Save Configuration file main window menu option should be used before requesting this operation.
NMEA Data Multiplexer - NDC-4-A & NDC-4-A-USB Inclusion List configuration tab The Inclusion List configuration tab of the main window allows the user to select which NMEA sentences are to be included in the onward data transmission from the NMEA Data Combiner. Each of the four NMEA input ports and the USB input port have their own Inclusion List, so that each can be tuned separately to match its connected device.
Main (left) tick-box area: Each NMEA 0183 sentence has its own individual tickbox, and is intended for the advanced user to fine tune the selection to exactly what is required (as this requires detailed knowledge of NMEA 0183 sentences). Sentence Groups (right) tick-box area: To make selection of NMEA 0183 sentence’s easier, all sentences of a particular type have been collected together, and is primarily intended for the novice user who does not know which sentences contain what information.
NMEA Data Multiplexer - NDC-4-A & NDC-4-A-USB Set-up procedure 1. Remembering that the channel’s have a priority level (that only has a effect during very high loads), choose which device to connect to which channel. Place the most important device on channel 1 and so on. If the ‘Inclusion Lists’ are tuned to allow only the required data of each device through, then the port priorities will normally not come into operation (as the maximum output rate will usually not be exceeded). 2.
Flash Hardware window The Flash Hardware window is displayed for the duration of the Port Configuration update operation. Figure 14 – Flash Hardware Control window Please note that during this updating process, it is vital that the Control Centre and NDC hardware are not interrupted. Therefore, the following precautions are suggested:– 1. Ensure there are no programs active/running on the PC other than the Control Centre. 2. Check that the USB / RS232 cable between the PC and the NDC hardware is secure.
NMEA Data Multiplexer - NDC-4-A & NDC-4-A-USB Control Centre Port Status window The Control Centre status window displays all information relating to the communications port open between the Control Centre and the NDC-4 hardware. Figure 16 – Control Centre Port Status window This includes data received (from the NDC hardware) and data sent (to the NDC hardware), and the bytes-persecond transfer rate / buffer loading rate for both directions of the communications port.
Hardware Port Status window Hardware Connection Status window Figure 17 – Hardware Port Status window Figure 18 – Hardware Connection Status window The NDC hardware status window, like the Control Centre Port Status window, displays bytes-per-second transfer rates and buffer loading rates for a number of ports.
NMEA Data Multiplexer - NDC-4-A & NDC-4-A-USB Hardware Information window The NDC hardware information window displays the information received from the NDC hardware. This information Includes:1. Hardware Serial ID number: The unique serial identification number given to each Actisense product. This number is used to identify each NDC-4 unit in our records. 2. Bootloader & Main (software) program version: Version numbers of the bootloader and Main application software programs.
Configuration of AIS + NMEA Talker 4 + G NMEA Talker 3 38400 Baud B A AIS Talker 4800 Baud B NMEA A Talker 1 38400 Baud 4800 Baud NMEA DATA COMBINER 38400 Baud NDC-4-A-USB A B A B 99999 Chart Plotter In Out 4800 Baud Figure 21 – AIS Configuration with 38400 Baud Rate Setting up the Hardware for AIS NDC Control Centre, supplied on the CD (or available for download from Actisense website) allows a quick set-up for AIS using the configuration file included.
NMEA Data Multiplexer - NDC-4-A & NDC-4-A-USB The NDC-4-ASW Autoswitch The Actisense NMEA Data Multiplexer / Combiner / Autoswitch (NDC-4) has been designed with the ability to operate as a Multiplexer / Combiner OR an Autoswitch. Setting the NDC-4 as an Autoswitch The NDC-4 can easily be changed between being a NMEA Data Multiplexer / Combiner and an NMEA Autoswitch using NDC Control Centre. For systems that have multiple NMEA devices of an identical type (e.g.
Using the NDC ActiPatch The Actisense NDC-4 firmware can be easily and quickly updated using the Actisense NDC ActiPatch. The program has a simple look, as the flash update process has been completely automated for a trouble-free operation. Figure 23 – NDC ActiPatch window (searching for NDC) This program is currently only available for Windows platforms (98/ME/NT/2000/XP), however, it has been proven possible to use NDC ActiPatch on a Mac running Windows emulation software.
NMEA Data Multiplexer - NDC-4-A & NDC-4-A-USB Buttons, LEDs and Displays Connection Status text display: Displays all handshaking and data transfer information required for flash programming the NDC hardware during the firmware update process. For most users this information can be ignored, and will only be useful if there are problems in reflashing the attached NDC. Comms → Comm Port 1-10: Selects the PC communications port that the NDC hardware is attached to (via the RS232 or USB cable).
Connection Status LED’s: The four status LED’s inform the user what stage the reprogramming operation is currently at. Initially no LED’s will be lit. Once a successful connection is made to an NDC-4 unit, the Connected LED will light. During the reprogramming operation, both the Erasing and Programming LED’s will become lit, and finally, once the operation is complete, the Success LED with light. It is normal for the success LED to only stay lit for a second or two, after which it will turn off.
NMEA Data Multiplexer - NDC-4-A & NDC-4-A-USB Troubleshooting guide This guide will concentrate on all relevant troubleshooting issues above simple cable connection faults. Therefore, the cables between the NDC-4 hardware and any other devices should be checked as a matter of course, before continuing with this guide.
Control Centre Error Status window The Control Centre will display any error information received from the NDC-4 hardware in a window like that in Figure 22. If this window is displayed, follow the message instructions carefully and then if the fault persists, contact Actisense (refer to the Contact Information section).
NMEA Data Multiplexer - NDC-4-A & NDC-4-A-USB Specifications The NDC-4 ISO-Drive output is a very flexible output that is RS485, RS232, RS422 and NMEA 0183 compatible. Parameter Conditions Min. Max. Unit Supply Supply voltage External power supply 8 35 V Supply current from external source (see note 1) Supply voltage = 12v 30 40 mA Supply voltage = 24v 15 20 mA Supply voltage USB powered 4.75 5.25 V Supply current from USB (see note 1) Supply voltage = 5v 67 75 mA -15.0 0.
System block diagrams NMEA Opto Input Port 1 NMEA Filter Port 1 NMEA Opto Input Port 2 NMEA Filter Port 2 NMEA Opto Input Port 3 NMEA Filter Port 3 NMEA Opto Input Port 4 NMEA Filter Port 4 NMEA Opto Input Port 0 NMEA Filter Port 0 USB Input Circuitry Switches to USB when USB active ISO Out 1 Port Priority Controller ISO Out 1 (Combined) Circuitry USB Output Circuitry ISO Out 0 Port Controller ISO Out 0 (PC) Circuitry Figure 26 – NDC-4 in ‘Combiner’ mode signal flow block diagram NMEA Opto
NMEA Data Multiplexer - NDC-4-A & NDC-4-A-USB Save your NDC configuration options here NMEA Input (1-4) NMEA Device connected Baud rate USB / RS232 Input & Output NMEA Device connected Baud rate NMEA Combined Output NMEA Device connected Baud rate © 2009 Active Research Limited Page 39
Order codes: NDC-4 NDC-4-USB Standard NDC-4 (5 isolated inputs, 2 ISO-Drive outputs) USB capable NDC-4 (4 isolated inputs, 2 ISO-Drive outputs & USB bi-directional PC data port) Standard NDC-4 preconfigured for AIS use (Input 2 set to 38400 Baud and Input 2’s NMEA Filter list set to block AIS data going out standard Baud rate Output 1) Standard NDC-4 preconfigured for Autoswitch use (Operating mode set to “Autoswitch” instead of standard “Combiner” mode) NDC-4-AIS NDC-4-ASW Company Information Active Res
