Specifications
Actisense
®
Page 8© 2011 Active Research Limited
The Actisense product range
Actisense produces a full range of products to solve all
NMEA interfacing and interconnection requirements,
including:
PC OPTO-Isolation cables
The Actisense PC-OPTO range allows a PC to safely
receive data from an NMEA 0183 system, protecting
against high voltage spikes and preventing dangerous
ground loops.
The cable converts neatly between the differential
system used on the NMEA 0183 and the “single-ended”
RS232 system to provide the best quality of data for the
PC port. See section “Connecting a computer to your
NMEA 0183 system” for more details.
NMEA Data Multiplexers / Combiners
The Actisense NDC product range can allow multiple
“Talkers” to easily share their data with other NMEA 0183
“Listener” devices.
Some NDC models allow for ltering of the NMEA 0183
data to remove any unwanted sentences. A wide range
of input / output Baud rates can be set to match any
NMEA device. Computer users with a USB port are
catered for with the later variants in the range, either being
supplied with a USB cable or having upgrade capability.
Autoswitching functionality has also been added to later
variatns of the NDC, see the Autoswitching section below.
NMEA Buffers
The Actisense NBF product range provides multiple
ISO-Drive outputs to allow several NMEA 0183 devices
on separate systems to safely receive the data from one
source. The signal is buffered, amplied and isolated to
meet the needs of any NMEA 0183 network. If you require
more than one source (“Talker”) of data, an Actisense
NDC can easily be used. An NBF connected to the output
of an NDC will provide multiple isolated data streams from
multiple inputs.
NMEA Gateway - NMEA 0183 to PC USB
The USG product range is the USB to Serial (NMEA 0183)
gateway. This provides a totally isolated input and output
to connect a PC standard USB port to an NMEA 0183 bus.
With bi-directional isolation the USG is even more robust
than the PC-OPTO range.
NMEA Gateway - NMEA 0183 to NMEA 2000
The NGW product range converts NMEA 0183 sentences
into NMEA 2000 messages and vice-versa. The NMEA
0183 end comes in standard NMEA 0183 bare wire
connections or with a USB plug to connect directly to a PC
running NMEA 0183 software.
NMEA Autoswitches
The Actisense NSW-1 (and some of the NDC range) can
enable automatic switching of two or more NMEA 0183
source (“Talker”) devices to select the highest priority
device with valid data - in effect - automatic backup
protection.
This can be used to select the highest priority GPS unit,
and automatically switch to the next highest priority GPS
device if the rst fails for one of a number of reasons.
Please visit the Actisense product webpage for full
details on these and other Actisense interfacing and
Depth sounding product ranges including NMEA 2000.