ShipModul Marine Electronics MiniPlex-2 series NMEA 0183 multiplexer Manual This manual covers: MiniPlex-2S MiniPlex-2S/BT MiniPlex-2USB MiniPlex-2USB/BT MiniPlex-2E MiniPlex-2Wi MiniPlex-2 series, V2.0 Firmware V3.20.x Rev.
Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 4 NMEA 0183 ................................................................................................................................ 4 NMEA Sentences ...................................................................................................................... 4 Talkers and Listeners ..........................................................
$PSMDLDR – Loader message ................................................................................................ 51 $PSMDOP – Set Options ........................................................................................................ 51 $PSMDOV – Overflow ............................................................................................................ 52 $PSMDRESET – Reset the multiplexer ..............................................................................
Introduction The MiniPlex-2 series NMEA multiplexers enable the connection of multiple NMEA 0183 devices and a host device like a PC, a laptop or a tablet. All models share the same number of NMEA ports and features. They differ in the type of host interface, the interface that talks to the computer. This manual covers all models of the MiniPlex-2 series. There is a chapter for each type of host port.
PC GPS VHF Depth GPS PC Radar Wind Autopilot Log Figure 2 The left part of Figure 2 shows such a situation: one GPS sends data to four devices. It gets complicated when several talkers must send data to one listener (the PC) as shown in the right part of Figure 2. Unless that listener has multiple inputs, this is not possible without help. Simply connecting multiple talkers to one listener as shown is like four people simultaneously telling you a different story.
The MiniPlex-2 Multiplexer The MiniPlex-2 multiplexer is an advanced NMEA 0183 multiplexer with four NMEA inputs or listener ports, two NMEA outputs or talker ports and one or two host interfaces. It combines NMEA sentences that are received on the NMEA inputs and it can send these sentences to the NMEA outputs and to the host interface(s).
Host Port The host port is the port that connects to a PC, laptop, smartphone, PDA, tablet or any device that is connected to the multiplexer to receive the combined NMEA data for processing and display. The type of host port differs for each type of multiplexer and some multiplexers have two host ports. The host port is always bi-directional: it delivers the combined NMEA data from the NMEA inputs to the host and it also receives NMEA data from the host to be sent to the NMEA outputs of the multiplexer.
RS-232 Serial Port (MiniPlex-2S, MiniPlex-2S/BT) The RS-232 serial port is galvanically isolated from the multiplexer to prevent ground loops when connected to a computer. Ground loops can result in excessive currents in ground connections, which could destroy the multiplexer or the serial port of the connected computer. The default speed of the serial port is 38400 Baud. It can be set to any speed in the range from 4800 to 115200 Baud using the MPX-Config utility.
USB Port (MiniPlex-2USB, MiniPlex-2USB/BT, MiniPlex-2Wi) The USB port is galvanically isolated from the multiplexer to prevent ground loops when connected to a computer. Ground loops can result in excessive currents in ground connections, which could destroy the multiplexer or the serial port of the connected computer. Because of this galvanic isolation, a MiniPlex-2 with a USB port will not be powered from the USB bus unlike older MiniPlex models. The MiniPlex-2 requires a separate power supply to operate.
Choose “Browse my computer for driver software”. Figure 7 A new window opens (Figure 8) where you must choose the location of the driver. The driver is located in the subfolder “\USB Driver\Windows” on the MiniPlex Driver & Utility CD. If you click on “Next”, Windows will install the driver. Figure 8 When Windows has successfully installed the driver, the window as shown in Figure 9 appears. You can close this window.
The Device Manager will now list a “USB Serial Port” under “Other Devices” (Figure 10). For this port to work, a second driver needs to be installed. Right-click on the USB Serial Port entry and choose “Update Driver Software...” from the menu that appears. This will open the window as shown in Figure 11. Figure 10 Choose “Browse my computer for driver software”.
A new window opens (Figure 12) where you must choose the location of the driver again. This time, the location is already set and you can click on “Next”. Figure 12 When Windows has successfully installed the driver, the window as shown in Figure 13 appears. You can close this window. Figure 13 The Device Manager will now list a “ShipModul MiniPlex NMEA Multiplexer” under “Universal Serial Bus controllers” and a “MiniPlex Serial Port (COMx)” under “Ports (COM & LPT)”.
Windows 2000/Vista/XP When the multiplexer is connected to a USB port for the first time, Windows will detect new hardware and prompts you for a driver. Insert the supplied CD into the drive and follow the instructions on your screen. If you have an Internet connection, you can let Windows search the Internet for updated drivers. Otherwise, when asked to automatically search for drivers, answer no and choose the option to tell Windows where to find the driver.
Bluetooth Interface (MiniPlex-2S/BT, MiniPlex-2USB/BT) Using the Bluetooth interface you can connect a host device wirelessly with the MiniPlex. It uses the “Serial Port Profile”, which means that this connection is presented on a host as a standard (virtual) COM port. Such a COM port can be opened by any application. No drivers are required to use a MiniPlex with Bluetooth. As long as the host supports the Serial Port Profile, the only thing you need to do is to pair your device with the MiniPlex.
Network Interface (MiniPlex-2E, MiniPlex-2Wi) A network interface connects the multiplexer directly to a network with possibly more than one device. There can be more than one multiplexer connected to a network and/or more than one device that needs to communicate with a multiplexer. Network Basics In order to understand how a networked multiplexer works and how to connect to it, it is necessary to know a little bit about IP addresses, port numbers and protocols.
The use of different port numbers allows us to use the same physical device on a network for different services. Port numbers are not chosen arbitrarily, they are standardized and controlled by an organization called IANA. Our multiplexers all use port number 10110, which is a registered port for NMEA data. Protocols Two transport protocols are available for sending data over the network: UDP and TCP. UDP can be used in two different modes: Broadcast and Directed.
In a typical network environment, a router acts as a DHCP server while other devices such as computers, laptops, tablets and smartphones are DHCP clients, receiving IP addresses from the DHCP server. This ensures that you can connect these devices to the network without worrying about IP addresses, netmasks and gateways - al of this is taken care of by the DHCP server. The MiniPlex-2Wi acts as a WiFi access point with a DHCP server built-in.
These are the factory default settings. The IP address shown here is 0.0.0.0, which means the multiplexer is set to DHCP. This address is different from what you have entered in the Host address field on the main window because that is the address that the MiniPlex received from the DHCP server. You can now enter the desired IP address and a netmask that matches your network. The Gateway IP can be left to 0.0.0.0 if you are not going to set the multiplexer to UDP Directed.
Network Recovery In rare cases a MiniPlex-2E might not show up in the search results window due to a possible misconfiguration in the Network Settings. This might happen when duplicate IP addresses exist on the network or the multiplexer has an illegal IP address. To recover from such a situation, a new IP address can be assigned with menu option “Tools MiniPlex-2E Assign IP”. In the “Assign IP Address” dialog (Figure 19), enter the MAC address of the multiplexer.
WiFi Interface (MiniPlex-2Wi) Through its WiFi interface, the MiniPlex-2Wi can communicate with wireless devices like an iPad, iPhone, a PC or a Mac. WiFi Access Point The MiniPlex-2Wi provides a wireless access point through its 802.11b+g interface with the following parameters: SSID (name): MiniPlex-2Wi:xx:xx IP address: 10.0.0.
In your navigation application, you need to enter the IP address of the MiniPlex-2Wi, which is 10.0.0.1. The port number to use is 10110. Figure 21 shows the settings in iNavX®. Figure 21 The WiFi interface and the USB port operate simultaneously and with the same priority. This allows an on-board fixed computer to be connected simultaneously with a wireless device.
NMEA Ports The NMEA ports are the inputs/listener ports and outputs/talker ports on the MiniPlex-2 that are used to connect to navigation instruments, chart plotters etc. There are many interpretations and variations of NMEA ports so we’ll explain a few things first. NMEA Signals Although the NMEA 0183 standard specifies the signal names, voltage levels and connection methods very clearly, the reality is far from this ideal world.
Out A/+ In A TX/Out In A Out B/- In B Ground In B Instrument Multiplexer Instrument Differential Multiplexer Single ended Figure 22 NMEA Outputs The MiniPlex has two NMEA outputs called Out1 and Out2. Each output is capable of driving up to four NMEA inputs. The default communication speed of NMEA Out1 is set to 4800 Baud and NMEA Out2 is set to 38400 Baud. The speed can be set to any value from 4800 to 115200 Baud using MPX-Config.
Combining Ports It is sometimes necessary to combine an input and an output of the multiplexer to connect to an instrument. One of the most common cases is the connection between a GPS and the multiplexer. While some GPS receivers have properly designed NMEA ports, many only have an RS-232 port which is single ended with three terminals: TxD (data out), RxD (data in) and Ground. Figure 24 shows how to connect such a GPS to the multiplexer.
Power Supply The multiplexer must be powered from an externally supplied DC voltage from 8 to 35V. The power supply connection is protected against reversed polarity. Indicators The LEDs on the MiniPlex provide information about the status and operation of the multiplexer. When the multiplexer is power up, all LEDs flash once. Green: This LED flashes upon reception of a valid NMEA sentence. It also shows a dim flash every 2 seconds to indicate the multiplexer is powered ad operating correctly.
Data Throughput A multiplexer is not the Holy Grail for connecting NMEA devices. It should be fairly obvious that if a device combines data from four sources, the total amount of data that must be forwarded is the sum of the amount of each source. Still, the NMEA standard specifically limits the communication speed to 4800 Baud or bits per second, which equals 480 characters per second.
burst of sentences is received. The queues in the MiniPlex are quite large and may contain up to 30 sentences of GPS data. A couple of occasional blinks of the red LED over a period of a few seconds means that large bursts of sentences are received and a queue is hitting its limit. Some sentences are discarded but most of them will be forwarded without problems. Such a situation is totally acceptable and would mean that for instance one depth, wind or position update is missed every few seconds.
MPX-Config The multiplexer can be configured with a configuration program called MPX-Config. This program can be found on the accompanying CD. There is no installation procedure for this program, just start it from the CD or copy it to a suitable folder on the hard disk of your computer and start it from there. The multiplexer itself is configured with proprietary NMEA sentences. MPX-Config sends these sentences to the multiplexer when you change a setting.
Menu The menu contains two sub-menus: File and Tools. Some options of these menus are disabled or not visible, depending on the type of connected multiplexer or on the status of the connection. The File menu offers the following choices: Log NMEA… Start writing NMEA data to a log file. A log file is a plain text file and can later be opened by any text editor to examine the data. The Log counter on the status bar will show the number of NMEA sentences that are currently written to the log file.
Controls MiniPlex Connection Before being able to configure the multiplexer, a connection must be set up. Use the Port selector either to select the COM port of the multiplexer or to select TCP or UDP when using a network connection. COM Port When a COM port is selected, a speed setting appears which allows you to select the communication speed of the COM port (Figure 30). When using a multiplexer with a serial port, the speed must match that of the multiplexer.
Viewer Options The NMEA Viewer area (Figure 33) offers a few controls that make observing NMEA data easier. Clear This button clears the NMEA Viewer window. No Scroll When this option is enabled, a list of incoming NMEA sentences will be displayed that will be refreshed constantly when new similar sentences are received. A scroll bar will appear when the list grows beyond the length of the viewer area.
Care should be taken when selecting other speeds than 4800 Baud with respect to possible queue overflows. See the paragraph “Data Throughput” on page 26 for more information. Talker ID The multiplexer can change the Talker ID of incoming sentences. The first two characters of an NMEA sentence represent the Talker ID, indicating which instrument (talker) has sent this sentence. Normally you don’t need to change this and these fields can be left blank (“--”).
Input Mode The inputs of the multiplexer can be set to different modes besides standard NMEA, to be able to accept “not quite standard” NMEA, plain text or SeaTalk. The following modes are supported: NMEA: Normal NMEA processing. This is the default processing mode which checks sentences for correct formatting. They must start with a ‘$’ or ‘!’ character and end with a Carriage Return (CR) and a Line Feed (LF) character in that order.
Wind In 1 Wifi Comppass In 2 USB GPS In 3 Out 1 Tablet PC Autopilot Multiplexer Figure 35 When the tablet is connected, it will receive all information from the instruments and the navigation software calculates the course to steer and drives the autopilot accordingly. Because the tablet is sending NMEA data, the multiplexer routes this data exclusively to Out1. The autopilot will therefore receive information from the tablet only.
Options On the Options page several options and conversions can be chosen. Figure 36 Priority This option deletes duplicate NMEA sentences received on multiple inputs. When enabled, the multiplexer assigns a priority to incoming NMEA data based on the input on which it is received. The host interfaces have the highest priority, followed by NMEA In1, In2, In3 and In4 in descending order. NMEA conversion results have the same priority as the input that received the source of the conversion.
Time Out This setting allows you to set the time it takes before sentences from a lower priority input are passed. SeaTalk Priority This sets the priority of the SeaTalk data. It can be either Highest (SeaTalk - In1 - In2 - In3) or Lowest (In1 - In2 - In3 - SeaTalk). Channel Information These options insert channel number information in the NMEA stream that is sent to the host interfaces.
can be used to provide two opposing navigation stations on ferries with a heading from the same gyrocompass. Use the default route or Sentence Filter to route each sentence to a different NMEA output and only one to the host if needed. Sentence Filtering & Routing The Sentence Filtering & Routing feature is the most powerful feature of the MiniPlex.
● Press Enter or click with the cursor: This enters Edit mode with the text selected and the cursor at the end. Any character or number that is typed now will erase the existing text entirely unless the cursor is moved around with the mouse or arrow keys. This will unselect the text. ● Double-click on the entry. This enters Edit mode the same way as pressing Enter or clicking it for the second time.
Example Figure 40 shows a small set of filter rules: Figure 40 These rules have the following effect: • GPRMC sentences are passed only when received on input 1 and they are routed to output 1 and to the PC. • HCHDT sentences are passed from input 2 and routed to the PC. Only every 5th sentence is passed. • IIMWV and IIMTW sentences are passed from input 3 and routed to the PC.
Firmware Update From time to time, we will develop new features for the multiplexer or fix bugs in the existing firmware. New firmware image files will then be made available through our website. These image files can be downloaded to your computer and loaded into the multiplexer with the option “Update MiniPlex Firmware…” from the File menu. The MiniPlex needs to be connected to your computer using a wired host port such as RS-232, USB or Ethernet.
Preparation In order to successfully update the WiFi firmware, a few preparations must be made: 1. The latest MPX-Config version must be installed. 2. A working USB connection must exist from your computer to the MiniPlex. The update process uses both the USB connection and the WiFi connection 3. All WiFi devices like tablets and phones that are connected to the WiFi network of the MiniPlex must be shut down or at have the WiFi connection disabled.
4. Enter the following command in Manual NMEA Sentence Input: PSMDWI,A This resets the WiFi module to factory settings. The following message should appear in the NMEA viewer: $PSMDWI,Initializing WiFi interface... $PSMDWI,RDY 5. Now setup your computer to connect to the WiFi network of the MiniPlex. If you are unable to connect, make sure no other device is still connected. You may need to temporarily disable the WiFi connection on your iPad or iPhone.
Technical Reference NMEA Glossary This glossary lists the most common Talker ID’s and Sentence Formatters in alphabetical order.
DSI DSR DTM FSI GBS GGA GLC GLL GNS GRS GSA GST GSV HDG HDT HMR HMS HSC HTC HTD LCD MLA MSK MSS MTW MWD MWV OSD RMA RMB RMC ROT RPM RSA RSD RTE SFI STN TLB TLL TTM TXT VBW VDR VHW VLW VPW VTG WCV WNC WPL XDR XTE XTR ZDA ZDL ZFO ZTG DSC transponder initialise DSC transponder response Datum reference Frequency set information GNSS Satellite fault detection Global positioning system fix data Geographic position, LORAN-C Geographic position, latitude/longitude GNSS fix data GNSS range residuals GNSS DOP and ac
Translated SeaTalk datagrams When the SeaTalk translation is enabled, the following datagrams are translated into NMEA sentences: SeaTalk 00 10 11 20 NMEA DBT MWV MWV VHW 21 22 23 25 26 VLW VLW MTW VLW VHW 27 50 51 52 53 MTW ------RMC 54 56 58 89 99 ------HDG --- Description Depth below transducer Wind angle, (10 and 11 combined) Wind speed, (10 and 11 combined) Speed through water, includes heading when present Trip mileage (21 and 22 combined) Total mileage (21 and 22 combined) Water temperature T
Firmware Update Error messages During a firmware update, the following warnings or error messages may be displayed: The firmware update failed This message appears when the overall update process failed without any other error message. It is shown when the updated multiplexer firmware does not report a version message after start-up. Not a valid firmware file The file you are trying to open is not a valid firmware file. A firmware file not only ends with an “.
WiFi Update Messages The following is an explanation of the messages shown during the WiFi firmware update. $PSMDWC,connecting to xxx.xxx.x.xxx The FTP client in the WiFi module connects to the FTP server in MPX-Config. The IP address shown is the address of your computer. When this connection fails, a time out message may occur like $PSMDWC,Timeout=2 $PSMDWC,FTP file=xx The FTP client downloads the firmware file and stores it into its own file system where xx is the number of the file.
Proprietary NMEA Sentences The MiniPlex multiplexers are configured with proprietary NMEA sentences that can be sent to the multiplexer through the host interface. The multiplexer can also output proprietary NMEA sentences on a host interface to output status information or a response to a received proprietary NMEA sentence. The multiplexer also outputs some standard NMEA sentences. These sentences all start with ‘MX’, which is the talker ID for a multiplexer as defined by the NMEA standard.
t: Priority Timeout (in seconds): 0=1 1=2 2=3 3=5 4 = 10 5 = 30 The ‘s’ field will always return a 0 or 1 in response to a CF query sentence. $PSMDDR – Set Default Route This sentence specifies the default route from the NMEA inputs to the NMEA outputs and from the host interface to the NMEA outputs. Any route set by the FL sentence overrides the standard route.
dd: Optional divisor factor (0..99). The rate or frequency of a sentence is divided by this number to reduce the number of sentences over time. If for instance a divisor of 6 is specified, only every 6th occurrence of this sentence is passed. yyyy: Optional routing field. Each ‘y’ represents an output the NMEA sentence must be routed to. A ‘1’ routes the sentence to an output, a ‘0’ does not. Each digit represents one output.
2: Relaxed NMEA format checking. Normally the multiplexer only passes sentences when they are correctly formatted: starting with a ‘$’ or a ‘!’ and ending on a CR/LF pair. When this mode is selected, an NMEA sentence will be passed if it starts with a ‘$’ or a ‘!’ and ends on a CR or a LF or a combination of both in arbitrary order. A sentence with a checksum error is blocked. 3: Accept plain text strings as input and forward them in $MXTXT sentences.
xxxxxxxx: all options at once as a 32 bit hexadecimal number. Each bit represents an option where bit 0 is option 0, bit 1 is option 1 etc. Example: $PSMDOP,C,6,1 (enables option 6) $PSMDOP,C,00000021 (enables options 5 and 0) The following options are defined: 0: Enable Priority 1: Enable highest priority for SeaTalk data. Only effective when Priority and SeaTalk translation are enabled. 2: Test GPS status field for priority check.
$PSMDSP – Set Speed This sentence sets the baudrate of the NMEA inputs and outputs.
$PSMDWI – Wireless control This sentence controls the wireless module on the multiplexer (WiFi or Bluetooth). This sentence always results in a response sentence from the multiplexer. This response reflects the response of the wireless module or the result of the operation. Format: $PSMDWI,x,a,b..*hh
U: Update the firmware in the WiFi module: $PSMDWI,U,file,ip*hh file: ftp: File to load from the FTP server (optional) IP address of the FTP server (optional) The default file name is ‘wifly-ap.img’ and the default IP address is 195.8.209.192, which is the FTP server of CustomWare. When none of the optional fields is specified, the multiplexer must be configured to connect to an existing access point with a connection to the Internet to be able to download a firmware image.
Note that the multiplexer responds with a $PSMDWC sentence when it is in command mode. In normal mode, a $PSMDWI response is given. A PSMDWI sentence without any parameters exits command mode. When this sentence is issued in normal mode, a $PSMDWI,No response is returned. Terminal Mode Terminal Mode creates a direct connection between the wired and the wireless interface for testing and debugging purposes. All other inputs and outputs of the multiplexer are inactive.
Technical Specifications MiniPlex-2S Supply voltage: 8 – 35 VDC, protected against reversed polarity. Current consumption: 50 mA (100 mA max. with fully loaded talker ports) Host interface: RS-232, galvanically isolated Inputs: 4 x NMEA 0183/RS-422, galvanically isolated. Input 4 can be set to SeaTalk mode Input resistance: >800 Ohm Input current: 1.
MiniPlex-2S/BT Supply voltage: 8 – 35 VDC, protected against reversed polarity. Current consumption: 100 mA (150 mA max. with fully loaded talker ports) Host interfaces: RS-232, galvanically isolated Bluetooth V2.0, Class 1 (+6dBm), SPP Bluetooth range: 250 metres typical in free space Inputs: 4 x NMEA 0183/RS-422, galvanically isolated. Input 4 can be set to SeaTalk mode Input resistance: >800 Ohm Input current: 1.
MiniPlex-2E Supply voltage: 8 – 35 VDC, protected against reversed polarity. Current consumption: 100 mA (150 mA max. with fully loaded talker ports) Host interface: 10BASE-T/100BASE-TX Ethernet Supported protocols: TCP/IP and UDP, port 10110 for NMEA communication TCP/IP, port 10110 for firmware updates TCP/IP and UDP, port 30718 for network configuration ARP, ICMP and DCHP for network management Inputs: 4 x NMEA 0183/RS-422, galvanically isolated.
ShipModul / CustomWare Borgstee 27b 9403 TS Assen The Netherlands web: www.shipmodul.com e-mail: support@shipmodul.
