Actisense NMEA 2000 User manual

NMEA 2000 to NMEA 0183
Gateway
NGW-1-USB
(Hardware revision A)
Installation Manual
Issue 1.00
 Gateway between the NMEA 2000 network and the USB port of a computer
running NMEA 0183 compatible software, or a USB compatible NMEA
0183 device
 Complete electrical isolation (of 2500 volts) between USB and NMEA 2000
 Fully congurable via USB port or through the NMEA 2000 network

NMEA2000 to NMEA0183 Gateway - NGW-1-USB
Page 3© 2009 Active Research Limited
Contents
Important notices 4
Notices 4
Foreword 4
Introduction 4
Technical features 5
Software updates 5
Connecting devices together 5
The NMEA 2000 standard 5
Connections 6
Connecting to the NMEA 2000 Network 7
NMEA 2000 connections 7
Driver Installation Guide 7
Specications 8
Troubleshooting guide 9
Status LEDs 9
Product order codes 10
Company Information 10

Page 4© 2009 Active Research Limited
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 express written
permission of Active Research Limited. All other
trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
The Actisense NMEA 2000 to NMEA 0183 Gateway
(NGW-1-USB) is intended for use in a marine environment,
primarily for below deck use. If the NGW-1-USB is to be
used in a more severe environment, such use may be
considered misuse under the seller’s guarantee.
The NGW-1-USB has been certied to comply with the
European directive for Electro-Magnetic Compatibility
(EN60945), and is appropriately CE marked. Operation
of the unit should be in conjunction with appropriate
CE approved shielded connectors and cabling used in
accordance with the CE directive EN60945. Any EMC
related issues should be reported to Active Research
immediately to allow the company to rectify or resolve
EMC related problems in accordance with its obligations
under EN60945.
If the unit is misconnected so that compliance failure
occurs, the company shall not be held responsible for
compliance failure until suitable EMC guidelines for
connection are seen to have been taken.
Notices
When using this document, please note the following:
The products described in this manual and the
specications thereof may be changed without prior notice.
To obtain up-to-date information and/or specications,
contact Active Research Limited or visit the Actisense
website (www.actisense.com).
Active Research Limited will not be liable for infringement
of copyright, industrial property right, or other rights of a
third party caused by the use of information or drawings
described in this manual.
Active Research Limited will not be held responsible for
any damage to the user that may result from an accident
during operation of this unit when used in accordance with
this document.
Foreword
At Active Research Limited, we recognise that instructions
are often skipped, so we have aimed to write this
document in an informative and direct manner that will aid
the user. We have covered all the points a typical user
needs to know.
Please read all sections before installing and using the
NGW-1-USB, and any referenced software programs.
Introduction
The NGW-1-USB allows computers and USB compatible
NMEA 0183 electronic equipment to be connected to a
vessel’s NMEA 2000 network. This can allow equipment
installers to adopt the NMEA 2000 network early, whilst
connecting any existing NMEA 0183 devices to the new
bus standard.
The NMEA 2000 network can reduce installation costs
of marine equipment and greatly reduce a boat’s wiring
harness complexity, leading to improved reliability and
reduction in unnecessary weight. Now only a single cable
is required from the bridge to the engines, sensors and all
other NMEA 2000 instruments on the boat
NMEA 2000 uses the “CAN Bus” system (prevalent in
most modern cars), to provide the quality and security of
data transmissions that the NMEA 0183 bus can never
hope to provide. This enables NMEA 2000 products to
achieve better transmission reliability in the passage of
data through the vessel.
The NMEA Gateway can transfer data from an NMEA
0183 source and place that data on the NMEA 2000 bus,
or it can take NMEA 2000 data from the NMEA 2000 bus
and make it available to the NMEA 0183 instrument.
Full information on the complete Actisense product range
and supporting software packages can be found on the
Actisense website (www.actisense.com).

NMEA2000 to NMEA0183 Gateway - NGW-1-USB
Page 5© 2009 Active Research Limited
Technical features
High-speed 32-bit ARM processor capable of up to 40
million instructions per second.
Flash ROM technology that supports automatic
programming for quick and easy updates, 10,000+ erase
cycles and a 10-year Data Retention provides carefree
user conguration.
On-chip memory store allows buffering of short term
NMEA data, allowing the unit to smooth short-term peaks
in the NMEA data ow.
Fully congurable via the USB or over the NMEA 2000
network allowing optimisation of the PC interface to better
suit the system it is a part of.
NMEA 2000 interface offers 2500 volts of opto-isolation,
protecting the system even during the most extreme
fault conditions and fully compliant with the NMEA 2000
standard for interfacing with the NMEA 2000 network.
Separate USB and NMEA 2000 network power offer
easy installation with no need for a direct connection to
the vessels main battery supply. The NGW-1-USB takes
power from the USB connection to power its USB circuitry,
and power from the NMEA 2000 connection to power its
NMEA 2000 circuitry. This creates total isolation between
both power sources to completely eliminate the risk of
ground loop faults occurring.
Software updates
The NGW-1-USB’s built-in rmware is held in “ash”
memory, allowing quick and easy upgrades using either
the latest NGW-1-USB ActiPatch, or alternatively the
NMEA 2000 Gateway Conguration Tool running on a
PC connected to the NGW-1-USB.
It is our policy to provide these updates free on the
Actisense website (www.actisense.com), so that the
NMEA 2000 to NMEA 0183 Gateway (NGW-1-USB) can
be further developed over time, and should there be any
bugs reported in the rmware, they can be promptly xed
without the unit requiring to come out of commission.
Connecting devices together
The NMEA 2000 standard
The NMEA 2000 system is a low-cost data network
operating at 250 kbits/sec utilizing the Controller Area
Network (CAN). Multiple devices can be connected
together on a single trunk cable to simply and easily share
information between themselves.
NMEA 2000 uses a shielded cable and a ”differential”
signalling scheme, whereby two wires are used to transmit
the NMEA data named CAN High and CAN Low. These
connections will be labelled as “NET HI” and “NET LO”
respectively. Power is also supplied through the NMEA
2000 cable named NET Supply and NET Common. These
connections will be labelled “NET SUP” and “NET COM”
respectively on the PCB.
Please refer to the Connecting to the NMEA 2000
Network section for an example of these connection
methods.

Page 6© 2009 Active Research Limited
Figure 1 shows an internal view of the NGW-1-USB
Printed Circuit Board (PCB).
1. NMEA 2000 Interface
A ve way screw terminal block is supplied for
connecting the NMEA 2000 cable. The CAN interface
is fully compatible with the NMEA 2000 standard.
Actisense supplies a pre-tted four-core screened
cable for the NMEA 2000 connection, tted with a
male micro-t connector. The colour codes used for
this cable are:
Wire colour NMEA 2000
Shield / Screen SHIELD
Blue NET LO
White NET HI
Black NET COM
Red NET SUP
If you need to use your own NMEA 2000 cable, the
ve way screw terminal block is provided within the
NGW-1 to allow easy connection, along with a spare
cable gland that should be tted on to the new cable
to help maintain the water protection level.
Any such cable is required to conform in full to
the NMEA 2000 specication and be no longer
than 6 metres (maximum drop length).
2. NMEA 2000 indicator LED
This LED ashes when NMEA 2000 data set to be
transferred is received by the NGW-1-USB. It can be
clearly seen through the NGW-1-USB’s translucent
lid when the case is closed.
3. A micro-connector to connect to the supplied
USB type A cable
This connector should not normally be removed:
it is installed at the factory and is not customer
serviceable.
4. USB indicator LED
This LED ashes when USB data set to be
transferred is received by the NGW-1-USB. It can be
clearly seen through the NGW-1-USB’s translucent
lid when the case is closed.
To open the NGW-1-USB, remove the two screws in the
base of the unit, then slide off the top of the case. The
cable glands need to be slid out from the top of the case
in order to access the internal connections. The NGW-1-
USB circuitry will be left attached to the base of the unit
and the two supplied cables attached to their connectors.
Note: When opening the NGW-1-USB case, be aware
that the circuitry inside is not 100% protected against
static electricity. Please ensure that, when opening
the case, you use precautions against static damage
by only touching the connector block and by holding
the unit by its plastic base. In this way, the risks of
static damage will be minimised.
Connections
Figure 1 – All external connections
3
1
24

NMEA2000 to NMEA0183 Gateway - NGW-1-USB
Page 7© 2009 Active Research Limited
NMEA 2000 connections
The Actisense NGW-1-USB is designed to be connected
to the vessel’s NMEA 2000 network using the supplied,
pre-tted Actisense cable.
If a different length cable is required, an NMEA 2000
certied cable of the required length (maximum 6 metres)
should be connected to the vessel’s NMEA 2000 network
using a standard male NMEA 2000 connector.
The standard wiring connection can be seen in Figure 2.
Note:
1. Wire colours are for guidance only. The colours given
relate to the supplied Actisense cable and the NMEA
2000 standard cable denition.
Driver Installation Guide
The NGW-1-USB makes use of a virtual serial port driver
(know as the ‘Virtual COM Port’ (VCP) driver) to interface
between the USB port on the PC and the Actisense
product (NGW).
This driver allows software running on a computer to
communicate with the NGW-1-USB as if it was connected
to a standard serial port on the computer, when in fact all
communication is done over the USB connection.
Please read the “USB Driver Install Manual”
document that accompanies this NGW Install
Manual for full details on how to install the
NGW-1-USB drivers.
Connecting to the NMEA 2000 Network
Figure 2 – NMEA 2000 connections
CAN Network
NET COM
Shield
CAN Lo
NET SUP
CAN Hi

Page 8© 2009 Active Research Limited
Table 2 – NGW-1-USB specications
All specications are taken with reference to an ambient temperature (TA) of +25°C.
Note:
1. Current consumption measured under no-load conditions
2. This parameter is periodically sampled and not 100% tested.
Specications
Parameter Conditions Min. Max. Unit
Supply
Supply voltage 8 35 V
Supply current (see note 1) Supply voltage = 12v 26 30 mA
Supply voltage = 24v 16 18 mA
NMEA 2000 CAN Bus line (CAN-H; CAN-L) Transmitter
Recessive bus voltage VTXD = VDD; no load. 2.0 3.0 V
Dominant bus voltage CAN-H VTXD = 0.8V 2.75 4.5 V
Dominant bus voltage CAN-L VTXD = 0.8V 0.5 2.25 V
Recessive differential output voltage VTXD = 2V; no load -500 50 mV
Dominant differential output voltage 40Ω < RL < 60Ω 1.5 3.0 V
Short circuit output current CAN-H VCAN-H = -5V - -200 mA
Short circuit output current CAN-L VCAN-H = -40V, +40V. (see note 2) - 200 mA
NMEA 2000 CAN Bus line (CAN-H; CAN-L) Receiver
CAN-H, CAN-L common-mode input
Resistance 5 50 KΩ
Differential input resistance 20 100 KΩ
USB Comms Input/Output
Input to Ground Full Galvanic Opto-isolation protection - 2500 V
Baud rate Congurable Baud rate 4800 230400 bps
General
Ambient operating temperature -20 +70 °C

NMEA2000 to NMEA0183 Gateway - NGW-1-USB
Page 9© 2009 Active Research Limited
Troubleshooting guide
This guide will concentrate on all relevant troubleshooting issues above simple cable connection faults. Therefore, the
cables between the NGW-1-USB hardware and any other devices should be checked as a matter of course, before
continuing with this guide.
Status LEDs
The NGW-1-USB hardware has two bright LEDs that can be seen through the case to indicate when data is received
from either the USB device or NMEA 2000 network connection. It is an important point to note that these two LEDs can
only show when their respective data is RECEIVED; it is not possible to show both transmit and receive simultaneously
on a single colour LED.
These LEDs can be used to debug potential problems. If both an NMEA 0183 ‘talker’ and a ‘listener’ are connected, it
is possible to analyse which is working by disconnecting one of them or by stopping the computer from sending data.
Sequence Description
NMEA 2000 LED does not
ash when the data is received
from the NMEA 2000 network
Check that the NGW-1-USB is connected to the NMEA 2000 network, that the
NMEA 2000 network is operational, and that the required PGN messages are
selected for transfer by using the NGW Conguration Tool.
USB LED does not ash when
the USB data is received
Check that the NGW-1-USB is connected to a PC USB port, that the device
is recognised in the Windows Control Panel with the correct COM port (refer to
USB Conguration section in USB Install User Manual) and that the required
messages are selected to be transferred by using the NGW Conguration Tool.
Both LEDs ash together,
once every 10 seconds
Indicates that the NGW-1-USB is powered but no data is received from either
connection. If data should be being transferred through then check that the required
PGN messages are selected by using the NGW Conguration Tool.
If the error persists, please contact Actisense support to help trace the issue
before considering the return of the product. If Actisense support concludes
that the NGW-1-USB unit should be returned to Actisense (refer to the Company
Information section), a Returns Number will be issued by the support engineer.
The Returns Number must be clearly visible on both the external packaging
and any documentation returned with the product. Any returns sent without a
Returns Number will incur a delay in being processed.
Table 3 – Diagnostic LED

Page 10© 2009 Active Research Limited
Active Research Limited
Unit 5 Wessex Trade Centre
Ringwood Road
Poole
Dorset. UK
BH12 3PF
Telephone: [phone] (International : [phone])
Fax: [phone] (International : [phone])
Actisense on the Web: For advice, support and product details
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: www.actisense.com
“Actisense” is a registered trademark of Active Research Limited.
Company Information
Product order codes
NGW-1-USB NMEA 2000 ↔ USB Interface
Special version required to connect the NMEA 2000 network to the USB port of a
computer running NMEA 0183 compatible software
NGW-1-ISO NMEA 2000 ↔ Serial Interface with ISO-Drive
Standard version required to connect the NMEA 2000 network to an NMEA 0183
device or computer serial port

NMEA 2000 Connection
•NMEA 2000 network is
opto-isolated from the USB
connection to offer 2500 volts
of protection
•NMEA 2000 current draw
20 mA typical
•Terminal block available for
user cable connection
•Cable length 1.5 metres
USB Specification
•v1.1 and v2.0 compliant
•Up and downstream buffers
for smoother data transfer
•Current draw 30 mA typical
•Baud rates 4800 to 230400
•Cable length 1.8 metres
System Requirements
•Supported OS’s: Windows
(2000, XP and Vista) and
MAC OS X (check website for
other versions)
•USB drivers included on CD
Environmental
•Recommended operating
temperature: -20°C to +70°C
•Splash proof plastic casing
provided with sealing cable
glands certified to IP54
•Stainless steel case screws
•Humidity: 0-80% RH
Guarantee
•3 years return to base
Certifications
•CE (EN60945)
•Tested and certified NMEA
2000 compliant
Specifications
The Actisense NGW-1-USB allows
NMEA 0183 software to talk and
listen to NMEA 2000 devices on an
NMEA 2000 network.
By translating NMEA 2000 data into
the NMEA 0183 equivalent (and vice-
versa), the NGW-1-USB enables
information to be shared between
NMEA 0183 based PC navigation
software and any instrument on the
NMEA 2000 network.
The NGW-1-USB’s isolated USB
connection makes it one of the best
and safest ways to connect your
computer to an NMEA 2000 network.
Just connect and relax, knowing that
Actisense has it secured.
Benefits
•All NMEA 2000 instruments on the
network can see translated NMEA 0183
data sent from the PC software
•PC software can receive translated data
from any NMEA 2000 instrument
•Electrical isolation separates the two
networks, protecting against ground
loop faults. This creates a protected
computer and a safe installation
•The NGW-1 device appears as a 'Virtual
COM Port' (VCP), compatible with
almost all NMEA 0183 software
®
Active Research Limited, Unit 5 Wessex Trade Centre, Ringwood Road, Poole, Dorset, UK, BH12 3PF
Telephone: [phone] Fax: [phone]
Actisense on the Web: For advice, support and product details
E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.actisense.com
“Actisense” is a registered trademark of Active Research Limited.
USB 1.1 & 2.0