Actisense NMEA NGW-1 User manual

Technical Accuracy
To the best of our knowledge the information contained in this document was
correct at the time it was produced. Active Research Ltd cannot accept liability
for any inaccuracies or omissions.
The products described in this manual and the specications thereof may be
changed without prior notice. Active Research Ltd cannot accept any liability
for differences between the product and this document. To check for updated
information and specications please check actisense.com.
Active Research Ltd will not be liable for infringement of copyright, industrial
property rights, or other rights of a third party caused by the use of information
or drawings described in this manual.
Product Guarantee
This product comes with a three year ‘return to base’ guarantee. If you suspect
that the unit is faulty please refer to the Troubleshooting Section of the User
Manual before contacting support.
It is a requirement of the guarantee that all installations of electronic equipment
follow the NMEA 0400 specication. Any connection to a battery or power
supply must meet the mandatory essential safety requirements that may be
imposed by local regulatory agencies.
Actisense products are intended for use in a marine environment, primarily for
below deck use. If a product is to be used in a more severe environment, such
use may be considered misuse under the Active Research Ltd guarantee.
Introduction & Features
The Actisense NGW-1 is an intelligent Gateway that converts NMEA 0183 data
to NMEA 2000 (and vice versa), allowing you to share information between
devices from the two standards. This creates the possibility of upgrading some
of the vessel’s electronics to NMEA 2000 and keeping the remaining NMEA
0183 devices. This can help reduce the initial upgrade cost to NMEA 2000, by
allowing existing NMEA 0183 devices to be part of the NMEA 2000 network.
ISO variants connect easily to NMEA 0183 devices using one pair of data wires
for transmit and another pair for receive, allowing the NGW-1 to share data
bi-directionally if required. As with all the latest Actisense products, OPTO-
Isolation is included on the input and ground breaking ISO-DriveTM technology
on the output to keep your devices safe from hazardous ground loops.
USB variants offer an easy PC connection when using a software application
that requires NMEA 0183 data.
Important Notices
The device to which this manual relates complies with the Electromagnetic
Compatibility requirements according to EN60945. The unit should always be
used in conjunction with appropriately approved, shielded cable and connectors
as per NMEA 0400 to ensure compliance. A declaration of conformity is
available for download at www.actisense.com.
If the device to which this manual relates is to be installed within ve metres of a
compass, please refer to the ‘Compass Safe Distance’ section in the ‘Technical
Specications’ table.
Trademarks and Registered Trademarks
Actisense® and the Actisense logo are registered trademarks of Active
Research Limited (Ltd). All other trademarks are the property of their respective
owners.
The NMEA® name and NMEA logo are copyright held by the NMEA. All uses in
this manual are by permission and no claim on the right to the NMEA name or
logo are made in this manual.
Fair Use Statement
The contents of this manual may not be transferred or copied without the
express written permission of Active Research Ltd.
Copyright © 2020 Active Research Ltd. All rights reserved.
Product Registration
Please register your product via the online form at https://www.actisense.com/
product-registration/.
Your product package includes a unit serial number. The serial number is six
digits long and can be found below the barcode on the label. Your registration
will assist Actisense Support to link your product to your details, simplifying any
future assistance you may require.
Product Disposal
Please dispose of this product in accordance with the WEEE Directive.
The product should be taken to a registered establishment for the disposal of
electronic equipment.
NMEA
Conversion Gateway
Quick Start Guide
NGW-1
Issue 1.3
®
Active Research Ltd
21 Harwell Road
Poole
Dorset
UK, BH17 0GE
Tel: [phone]
Email:[email protected]
Web: www.actisense.com

Powering the NGW-1
ISO Variants:
All ISO variants of the NGW-1 receive their power supply when connected
to a correctly powered NMEA 2000 backbone. The backbone must also be
correctly terminated to allow connected devices to communicate. Refer to the
“Connecting to an NMEA 2000 Network” section for more information.
USB Variants:
All USB variants are powered by the PC/laptop USB connection once the USB
drivers have been successfully installed. Depending on the settings of the PC/
laptop connected to the NGW-1, the latest Actisense USB drivers will install
automatically from Windows update if an internet connection is available. If
this does not happen, the same USB drivers are available on the CD included in
the box with the NGW-1 or from the NGW-1 Downloads page.
Connecting to an NMEA 2000 Network
The illustration below provides an example of the minimum requirements for
an NMEA 2000 network. The horizontal cable illustrating the backbone is not
always needed in reality as a backbone can be formed by simply connecting
T-pieces directly to each other. The drop cable connecting a device to a T-piece
must not exceed 6 metres as dened in the NMEA 2000 specication.
Connecting to a SeaTalkNG Network
Raymarine’s SeaTalkNG network uses exactly the same data messages as a
standard NMEA 2000 network, but utilises proprietary cables and connectors.
To connect a standard NMEA 2000 device (like the NGW-1) to an STNG network,
an “NMEA 2000 to SeaTalkNG” adapter cable (Actisense STNG-A06045) is
required between the device and the SeaTalkNG backbone/network.
Connecting to NMEA 0183 Devices
The diagram below illustrates how to connect the ISO cable bare wires from
any ISO variant NGW-1 to the Tx/Rx terminals of an NMEA 0183 Talker/Listener.
Connecting to a PC/laptop
The diagram below illustrates how to connect the ISO cable bare wires from
any ISO variant NGW-1 to a serial cable (like the Actisense DB9-F). If the PC/
laptop does not have a serial port, a USB-serial converter will also be needed.
Alternatively, an Actisense USBKIT or Actisense USG-2 can create a quick and
easy PC connection.
Changing Firmware v2.500 (and newer) (2020)
From NGW-1 rmware v2.500, switching between ‘AIS conversions’ and
‘Standard conversions’ no longer requires changing the NGW-1 rmware,
instead Actisense Toolkit offers a comprehensive suite of options to quickly
modify the NGW-1 conguration.
The “Start with…” conguration option creates the base set of conversions
(‘Standard’, ‘AIS/Full’, ‘Fast Heading’ etc.) that can then be tweaked to build up
the required NGW-1 conguration.
Changing Firmware v2.420 (and older) (pre 2020)
For NGW-1 rmware v2.420, both the ‘Standard conversions’ rmware and
‘AIS conversions’ rmware can be installed into any hardware variant (ISO,
USB, STNG) using the corresponding ActiPatch. The rmware has all possible
conversions enabled by default, ready to go. Actisense NMEA Reader can be
used to disable any Rx or Tx PGNs that are not required.
If required to change between the ‘Standard conversions’ and ‘AIS conversions’
rmware, download the ActiPatch that matches the NGW-1 hardware variant
(ISO, USB, STNG) and the new conversion type from the NGW-1 Downloads
page and use it to update the rmware. The NGW-1 must also be powered.
LED Behaviour
There are two LEDs inside the NGW-1, one on the NMEA 0183 side, one on the
NMEA 2000 side. The unique start-up behaviour will ash both LEDs alternately
very quickly for 2 seconds.
The NGW-1 NMEA 0183 LED indicates reception of any NMEA 0183 sentence
with a valid format. The NMEA 2000 LED indicates reception of a PGN on the
Rx PGN Enable list. The LED ashing speed corresponds to the percentage
of used bandwidth, which is why it is normal for the NMEA 0183 LED to ash
faster than the NMEA 2000 LED due to NMEA 0183’s lower bandwidth.
If no data is received on either input, both LEDs will ash together once every
10 secs (for rmware v2.420) or 5 secs (for rmware v2.500+). For NMEA
0183, this could indicate incorrect Talker wiring or a mismatched baud rate.
For NMEA 2000 this could indicate no PGNs available that have been enabled.
If any irregular behaviour is observed, please consult the NGW-1 User Manual
(available on the Actisense CD or NGW-1 Downloads page) or visit the Actisense
Support Centre for a full list of NGW-1 help articles.
Conversion List
A list of all the conversions a particular rmware version is capable of is always
available on the NGW-1 Downloads page. This list details exactly what NMEA
0183 sentences will be output by the NGW-1 when it receives a particular
NMEA 2000 PGN, and what NMEA 2000 PGNs it will output when it receives
a particular NMEA 0183 sentence. Actisense Toolkit can confgure which of
these conversions are enabled/disabled and their transmit rates.
Backbone
T-Piece Terminator
Instrument
Drop
Power T
NMEA
2000
Device
NMEA
0183
Network
Wire Colour Label Connnects To
Black IN B / - Talker OUT B / - / GND
Red IN A / + Talker OUT A / + / Data
Blue OUT B / - Listener OUT B / - / GND
White OUT A / + Listener OUT A / + / Data
NGW-1
Do not connect
NMEA
Listener/In
NMEA
Talker/Out
B/-
A/+
B/-
A/+
GND
TX
GND
RX
/
/
/
/
NMEA 0183 DEVICE
Arrows indicate direction of data flow
COMPUTER
NGW-1
Do not
connect
PC 9 PIN
RS232 Port
RX
Pin 2
GND
Pin 5
TX
Pin 3
Arrows indicate
direction of data flow