Actisense QNB-1-B User manual

Quick Network Block
QNB-1-B
User Manual
Issue 1.14
 Battery Connection - up to 8/16 Amps of load can be delivered
to the connected instruments in two separately fused banks for
redundancy (8 or 16 Amp options available)
 Connect together and power up to 8 separate devices
 Data detector compatible with NMEA 0183 standard and “HS” (AIS)
baud rates, and NMEA 2000 (CAN) networks

Contents
Important Notices 3
Notices 3
Foreword 3
Introduction 3
Technical features 3
Overview 4
Using QNB-1 with NMEA 0183 5
Using QNB-1 with NMEA 2000 6
Troubleshooting guide 7
Specications 7
Company Information 8

Quick Network Block - QNB-1-B
Page 3© 2008 Active Research Limited
Important Notices
ActisenseandtheActisenselogoareregisteredtrademarks
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.
The Actisense Quick Network Block (QNB-1) is intended
for use in a marine environment, primarily for below deck
use. If the unit is to be used in a more severe environment,
such use may be considered misuse under the seller’s
warranty.
The QNB-1 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 connected such that compliance failure occurs
beyond the company’s control, 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, keep the following in mind:
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 accidents
or any other reasons during operation of the user’s unit
according to this document.
Foreword
Actisense recognises that instructions are often skipped,
so we have aimed to write this document in an informative,
yet direct manner that will aid the user. We have tried
to cover all the points a typical user may need to know.
Please read all sections before installing and using the
QNB-1.
Full information on the complete Actisense product range
can be found on the Actisense website.
Introduction
The QNB-1 was developed to ease the connection of
multiple NMEA 0183 or NMEA 2000 devices to a bus, and
facilitate the powering and fusing of those devices from a
common point.
Technical features
Wide battery input voltage range to offer maximum
compatibility, the QNB-1 can operate from a battery supply
anywhere between 8 and 35 volts.
Eight x 5-way blocks of connectors, allowing up to 8
instruments to be powered and connected together at the
same time.
A data LED ashes as data passes through showing that
network information owing.
Very low power consumption that is typically 10mA for
the detector circuit and LEDs.
Two fuses are provided (4 amps as standard) allowing
each bank to provide a total of up to 4 amps of current.
Very tough Polycarbonate case is certied to IP66
(classied as “totally protected against dust and protection
against low pressure jets of water from all directions”).
Being Polycarbonate, it is also incredibly strong, offering
a wide temperature range and superior protection to the
electronics inside.
The IP66 rating of the case is only limited by the sealing
gasket strip, which can be enhanced by applying a suitable
non-acid based marine sealant to the gasket after wiring
and testing. This will allow use of the unit in areas where
salt spray could enter, or in environments where maximum
long-term reliability is paramount.
Robust Nylon grommets are certied to IP68 (classied
as immersible for long periods without water ingress). Note
that to achieve this level of water integrity all grommets
must be occupied by round-section cables.
Large range of possible cable diameters of between
4.5 mm and 12 mm, single or multi-pair wire types can be
easily accepted.
The QNB-1 does not validate or checksum the data it
receives in any way. Therefore, the electronic device(s)
supplying the QNB-1 with data retain(s) the sole
responsibility for the data’s validity.
The QNB-1 does not act as a data buffer. Its only purpose
is to allow simple connections between instruments to be
made reliably. If an NMEA 0183 data buffer is required,
use an Actisense NBF-2 to boost and isolate the data from
the source talker instrument to the NMEA 0183 network.

Page 4© 2008 Active Research Limited
Overview
Figure 1 – QNB-1 PCB and Connections Schematic
The QNB-1 has a total of 22 screw-terminal connections.
These are high quality rising clamp style connectors
allowing connections to be re-made many times without
wear.
The board is clearly labelled with the functions of each
connector and indicator. A detailed description of each
label is as follows:
1. “BATT IN” - the battery supply input. The main boat
battery is connected here, and current will ow
through each fuse to each of the two banks of the
QNB-1, marked “BANK 1” and “BANK 2”.
If the battery is connected in reverse by accident,
then the red “POLARITY WARNING” LED will light,
other wise the green “PWR” light will light.
The status of each fuse can be checked at any time
- the LED corresponding to that bank will be lit when
power is present.
2. “FUSE 1” and “FUSE 2” are the separate fuses for
each bank of four instruments. They are supplied as
4 amp fuses, but may be rated at up to 8 amps each
for a maximum total draw of 16 amps from the battery
connector.
4. The “DATA” LED indicates when NMEA 0183 or
NMEA 2000 data is detected on the network NET-H
and NET-L lines. Note that this LED ashes on the
presence of data, and on NMEA 2000 networks with
a low data load, it may not ash brightly, due to the
very short network data packets.
4. Each bank of connections has 4 sets of 5 terminals,
allowing connection of up to eight systems to the
QNB-1.
“NET-S” is the network supply - it is connected
to the battery positive terminal through the fuse
corresponding to the bank number.
“NET-C” is the network common, or battery negative.
All the NET-C connections are connected together.
“NET-H”, also marked “A” is the network data “HIGH”
line on the NMEA 2000 network or the NMEA 0183
“A” line. All the NET-H connections are connected
together.
“NET-L”, also marked “B” is the network data “LOW”
line on the NMEA 2000 network or the NMEA 0183
“B” line. All the NET-L connections are connected
together.
“SHIELD” is used to connect any cable shielding
together - it is recommended to use shielded cable
for all network connections. All the SHIELDs are
connected together. The SHIELD is isolated from the
ground, allowing the installer to decide whether to
negative earth the shield at the QNB-1 or not.
To simplify explanations, the manual will have two sections,
one for an NMEA 0183 connection scheme, and one for
an NMEA 2000 connection scheme.

Quick Network Block - QNB-1-B
Page 5© 2008 Active Research Limited
Using QNB-1 with NMEA 0183
Designed over 20 years ago, the NMEA 0183 standard
has slowly become the common method by which marine
electronics devices talk to one another. The standard
species both the electrical connections that make up an
NMEA system and the format of the data sentences that
carry the NMEA information.
Check out the NMEA information sheet on the Actisense
website for more information.
Figure2 below shows an example connection diagram for
a QNB-1 used with an NMEA 0183 network.
Only one talker is allowed - the talker is shown powered
from BANK 1 fused supply, and provides data to the
network A and B lines.
Listener 1 is connected also to bank 1 power, and receives
the data sent from the talker.
Listener 2 is powered from bank 2 fused supply, meaning
that if a fault develops on bank 1, listener 2 can continue
to operate.
Up to 5 further NMEA 0183 listeners may be connected
to the QNB-1. As long as the Talker has sufcient drive
capability to drive all the Listeners, then all will receive the
data.
It is advised to use an oscilloscope or scope meter to verify
the condition of the data signal to ensure that the minimum
differential voltage signal of +/- 2v is being achieved to
minimise the chance of data loss. (Note also that some
NMEA 0183 listeners need more than 2 volts drive to work
correctly)
Figure 2 – QNB-1 NMEA 0183 Connection Diagram

Page 6© 2008 Active Research Limited
When the QNB-1 is used on an NMEA 2000 network, the
QNB-1 backbone cable should be connected through
the unit. This will then provide up to six drops for other
instruments to connect directly to the backbone. A shield
connection is provided on each bank to connect the NMEA
shield. This is isolated from the ground, to allow for a
separate shield and ground potential to be maintained.
Figure 3 below shows 4 NMEA2000 instruments connected
to the QNB-1. Instruments 1, 2 and 3 are fully powered
from the NMEA 2000 bus, whereas instrument 4 only
uses the bus power to energise its NMEA 2000 interface
(common in instruments such as radars etc. where a high
load current is expected and thus cannot be drawn from
the NMEA 2000 bus).
All the data connections (NET-H and NET-L) are connected
directly together, so all the data on the network can pass
from the backbone to each instrument drop connection.
If the backbone cable is powered from the QNB-1, each
branch will be separately fused. Two 4 Amp fuses (ATO)
are supplied pre-tted to the unit suitable for use with micro
(light) cable and connectors. These may be replaced with
8 Amp fuses (ATO) if mini (heavy) cable and connectors
are to be used (see table 1 for cable AWG numbers and
connector pin details). The PWR and Bank 1 & Bank 2
power LEDs show the status of the input power and the
fuses.
The QNB-1 can be used without the battery connection.
Network power will ow through into the QNB-1 via the
powered segment of the network, and will ow through
the fuses to power the next network segment. The
indicator lights will work as before. The fuses will provide
downstream protection of other devices on the network.
(Devices on the same bank as the input power will not be
fuse protected).
Pin Colour Signal Micro Cable
AWG No.
Mini Cable
AWG No.
1 Drain SHIELD 22 (0.38mm2)18 (0.83mm2)
2 Red NET-S 22 (0.38mm2)16 (1.33mm2)
3 Black NET-C 22 (0.38mm2)16 (1.33mm2)
4 White NET-H 24 (0.24mm2)18 (0.83mm2)
5 Blue NET-L 24 (0.24mm2)18 (0.83mm2)
Table 1 – Connector Pin Numbers and AWG Numbers
Figure 3 – QNB-1 NMEA 2000 Connection Diagram
Using QNB-1 with NMEA 2000
4 4

Quick Network Block - QNB-1-B
Page 7© 2008 Active Research Limited
Problem / Error condition Required user response
No LEDs light on the QNB-1 Measure the voltage across the battery terminals to check that
the input power is applied.
The data LED does not light Check the LED in low light conditions - the data could be brief
and thus the ashes of the LED too short to see in bright light.
The Red POLARITY LED is lit The battery supply input is reversed - swap the input battery
connections.
Table 2 – Troubleshooting guide
Specications
Parameter Conditions / Note Min. Max. Unit
Supply
Supply voltage (note 1) 8 35 V
Supply current with no loads connected Supply voltage = 12v 10 mA
Supply voltage = 24v 10 mA
Other parameters
Baud rate 4800 250 Kbit/sec
Cable diameter Through the 8 smaller cable glands 4.5 10 mm
Cable Diameter Through the 2 larger cable glands 6 12 mm
General
Ambient temperature -20 +70 °C
Table 3 – QNB-1 specications
All specications are taken with reference to an ambient temperature (TA) of +25°C.
Troubleshooting guide
This guide will concentrate on all relevant troubleshooting issues above simple cable connection faults. Therefore, the
cables between the QNB-1 hardware and any other devices should be checked as a matter of course, before continuing
with this guide.

Page 8© 2008 Active Research Limited
Active Research Limited
21 Harwell Road
Poole
Dorset
UK
BH17 0GE
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
Order codes:
QNB-1 Standard QNB-1 (8 connections + power)