ComNav Vector G2 User manual

Installation & Operation Manual
G2 & G2B
Satellite Compasses
(
(T Th hi ir rd d G Ge en ne er ra at ti io on n) )
PN
29010093
V1.5
COMPLIES WITH
CE REGULATIONS

ComNav G2 & G2B Installation & Operation
Document PN 29010093 V1.5 - 1 - 16 December 2016
Welcome
Congratulations on your purchase of a ComNav Marine G2/G2B Satellite Compass! At
ComNav, we are dedicated to reliability & quality in all our products, these products are a
good example of that. We promise to do our best to ensure your satisfaction with your new
G2/G2B Satellite Compass.
Warranty Notice
Prior to the installation and/or operation of the equipment, ensure that you read, understand,
and accept the conditions of the warranties as detailed in the Warranty Information section of
this manual.
General Notice
This document, ComNav part number 29010093 Version 1 Revision 5, is the approved
Installation and Operation Manual for use with G2 & G2B Satellite Compasses. Where
versions of this manual exist in other languages, the English version shall be considered
authoritative.
Special note
The beacon configuration information in Appendix 3 and Appendix 4 applies ONLY to G2B
with a firmware version 1.2.17 or later.

ComNav G2 & G2B Installation & Operation
Document PN 29010093 V1.5 - 2 - 16 December 2016
Document History
Revision Date Description
1R0 19 November 2013 Initial revision as 29010093
1R1 22 November 2013 Add the firmware license agreement
1R2 30 October 2014 Correct the baud rate command; add TSS1 to the data
message list
1R3 3 November 2014 Add information for G2B beacon configuration
Add information for using Vector G2 cable
1R4 26 November 2016 Revise mounting instruction
Revise system overview
Revise description about GPS and GLONASS
Revise instructions for changing the configuration; remove
reference to G series Desktop program
1R5 7 December 2016 Correct wire diagrams for connecting G2/G2B to P series
autopilot (Figure 14, Figure 17 and Table 2)
Add description to NMEA 0183 alarm output
Add PGN126993 to NMEA 2000 output list
Add description of version dependent port default baud rates
Change COGTAU and HTAU recommendation

ComNav G2 & G2B Installation & Operation
Document PN 29010093 V1.5 - 3 - 16 December 2016
About this Manual
This manual provides essential information for the safe and reliable operation of the
ComNav’s G2 Satellite Compass. Read this manual in its entirety before using the G2
Satellite Compass for the first time. Keep the manual handy until you become thoroughly
familiar with the operation of the compass.
Note: most of the information in this manual applies to both models of
the G2 Satellite Compasses: the G2 and the G2B.
For easier reading, most references in the text use “G2” – but that
should always be understood as referring to both models. Whenever
a particular item applies only to the G2 or the G2B, it will be so stated
in the text of that item.
When using this manual with the G2, please ignore the sections
which discuss Radiobeacon signals, Beacon receiver operation and
related installation details. Those sections apply only to the G2B.
Manual Format
This manual has been formatted to be printed on both sides of the pages of the manual, and
on standard Letter-sized paper (8.5” x 11”).
If you have obtained this manual as a soft-copy, please note that it is in Adobe® Portable
Document Format (“pdf”), and so may be viewed & printed with Adobe Reader®, or
compatible pdf-format viewers.
When printing this manual with Reader, you should select “duplex printing” (or the equivalent
term used by your printer’s software driver), in order to print it double-sided on the paper. If
your printer does not have built-in duplexing capability, you can still print this manual
double-sided by following the instructions that came with your printer for doing “hand
duplexing”.
You should also select the Auto-Rotate and Centre option in the Print Dialog box, de-select
the Choose Paper Source by PDF page size option; as well, you should set Page Scaling to
None – Reader’s default setting is Shrink to Printable Area, and is printer-dependant (usually
set at ~97%), but that is not needed here.

ComNav G2 & G2B Installation & Operation
Document PN 29010093 V1.5 - 4 - 16 December 2016

ComNav G2 & G2B Installation & Operation Table of Contents
Document PN 29010093 V1.5 - 5 - 16 December 2016
Table of Contents
Welcome ___________________________________________________________________________1
Warranty Notice .........................................................................................................................................................1
General Notice...........................................................................................................................................................1
Special note ...............................................................................................................................................................1
Document History ......................................................................................................................................................2
About this Manual ...................................................................................................................................................... 3
Manual Format....................................................................................................................................................... 3
Table of Contents ____________________________________________________________________5
List of Figures ............................................................................................................................................................8
List of Tables.............................................................................................................................................................. 9
Overview __________________________________________________________________________13
Installation_________________________________________________________________________18
Tools Required......................................................................................................................................................... 18
Power Supply........................................................................................................................................................... 18
Environmental Considerations ................................................................................................................................. 18
GNSS Reception Considerations............................................................................................................................. 20
Radiobeacon Reception Considerations.................................................................................................................. 21
Location & Orientation ............................................................................................................................................. 23
Mounting .................................................................................................................................................................. 25
Alignment................................................................................................................................................................. 28
Wiring for NMEA 0183 system................................................................................................................................. 28
Cables & Extensions............................................................................................................................................ 29
Cable Colour Codes......................................................................................................................................... 29
Power Input.......................................................................................................................................................... 29
Signal Grounds ................................................................................................................................................ 30
Serial Port Settings .......................................................................................................................................... 30
Interfacing to a ComNav Autopilot ................................................................................................................... 31
Commander P2 or Admiral P3 ..................................................................................................................... 31
5001 System ................................................................................................................................................ 32
Other ComNav Autopilot Systems................................................................................................................ 32
Interfacing to a Navigator G2 Display System.................................................................................................. 32
Interfacing to a PC ........................................................................................................................................... 34
PC COM Ports ............................................................................................................................................. 34
D Connector Pinouts ................................................................................................................................ 34
DE9 Connectors....................................................................................................................................... 35
DB25 Connectors..................................................................................................................................... 35
Using a PC for G2 Control & Display ........................................................................................................... 36
Using a G2 with a PC Navigation Program .................................................................................................. 36
Use a G2 with the CAN-bus based G3 Display in IMO installation .............................................................. 39
Wiring for NMEA 2000 system................................................................................................................................. 40
Operation__________________________________________________________________________43
Understanding How the G2 Works........................................................................................................................... 43
Automatic & Continuous Operation...................................................................................................................... 43
GPS and GLONASS ........................................................................................................................................ 43
Acquisition Time............................................................................................................................................... 43

ComNav G2 & G2B Installation & Operation Table of Contents
Document PN 29010093 V1.5 - 6 - 16 December 2016
Determining Position ........................................................................................................................................44
Differential Corrections.................................................................................................................................44
Determining Heading........................................................................................................................................44
Moving Base Station RTK ............................................................................................................................45
Determining Speed and Other Navigation Information.....................................................................................45
Supplemental Sensors .........................................................................................................................................46
Operation in NMEA 0183 environment.....................................................................................................................46
Output Ports .........................................................................................................................................................46
Output Data Formats........................................................................................................................................48
NMEA 0183 Output ......................................................................................................................................48
Proprietary Output ........................................................................................................................................49
Baud Rate ............................................................................................................................................................49
Electrical Interface................................................................................................................................................49
Alarm Output ........................................................................................................................................................49
Audible Alarm output ....................................................................................................................................49
ISO 22090-3 compliant NMEA 0183 Alarm Output ......................................................................................50
Operate in NMEA 2000 Environment .......................................................................................................................51
NMEA 2000 data output.......................................................................................................................................51
Changing the Configuration......................................................................................................................................52
Making Changes ..................................................................................................................................................52
Using a Terminal Program................................................................................................................................52
Using a Navigator G2 .......................................................................................................................................53
Using a G3 Compass Display...........................................................................................................................53
Customising & Fine-tuning the Configuration.......................................................................................................53
Smoothing Output Data with Time Constants...................................................................................................53
Changing the Time Constants......................................................................................................................54
DGPS Source...................................................................................................................................................55
Baud Rates & Data Bandwidth.........................................................................................................................55
Care & Maintenance ________________________________________________________________ 58
Protection of Wires and Cabling...............................................................................................................................58
Periodic Checks .......................................................................................................................................................58
General Precautions.................................................................................................................................................58
Repair.......................................................................................................................................................................58
Fuse Replacement ...................................................................................................................................................58
Appendices _______________________________________________________________________ 60
Appendix 1 ...............................................................................................................................................................60
Specifications .......................................................................................................................................................60
GPS Receiver...................................................................................................................................................60
DGPS Beacon Receiver (G2B only).................................................................................................................60
System Interface ..............................................................................................................................................61
Power ...............................................................................................................................................................61
Mechanical .......................................................................................................................................................62
Appendix 2 ...............................................................................................................................................................63
ComNav Proprietary NMEA 0183 sentences descriptions ...................................................................................63
Appendix 3 ...............................................................................................................................................................64
NMEA 0183 Configuration Commands ................................................................................................................64
Appendix 4 ...............................................................................................................................................................68
Appendix 4 ...............................................................................................................................................................68

ComNav G2 & G2B Installation & Operation Table of Contents
Document PN 29010093 V1.5 - 7 - 16 December 2016
Configure Beacon stations for G2B...................................................................................................................... 68
Enter and exit the beacon configuration mode................................................................................................. 68
Send a configuration command to the beacon................................................................................................. 68
Change the beacon scanning mode ................................................................................................................ 68
Create and/or modify Channel Map Table ................................................................................................... 68
Change the Scanning mode......................................................................................................................... 69
A beacon configuration example...................................................................................................................... 70
Appendix 5 ............................................................................................................................................................... 71
Retrofit G2/G2B to Vector G2/G2B ...................................................................................................................... 71
Wheelmark Compliance Certificate ____________________________________________________72
License Agreement _________________________________________________________________75
Warranty Information ________________________________________________________________78
Index _____________________________________________________________________________84
User Notes & Settings _______________________________________________________________88
User Settings ........................................................................................................................................................... 88
Notes ....................................................................................................................................................................... 90

ComNav G2 & G2B Installation & Operation Figures & Tables
Document PN 29010093 V1.5 - 8 - 16 December 2016
List of Figures
Figure 1 – Typical NMEA 2000 G2 system setup.........................................................................................................13
Figure 2 – Typical NMEA 0183 G2 System setup .......................................................................................................14
Figure 3 – Choose a mounting location........................................................................................................................20
Figure 4 - Clear view required for the compass............................................................................................................20
Figure 5 - Mast pole blocked G2G2B skyview (view from top) .....................................................................................20
Figure 6 - Mounting distance to large metallic surface .................................................................................................21
Figure 7 – Heading & Pitch Installation (viewed from above). Heading bias is 0°at this orientation...........................23
Figure 8 – Heading & Roll Installation (viewed from above). Heading bias is 90°at this orientation...........................24
Figure 9 - Surface mount bracket assembly.................................................................................................................25
Figure 10 -Surface mount hole measurements ............................................................................................................26
Figure 11 – Surface Mount bracket assembly ..............................................................................................................26
Figure 12 - Assembled Surface Mount (example) ........................................................................................................27
Figure 13 – Long-sight Alignment................................................................................................................................28
Figure 14 - Typical Wiring Diagram of a G2 System with Autopilot and Compass Display ..........................................33
Figure 15 – DE9 & DB25 Pin Numbering ...................................................................................................................34
Figure 16 – Typical wiring with a PC for G2 Control & Display.....................................................................................36
Figure 17 – Typical wiring with a PC based Navigation Program.................................................................................37
Figure 18 – G2 with G3 Displays in an IMO G2 System...............................................................................................39
Figure 19 – Setup Tera Term to add a 100ms pause between command lines in a file...............................................53
Figure 20 - G2B beacon configuration interface screenshot ........................................................................................69

ComNav G2 & G2B Installation & Operation Figures & Tables
Document PN 29010093 V1.5 - 9 - 16 December 2016
List of Tables
Table 1 - Cable colour code.........................................................................................................................................29
Table 2 – Commander P2 Connection Details............................................................................................................31
Table 3 – PC COM Port (DE9) to G2’s RS-232 Port A ...............................................................................................35
Table 4 – PC COM Port (DB25) to G2’s RS-232 Port 1..............................................................................................35
Table 5 – connect G2 to CAN Bus ...............................................................................................................................40
Table 6 – Default NMEA Output Sentences Configuration .........................................................................................48
Table 7 – Default Proprietary Output Sentences Configuration ..................................................................................49
Table 8 - Alert conditions .............................................................................................................................................50
Table 9 - Alarm handling sentences.............................................................................................................................50
Table 10 - List of data PGNs and default update rates ................................................................................................51
Table 11 – Smoothing Time Constants.......................................................................................................................54
Table 12 – Time Constant Formulae...........................................................................................................................55
Table 13 – GNSS Receiver Specifications..................................................................................................................60
Table 14 – DGPS Beacon Receiver Specifications.....................................................................................................61
Table 15 – System Interface Specifications ................................................................................................................61
Table 16 – Power Specifications.................................................................................................................................61
Table 17 – Mechanical Specifications.........................................................................................................................62
Table 18 – Commands for the NMEA Output Sentences............................................................................................65
Table 19 – Commands for the Proprietary Output Sentences.....................................................................................65
Table 20 – Commands for the Smoothing Time Constants.........................................................................................65
Table 21 – Commands for Output Biases and port baud rates ...................................................................................66
Table 22 – Commands for Status & Configuration......................................................................................................66
Table 23 - Commands for G2B beacon configuration..................................................................................................66
Table 24 - G2B Beacon configuration command details ..............................................................................................67
Table 25 - Vector G2/G2B color code when used with G series G2/G2B ....................................................................71
Table 26 – User Settings (NMEA 0183 Ports).............................................................................................................88
Table 27 – User Settings (Alignment & Operational) ..................................................................................................89

ComNav G2 & G2B Installation & Operation
Document PN 29010093 V1.5 - 10 - 16 December 2016

ComNav G2 & G2B Installation & Operation
Document PN 29010093 V1.5 - 11 - 16 December 2016
Introduction

ComNav G2 & G2B Installation & Operation
Document PN 29010093 V1.5 - 12 - 16 December 2016

ComNav G2 & G2B Installation & Operation Introduction
Document PN 29010093 V1.5 - 13 - 16 December 2016
Overview
The G2 Satellite Compass is a state-of-the-art electronic navigation data device. It is
capable of providing highly accurate, high-precision position and heading data to a wide
variety of marine Navigation equipment, such as autopilots, sonar, radar, chart-plotters,
AIS receivers & transponders, and many other types of marine devices & systems.
The G2 features fast start-up and signal re-acquisition times, heading & position updates
at up to 20 times per second, and can operate at sustained turn rates up to 90°per
second.
The G2 is a complete Satellite Compass in a single rugged, marine-grade enclosure. It
needs only one single power/data cable, which greatly simplifies installation.
The G2 operates in both NMEA 0183 and NMEA 2000 environments, giving users more
freedom of installation, with the ability to interface with multiple variations of navigation
systems.
The images below depict a typical installation of the NMEA 2000 G2 system (Figure 1)
and NMEA 0183 (Figure 2 ).
Figure 1 – Typical NMEA 2000 G2 system setup

ComNav G2 & G2B Installation & Operation Introduction
Document PN 29010093 V1.5 - 14 - 16 December 2016
Figure 2 – Typical NMEA 0183 G2 System setup

ComNav G2 & G2B Installation & Operation Introduction
Document PN 29010093 V1.5 - 15 - 16 December 2016
G2 and G2B they are very similar, except for the Differential GPS (DGPS) correction
features:
•The G2 can obtain DGPS information from many Space-Based Augmentation
System (SBAS) sources (in areas where compatible sources are available &
operational), including WAAS, EGNOS, MSAS, and GAGAN. The G2 can also
accept DGPS information from an external data source.
•The G2B has an additional integrated beacon receiver module, which allows it to
use conventional terrestrial DGPS Radio beacon signals to obtain DGPS
information, in addition to SBAS sources & external DGPS data sources.
The G2 contains a ComNav receiver module (containing two GNSS receivers, a 3-axis
gyro, a 3-axis accelerometer and a 3-axis magnetometer), dual GNSS antennas and a
power supply. The G2B also contains a DGPS Radio beacon receiver module, and an
H-field beacon signals antenna.
When using DGPS corrections (SBAS, external, or Radio beacon), the G2 is capable of
under one metre precision for position sensing. The GPS antennas inside the G2’s
enclosure are separated by approximately 0.5 metres, which provides better than 0.25
degrees of heading sensing precision.
The gyro accelerometer and magnetometer enhance system performance by providing
heading information for up to 1 minute whenever the G2’s normal GPS-based heading is
not available due to signal blockage, or other temporary factors.
The G2 has default settings for easy use in typical marine configurations, as illustrated in
Figure 2 . ComNav’s goal is to be able to use the G2 unit “right out of the box” for most
marine applications, without a need to change system configuration settings.
Information in this manual will guide you in adjusting the G2 unit to operate in the best
possible configuration which suits your needs.
The internal beacon receiver in G2B is configured to operate automatically. However in
certain circumstance a user may want to change its configuration. Refer to Appendix 4 for
instructions of the beacon configuration.

ComNav G2 & G2B Installation & Operation
Document PN 29010093 V1.5 - 16 - 16 December 2016
Installation

ComNav G2 & G2B Installation & Operation
Document PN 29010093 V1.5 - 17 - 16 December 2016

ComNav G2 & G2B Installation & Operation
Document PN 29010093 V1.5 - 18 - 16 December 2016
Installation
Please refer to the Warranty Information section of this manual before proceeding with
installation of the G2.
Tools Required
General-purpose tools such as a portable drill, pliers, wire cutters, screwdrivers, wire,
mounting bolts and wrenches will be required. An accurate voltmeter or multi-meter
would also be useful.
Hazard warning!
Extreme caution is advised when using tools powered by
alternating current (AC) from main supply circuits, regardless of
whether those circuits are rated for “indoor”, “outdoor”, “marine”
or “industrial” use. Water, especially sea water, is an excellent
conductor of electricity, and can complete a path to AC Ground
through your body, causing injury or death, if a tool malfunctions
or short-circuits.


 Battery powered tools are STRONGLY recommended 


If AC tools are used, they must be plugged into a circuit that is
adequately protected against Ground Faults and other safety
hazards, in accordance with local electrical codes.
Power Supply
NMEA 2000 setup: G2 Satellite Compass is to be connected to the NMEA2000 network
power. For a reliable operation, the network power must be capable to provide the
current for the total LEN specified by all connected network devices. Refer to the
specifications on page 65 for G2 power rating.
NMEA 0183 setup: Unit is powered by the vessel’s power supply system and must have
an adequate circuit breaker or fuse. Power supply must be in voltage range of 9 to 36
volts DC. It is recommended to connect the unit to power via an on/off switch.


 If you are using a Navigator G2 Display with your G2, please note that
the Navigator G2 Display and its DU box only work at 12VDC
Ensure adequate wire sizes are used to handle the expected maximum currents (see 19).
Environmental Considerations
•Ensure that the G2’s Operating & Storage Temperature Ranges are not
exceeded (see Specifications,