Wegmatt dAISy 2+ User manual

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WEGMATTLLC dAISy 2+ AIS Receiver
Contents
1Disclaimer ..................................................................................................................................2
2Connecting dAISy 2+ to a computer.............................................................................................2
2.1 Windows 10 and newer ................................................................................................................2
2.2 Windows 7, Vista and XP ..............................................................................................................2
2.3 Windows 8 ....................................................................................................................................3
2.4 Mac OS X .......................................................................................................................................3
2.5 Linux..............................................................................................................................................3
2.6 Configuration of OpenCPN............................................................................................................4
2.7 Connecting dAISy with other software.........................................................................................5
3Using dAISy 2+............................................................................................................................6
3.1 Interpreting the status LED...........................................................................................................6
3.2 Configuration and debug menu....................................................................................................7
4Using the NMEA 0183 connector.................................................................................................9
5Using the Auxiliary Serial connector ..........................................................................................10
5.1 AIS over WiFi with the DT-06 WiFi module.................................................................................11
6Tips for good AIS reception .......................................................................................................15
6.1 Antenna.......................................................................................................................................15
6.2 Location, location, location.........................................................................................................15
6.3 Radio frequency noise ................................................................................................................16
7Troubleshooting .......................................................................................................................16
8Specifications ...........................................................................................................................17
9Source code and schematics......................................................................................................18
10 Contact.................................................................................................................................18
Wegmatt LLC
6356 138th Ave NE #212
Redmond, WA
United States of America
https://wegmatt.com
Designed and assembled in USA

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1Disclaimer
dAISy 2+ is a reliable, dual-channel AIS Receiver. However, under no circumstances it should be solely
relied on for collision avoidance or navigation. It’s the user’s responsibility to use the product
prudently. Neither Wegmatt LLC nor its dealers accept responsibility or liability to the product user or
their estate for any accident, loss, injury, or damage whatsoever arising out of the use of this product.
2Connecting dAISy 2+ to a computer
2.1 Windows 10 and newer
Good news! With Windows 10 or newer, no driver is required. When plugging the AIS receiver into USB,
a new COM port will be detected. The port will automatically show up in the DataPort drop-down of
OpenCPN. See the chapter about configuring OpenCPN below for more information.
2.2 Windows 7, Vista and XP
Your user must have administrative rights on the Windows machine to install the USB driver.
To install the required driver on Windows 7, Windows Vista and Windows XP follow these steps:
1. Download the USB driver from https://wegmatt.com/files/daisyUSB%20inf%20v2.zip.
2. Extract the USB descriptor file (.inf) contained in the archive into a folder on your computer.
3. Plug dAISy into a free USB port.
4. Windows will detect a new USB device and start looking for a driver.
5. When prompted for a driver, select “Browse my computer for driver software” and select
the folder containing the .inf file.
a. When not prompted for a driver, open Device Manager and look for “Other Devices
> dAISy AIS Receiver” and select “Update Driver”.
6. Windows will warn you that the driver has no signature, i.e. is from a software vendor
unknown to Microsoft. Acknowledge the warning about the unsigned driver.
a. Note that the .inf file is a text file that tells Windows that a device with the name
dAISy and a certain ID should be handled by the standard USB driver that comes
with Windows. It does not contain any code.
7. After successful installation, “dAISy AIS Receiver” should show up in the Device Manager
under “Ports (COM & LPT)”, note the assigned COM port number.
8. In OpenCPN create a new serial connection on DataPort COM** (where ** is the number
Windows assigned) and with 38400 as baud rate. See the chapter about configuring
OpenCPN below for more information.

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2.3 Windows 8
Windows 8 requires to temporarily disable driver signature verification while installing dAISy’s USB
descriptor file. As preparation to the actual installation, follow the steps in this article:
https://www.howtogeek.com/167723/how-to-disable-driver-signature-verification-on-64-bit-windows-
8.1-so-that-you-can-install-unsigned-drivers/
Once driver signature verification is disabled, follow the instructions for Windows 7, Vista and XP.
For your safety, reboot your PC after completion of the installation. This will re-enable driver signature
verification.
2.4 Mac OS X
No driver is required for Mac OS X. dAISy will show be recognized a USB modem.
You can determine the ID of dAISy with the following steps:
1. Plug dAISy into a USB port
2. Launch Terminal.app
3. Type: ls /dev/*usb*
4. The system will return a list of USB devices, with names like /dev/cu.usbmodemXYZ where
XYZ is a number.
5. Copy /dev/cu.usbmodemXYZ to the clipboard, where XYZ is substituted with specifics from
your setup.
6. In OpenCPN.app create a new serial connection on DataPort using the copied string. See the
chapter about configuring OpenCPN below for more information.
2.5 Linux
No driver is required for Linux. When plugged into the computer, dAISy will show up as a USB CDC
device on /dev/ttyACM0.
Detailed instructions for Linux can be found here: https://mvcesc.wordpress.com/2015/04/28/opencpn-
on-the-raspberry-pi-2-with-ais/
Also See the chapter about configuring OpenCPN below for more information.

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2.6 Configuration of OpenCPN
OpenCPN is a free chart plotter and navigation software. Among many other things, OpenCPN supports
input from AIS receivers to display the position of ships on its charts.
You can learn more about OpenCPN and download it on the OpenCPN web page: https://opencpn.org
To use dAISy with OpenCPN, go to the Options dialog, select the Connections icon and add a new
connection. Set Properties to Serial. Enter or select the Dataport under which dAISy presents itself (see
OS-specific chapters above to determine the correct port). Set Baudrate to 38400. Leave everything else
as preset by OpenCPN.
Configuration of a serial connection for dAISy in OpenCPN

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2.7 Connecting dAISy with other software
dAISy presents itself to computers as a virtual serial port. See the OS-specific chapters above about
installation to learn how to determine the serial port.
The serial communication parameters of dAISy are:
Baud rate
38400
Data bits
8
Parity
None
Stop bits
1
Flow control
None
Depending on the software dAISy is used with, some or all these parameters have to be configured. For
details, please refer to the instruction manual of the respective application.

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3Using dAISy 2+
Using dAISy is as simple as connecting it with an antenna and a PC and powering up your AIS capable
application of choice. When plugged in, dAISy automatically starts to listen for AIS transmissions.
3.1 Interpreting the status LED
dAISy has two, two-color status LED, has two two-color status LED, giving an indication about how it’s
doing. Each LED represents one of the two AIS channels.
Short GREEN flash every 5 seconds
dAISy is well and alive and in receive mode, listening for AIS messages.
While in receive mode, the mode dAISy starts in when powered up, it will very briefly blink green every 5
seconds to indicate that everything is ok.
Long GREEN flash
Yay! dAISy received a valid AIS packet.
For every packet received and passing all error checks, the LED will turn green for ¼ second. At the same
time, the dAISy will output the received message as NMEA AIVDM sentence on the connected ports.
Long RED flash
dAISy received an invalid packet.
This means that the dAISy received bits that looks like the start of an AIS package, but the data did not
pass other sanity checks like checksum. It might be a ship just out of range, interference from another
radio source, or just random noise.
Don’t panic, you will see a lot of red even under optimal conditions.
Fast regular blinking RED
dAISy encountered an unexpected system error.
The most common cause is that it lost USB connection, which happens on some PCs (particularly Macs)
when they go into sleep mode. Unplug dAISy and plug it in again to fix this condition.
If the condition persists, there might a hardware issue with your device. Please contact us.
No LED activity
dAISy failed to boot or crashed. Unplug dAISy and plug it in again to fix this condition. If the condition
persists, there might a hardware issue with your device. Please contact us.
Or dAISy is not in receive mode because you are using the debug menu.

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3.2 Configuration and debug menu
When connecting to dAISy with a serial terminal program (e.g. Putty or Termite on Windows, screen on
Linux and OS X), pressing ESC will bring up a menu with a few configuration and debug options.
3.2.1 Configuration options
0-3: Control the speed of the NMEA and auxiliary serial ports at the back of the device. Pressing 1
enables the port with a speed of 4800 baud, 2 is for 9600 baud, and 3 is for 38400 baud. Pressing 0 turns
the NMEA and aux serial ports off. The recommended setting is 38400 baud.
M: Selects the function of the auxiliary serial port.
1. NMEA output: Output AIS messages as NMEA AIVDM sentences.
2. NMEA input: Act as an input for NMEA sentences, for example from a GPS module. All NMEA
sentences received through the auxiliary serial port will be forwarded to the other ports.
C: Configure the radios of the dAISy to listen to specific AIS channels. The dAISy 2+ has two radios, which
by default are configured to listen on channel A at 161.975 MHz and channel B at 162.025 MHz
respectively. The dAISy 2+ also supports receiving the less common “Long range AIS” channels at
156.775 and 156.825 MHz.
K: If keep-alive is enabled, the AIS receiver will periodically output a dummy message. This is only
required in special setups, where another device may disconnect when there is no traffic.
B: Enter boot loader mode for firmware updates. dAISy exits this mode through power-cycling, after a
20 second timeout without further activity, or after completing firmware upgrade.

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#: Save current settings (serial, AIS channel, and debug) as power-on defaults. This is particularly useful
when you want to persist the settings for the NMEA and auxiliary serial output.
ESC: Resume receiving AIS messages.
3.2.2 Debug options
D: Toggles debug messages. When enabled and in AIS receive mode, signal strength and other
information about valid and invalid AIS packets will be displayed. It is normal to receive a lot of broken
packages as there always will be radio noise and ships just out of range. With some experience, you can
use the debug messages to analyze and improve reception issues.
N: Keep pressed to get an idea of the current noise level. -120 to -100 dBm is normal. dAISy will only be
able to receive valid packets roughly 15 dBm above that level, consistent reception 25+ dBm above
noise.
S: If valid packages were received, this gives a summary of the signal strength at which AIS messages
arrived (min, max, average).
T: Enter test mode. In this mode, dAISy outputs a test message every 5 seconds. You can enter your own
message or have it output a preprogrammed AIS message. This mode is useful when you want to test
dAISy but do not have AIS reception at your current location. You can exit test mode by pressing ESC or
power-cycling dAISy.

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4Using the NMEA 0183 connector
dAISy 2+ comes with a NMEA 0183 connector. This allows to connect the AIS receiver to chartplotters
and other marine equipment. The connector also allows to power dAISy from the boat’s power system
instead of USB.
dAISy NMEA connector
Chartplotter / boat
Comment
NMEA +
NMEA + or A RX
NMEA -
NMEA - or B RX
If your device only has one RX wire per port,
leave NMEA - unconnected
GND
Ground
If your device has only one RX wire or you
connect external power, ground must be
connected.
9-36V
Boat 12-36V power
system
External power for dAISy if you are not using
USB.
Below is an illustration on how to connect the dAISy NMEA connector with a compatible device using
single-wire or two-wire NMEA 0183 connection. Note that the colors may be different. Check the
installation instructions of your chartplotter to identify the proper connections.
single-wire NMEA connection
two-wire NMEA connection
By default, dAISy is configured to output at 38400 Baud (NMEA high speed). This can be changed to
other baud rates in the configuration and debug menu. You also need to check the configuration of your
chartplotter. In many models, the NMEA port needs to be enabled in the settings menu and set to the
correct protocol, like for example NMEA high speed.
NMEA 0183 is compatible with RS-422, which means that the NMEA connector can also be used to
connect dAISy with RS-422 to serial, RS-422 to Ethernet and other RS-422 compatible equipment. You
may need to swap the NMEA + and NMEA - leads.

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5Using the Auxiliary Serial connector
For tinkerers, dAISy 2+ provides an auxiliary serial port on the rear of the unit. This connector can be
used to process AIS messages with other devices.
The pinout of the serial connector is compatible with HC-05/HC-06 Bluetooth modules and DT-06 WiFi
modules widely available on eBay. It can also be used to connect dAISy with other devices like data
loggers, Arduinos etc.
The serial output is enabled by default and can be configured in the debug menu (see chapter 3.2). It
shares the port with the NMEA 0183 output. This means, that both will always output the same data and
at the same data rate.
Pin
Function
NC
This pin is not connected
TXD
Transmit data, output, 3.3V –dAISy transmits data on this pin. Typically,
this signal is connected to the RXD pin on the other device.
RXD
Receive data, input, 3.3V –dAISy receives data on this pin. Typically, this
signal is connected to the TXD pin on the other device.
GND
Ground –This pin must always be connected to GND on the other device.
VCC
Power –Use this pin to power your device from dAISy. The output voltage
can be set to 3.3V or 5V with a switch inside dAISy. Maximum current is
150mA at 3.3V or 300mA at 5V.
This pin can also be used to power dAISy from an external 5V or 3.3V
power source. If doing so, double-check the voltage selection switch to
avoid damaging dAISy.
Note, that the voltage selection switch does NOT change the voltage level
of the other pins. All other pins are 3.3V only!
I/O
Spare input or output pin, 3.3V –This pin is currently not in use.