Yacht Devices YDHS-01 User manual

User Manual
Humidity Sensor YDHS-01
also covers models
YDHS-01R, YDHS-01N
Software version
1.02
2018

© 2018 Yacht Devices Ltd. Document YDHS01-002. March 15, 2018. Web: http://www.yachtd.com/
NMEA 2000® is a registered trademark of the National Marine Electronics Association. SeaTalk NG
is a registered trademark of Raymarine UK Limited. Garmin® is a registered trademark of Garmin Ltd.

Contents
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Warranty and Technical Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
I. Product Specication . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
II. Sensor Care and Cautions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
III. Sensor Mounting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
IV. Device Connection and Testing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
V. Device Programming and Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
VI. Programming with Installation Description String . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
VII. Programming with Datum or Variation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
VIII. LED Signals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
APPENDIX А. Troubleshooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
APPENDIX B. Device Connectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
APPENDIX С. NMEA 2000 Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Package Contents
Device 1 pc.
This Manual 1 pc.
Sensor Mounting Pads 2 pc.
Plastic Clamps 2 pc.
Screws 2 pc.

— 4 —
Introduction
This Manual contains information on how to install, congure and operate the digital Humidity Sensor
YDHS-01 (hereinafter Device) intended for use in NMEA 2000 marine electronics networks.
The Device provides chart plotters and instrumental displays with humidity and air temperature
measurements and calculated dew point temperature. The Device is plug and play; you only need
to plug it into a NMEA 2000 backbone to get readings on all chart plotters and instruments on board.
This product can be used for weather monitoring and fog prediction; mold prevention by monitoring
of water intake or moisture condensation in lockers; and remote monitoring of living quality. From the helm
you can see how comfort it is in the cabin.
Please read carefully chapters II and III before mounting the sensor. As any sensitive device, the sensor
must be handled with care. An improper installation location (under direct sunlight, near a wet surface)
can cause faulty or inaccurate sensor readings.
The Device is designed for operation in a NMEA 2000 network and is compatible with a wide range
of equipment supporting this protocol. Raymarine SeaTalk NG, Simrad SimNet and Furuno CAN networks
are branded versions of NMEA 2000 and differ only in the type of connectors.
The Device can be congured to display inside (saloon, cabin) or outside air temperature and humidity.
This can be done easily with CAN Log Viewer software,or it can be done from any chart plotter using a smart
sequence of switching of chart datum or magnetic variation setting (tested with Raymarine and Garmin
chart plotters, see chapters V and VII).
Conguration of data instance is also supported. For example, “Inside Humidity” with data instance
0, 1, 2 may means humidity in saloon and in bow and aft cabins. Chart plotters with factory settings
are usually able to show only one value with data instance 0, but manufacturers may supply dealers
and professional installers with internal instruments to customize chart plotter screens.
That allows installation of dozens of humidity sensors in a single network.
An important rule among sailors is to keep the ocean outside the ship and to remain dry as long
as possible. Our Device can help you with that. We thank you for purchasing and wish you happy voyages!

— 5 —
Warranty and Technical Support
1. The Device warranty is valid for two years from the date of purchase. If a Device was purchased
in a retail store, the sale receipt may be requested when applying for a warranty claim.
2. The Device warranty is terminated in case of violation of the instructions in this Manual,
case integrity breach, or repair or modication of the Device without manufacturer’s written
permission.
3. If a warranty request is accepted, the defective Device must be sent to the manufacturer.
4. The warranty liabilities include repair and replacement of the goods and do not include
the cost of equipment installation and conguration, as well as shipping of the defective Device
to the manufacturer.
5. Responsibility of the manufacturer in case of any damage as a consequence of the Device’s operation
or installation is limited to the Device cost.
6. The manufacturer is not responsible for any errors and inaccuracies in guides and instructions
of other companies.
7. The Device requires no maintenance. The Device’s case is non-dismountable.
8. In the event of a failure, please refer to Appendix A before contacting technical support.
9. The manufacturer accepts applications under warranty and provides technical support only via e-mail
or from authorized dealers.
10. The contact details of the manufacturer and a list of the authorized dealers are published
on the website: http://www.yachtd.com/.

— 6 —
I. Product Specification
Figure 1. Drawing of YDHS-01R model of Device
Devices are supplied with different types of NMEA 2000 connectors. Models with the sufx R at the end
of the model name are equipped with NMEA 2000 connectors compatible with Raymarine SeaTalk NG
(as in the picture above). Models with the sufx N are equipped with NMEA 2000 Micro Male connectors
which are used by Garmin and other manufacturers (see Appendix B).

— 7 —
Device parameter Value Unit
Operating voltage (from an NMEA 2000 network) 7..16 V
Protection against reverse polarity Yes —
Average current consumption 23 mA
Load equivalency number 1 LEN
Operating temperature range (except the sensor) —40..+80 °С
Weight 62 g
Relative Humidity Measurement
Operating range 0..100 % RH
Measurement resolution 0.04 % RH
Typical accuracy in range 20..80 % RH (1) ± 2 % RH
Accuracy in the rest of range ± 3 % RH
Relative Humidity Measurement
Operating range —40..+120 °С
Measurement resolution 0.01 °С
Typical accuracy in range 5..60 °C ± 0.3 °С
Accuracy in the rest of range (maximum) ± 1 °С
Note 1: Normal operating range is 0..80 % RH, beyond this limit the sensor may read a reversible
offset with slow kinetics (+3 % RH after 60 hours at humidity >80 % RH).
Yacht Devices Ltd declares that this product is compliant with the essential requirements
of EMC directive 2004/108/EC.
Dispose of this product in accordance with the WEEE Directive. Do not mix electronic disposal
with domestic or industrial refuse.

— 8 —
II. Sensor Care and Cautions
As with any sensitive device, sensor must be handled carefully. The sensor membrane may require cleaning
from sea salt and dirt.
• Do not clean the sensor with chemicals and remove the sensor
when painting in the cabin. The sensor should not get in close contact
with volatile chemicals such as solvents or other organic compounds.
High concentration and long exposure to such must be avoided. Ketenes, Acetone,
Ethanol, Isopropyl Alcohol, Toluene, etc. are known to cause drift of the humidity
reading – irreversibly in most cases.
• Do not use high pressure washing and do not point a jet of high pressure at the sensor.
This can damage the membrane or lead to the penetration of water through the membrane.
• The sensor is not light sensitive, but long exposure to direct sunlight can cause signicant
heating of the sensor case. After high temperature exposure, the sensor may temporarily read
a negative humidity offset (typically -1 to -2 % RH). This offset slowly disappears again by itself
when the sensor is exposed to ambient conditions (typically within 1-3 days).
• Sea salt on the sensor due to hydroscopy can lead to incorrect moisture readings. Wash the sensor
with a weak stream of fresh water.
• The sensor has a solid metal body protected with resin, but the membrane at its end has a plastic
housing and may be damaged if the sensor is accidentally dropped or struck.

— 9 —
III. Sensor Mounting
When deciding the sensor mounting location, please keep in mind the following recommendations:
1. Choose a well-ventilated area remote from wet surfaces. A sensor located near the deck
will detect water evaporation from the wet deck in wet weather. A sensor located in a locker
measures the humidity of the air in the locker, but not outside air humidity.
2. Do not place the sensor in direct sunlight. Heating the sensor causes error in humidity
and temperature measurements both.
3. To prevent the sensor from being heated by the boat itself, minimize the area of contact between
the sensor case and other surfaces, use materials with low thermal conductivity (plastic)
to isolate the sensor case from metal surfaces or surfaces that can be heated from inside
or from other parts of the boat.
4. Do not place the sensor where it can be ooded by water, gets wet in the rain or sprayed with water.
In this case the sensor will measure the drop of water on it.
5. The sensor has a solid metal body protected with resin, but membrane at its end has a plastic
housing. Avoid places where the sensor may be exposed to accidental impact.
6. The sensor should be placed vertically with the membrane end pointing toward the deck,
which is usually more protected from condensation drops or occasional water spray.
7. The minimum outer diameter of the wire is 30mm when being bent.
The following places may be a good mounting locations:
1. Under the cockpit table on sailing yachts.
2. Under the standing shelter on catamarans and motor boats.
You can afx a sensor with the pads supplied and plastic clamps as shown in Figure 1.

— 10 —
Figure 1. Sensor xed with supplied pads and plastic clamps. A – side view, B – isometric,
C – xing of clamp.

— 11 —
IV. Device Connection and Testing
The Device requires no maintenance. When deciding where to install the Device, choose a dry mounting
location. Avoid places where the Device can be ooded with water, this can damage it. The Device sensor
can be mounted inside or outside, see the sensor mounting recommendations in the previous chapter.
The Device is directly connected to the bus without a drop cable. Before connecting the Device, turn off
the bus power supply. Refer to the manufacturer's documentation if you have any questions regarding
the use of connecting cables, terminators and connectors:
• SeaTalk NG Reference Manual (81300-1) for Raymarine networks
• Technical Reference for Garmin NMEA 2000 Products (190-00891-00) for Garmin networks
After connecting the Device, close the lock on the connection to ensure water resistance and reliability.
After turning on the bus power supply, the LED of the Device with factory settings will produce
two short signals every second. This indicates normal operation (see chapter VIII).
If the Device is connected to a network having a chart plotter or any other device transmitting
“Datum” (PGN 129044) or “Magnetic Variation” (PGN 127258) messages, the Device will produce
six half-second LED signals when a message of that type is received for the rst time after power
is turned on. This usually happens within 15 seconds after the Device is turned on. The signal series
conrms that the Device is properly connected to the NMEA 2000 network and that the chart plotter
is able to receive data from the Device.
The Device information should be displayed in the list of NMEA 2000 devices (SeaTalk NG, SimNet,
Furuno CAN) or in the common list of external devices on the chart plotter (see Figure 1 on the next page).
Usually, access to this list is in the "Diagnostics", "External Interfaces" or "External devices" menu.
Data from the Device are available to all the equipment connected to the network and can be displayed
simultaneously on several chart plotters and digital navigation instruments.

— 12 —
Figure 1. Raymarine c125 MFD devices list with Humidity Sensor (YDHS-01)
Under the factory settings, the Device shows the data as outside humidity and air temperature, and sends
a calculated dew point temperature. Switch to the chart plotter screen, which provides information about
the air temperature and humidity, or add this data bar to the screen using the instructions supplied with
your equipment.

— 13 —
V. Device Programming and Settings
The Device can be programmed by three methods. Table 1 on the next page shows the applicability
of the methods for different settings. The following methods are supported:
1. By a special sequence of datum or variation settings on a chart plotter (column [1] at Table 1).
This method is tricky, but it only requires a chart plotter and it can be performed on legacy
chart plotters. Tested with Garmin and Raymarine chart plotters. See chapter VII for details.
2. With a special installation description string which can be entered for the Device iin PC software
like CAN Log Viewer from our company, ActiSense NMEA Reader or Maretron N2KAnayzer.
This method is very simple and may be supported in some models of chart plotters. Described
in the next chapter.
3. Using special PC software, including professional NMEA 2000 installer software. The Device
supports “Request Message”, "Command Message" and "Write Fields" functions of PGN 126208,
which allows changing of the Device settings.
Programming of the Device should not be performed at sea.

— 14 —
Table 1. Applicability of the programming methods
Number Setting or action Method
[1] [2] [3]
(1) NMEA 2000 device instance Yes Yes Yes
(2) NMEA 2000 system instance Yes Yes Yes
(3) NMEA 2000 data instance Yes Yes Yes
(4) Inside / outside Yes Yes Yes
(5) Turn on/off transmission of humidity, air temperature
and dew point temperature Yes Yes Note 3
(6) Transmission interval for periodic messages Note 1 Yes Yes
(7) Humidity and temperature offset No Yes Note 3
(8) Installation description No Yes Yes
(9) Reset all settings to factory values Yes Yes Note 3
(10) NMEA 2000 message priority No No Note 2
Note 1: Only turning on with default transmission interval and off are allowed with this method.
Note 2: Setting is not stored in non-volatile memory and acts only while Device is powered.
Note 3: Not allowed with "Command Message" and "Write Fields" of PGN 126208, use method 2.
NMEA 2000 device (1) and system (2) instances should not be modied by a user, these elds are used
by installers in complex NMEA 2000 networks. Message priority (10) can be dynamically managed
on the network by devices and is not intended to be managed by a user.

— 15 —
NMEA 2000 data instance (3) may be used when multiple Devices are installed. For example,
“Inside Humidity” with data instance 0, 1, 2 may mean humidity in saloon and in the bow and aft
cabins. Chart plotters with factory settings are usually able to show only one value with data instance 0,
but manufacturers may supply dealers and professional installers by internal instruments to customize
chart plotter screens. Please refer to your chart plotter manual before changing this setting.
Inside / outside (4) setting switches the transmitting type of measured data between inside (cabin, saloon)
air temperature and humidity to outside (the boat) and vice versa. Actually, it changes only the type
of transmitted data. The calculated dew point temperature is not affected by this setting because
NMEA 2000 only has the “Dew Point Temperature” data type. This can cause a conict if two Devices
are installed. In theory, this conict can be solved by assigning different data instances (3) to the Devices
or selecting a data source in the chart plotter or instrument display. But in practice many of modern chart
plotters and instrumental displays have no such capabilities. In this case, you can leave only one source
of dew point temperature in your network with the next setting.
Table 2. Data types in periodically transmitted messages
NMEA 2000 Message Humidity Air temperature Dew point
PGN 130311 Environmental Parameters Yes Yes No
PGN 130312 Temperature No Yes Yes (1)
PGN 130313 Humidity Yes No No
PGN 130316 Temperature, Extended Range No Yes Yes (1)
Note 1: Dew point sent in separate message from air temperature
Settings (5) allows you to turn off a specic data type in the transmitted messages. For example, when
humidity is turned off, a message with PGN 130313 is transmitted with a “no data available” value.
And the same for air temperature. The only exception is for the dew point temperature. The Device will stop
sending messages with dew point temperature if this data type is turned off.

— 16 —
Note that a small number of chart plotters and instrumental displays incorrectly process
the “no data available” value if there is more than one data source present on the network. This may
cause “ashing” of data on the display when it receives a “no data available” value after a valid value
from other source.
The Data transmission interval (6) setting allows changing of the interval of periodical (data transmitting)
messages with methods [2] or [3] and individually turning on/off message transmission with all three
methods. Intervals from 50 milliseconds (value 50) to 1 hour (value 3600000) are allowed, a value
of 0 turns off the transmission (but data can be received by request). “Restore default Interval” value
is also supported in method [3] (see Appendix C). In case of method [1], the user can only turn on
and off transmission of messages.
The Device sensor is calibrated at the factory, and wrong readings usually mean that the sensor requires
some cleaning (see chapter II) or is mounted improperly (see chapter III). Therefore, you can set an offset
(7) from -10.0 to +10.0 (Celsius, % RH) for the sensor readings to align with readings from other ship
equipment.
Installation description (8) are two text elds (see the next chapter), which can be lled in by installer
to specify the Device’s location or leave notes and contact data. Special strings starting with “YD:”
in the second eld are used for Device programming in method [2].
Resetting of settings (9) returns a Device to the factory state.
The next two chapters describe the details of Device programming with methods [2] and [1].
Regarding method [3], please refer to your software manual and the NMEA 2000 Standard.

— 17 —
VI. Programming with Installation Description String
Installation description strings are usually written by installers to specify the device location or to leave
notes or contact information. This can be done with professional PC software (with a hardware connector
to NMEA 2000 network) and it may be supported by some models of chart plotters. Please refer
to your software or chart plotter documentation for details.
Figure 1. Programming with CAN Log Viewer

— 18 —
To program the Device, enter a special string starting with “YD:” to the installation description eld 2
in the Device properties. For example, “YD:DEV 1” (without quotes) will change the NMEA 2000 device
instance of the Device to 1. If the command is accepted by the Device, it will add “ DONE” to the entered text
and “YD:DEV 1 DONE” will be displayed in the case of our example. Note that the Device always accepts
correct strings regardless of the current settings, etc.
In Figure 1 on the previous page, you can see the process of programming the Device with free
CAN Log Viewer software (to open this window, select the item "NMEA 2000 Devices" in the "View"
menu, refresh the list of devices, select the device and click "Properties" button). You can download
this program (runs on Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X and Linux) at http://www.yachtd.com/downloads/,
Yacht Devices NMEA 2000 Wi-Fi Gateway or Yacht Devices NMEA 2000 USB Gateway is required
to connect the PC with NMEA 2000 network.
In the software you can also modify the NMEA 2000 device instance by entering a value in the dedicated
eld (see "Address Claim" group on the screenshot).
After entering the command as shown in Figure 1 (click "Update" button to apply changes), the value
in the "Device Instance" eld will be changed to 1, and “Installation Details 2” eld will be changed
to “YD:DEV 1 DONE”.
The full list of special strings is in Table 1. Please see the PGN description in Table 2 of previous chapter.
Note 1: This setting stops the transmission of data, but does not stop the transmission
of corresponding messages. Please see previous chapter for details.

— 19 —
Table 1. Special strings
String format Examples Description
YD:DEV <number> YD:DEV 1 Set NMEA 2000 device instance value (0..255).
Factory setting 0.
YD:SYS <number> YD:SYS 1 Set NMEA 2000 system instance value (0..15).
Factory setting 0.
YD:DAT <number> YD:DAT 252 Set NMEA 2000 data instance value (0..252).
Factory setting 0.
YD:INSIDE
YD:OUTSIDE
YD:INSIDE
YD:OUTSIDE
Switches transmitted type of measured data
to inside (cabin, saloon) air temperature and
humidity or to outside. Factory setting OUTSIDE.
YD:PGN <pgn>
<interval>
YD:PGN 130311 0
YD:PGN 130312 500
Set transmitted interval for specied message
(130311, 130312, 130313, 130316) in milliseconds.
Values from 50 to 3600000 (1 hour) are allowed,
value 0 turns transmission of specied PGN off.
See also Table 2 of previous chapter.
YD:DATATYPE <string> YD:DATATYPE NONE
YD:DATATYPE DHT
YD:DATATYPE HT
“NONE” — turn off transmission of all data types.
“D” in the string turn on transmission of dew point,
absence of “D” turn off transmission. “H” and
“T” — the same for humidity and air temperature.
String is ignored if not equal to “NONE” or contains
other characters than “D”, “H” and “T” (must be
specied without spaces). “DHT” string turns on
transmission of all data types. See also Note 1
on the page #18.
YD:TEMPERATURE <d>
YD:HUMIDITY <d>
YD:TEMPERATURE 1
YD:HUMIDITY -1.5
Set positive or negative offset in °C or % RH. Values
from -10.0 to 10.0 are allowed.
YD: RESET YD: RESET Reset all settings to factory values.

— 20 —
VII. Programming with Datum or Variation
To program the Device with this method, you must connect it to a network with a chart plotter. This method
of programming is tricky, but is compatible with virtually all NMEA 2000 chart plotters.
Figure 1. Setting the chart datum and magnetic variation on Raymarine c125