Yacht Devices YDOG-01 User manual

User Manual
Outboard Gateway YDOG-01
also covers models
YDOG-01N, YDOG-01R
Firmware version
1.00
2021

© 2021 Yacht Devices Ltd. Document YDOG-01-001. August 8, 2021.
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. Specication 6
II. Device Installation and Connection to NMEA 2000 8
III. Connection to the Engine and Initial Setup 10
IV. LED Signals 15
V. Conguration with a Hidden Button 17
VI. Conguration with Installation Description Strings 19
VII. Firmware Updates 26
Appendix A. Troubleshooting 28
Appendix B. NMEA 2000 Messages Supported by Device 30
Package Contents
Device 1 pc.
This Manual 1 pc.
Paperclip for reset 1 pc.
NMEA 2000 Drop Cable not supplied
Note: Device can be connected to the network backbone directly, without an
NMEA 2000 drop cable.

Introduction
The Outboard Gateway (hereinafter Gateway or Device) is designed for petrol
engines without digital interfaces, and provides NMEA 2000 equipment with engine
revolutions (RPM), alternator voltage (measured at the NMEA 2000 interface) and
engine hours. It can also be programmed to use data from NMEA 2000 temperature
or pressure sensors and send these data as coolant and oil pressure or temperature,
boost or fuel pressure.
To connect the Gateway, you only need to connect it to the NMEA 2000 backbone,
make 3-5 turns of its wire around the spark plug wire, and afx the loops with tape.
In most cases, no additional settings are required, but you might need to set the RPM
divider according to the ignition system and type of your engine.
The Device can be programmed to issue high revolutions, high temperature and low
voltage warnings, and set the state of the charge indicator (displayed on MFD or NMEA
2000 display). If you have a single battery on your boat, the low voltage warning can
prevent the situation where a problem with the alternator or voltage regulator of your
engine is detected when the battery is already nearly dead.
The Gateway is equipped with a hidden button that allows changing the engine number
(0 - 3), RPM divider (from 0.5 to 8) and reseting the Device’s settings. These settings
are enough to install the Device.
To congure other settings, you need a PC gateway (from any manufacturer, including
our USB, Ethernet and Wi-Fi products) and software. The rmware of the Outboard
Gateway can only be updated from free CAN Log Viewer software (works on Microsoft
Windows, Linux and MacOS X) connected to NMEA 2000 with one of our NMEA
2000 gateways.
Thank you for purchasing our product and happy voyages!
— 4 —

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 of 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, nor the shipping
of the defective Device to the manufacturer.
5. Responsibility of the manufacturer in case of any damage as a consequence of
Device 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.
In the event of a failure, please refer to Appendix A before contacting technical
support.
8. The manufacturer accepts applications under the warranty and provides
technical support only via e-mail or through authorized dealers.
9. Contact details of the manufacturer and a list of the authorized dealers are
published on the website: http://www.yachtd.com/
— 5 —

I. Specification
Figure 1. Drawing of YDOG-01R (at left) and YDOG-01N (at right) models of Device
Our devices are supplied with different types of NMEA 2000 connectors. Models
containing an «R» in the sufx of the model name are equipped with Raymarine
SeaTalk NG compatible connectors. Models containing «N» in the sufx are equipped
with NMEA 2000 Micro Male (DeviceNet) connectors which are used by Garmin and
other manufacturers.
— 6 —

Device parameter Value Unit
Supply voltage (from NMEA 2000 network) 9-16 V
Current consumption (from NMEA 2000 network) 30 mA
Load Equivalency Number 1 LEN
Pulse counting range (per minute) 200-70000 PPM
RPM (pulses) counting accuracy ±0.5 %
Voltage measurement accuracy ±0.05 V
Engine hours resolution 1 second
Operating temperature range -20 to +80 °C
Device case length (without connector) 40 mm
Wire length 2000 mm
Wire temperature range -50 to +180 °C
Weight 25 g
Yacht Devices Ltd declares that this product is compliant with the essential
requirements of EMC directive 2014/30/EU and radio and TTE directive
1999/5/EC.
Dispose of this product in accordance with the WEEE Directive. Do not mix
electronic waste with domestic or industrial refuse.
— 7 —

II. Device Installation and Connection to NMEA 2000
The Device requires no maintenance. When deciding where to install the Device,
choose a dry mounting location. Do not place the Device where it can be ooded by
water or exposed to rain or water spray. Please note that you may need to observe LED
signals and/or press the Gateway’s hidden button during the conguration procedure.
Figure 1. Bridging of two NMEA 2000 networks over Wi-Fi
— 8 —

If your outboard engine is big enough, the Device can be placed inside the engine.
Make sure that it is securely fastened, ventilated, isolated from hot surfaces and
protected from possible water, oil or petrol spray. If you have a problem with routing
the NMEA 2000 cable to the motor, you can place the Outboard Gateway and NMEA
2000 Wi-Fi Gateway YDWG-02 inside the motor, and power them from the ignition.
The data from the Wi-Fi Gateway can be accessed from any web browser or app. Or
you can install the second Wi-Fi Gateway inside your boat and the pair creates a Wi-Fi
bridge to virtually join NMEA 2000 the network inside your boat with the network
inside your engine.
The Device is powered from the NMEA 2000 interface and can be directly connected
to the NMEA 2000 network backbone without a drop cable. To connect the Device
to a Simrad SimNet network (with yellow connectors) you can use an adaptor cable
(SimNet Female — NMEA 2000 Micro Female, Navico part number 24006199).
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 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 connector to secure and waterproof
it. After turning on the NMEA 2000 network power supply, the Device’s LED will start
ashing every 5 seconds, indicating that the Gateway is powered and functioning (see
Section IV for details).
Please note that you can’t directly connect the Device to NMEA 2000 port of your chart
plotter, the NMEA 2000 network requires a dedicated 12V power source.
— 9 —

III. Connection to the Engine and Initial Setup
The Device’s wire works like an antenna catching ignition impulses sent to a spark
plug. Usually you need to wrap the wire 3-5 times around the spark plug wire, and x
the loops with tape (we recommend a tape rated for automotive use). More turns make
the signal stronger, but it makes noise stronger too.
Figure 1. A – signal is good, B – signal is over amplied, C – signal is too weak.
Do not electrically connect Device’s wire.
— 10 —

Avoid placing the Device’s wire near voltage regulators, an alternator or other sources
of electro-magnetic noise. If the wire is too long, you may cut it. If the wire is too short,
you can enlarge it, but note that a longer wire can also catch more noise. If you have a
choice between enlarging of NMEA 2000 cable and Device’s wire, it is better to enlarge
the NMEA 2000 cable, because it is designed to work in a harsh environment and is
less susceptible to electromagnetic interference.
The ignition system sends from one impulse per two revolutions (most 2-stroke twin-
cylinder outboard motors) to 8 impulses per revolution to a spark plug, depending on
the engine type and the ignition system type. The factory setting of the Device is one
impulse per revolution (classic 2-stroke engines, 4-stroke engines with CDI).
Figure 2. Oscillograms in the CAN Log Viewer
— 11 —

If you have one of our NMEA 2000 gateways, you can observe the incoming signal
(500 milliseconds recording, updated twice per second) in the free CAN Log Viewer
software (see Section VI). To open the window with oscillograms (Figure 2), click the
“More…” button in the Outboard Gateway properties window (Section VI, Figure 1).
The red line in the window shows the signal as it is seen by the Gateway, the blue
line shows impulses detected by the Gateway. The «Signal Quality» in the lower right
corner is the assessment of AI of the Gateway (good values are in the range of 60-
100%). The «Received» progress bar shows how many points of the current oscillogram
were received by the CAN Log Viewer from the Device. The real time transmission of
oscillograms signicantly loads the NMEA 2000 network, and we recommend turning
off AIS and chart plotters to increase the “Received” value. The window’s data can be
saved as spreadsheet or image with the “Save…” button.
The following steps help you setup your Gateway.
1. Tuning the signal level
Do not change factory settings at this step. If you bought a used device, we recommend
that you reset it (Section V.4). Run the engine at idle revolutions and check the Device’s
LED signals (see Section V). If the rst signal in a sequence is RED, add one more turn,
because the signal is too weak (Figure 1.C).
If you can observe the signal in the CAN Log Viewer (Figure 2), its amplitude should be
90-100% and noises should be less than 30% of the window area height.
— 12 —

2. Tuning the signal quality
When the signal strength is tuned, check the second LED’s signal. It will be GREEN,
if the quality of the signal is good. If the signal is RED, try removing one or two turns
(the rst signal must remain GREEN, we assume that the signal is overamplied, as at
Figure 1.B), or, conversely, try to add one more turn (assuming that signal is amplied
not enough amplied, despite the rst signal being GREEN). The general rule is to
have the smallest possible number of turns enough to keep rst two signals GREEN
at idle revolutions.
3. Adjust the RPM divider and the algorithm
When the quality of the signal is tuned, you should adjust the RPM divider if required.
Note, that the NMEA 2000 Standard limits an engine revolution at 16384. Even if you
need the divider 8, at idle speed (600-900 RPM) revolutions will be visible at MFD and
will be 8 times higher (4800-7200 RPM). But to complete the installation, you need to
test it at full speed, because at full speed noise can become higher (and you may need
to change the route of Device’s wire).
For most modern 2-stroke twin-cylinder outboard motors a divider of 0.5 is required.
Classic 2-stroke engines and 4-stroke engines with CDI need a divider of 1 (factory
setting). Classic 4-stroke engines with an ignition distributor need a divider of 2.
The Device has four built-in algorithms of signal processing. The rst algorithm
(factory default) is optimized to count up to 15000 pulses per minute and cut high-
frequency noise from the signal. It is well suited for RPM dividers 0.5-2. The second
algorithm counts up to 70000 pulses per minute and must be manually selected if you
are using a divider of 3 or higher. Algorithms 3 and 4 are experimental and can be
changed in future versions.
— 13 —

Both settings can be modied with the hidden button or with PC software (please, refer
Sections V and VI).
4. Other settings
In case of two or more engines, you should congure the engine number for all engines
except the port engine. This can be done with the hidden button or with PC software.
If the current engine hours are known, you can specify this number as xed offset
(YD:HOURS command). We also recommend conguring warnings and linking
external pressure and temperature sensors, if you have them. These settings can be
modied with PC software only. Please refer to Section VI.
— 14 —

IV. LED Signals
The Device is equipped with a bi-color LED that indicates the Device’s state. At power
on, the Device produce a single very short GREEN ash to indicate that power is
supplied.
1. Signals during normal operation
During the normal operation, the Device emits a four-ash sequence every 5 seconds.
When the engine is running, you should observe GREEN-GREEN-RED-GREEN or
four GREEN ashes.
The rst ash in the sequence is GREEN if the signal strength is sufcient, and must be
RED if the engine is off. The second ash is GREEN if the quality of the signal is good.
If you are changing the speed, the rst signal should remain GREEN, but the second
may change to RED during changes. Please, refer to Section III for details.
The third signal is GREEN if the Device receives messages listed at Appendix B (see
“Receive” column) from the NMEA 2000 network. Usually, this signal is RED and
changes to GREEN when you are opening the list of external devices or the list of
NMEA 2000 devices on a chart plotter or cycle the power of some NMEA 2000 device
in the network.
The fourth signal is GREEN if the Device sent something to NMEA 2000 (and the message
was received by another device or devices). This signal should be always GREEN, because
the Gateway sends periodic messages with engine data every 100 and 500 milliseconds
(see Appendix B). It can be RED in case of network error or when engine messages
settings are modied with YD:PGN or YD:ZERO_RPM commands (see Section VI).
— 15 —

2. Signals during conguration with button
The LEDs’ behavior during conguration with the hidden button is described in
Section V.
3. Signals during rmware update
The LEDs’ behavior during rmware update is described in Section VII.
— 16 —

V. Configuration with a Hidden Button
With this method, you can change engine number, RPM divider, and pulse counting
algorithm, as well as reset the Device to factory settings.
The status LED of the Device will constantly shine RED when the hidden button is
pressed.
1. Engine number programming
Click the hidden button (see Figure 1 in Section I) with the paper clip supplied with the
Device. A single click puts the Device into engine number programming mode.
After one second, the Device will issue a series of GREEN ashes. A single ash means
that the engine number is set to 0 (factory setting, port or single engine), two ashes
means that engine number is 1 (starboard engine in twin engines conguration), and
so on.
Click the button and the setting value will be increased (or reset to the smallest value,
if the maximum value has been exceeded), and the Device will issue a series of GREEN
ashes to visually conrm the new setting.
To leave programming mode, wait about 10 seconds. The Device will save your setting
and issue a normal mode ash sequence (four ashes, see Section IV). Please note that
your new settings will be applied only after saving and leaving programming mode.
2. RPM divider programming
To enter divider programming mode, click the button twice. A single ash in the
response sequence means that the divider is 0.5 (multiply to 2), two ashes mean
divider 1 (factory setting) and so on. Nine ashes indicates a divider of 8.
— 17 —

All processes are identical to engine number programming. Note that a NMEA 2000
data eld is limited to 16383 RPM and with an incorrect divider the data may be
unavailable at high revolutions (e.g., you need a divider of 4, but set the divider to 1
and NMEA 2000 data eld will have an “out of range” value at 4100 RPM).
3. Algorithm selection
To enter the algorithm selection mode, click the button 3 times. The single ash in the
response sequence means algorithm 1 (provides better noise ltering, but counts up to
15000 pulses per minute), two ashes mean algorithm 2 (counts up to 70000 PPM)
and so on. Algorithms 3 and 4 are experimental and will be changed in future versions.
All processes are identical to engine number programming.
4. Reset to factory settings
To reset Device to factory settings, click the button 8 times. The Device will conrm
the command with a 1-second GREEN ash, reset the settings, and return to a normal
ashing sequence.
5. Wrong command
When the wrong number of clicks is entered (e.g. 5 or 9) and the user command is
not recognized, the Device responses with 1-second RED ash and then returns to a
normal ashing sequence.
— 18 —

VI. Configuration with Installation Description Strings
Installation description strings are stored in the Device’s memory and are usually
written by installers to specify the device location or to leave notes or contact
information. They can be set with a PC software and a hardware gateway to the
NMEA 2000 network. Some models of chart plotters also allow editing of installation
description strings. Please refer to your software or chart plotter documentation for
details.
Figure 1. Programming with CAN Log Viewer
— 19 —

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 this installation description eld. If a command is entered
without the last parameter, the device replies with the current value of the parameter.
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/
A Yacht Devices NMEA 2000 Wi-Fi Gateway, Yacht Devices NMEA 2000 Ethernet
Gateway, Yacht Devices NMEA 2000 USB Gateway or Yacht Devices NMEA 2000
Wi-Fi Router is required to connect the PC to the NMEA 2000 network. The CAN Log
Viewer also allows you to 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 the «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».
Parameters in square brackets [] described below can be omitted to obtain the current
setting’s value.
1. Reset and NMEA 2000 specic commands
1.1 YD:RESET
This command resets Device settings to default values. Unlike all other commands, it
leaves Installation Description String 2 empty.
— 20 —