ShipModul Marine Electronics MiniPlex-2Wi NMEA 0183 multiplexer Manual MiniPlex-2Wi, V1.0 Firmware V3.17.x Art.no.: 1125 Man. rev.
Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 3 Talkers and Listeners ....................................................................................................... 3 The Multiplexer................................................................................................................ 3 The MiniPlex-2Wi ..........................................................................................
Introduction The MiniPlex-2Wi is an NMEA multiplexer that enables the connection of multiple NMEA 0183 instruments to each other and a computer and/or wireless devices. It is developed to solve a fundamental problem with the NMEA 0183 standard. The NMEA 0183 standard defines a communication protocol that enables navigation instruments to exchange data with each other.
The picture below shows a typical setup with a multiplexer combining data from a wind instrument, a compass and a GPS. This data is forwarded to a tablet and an autopilot using two different types of outputs: an NMEA talker port called ‘Out1’ and a WiFi interface. The multiplexer forwards the received NMEA sentences to the tablet and the autopilot at the same time. The WiFi connection to the tablet is actually bi-directional: the tablet acts as a listener and a talker at the same time.
Connections NMEA Signals Although the NMEA 0183 standard very clearly specifies the signal names, voltage levels and connection methods, the reality is far from this ideal world. The most important property of an NMEA port is that the connections or wires are labelled ‘A’ and ‘B’ and that it uses a differential signalling scheme. This means that data is transmitted on both wires, but in ‘opposite direction’. Both wires are driven between 5V and 0V and opposite of each other.
Some instruments have single ended listener ports, with only one data terminal. Connect this terminal to the A terminal on the multiplexer, and leave the B terminal on the multiplexer unconnected. Connect the ground of the instrument to the Com terminal on the multiplexer. The instrument’s data ground is often combined with its power supply ground.
SeaTalk SeaTalk® is a proprietary protocol developed by Raymarine®. This protocol is used for communication between Raymarine navigation instruments like the ST40, ST50 and ST60 series. To be able to use these instruments with commonly available navigation programs or to feed their data into other non-Raymarine instruments, the SeaTalk data needs to be translated into NMEA. Even Raymarine's own navigation software, Raytech Navigator, needs this translation.
WiFi Interface Through its WiFi interface, the MiniPlex-2Wi can communicate with a wireless device such as an iPad, iPhone, an Android based smartphone or tablet, a PC or a Mac. The multiplexer creates a wireless Access Point 820.11b+g interface with the following parameters: SSID (name): IP address: Port: Protocol: MiniPlex-2Wi:xx:xx 10.0.0.1 10110 TCP The xx:xx’s are the last two bytes of the MAC address of the multiplexer as printed on the serial number sticker.
Driver Installation To use the MiniPlex-2Wi with your computer using the USB interface, a device driver needs to be installed. This driver creates a virtual COM port, which can be opened with any navigation software just like any other COM port. Drivers are supplied for Microsoft Windows (Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7) and Apple’s Mac OS X. If you plan to use the MiniPlex-2Wi using the WiFi interface only, no driver needs to be installed.
Choose ‘Browse my computer for driver software’. In the following window, choose the location of the driver (the ‘\USB Driver\Windows’ subfolder on the MiniPlex Driver & Utility CD) and press ‘Next’.
When Windows has successfully installed the driver, the following window appears: You can close this window.
Right-click on the USB Serial Port entry and choose ‘Update Driver Software...’ from the menu that appears. This will open the following Window: Choose ‘Browse my computer for driver software’. In the following window, choose the location of the driver (the same location as last time will be shown again) and press ‘Next’.
When Windows has successfully installed the driver, the following window appears: You can close this window. The Device Manager will now list a ShipModul MiniPlex NMEA Multiplexer under Universal Serial Bus controllers and a MiniPlex Serial Port (COMx) under Ports (COM & LPT).
Windows 2000/Vista/XP Installation When the multiplexer is connected to a USB port for the first time, Windows will detect new hardware and prompts you for a driver. Insert the supplied CD into the drive and follow the instructions on your screen. If you have an Internet connection, you can let Windows search the Internet for updated drivers. Otherwise, when asked to automatically search for drivers, answer no and choose the option to tell Windows where to find the driver.
Data Throughput Depending on the configuration of the multiplexer, NMEA sentences are sent to one or more outputs with different communication speeds. A situation could arise where more data is received than can be transmitted because of the different speed settings of the inputs and outputs. Such a situation leads to an overflow of the input queues of the multiplexer. When an NMEA sentence is being received while a queue is full, this sentence is discarded.
A quite different situation may arise with some fluxgates or gyrocompasses. These devices may send their heading sentences with a speed up to 40 sentences per second! Instead of queuing a burst of sentences every one or two seconds, the multiplexer must queue a constant stream of sentences, possibly utilizing the maximum bandwidth of the multiplexer. Such a situation can lead to a queue that is constantly filled up to its maximum capacity.
Configuration The multiplexer can be configured with a configuration program called MPX-Config. This program can be found on the accompanying CD. There is no installation procedure for this program, just start it from the CD or copy it to a suitable folder on the hard disk of your computer and start it from there. The multiplexer itself is configured with proprietary NMEA sentences. MPX-Config sends these sentences to the multiplexer when you change a control on the screen.
Menu The menu contains two sub-menus: File and Tools. The File menu contains the following options to choose from: Start Log… Start writing NMEA data to a log file. A log file is a plain text file and can later be opened by any text editor to examine the data. A log file can be a useful tool for diagnostic purposes and is often requested by us for support. If you enter a new filename in the file dialog window, a new log file is created.
Controls The control area of the MPX-Config screen allows you to configure the multiplexer. It is devided in two parts: a small part on the left contains the Host Port settings, the Manual NMEA Sentence Input, the overflow indicators and the Read Configuration button. These items are available at all time. The largest part on the right contains all settings that control the operation of the multiplexer. These settings are logically grouped on tabbed pages.
Read Configuration Clicking this button will retrieve the current configuration settings from the multiplexer. MPX-Config will do this automatically when you click on the Connect button but it can be useful to re-read the configuration at a later stage. When the wrong port is selected, MPX-Config will show a ‘Multiplexer does not respond’ - message and all controls will be disabled (greyed).
and the background colour will return to white again. It is possible to change all Talker ID’s first and press Enter after changing the last one. Starting at the Talker ID field of input 1, pressing the Tab key will jump to the Talker ID of the next input. Clicking the Read Configuration button will read the Talker ID settings from the multiplexer. Any modified Talker ID’s that have not been sent to the multiplexer (yellow background) will revert to their original values.
When the tablet is connected, it will receive all information from the instruments and the navigation software calculates the course to steer and drives the autopilot accordingly. Because the tablet is sending NMEA data, the multiplexer routes this data exclusively to Out 1. The autopilot will therefore receive information from the tablet only.
back to the second GPS. When Check GPS status is enabled, the multiplexer checks the Status field of GPS sentences. When the Status field indicates ‘Invalid data’, the multiplexer will block these sentences, allowing the priority system to time out and pass sentences from the second GPS. Sentences of which the Status flag is checked are APB, GGA, GLL, RMA, RMB, RMC, VTG and XTE. Time Out This setting allows you to set the time it takes before sentences from a lower priority input are passed.
GPS Speed to Log Speed (VTG -> VHW) If this option is enabled, the multiplexer will generate a VHW sentence (water speed and heading) when a VTG sentence (course over ground and ground speed) is received. The VTG sentence is generated by a GPS and the VHW sentence by a log. Often the paddlewheel of a log gets stuck when fouled and this option offers a solution to substitute the log data with GPS data. Reverse Heading (HDT) This option allows you to reverse the true heading in a received HDT sentence.
Sentence Filtering & Routing The Sentence Filtering & Routing feature is the most powerful feature of the MiniPlex. It allows you to filter and route NMEA sentences based on the Address Field of an NMEA sentence (the ‘GPRMC’ part) and optionally reduce the rate of the sentence. Sentences can be passed or blocked, specified by input (filtering) and they can be forwarded to specific outputs (routing).
When changes are made, press Enter to confirm them or press Escape to discard any changes and exit Edit mode. The Technical Reference section lists all commonly used Talker IDs and Sentence Formatters. This list can be a useful aid while setting up the sentence filter. The following buttons are available to edit the list: Store List Stores the list from MPX-Config into the multiplexer. This overwrites the list in the multiplexer. Capture Enables capture mode.
Example The example below shows a small set of filter rules: These rules have the following effect: the GPRMC sentence is passed when it is received on In 1 while the other inputs are blocked. The sentence is routed to Out1 and to the PC (USB port). The HCHDT sentence is passed from In 2 and routed to the PC. The sentence rate is divided by 5, which means that only every 5th sentence is passed. The sentences IIMWV and IIMTW are passed from input 3 and routed to the PC.
Firmware Update From time to time, we will develop new features for the multiplexer or fix bugs in the existing firmware. New firmware image files will then be made available through our website. These image files can be downloaded to your computer and loaded into the multiplexer with the option Update Firmware from the File menu. In order to perform an update, download a firmware image file from our website www.shipmodul.com and store it on your computer.
Technical Reference NMEA Glossary This glossary lists the most common Talker ID’s and Sentence Formatters in alphabetical order.
FSI GBS GGA GLC GLL GNS GRS GSA GST GSV HDG HDT HMR HMS HSC HTC HTD LCD MLA MSK MSS MTW MWD MWV OSD RMA RMB RMC ROT RPM RSA RSD RTE SFI STN TLB TLL TTM TXT VBW VDM VDO VDR VHW VLW VPW VTG WCV WNC WPL XDR XTE XTR ZDA ZDL ZFO ZTG Frequency set information GNSS Satellite fault detection Global positioning system fix data Geographic position, LORAN-C Geographic position, latitude/longitude GNSS fix data GNSS range residuals GNSS DOP and active satellites GNSS pseudo range error statistics GNSS satellites in vi
Translated SeaTalk datagrams When the SeaTalk translation is enabled, the following datagrams are translated into NMEA sentences: SeaTalk 00 10 11 20 NMEA DBT MWV MWV VHW 21 22 23 25 26 VLW VLW MTW VLW VHW 27 50 51 52 53 MTW ------RMC 54 56 58 89 99 ------HDG --- Description Depth below transducer Wind angle, (10 and 11 combined) Wind speed, (10 and 11 combined) Speed through water, includes heading when present Trip mileage (21 and 22 combined) Total mileage (21 and 22 combined) Water temperature T
Firmware Update Error messages During a firmware update, the following warnings or error messages may be displayed: The firmware update failed This message appears when the overall update process failed without any other error message. It is shown when the updated multiplexer firmware does not report a version message after start-up. Not a valid firmware file The file you are trying to open is not a valid firmware file. A firmware file not only ends with an ‘.
MPX-Config INI file format The configuration file format of MPX-Config resembles the standard Windows INI file format and is readable text. Below is an example of the configuration file. This example corresponds with the settings shown on the various MPX-Config screenshots throughout this manual. [Information] MPX-Config=MiniPlex Configuration Tool V3.9.0 Device=MiniPlex-2Wi Firmware Version=3.17.
Proprietary NMEA Sentences The MiniPlex multiplexers are configured with proprietary NMEA sentences that can be sent to the multiplexer through the host interface. The multiplexer can also output proprietary NMEA sentences on a host interface to output status information or a response to a received proprietary NMEA sentence. The host interface is the port that connects to a computer, laptop, smartphone or tablet by means of RS-232, USB, Bluetooth, WiFi or Ethernet.
h: Heading translation: 0 = off 1 = on v: Velocity translation: 0 = off 1 = on t: Priority Timeout (in seconds): 0=1 1=2 2=3 3=5 4 = 10 5 = 30 f: Filter mode: 0 = Pass sentences that are not present in the filter list 1 = Block sentences that are not present in the filter list r: Reverse heading. When enabled (1), a new HDT sentence is generated from an incoming HDT sentence with the heading reversed by 180 degrees.
yyyyy: Input field for NMEA Out2. Each ‘y’ represents an input, numbered from 1 to 4 from left to right. Input 5 is not a real input but the source of NMEA sentences generated from conversions. When ‘1’, the input is routed to output 2. When ‘0’, the input is not routed to output 2. b: Host data to NMEA Out2: 0: Host data is not routed 1: Host data is routed 2: Host data is routed and overrides data from the inputs.
FLQ – Request Filter List This sentence requests the filter list from the multiplexer. The multiplexer responds by sending FL sentences, one for each list entry. An empty FL sentence marks the end of the list. Format: $PSMDFLQ[*hh] Example response: $PSMDFL,GPRMC,100110,0,1111*4A $PSMDFL,GPGGA,100010,0,1111*56 $PSMDFL,--VWT,010000,5,0001*50 $PSMDFL,GPGSV,000010,0,0010*55 $PSMDFL,*2C The sentences may not be dumped as one contiguous block.
RESET – Reset the multiplexer This sentence resets the multiplexer and starts the bootloader. When a ‘1’ is given as parameter, the factory settings of the multiplexer are restored. Format: $PSMDRESET,x[*hh] x: Optional parameter to indicate an action while resetting 1: restore the multiplexer to its factory settings After a reset, the multiplexer outputs a LDR sentence and a VER sentence on the host interface. SP – Speed This sentence sets the baud rate of the NMEA inputs and outputs.
VER – Get Version This sentence retrieves version information from the multiplexer. Format: $PSMDVER The multiplexer responds with the following version sentence: $PSMDVER,3.17.1,MiniPlex-2S,10025943,8040*hh 3.17.1: firmware version number MiniPlex-2S: multiplexer name 10025943: serial number 8040: Multiplexer capabilities. This is a 4 digit, 16-bit field represented as a hexadecimal number. Each bit identifies a capability of the multiplexer.
N: Set the network parameters of the WiFi connection: $PSMDWI,N,ip,mask,gw[*hh] ip: IP address, 0 for automatic assignment by a DHCP server mask: network mask gw: optional gateway address $PSMDWI,N,0 sets the multiplexer to DCHP in order to obtain all settings automatically. The gateway address is only needed to obtain firmware updates of the WiFi module. When the ip field contains a ‘0’, the IP settings will be obtained from a DHCP server and all other fields will be ignored.
If no expected response is specified, the multiplexer returns $PSMDWC,message where message is the response from the module. The module-specific commands are not listed here because they fall outside the scope of this specification. Note that the multiplexer responds with a $PSMDWC sentence when it is in command mode. In normal mode, a $PSMDWI response is given. A PSMDWI sentence without any parameters exits command mode. When this sentence is issued in normal mode, a $PSMDWI,No response is returned.
Technical Specifications Supply voltage: 8 – 35 VDC, protected against reversed polarity. Current consumption: 70 mA (130 mA max. with fully loaded talker ports). Host interface: WiFi (802.11b/g, +18dBm) USB, galvanically isolated. NMEA Inputs: 4 x NMEA 0183/RS-422, galvanically isolated. Input 4 can be set to SeaTalk mode. Input resistance: >800 Ohm. NMEA Outputs: 2 x NMEA 0183/RS-422. Output drive capacity: 4 NMEA inputs. Queues: 6 queues of 1024 characters (4 x NMEA, 1 x USB, 1 x WiFi).
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