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Connecting NMEA
Navigation Devices
Any navigation instrument that is NMEA 0183 compatible can connect to SOB.
Examples: GPS, Autopilot, RADAR, Apparent Wind Instruments,
SONAR (Echo Sounder) for Depth, Speed LOG, Electronic Compass (fluxgate, gyro), Temperature Senders, Volt
Meters.
Typical Laptop Connections
(from left): Printer, USB, Docking Station,
Serial/RS-232 (female 9-pin Serial plug below),
External Monitor, External Mouse/Keyboard
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Example Connection
Scenarios
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Example 1: I have a Garmin GPSMAP-232 and I need some info on
what pins to connect to on my laptop. I don't have an autopilot or any
other NMEA devices.
Example 2: Some laptops don't
have any serial ports, but have available USB ports.
Example 3: A new USB GPS
connected straight to the USB socket on the laptop...go straight to Step
4
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Step 1
You need the PC connection cable supplied
by Garmin as a standard accessory:
Example for "GPSMAP-232" http://shop.garmin.com/accessories_for_product.jsp?sku=010-00250-00
Power/data cable (bare wires) Part #:
010-10083-00 $23.30
Notice that they also have:
USB to RS232
converter cable Part #:010-10310-00
$59.99 which we need for example 2 in Step
3
Also, with this particular model of
the Garmin, and if you have 240/110 Volt power at the GPS unit, you
have the option to skip Step 2 by getting Part
#010-10275-00/1
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Step 2
Connect a regular "9-pin
Female Serial Plug" to the NMEA wires from
Part 010-10083-00 (for our example
1)
The serial plug is available from
Computer or Electronics shops for a
few dollars.
If you don't have serial ports (example 2), you must still
connect the serial plug to the wires from the GPS ... see step
3. |
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Determine, from the Garmin manual or any
notes that came with the accessory, which of its NMEA output wires are
GROUND and which is DATA (each
product chooses to name these differently - sometimes NEG & POS,
or EARTH for GROUND, or OUT for DATA, etc etc).
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The wire-to-plug connection involves soldering two (or three) small wires to
even smaller holes. The soldering is easy, it's the fiddly parts that
make this job more complex. Test the connection using the "tug
test", it will want to be a strong solder joint to survive the
marine environment. Recommend that you knot or kink the wire before it
leaves the plug housing to prevent direct pulling on the solder
joints, some plugs include a clamping mechanism where-in the wire
usually needs to be padded-out for the clamp device to work
effectively.
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The pin numbers are impressed into the
plastic of the plug next to the correct pin. Pin 3 is only
connected if the accessory cable has a wire for NMEA-IN -
this allows SOB to talk to the GPS, perhaps uploading waypoints or
routes, if they're compatible.
Only pins 2 & 5 are required for SOB
to connect to a GPS. Pin 3 typically connects SOB to an AutoPilot.
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Step 3
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If your laptop doesn't have a serial
port, you'll need a USB to RS232 Converter Cable,
again from Computer or Electronics shops for about $60 AUD.
This will complete the link between the Serial GPS plug and the
computer's USB socket.
Notice that Garmin also
supply them as an accessory (see example in Step 1). |
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Step 4
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Install the driver for the USB-COM
converter cable (or USB GPS driver for Example 3).
Use Windows™ Device Manager* to confirm that a
Virtual
COM Port has been assigned to it (COM5 in the example at
left, SOB should be set to use COM5 when the GPS is connected to
the USB to Serial Cable.)
The newer USB GPS devices will
also require a virtual COM port to be assigned. Use Device
Manager to check for the Virtual Port assignment, and to know
which COM number SOB should use.
* Device Manager: is
awkward to locate on your computer. The easiest way to run
Device Manager is to select Run... from the Start
menu, then type DEVMGMT.MSC and press OK.
* or, Try this shortcut Open
Device Manager (Select [Open] when asked. Wont work with Win98) |
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Step 5
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(Optional) If SOB doesn't autodetect the correct COM
port on startup, use "COM Detector" (renamed to SOB_COM.EXE
with SOBv90) to preset SOB to the COM
port discovered with Device Manager in Step 4.
See this
section of the Manual to check that the GPS and PC are connected and exchanging data ...
COM Detector V2 is supplied with SOB and can be found on
your hard disk here: \SOBvMAX\sob_com. It is also available for download.
Try this shortcut to run
SOB_COM (Select [Open] when asked, this link wont work
unless sob_com is installed in the default location:
c:\SOBvMAX\sob_com.exe)
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| SOB
COM Detector V2 (sob_com.exe) |
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example, the PC has three COM ports that are suitable
for SOB to use (COM1, 4 and 9). SOB has been configured
to use COM1 & COM4.
SOB will use the
previously used COM port (if still available), or else
it will use the first valid COM port found when it next
starts up.
Here is the matching
view of Device Manager:
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For
this example:
COM1 is
the native serial port installed in the PC.
COM4 is a
"virtual" serial port from a USB
connected GPS.
COM9 is an
unused "virtual" serial port, from a
USB-Serial Converter. |
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More Connection Info |
SOBv90 can read NMEA data from two
separate COM ports (whether native serial ports, or
"virtual" ports created by a USB-Serial Converter, or USB/BlueTooth
GPS) - for connecting multiple NMEA
Talker devices to SOB, if they can't be
"daisy chained" they will need to be multiplexed to use a
single serial port. (See our Shop
for Multiplexers)
If no spare serial ports are available on the computer, a USB to Serial
Converter is usually a simple solution. These cheap devices easily
create more COM ports by using the new USB interface. They are also available as
Dual or Quad serial converters ... see our Shop
page for samples...
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Multiplexer
combines multiple Serial/COM
devices to use a single PC Serial/COM Port |
Most NMEA devices will
be automatically set up with the proper settings. If you are
experiencing communication problems, check the following
settings are correct...
Configure your NMEA devices for:
- 0183 compatible protocol
- 4800 bps (baud rate)
- NMEA Version 2.x (or any lower version)
- WGS84 Standard (for
GPSs)
Consult the device's manual to enable the device for Data
Output or NMEA Output (or similar).
A selection of
Multiplexers is available from our Shop
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Multiple NMEA Listeners can be
wired to read the NMEA sentences transmitted by SOB via the COM port
output (RMC, APA, BOD etc). |
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To determine if SOB is receiving
the NMEA data correctly, double-click the
chart display to show the Raw NMEA Data form. The window panel on the right will fill
with clear, ordered alphanumeric "sentences" similar looking to this
list:
$GPBOD,337.8,T,318.4,M,GNDZR0
$GPRTE,1,1,c,0,GNDZR
$PGRME,3.6,M,4.9,M,6.1
$GPGLL,3637.320,S,17452.979,E,234541
$GPRMC,234542,A,3637.322,S,17452.980,E,008.3,154.5,211102,019.4
$GPRMB,A,0.01,R,0,GNDZR0,3514.481,S,17411.581,E,089.3,337.8,-008.3
$GPGGA,234542,3637.323,S,17452.980,E,1,11,0.9,26.9,M,28.9,M,0
$GPGSA,A,3,05,06,10,15,17,18,23,24,26,29,30,0,1.5,0.9,1.
$GPGSV,3,1,11,05,10,341,38,06,64,239,44,10,52,138,45,15,08,259,3
$GPGSV,3,2,11,17,29,250,40,18,07,311,34,23,76,298,44,24,21,099,4
$GPGSV,3,3,11,26,35,034,43,29,42,048,44,30,25,307,37,0,0,0
$PGRMZ,88,f
$PGRMM,WGS 8 |
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Sample
Wiring Diagrams |
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USB Multiplexor
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Daisy chained NMEA Instruments;
and multiple other Serial Devices
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Multiple NMEA Instruments and
Multiplexor
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GPS + Autopilot
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2x GPS (one backup) + Autopilot
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Multiple nav and other
serial devices and redundant computer
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Multiple nav instruments
+ AIS, no multiplexer
Click any thumbnail to display the
Schematic Diagram, use the full size diagram if you wish to Save or
Print. |
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Raytheon
SeaTalk example
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Configuring
and Checking the COM/Serial Port
Using Windows™ HyperTerminal to test
Serial Port Data
A simple and useful program that is
automatically installed with Windows, is HyperTerminal.
(Start>>Programs>>Accessories>>Communications).
As HyperTerminal starts, check the
screens are similar to these below:
Type any name in this
box (we suggest NMEA or GPS etc):
Select the first COMx in
the list, if this doesn't work then (later on) we'll try the others:
Ensure that 4800 bps (or
baud) is selected:
If the screen doesn't
start to fill with data, then the COMx chosen is probably not the one
receiving data. First, try pressing the [On-Hook Telephone] button to
start the connection. Otherwise, press the [Properties] button (the
right-hand one) and select a different COMx port to test.
A successful connection
will look similar to the following sample:
Further Help with SOB COMM/Serial Connections
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A utility program SOB_COM.EXE is available on the Download
page which can assist with troubleshooting Serial Port issues, and will
clearly display any Serial Ports that are available and compatible with
SOB.
"Detector" can also be used to set/reset SOB's default COMM Ports
and baud rates used.
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Extra help with connecting hardware for use with SOB can be
found in the FAQS (Frequently Asked Questions), or on
our Message
Board
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Registered SOB users can contact support@digiboat.com.au
for assistance with their SOB-NMEA connections.
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For data cables for GPS to PC connecting, check the particular device's website, eg: www.garmin.com
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Email us and request a schematic diagram to help you wire
up your own cable (provide details of equipment you are using)
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SOB Unlock Codes
