Verifying the communication with a navigation system (GPS)
Accurate and reliable information from navigation systems are useful for the FX80 operation. The information from the navigation sensors are shown on the top bar.
Prerequisites
The FX80 system is turned on and operates normally. All relevant external sensors are connected to the FX80. The sensors are switched on and in normal operation. Neither tools nor instruments are required.
Context
Most global positioning system (GPS) receivers provide NMEA 0183 datagrams containing geographical latitude and longitude information, as well as current speed and sailed distance. Some GPS systems will also provide the current heading, but this information is normally taken from the gyro.
The ship's navigation system is connected to the Bridge Control Unit using a serial port. This connects directly to an NMEA converter that transmits data as UDP packets. These packets - containing the navigation information - are sent to the FX80 Processor Unit on the Ethernet line.
The communication parameters defined for NMEA 0183 are:
•  Baud Rate: 4800 b/s
•  Data Bits: 8
•  ParityNone
•  Stop Bits: 1
You can not change any of the serial line communication parameters in the FX80 user interface. These a fixed to the standard NMEA settings.
Procedure
1 Select the Setup icon.
The icon is located under the Main menu. It is used to open the Setup menu.
2 Select Navigation to open the dialog box.
3 Open the NMEA Sentences page.
a Verify the datagram choices.
b Record the settings in the result table.
4 Select Cancel to close the dialog box without making any changes.
5 Observe the top bar.
The FX80 top bar is located at the top of the display presentation and stretches from the far left to the far right. The top bar gives you fast access to key functionality and navigational information.
6 Verify that the information from the ship’s navigation system is shown.
Result
Sensor Source sensor Datagram
Position    
Speed    
Heading