Prerequisites
This page is not available when in Replay mode.
How to open
To open the page, select Installation on the Setup menu.
Description
The Sensor Installation page allows your ME70 system to communicate with external sensors and systems. The parameters are organized in groups.
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Installed Sensors The Installed Sensors list contains all the sensors that are currently installed on the ME70 system. Select a sensor in the list to edit its interface properties, or to remove it. Select New in the list to add a new sensor interface to the ME70 system.
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Sensor In the Sensor group you select which type of sensor you want to receive information from. You must specify which communication port to use (LAN (Local Area Network) or serial port). You can type a custom name to identify the sensor import. Select Inspect Port to verify that the communication parameters of the chosen port have been set up correctly. Select Port Monitor to study the communication stream on the chosen serial line or LAN port.
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Datagram In the list of valid datagram formats, select the format(s) to be accepted by the ME70 system. If necessary, you can also specify a specific Talker ID.
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Installation Most sensors are physically mounted somewhere on your vessel. For accurate measurements, the sensor locations - referenced to the vessel’s coordinate system - must be known to the ME70 system.
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NoteJust making changes and selecting OK at the bottom of the page will not install anything. Select what to install, define the relevant parameters, and then select Add.
A summary of all the sensors that are connected to the ME70 is provided in the BITE (Built-In Test Equipment) dialog box.
Details
Installed Sensors
The Installed Sensors list contains all the sensors that are currently installed on the ME70 system. Select a sensor in the list to edit its interface properties, or to remove it. Select New in the list to add a new sensor interface to the ME70 system.
Type
The ME70 system can communicate with several different sensor types. Use this list to select the sensor type you want to receive information from.
Port
To import the data from the chosen sensor you need to define an input port. This can be any available Local Area Network (LAN) or serial line on your Processor Unit.
We recommend that you set up the relevant communication parameters before you use the port. To set up the communication parameters, use the I/O Setup page. The I/O Setup page is located in the Installation and Output dialog boxes.
Inspect Port
Select Inspect Port to check the communication parameters for the port. The relevant port setup dialog box opens.
The communication parameters defined for NMEA 0183 are:
Some instruments may provide other parameters and/or options. You must always check the relevant technical documentation supplied by the manufacturer.
NoteYou are not permitted to make any changes. To change the communication parameters, use the I/O Setup page. The I/O Setup page is located in the Installation and Output dialog boxes.
Monitor
This option is only available if you decided to edit the parameters of a previously installed sensor. Select Monitor to open the Port Monitor dialog box. The Port Monitor dialog box allows you to study the communication stream on the chosen serial line or LAN port.
Custom Name
For easier recognition of the sensor interface, you can type a custom name. This name is shown in other dialog boxes in the user interface.If you do not have a computer keyboard connected to your ME70 system, select the Keyboard button to open an on-screen keyboard.
Datagram
The list presents the available datagram formats for the chosen sensor type. Select the datagrams you want to import.
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When you select sensor type ITI-FS, only one datagram can be selected; ITI-FS Datagrams. This is a group of datagrams that allows the ME70 system to import information from trawl systems. |
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When you select sensor type PI50, only one datagram can be selected; PI50 Datagrams. This is a group of datagrams that allows the ME70 system to import information from catch monitoring systems. |
Talker ID
If you want to specify a dedicated Talker ID for the datagram format, it can be defined here.
Every NMEA datagram starts with a dollar ($) character. The "talker identifier" (ID) with two characters follows immediately after the dollar character. The Talker ID is followed by three characters that define the type of datagram. The Talker ID identifies the system that sends the datagram. You can leave this box empty. This means that blank characters are inserted into the datagram. You may also specify two characters that identifies the ME70 system as the "sender". In most cases, you will only need to define a Talker ID if your receiving system needs it for a specific purpose.
Example$ESDBT,x.x,f,y.y,M,z.z,F*hh<CR><LF>
In this NMEA depth datagram, the Talker ID is "ES", which means "echo sounder".
TipIf you do not have a computer keyboard connected to your ME70 system, select the Keyboard button to open an on-screen keyboard.
X, Y and Z Offset
For some sensors, such as the GPS, the physical location must be defined with reference to the vessel’s coordinate system.
The position of certain sensors must be defined as an offset to the Ship Origin in the coordinate system to maximize performance. These offset values are all required to allow the ME70 system to give you as accurate information as possible. The degree of accuracy offered by the ME70 system is directly related to the accuracy of the information you enter on the Installation Parameters pages.
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X Offset: Select the offset value on the X axis (fore-and-aft direction) from the Ship Origin. Adjust with a positive value for X if the sensor is located ahead of the ship origin. |
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Y Offset: Select the offset value on the Y axis (athwartship) from the Ship Origin. Adjust with a positive value for Y if the sensor is located on the starboard side of the ship origin. |
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Z Offset: Select the offset value on the Z axis (vertical) from the default Ship Origin. Adjust with a positive value for Z if the sensor is located under the ship origin. |
Add
When you have set the parameters for a new sensor interface, select Add to save it. Once a sensor has been added to the ME70 system configuration, it appears in the Installed Sensors list.
Remove (sensor)
The Installed Sensors list contains all the sensors that are currently installed on the ME70 system. If you want to delete a sensor, select it in the list, and then select Remove.
NoteYou cannot undo this operation.
Edit (sensor)
The Installed Sensors list contains all the sensors that are currently installed on the ME70 system. If you want to edit the parameters of a previously installed sensor, select it in the list, and then select Edit.
Supported datagram formats for position information
The ME70 supports the following datagram formats for position information.
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NMEA GLL The NMEA GLL datagram transfers the latitude and longitude of vessel position, the time of the position fix and the current
status from a global positioning system (GPS).
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NMEA GGA The NMEA GGA datagram transfers time-, position- and fix-related data from a global positioning system (GPS).
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NMEA GGK The NMEA GGK datagram is used to decode the PTNL, Time, Position, Type and DOP (Dilution of Precision) string of the NMEA
0183 output.
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PTNL GGKPTNL GGK is a proprietary datagram from Trimble (https://www.trimble.com). It is longer than the standard NMEA GGK datagram. The PTNL GGK datagram is used to decode the time, position, type and dilution of precision of the current position.
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NMEA RMC The NMEA RMC datagram transfers the time, date, position, course and speed data from a global navigation satellite system
(GNSS) receiver.
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NMEA VTG The NMEA VTG datagram contains the actual course and speed relative to the ground.
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NMEA ZDA The NMEA ZDA datagram contains the universal time code (UTC), day, month, year and local time zone.
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Supported datagram formats for speed log information
The ME70 supports the following datagram formats for speed information.
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NMEA VTG The NMEA VTG datagram contains the actual course and speed relative to the ground.
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NMEA VBW The NMEA VBW datagram contains water- and ground-referenced vessel speed data.
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NMEA VHW The NMEA VHW datagram contains the compass heading to which the vessel points, and the speed of the vessel relative to the
water.
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Supported datagram formats for temperature information
The ME70 supports the following datagram format for temperature information.
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NMEA MTW The NMEA MTW datagram provides the current water temperature.
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Supported datagram formats for heading and gyro information
The ME70 supports the following datagram formats for vessel heading and/or gyro information.
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NMEA HDT The NMEA HDT datagram provides the true vessel heading. The information is normally provided by a course gyro.
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NMEA HDM The NMEA HDM datagram provides vessel heading in degrees magnetic. The datagram is no longer recommended for use in new designs. It is often replaced by the NMEA HDG telegram.
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NMEA HDG The NMEA HDG datagram provides heading from a magnetic sensor. If this reading is corrected for deviation, it produces the magnetic heading. If it is offset by variation, it provides the true heading.
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NMEA THS The NMEA THS datagram provides the true vessel heading. The datagram includes a mode indicator field providing critical safety-related information about the heading data. The THS datagram replaces the deprecated HDT.
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Supported datagram formats for distance information
The ME70 supports the following datagram format for vessel distance information.
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NMEA VLW The NMEA VLW datagram contains the travelled distance of the vessel.
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Supported datagram formats for sound speed sensors
The ME70 supports the following datagram formats from a sound speed sensor.
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Sippican SVPThis is a third-party proprietary datagram format created by Lockheed Martin Sippican, Inc for use with their sound speed
sensors. The file format is ASCII, and it comprises several lines and comments. For more information, see http://www.sippican.com.
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Supported datagram formats for water level offset information
The ME70 supports the following datagram format for water level offset information:
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DFT Water Level The proprietary DFT datagram contains the current water level (draft). The information is required to establish the offset of the transducer face relative to the vessel origin. A custom-built sensor may be required for this measurement.
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Supported datagram formats for drop keel offset information
The ME70 supports the following datagram format for drop keel offset information.
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OFS Drop keel The proprietary OFS datagram contains the current length travelled by the drop keel. The information is required to establish the offset of the transducer face relative to the vessel origin. A custom-built sensor may be required for this measurement.
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Supported datagram formats for annotation data
The ME70 supports the following datagram format for annotations.
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ATS Annotation datagram format ATS Annotation is a proprietary datagram format created by Kongsberg Maritime. It allows you to import text annotations from external devices.
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