SECTION SIX: Interfacing the 958 system

•0183 Ray is used when transmitting/receiving position information to or from Raytheon equipment. In Raytheon’s NMEA 0183 format, the checksum isn’t used. (Note: Since the checksum isn’t used, the 958 may receive incorrect NMEA data when connected to an external Raytheon loran.)

•NMEA 0183 Version 2.1 is a general-use interface output format used by most autopilots, radars, plotters, and other equipment. (NMEA 0183 Version 1.5 sentences—BWC, GLL, and RNN—allow backwards compatibility with marine equipment designed for this earlier version of 0183).

•Radar is used when the 958 is connected to a Northstar radar.

Displaying NMEA output sentences

When you select 0183 or 0183 RAY as the output format (after pressing the EDIT menu key) and press ENTER, a screen is displayed showing all the NMEA 0183 sentences the 958 can output.

Three-letter abbreviations identify each sentence and are listed alphabetically. (For the meaning of these sentences, see the NMEA interface specifications document published by the NMEA.) The sentences to be output are followed by the word ON; those that won’t be output have two dashes indicating that they’re off. Some devices can’t handle all these sentences correctly, so you can customize the output here by turning individual sentences on or off. In general, you may want to turn on only those sentences used by the particular equipment interfaced to the 958.

Turning NMEA output sentences on and off

To turn on or off the 958’s NMEA 0183 sentences, first follow the above description to display the 0183 SENTENCE screen, then press the CURSOR PAD to highlight the sentence you want to turn on or off, then press EDIT. Press the CURSOR PAD to toggle the sentence on or off, and press ENTER to make your selection (or CLEAR to leave it unchanged). Repeat for each sentence as desired. When you’re done, press RETURN to go back to the PORT SETUP screen.

NOTE:

The NMEA ON/OFF item list controls only the Version 2.01 GLL and BWC items, not the 1.5 version of these items. Thus, ON/OFF changes made to the Version 1.5 GLL and BWC output items have no effect on the data actually output unless you select that particular format version.

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958 Installation Manual, Rev. A1

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NorthStar Navigation 978/897-6600, 800/628-4487 installation manual Displaying Nmea output sentences
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978/897-6600, 800/628-4487 specifications

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