NorthStar 6000i, Installation Manual

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SECTION SIX: Interfacing the 6000i system
Page 34 6000i Installation Manual, Rev. G
checksum isn’t used, the 6000i may receive incorrect NMEA data when connected to an
external Raytheon loran.)
•
NMEA 0183 Version 2.1 is a general-purpose interface output format used by most
autopilots, radars, plotters, and other equipment. (NMEA 0183 Version 1.5
sentences—BWC, GLL, and RNN—are included to allow backwards compatibility with
marine equipment designed for this earlier version of 0183).
•
Radar is used when the 6000i is connected to a Northstar radar. In that case, the
remaining options for Port 2 are not used.
Selecting 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 6000i 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
6000i .
Turning NMEA output sentences on and off
To turn on or off the 6000i’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.
If you want to set all the sentences to the factory settings for recommended output, press the
SAFE
RESET
menu key. If you want to turn on only a select few sentences for output, press the
ALL OFF
menu key to turn off all sentences, then turn the desired ones back on.
Choosing the talker ID
The NMEA 0183 standard requires that the equipment you’re interfaced to—the “listener”—knows
what type of device is transmitting the data. The
6000i’s talker ID tells the listener that it is receiving