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1. System Description
1.1 Purpose and Function
The Quadro™ NMEA Concentrator may be used to collect sailing and navigation
information from a variety of devices and display that data on Quadro displays using the
Quadro remote control feature. For example, you might have a GPS receiver and an
instrument system manufactured by another maker, both transmitting complete NMEA
data, and you want to display that data on Quadro Dual and Maxi displays controlled by a
Quadro remote control keypad.
The Concentrator has several functions.
•
It allows NMEA 0183 information from numerous navigation systems and
devices to be used by Quadro Dual and Maxi displays;
•
It allows Quadro outputs to be sent to NMEA 0183 equipment;
•
It combines multiple NMEA 0183 inputs into a single stream for distribution to
other NMEA 0183 devices whether or not a Quadro Network System (QNS) is
installed.
The Concentrator is designed to multiplex, prioritize and organize NMEA 0183 data from
numerous sources into a single unified data stream. The prioritization scheme is most
important, since it allows the user to specify primary and secondary inputs and prevents
data bus contention. If several devices are inputting the same data, the Concentrator
ignores lower priority devices and accepts the highest priority information. If a higher
priority (primary) device fails, the Concentrator selects the next highest priority device to
fill that function. If all inputs to the Concentrator are unique (no duplication), all inputs
are used. Input priorities are as follows:
1.
Information from the Quadro system via the QNS bus.
2.
Information on the NMEA 2 TX channel.
3. Information on the NMEA 3 TX channel.
