Shipmodul Miniplex-3USB
The MiniPlex-3USB is an advanced NMEA multiplexer,
combining data from up to four navigation instruments into two NMEA
outputs and a USB port. It also supports AIS and other high speed
NMEA devices up to 57600 Baud.
Using the MiniPlex–2USB multiplexer has some major advantages:
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Data from multiple instruments is available as one single stream on one single cable. This reduces wiring cost. |
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Seamless integration into an existing Raymarine Seatalk® network. |
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All inputs are galvanically isolated, eliminating ground loops between instruments. |
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Full galvanic isolation on the USB port, eliminating ground loops
between multiplexer and computer which are often on separate power
grids. |
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The MiniPlex allows you to fully control the source, the
destination and the rate of each individual NMEA sentence by its
powerful sentence filtering and routing facility. |
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Automatic switching between computer navigation and GPS based navigation. |
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Automatic switching between primary and secondary instruments in case of failure or invalid data. |
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Connects directly to a USB port without the typical USB problems. Plug & Play as it was meant to be. |
Two NMEA outputs (talker ports) allow distribution of the NMEA data to up to eight instruments.
The MiniPlex-2USB can be connected directly to the USB port of the computer without an additional Serial <-> USB converter. The supplied driver creates a virtual COM port on the computer, allowing all existing navigation software to be used with this multiplexer. Stand-alone operation is also possible, in which case the USB interface is only used to configure the multiplexer.
The combination of the MiniPlex-2USB and its virtual COM port driver is a dedicated NMEA solution, as opposed to using a generic Serial <–> USB converter. It therefore does not exhibit the well known problems of these generic converters like false detection of mice when the GPS is switched on or sudden drop-outs in the NMEA data stream.
Any attempt of Windows to detect Plug & Play devices on our virtual COM port is blocked. The result is that the MiniPlex–2USB is a real trouble-free Plug & Play solution. Just plug in the USB cable, insert the driver CD, a few clicks and you're up and running!
A MiniPlex with firmware
version 3.00 and higher can be updated. From time to time we will
develop new features for the MiniPlex and make updated firmware files
available in the Download section.
Features
The MiniPlex-2S has a rich set of features and configuration options,
enabling the user to tackle almost any NMEA bottleneck or interface
problem. The supplied Windows utility MPX-Config allows full configuration of the multiplexer and monitoring of NMEA data passing through the multiplexer.
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NMEA routing
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NMEA data can be routed from any input to any output. A default
route can be set as well as specific routing rules for individual NMEA
sentences.
Computer data can be routed to any NMEA output, to be
merged with other NMEA data or to override this data. This enables
automatic switching between computer based navigation and GPS/instrument
based navigation. |
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NMEA filtering
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A flexible NMEA filter can be configured to pass or block specific
sentences from each input channel. This greatly reduces the chance of an
overflow and the resulting loss of data. Many GPS receivers for
instance, transmit an abundance of sentences every second, accounting
for 85% of the available bandwidth of the NMEA channel. By blocking
unwanted or unnecessary sentences, bandwidth is preserved for other
instruments. The filter can also be configured to reduce the rate of
specific NMEA sentences. |
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Flexible communication speed
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The communication speed of all inputs and outputs can be set from
4800 to 57600 Baud to allow connection of devices that operate at
non-standard (4800 Baud) communication speeds like integrated weather
sensors, gyrocompasses or AIS equipment. |
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SeaTalk® conversion
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When the SeaTalk -> NMEA option is enabled, one of the NMEA inputs becomes a SeaTalk® compatible input, offering conversion of the most common SeaTalk datagrams on a Raymarine® network into NMEA sentences. This data is combined with NMEA data
received on the other inputs. When Priority is enabled, SeaTalk data
can be assigned highest or lowest priority. |
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Real-Time forwarding
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Gyro- and fluxgate compasses produce NMEA sentences at a high rate
(10 sentences/second or more). This can lead to a buffer overflow in the
multiplexer. Although this overflow is handled properly without data
corruption, it will lead to a delay of NMEA sentences of up to 20
seconds in extreme situations. This produces a severe problem for
autopilots, which cannot make proper course corrections when their
heading feedback is delayed for 20 seconds. The Real-Time option
prevents this delay by bypassing the buffer of that specific channel and
forwarding the data immediately to the multiplexer's NMEA output. As a
result, the heading is never delayed more than 0.2 to 0.5 seconds,
depending on the amount of other NMEA sentences passing through the
multiplexer. |
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Heading conversion
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This option converts a Magnetic Heading sentence (HDG) into a True
Heading sentence (HDT). If the originating magnetic heading sentence
contains a magnetic variation, it is used to calculate the true heading
before conversion. This feature is useful for certain equipment like
VDR's which need a true heading input, while the only available heading
source is a fluxgate, delivering a magnetic heading. |
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Priority
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With Priority enabled, similar NMEA sentences on different inputs
are only passed from the input with the highest priority. The RS-232
port has the highest priority, followed by inputs 1 to 4, in descending
order. When for instance two GPS receivers are connected to inputs 1 and
2, and both transmit the same type of NMEA sentences, only those
received on input 1 are passed. An adjustable time-out ensures that
similar sentences from the GPS at input 2 are passed when the GPS at
input 1 stops sending these sentences. Optionally, GPS sentences are
checked for a valid status field, causing automatic switchover when the
primary GPS looses satellite signal. |
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Channel information
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When this feature is switched on, the multiplexer will transmit a
proprietary NMEA sentence indicating on which input channel the
following NMEA sentence is received. Optionally, the multiplexer can
append NMEA V4.0 TAG block to each NMEA sentence to indicate its
originating input.
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Talker ID substitution
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Talker ID substitution changes the talker ID of incoming sentences.
The talker ID can be specified for each input channel. This option is
useful for software or instruments that expect a specific talker ID or
to distinguish between sentences from two similar instruments. |
