Connection and Setup

Important

Any actions with navigation sensors are possible only in elevated privilege mode.

Caution

Connection, setup, and removal of navigation sensors must be performed by a qualified specialist.

Danger

When connecting and configuring ECDIS as part of the bridge, each ECDIS on the network must be connected to all onboard navigation sensors to prevent loss of situational awareness when the Master role is transferred to an ECDIS not connected to the sensors.

Menu path
→ → Sensors

Sensors can be connected via Ethernet or via serial port.

Important

A minimum set of sensors is required for correct ECDIS operation:

Position (coordinates)
Heading (course)
Speed Log (log)

Important

Only sensors added to the software user license are available in the list.

Manufacturer information is required to connect and configure the sensor.

Sensor Connection Procedure

Connect the sensor to the device or network in accordance with the diagram
Go to sensor settings:
- → → Sensors
- Press the Add Sensor button
- Select the sensor type from the list
- Press OK
A new sensor of the selected type will appear in the navigation sensors list

Sensors list

Configure the sensor
To apply settings or changes, press Save
Press Back to return to the sensor list

Hint

With correct configuration, sensor data will be displayed in the navigational panel.

Sensor Configuration

Sensor settings form

No.	Parameter	Description
1	Sensor type	Type of the selected sensor
2	Name	Name identifying the sensor. Entered by the user
3	Priority	When multiple sensors of the same type are present, determines the failover chain from the sensor with higher priority to the sensor with lower priority. Sensor priority is assigned automatically by ECDIS. The navigator may change the priority at their discretion. Value 0 is the highest priority
4	Timeout	Data reception delay in the port — the period after which a sensor failure warning will be generated due to the absence of data. Default timeout is 10 seconds. Setting a shorter period is not recommended, as this may cause false warnings due to communication channel delays or individual sensor operational characteristics
5	Talker filter	Message filtering. Headers that ECDIS should receive are specified in the field, separated by commas. Messages with other headers will be ignored, and their data will not be used in ECDIS operation
6	Interface	Selection of the connected sensor interface type
7	Interface settings	Interface settings group. Changes depending on the selected interface type
8	Schematic sensor position	Position of the sensor or sensor antenna on the vessel diagram
9	X and Y	Sensor coordinates in the ship’s coordinate system relative to CCRP (Center of Common Reference Point). For GNSS, heading, speed, AIS, radar, and pelorus sensors — coordinate input is mandatory, as ECDIS reduces navigation parameters from these sensors to CCRP
10	Strict verification of sentences	Depending on the sensor manufacturer, different implementations of sentence formatting may be encountered. With strict verification, ECDIS checks sentences in strict accordance with IEC 61162-1 requirements; any deviations from the standard are unacceptable. With the checkbox disabled, ECDIS ignores some non-critical deviations. For example, it ignores missing letters in fixed sentence fields whose presence does not affect the quality of the parsed information
11	Differential receiver	(for GNSS sensor) — enables differential correction monitoring. When the switch is enabled, ECDIS monitors the differential mode indicator of the GNSS receiver. If the receiver is not operating in differential correction mode, ECDIS generates a warning
12	Data recording	Enables documentation of data received from the navigation sensor. Data is documented in the Navigational Log
13	NMEA message types	Enable the switches corresponding to the types of NMEA messages to be received
14	CRC check	Set the switches in the CRC column — message checksum verification. If the sensor transmits messages with incorrect checksums, such messages will not be accepted by ECDIS. If reception of such messages is necessary, disable checksum verification
15	NMEA monitor	Displays received text messages from the sensor. This monitor is used for verification and monitoring of data reception. Data reception frequency is always 1 Hz, regardless of the data transmission rate by the sensor
16	Display modes	Sorted / Raw / As is Sorted — data is sorted alphabetically and displayed as a group without line shifting. Only the packet reception time and packet content are updated Raw — data is displayed as a scrolling feed shifting upward, as a real-time data stream As is — data is displayed without changes in the form received from the sensor
17	Stop	Stops data scrolling in the monitor
18	Save	Saves and applies the configured settings or changes
19	Back	Returns to the sensor list without saving

Connection Interface Settings

Select the interface type from the drop-down list Interface Pop-Up

Interface type	Description
TCP Client	ECDIS operates as a TCP client. To receive data, specify the IP address and port of the data server
Serial	Sensors are connected to the ECDIS computer’s serial port
61162-450	ECDIS supports the NMEA 61162-450 transport protocol. For correct configuration, specify the SFI identifier consisting of the Talker, a unique number for the subnet, and the subnet name
TCP Server	ECDIS operates as a TCP Server. To receive data, specify the port
UDP receiver	ECDIS receives data via UDP. To receive data, specify the port that ECDIS will “listen” on

Warning

TCP Client, TCP Server, and UDP Receiver interfaces are not standardized interfaces used in bridge systems.

When selecting any of these interfaces, a Non-SOLAS Interface! warning will be displayed.

Interface Pop-Up

TCP client

No.	Parameter	Description
1	IP address	IP address of the device to which the connection is made
2	Port	Port on the device

Serial

No.	Parameter	Description	Default value
1	Port	Hardware port to which the sensor is connected. Select from the list of available ports	–
2	Mode	Port operating mode. Available modes: RS-232/RS-422/RS-485W2/RS-485W4	RS-232
3	Speed	Data transmission speed in baud. Select from the list of standard speeds	4800
4	Bits	Encoding format. Number of data bits. Available values: 5, 6, 7, or 8 data bits	8
5	Parity	Parity check. Used for error detection. Values: No (not used), Even, Odd	No
6	Stop bit	Bit indicating the end of message transmission. Can take values 1, 1.5 (Data bit=5), and 2	1

61162-450

No.	Parameter	Description
1	Transmission group	Select the data transmission group from the list. Manual group selection or Default. Default sets the default values for this sensor type
2	Address (multicast)	Address from which multicast transmission is performed
3	Port	Port of the device from which transmission is performed
4	Listening address	Network device address for forced monitoring. Either manual entry or selection from the list of available ECDIS computer network devices.
5	Check destination SFI sentence	Enable SFI verification. If the data packet is addressed to a different SFI, the packet is ignored
6	Check TAG CRC	Checksum verification of the message service information block
7	TAG strict check	Enable strict verification of received data packets per IEC 61162-450 requirements

TCP Server

Danger

TCP connection is not recommended for use as a connection method. This type of connection does not guarantee reliable data delivery.

TCP Server

No.	Parameter	Description
–	Port	Port of the server sensor from which data is broadcast to the network

UDP receiver

Danger

UDP connection is not recommended for use as a connection method. This type of connection does not guarantee data ordering and delivery.

UDP receiver

No.	Parameter	Description
–	Port	Port of the sensor from which data is broadcast

NMEA Monitor

Designed for monitoring incoming data from the sensor during connection, configuration, and verification of correct operation.

The monitor displays data in readable format and in “raw” format.

By default, the monitor is in the As is state — new packets appear in the bottom line and lines shift upward.

As is

High-speed data reception and the presence of multiple different sentences make it difficult to read information from the monitor. Enable packet sorting Sorted. Incoming sentences will be sorted. When new data arrives, values will be updated.

Sorted

If you need to view data arriving directly to the port — enable Raw

Raw

If detailed examination of a received sentence is required — enable Stop — data in the monitor window will be paused. The Stop button does not stop data reception in ECDIS.

Sensor Configuration Recommendations

Warning

Setting the timeout period to less than 10 seconds is not recommended, as this may cause false warnings due to poor communication channel quality or individual sensor operational characteristics.

Tip

To ensure navigation system reliability, it is recommended to connect backup sensors for critical parameters (position, heading, speed) with different priority values.

Note

When configuring sensor coordinates (X and Y parameters), the exact position relative to the Common Reference Point (CCRP) must be specified, as ECDIS uses this data to reduce all navigation parameters to a single reference point.