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VHF Radio Call Sign:
WDE4414
Iridium phone cockpit:
00 - 88 1677 72 7018
Iridium spare 1:
00 - 88 1621 41 8079
Iridium spare 2:
00 - 88 1621 44 3804
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ID: ADE90 05931 C34D
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ID: LC 4652
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Last update: June 26, 2020, at 08:55 PM
Version: pmwiki-2.3.22

GPS ----- OBSOLETE SECTION ---


Introduction


These GPS devices are currently in use. Two of them will be phased out before the 2010 field season.

  1. Furuno GP-320B GPS, integrated in the Furuno Radar/Chart Plotter. The Radar/Chart Plotter can be configured to also output NMEA telegrams on rear RS-232 outputs.
  2. Garmin GPS 18x USB
  3. Garmin GPS35-HVS GPS, used for time and position stamping of Geode seismic data. To be phased out spring 2010.
  4. GlobalSat mod. BU-353. To be phased out spring 2010.



GPS status report, dated June 15, 2010


Use of Garmin GPS 18x USB

We installed the Garmin SPANNER software. This program allows you to route output from the GPS 
18x USB to several virtual COM ports.

By default, the 18x USB outputs these NMEA telegrams at 4800 bits/s:

$GPRMC,135412,A,6023.0691,N,00519.8087,E,000.2,329.5,140610,001.6,W*6D
$GPGGA,135412,6023.0691,N,00519.8087,E,1,04,3.2,,M,43.7,M,,*6A
$GPGSA,A,2,17,15,26,28,,,,,,,,,3.3,3.2,*10
$GPGSV,3,1,10,17,34,099,34,15,50,175,33,26,57,173,28,28,29,057,26*70
$GPGSV,3,2,10,09,62,264,00,11,10,036,00,12,12,216,00,18,31,267,00*7D
$GPGSV,3,3,10,22,27,306,00,27,75,253,00*7B


One problem remains, though. Before we address it, let's recap the suggested GPS setup, 
which is a bit complicated due to the many programs that are dependant on GPS input:


PC #1: Charting & navdata/echosounder logger, placed to the right of driver:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
One GPS must be shared between two programs:
 a) Global Mapper
 b) Nav data % Echo Sounder logger
Neither of these program requires a particular setup of the different types of telegrams 
transmitted.


PC #2: GUNCO and GEODE control, PC placed to the left of Workstation area
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
One GPS input must be shared between two programs:
 a) GUNCO distance triggering program
 b) GEODE recording of hydrophone/mini-streamer data
The GUNCO software does not require any particular setup of GPS.
The GEODE software, however, requires that only ONE NMEA telegram type is present, and it 
must contain time/position data.


PC #3: Knudsen Chirp control, PC on the right-hand side of Workstation area
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
There's only one program on this laptop that needs GPS input.
I'm 99% sure that the Knudsen USB Sounder Suite control selected appropriate NMEA 
telegrams from what was thrown at it.


The remaining 18x USB problem is that it seems impossible to configure the device to 
output only a specified type of NMEA telegram. Download the configuration program:
SNSRXCFG software version 2.40 as of May 17, 2010 from:
https://buy.garmin.com/shop/store/downloadsDetails.jsp?id=4053&product=010-00321-31&cID=158&pID=27594
This only has consequences with regard to PC #2, so we must have a different solution 
here.

The configuration program SNSRXCFG does not include the 18x USB as a valid choice (it 
includes the 18x PC which has a normal serial port). But since the SPANNER program 
transformed the USB device into a virtual COM port, we made an attempt - to no avail.

To conclude:
-----------

PC #1, charting + nav data/echo sounder logging:
       Use 18x USB with SPANNER software.

PC #2, GUNCO + GEODE:
       Use older Garmin serial GPS device ("mod. 35") that is already present
       in H/C, as input for the GEODE software. Connect to COM1 (built-in) on
       PC. It should already be configured only ONE type of NMEA telegram.
       Use port-sharing software "Franson GPS" to also route this COM port
       to other virtual ports, used as input for the GUNCO program.

PC #3, Knudsen USB Sounder Suite control:
       Use 18x USB with SPANNER software.



Garmin GPS 18x USB


Garmin GPS 18x USB
  • Manufacturer: Garmin
  • Vendors:
  • GPS 18x Technical specifications (source is here.)
  • Software updates and downloads
  • GPS 18x USB update program
  • Waterproofing: Designed to withstand rugged operating conditions and are waterproof to IEC 60529 IPX7, immersion in 1 meter of water for 30 minutes.
  • There are several different versions of GPS 18x available:
    • GPS 18x USB:
      interfaces to a computer with an available USB port. Drivers are available for use on Windows computers.
    • GPS 18x PC:
      Interfaces to a serial port of a computer via a DB-9 connector and receives power through a 12-volt cigarette lighter adapter. The unit accepts TIA-232-F (RS-232) level inputs and transmits voltage levels that swing from zero V (ground) to 5 V TIA-232-F (RS-232) polarity. The GPS 18x PC can cause an issue with Windows operating systems if the DB9 connector is plugged into the computer before the navigation software is up and running. The Windows operating system may interpret the serial connector on the GPS 18x as a serial mouse. Please refer to Appendix D: GPS 18x PC/LVC/18x-5Hz & Window Serial Mouse Issue for complete details.
    • GPS 18x LVC, GPS 18x LVC-5m, and GPS 18x-5Hz:
      These products interface to a serial port. The units accept TIA-232-F (RS-232) level inputs and transmit voltage levels that swing from ground to the positive supply voltage, TIA-232-F (RS-232) polarity. They also have reverse polarity protection. The cable contains wires for power, ground, receive, transmit, and measurement pulse output.



Garmin GPS35-HVS


Garmin GPS35
Garmin GPS35



GlobalSat Mod. BU-353


It is not possible to select the NMEA telegrams that GlobalSat Mod. BU-353 transmits. This makes it unusable as time- and position stamping device for the GEODE seismograph, as this unit uses whatever telegram present at the time of triggering; the GEODE log file may contain NMEA telegrams that does not hold time- and position data at all. This model will therefore be phased out before 2010 field season.

GlobalSat mod. BU-353
GlobalSat mod. BU-353



SOFTWARE


Program to select specific NMEA telegram and log data at user specified intervals


New version available - combined Echo Sounder / GPS Track data logger. See Echo Sounder section.

We need to store time and positional information at regular intervals. This Python program will select the $GPRMC telegram from the BU-353 GPS and save data to file at user specified intervals. The $GPRMC telegram is most useful as it includes Date, Time and Latitude/Longitude. File name is generated automatically - e.g. GPS-data-2008-183-235959.txt, consisting of Year, Day of Year and time (PC time).

  • GPS-globalsat-bu353-logger.py
  • Program assumes the USB port is mapped as Keep('COM4'). Edit program - value is given as constant in beginning of program - if this is not the case. You can use terminal program TeraTerm to check which COM port the GPS is assigned to.
  • Program also assumes that a folder named c:\gps exists on the PC (can be improved to create this folder if it doesn't exists).
  • To use this program on a WinXP machine you need to:

GPS Config program (draft)


Program to share one GPS among several applications


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Page last modified on March 24, 2020, at 05:55 PM
Department of Earth Science
University of Bergen
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