Commercial marine installation: Reliable data flow with redundancies designed in
This case study shows how Sónar implemented a sophisticated installation of instruments onboard a pelagic fishing vessel and used the Actisense PRO range of Type Approved buffers and multiplexers to ensure reliable data flow in the harsh North Atlantic waters.
Sónar is the leading Icelandic importer and servicer of navigation, fish finding and communication equipment for ships and boats. Founded in November 2005 by Guðmundur Bragason and Vilhjálmur Árnason, Sónar has been serving their customers with Actisense products since 2007.
Einar Ísfeld Ríkharðsson, Service manager at Sónar, described the installation and what they were trying to achieve:
“Our aim was to build a rather large NMEA 0183 network, where the primary sources are GPS and Heading devices along with AIS, Log and Anemometer. We used the PRO-BUFs to share data from primary sources to the multiple instruments, and used the PRO-MUX to combine NMEA signals into devices like TimeZero, OLEX, etc. to specifically reduce connections.”
Einar continues: “Getting the baud rates right was also important, as these varied from 4800 to 38400. This particular vessel contained many different receivers, ECDIS, sonars, radars, repeaters, engine monitoring, electronic logbook, and Marport net gear monitoring, etc., so having a well-planned, logically laid out network was the ultimate goal. This pays dividends in the future when maintaining the vessel’s instruments!”
Onboard, the vessel’s bridge systems include 2x JRC JAN-9201S to fulfil paperless navigational charts requirement, as well as 2x TimeZero and OLEX units for fishing operations.
We asked Sonár why they prefer to use the Actisense PRO Range?
“The Actisense PRO Range offers easy installation, reliable equipment and intuitive configuration. We have probably installed Actisense NMEA products in their hundreds through the years and we can count failing products with the fingers on one hand!”
The Actisense PRO-BUF-2 is a Type Approved NMEA 0183 Buffer with two NMEA 0183 inputs, twelve NMEA 0183 outputs, a bi-directional serial port and an Ethernet port. It is a perfect solution for larger leisure vessels, commercial shipping and is a great addition for systems that require type-approved devices. The PRO-BUF-2 is designed to suit the majority of NMEA 0183 systems and ready to go ‘out of the box’ by simply hard-wiring the two-mode inputs as required.
The PRO-MUX-2 is a highly configurable, Type Approved NMEA 0183 multiplexer, providing isolation on all inputs and outputs. With eight NMEA 0183 inputs, six NMEA 0183 outputs, a bi-directional serial port and an Ethernet port, the PRO-MUX-2 – like the rest of the PRO-Range – has an intuitive configuration front-end that is accessed with ease over a web-browser. This make configuration and management simple and straightforward. Both the PRO-BUF-2 and PRO-MUX-2 are rugged and come in a protective stainless steel housing.