NMEA and Logook App
General information to the NMEA interface
the NMEA (or National Marine Electronics Association) interface is implemented and usable with the Logbook App, either with UPD or TCP. The configuration menu can be found in the settings tab.Keep in mind
Apple does not allow apps to receive UPD data streams directly in background. Background means the app is not on screen. So Logbook App will loose the NMEA connectivity once you lock your iPhone or iPad, or bring another app on screen. Therefore I prevent iOS from going to sleep once a NMEA connection is established.Supported NMEA Sentences / Data
It plays no role which NMEA device is sending the sentence. So the first two letters after $ describe the device. Logbook App will consider all sentences independet to the sending device.RMC
RMC = Recommended Minimum Navigation InformationIs used to record
SOG, COG and GPS position.Example sentence:
$GPRMC,210730.790,A,5233.215,N,00522.921,E,3.48,65.02,190517,,,D*59MWV
MWV = Wind Speed and AngleIs used to record
wind direction and wind speed. Independent to the source data apparent or true, the wind data is converted to true wind. And you can define in the app if you want to include the own course or not. This is necessary as some NMEA devices calculate the own course into the MWV wind direction others do not.Example sentence:
$WIMWV,109.50,R,5.57,N,A*29VHW
VHW = Water speed and headingIs used to record
CTS (Course to Steer / course through water) and VTW (Velocity Through Water). Furthermore the Current Drift and Current Set is also calculated based on the difference compared to the last received RMC Sentence which includes SOG and COG.Example sentence:
$VWVHW,,T,137.19,M,1.50,N,2.78,K*4EDPT
DPT = Depth of WaterIs used to record
Water depth, also if the current app release V2.33 has no possibility to show or adjust the data, it is already recorded in the device local database for later processing in an upcoming update release. Water depth gets calculated with the Offset before saved to database. The offset describes the difference betwen your sensor and the real water surface. This ensures the real water depth is logged and not just the depth below your keel.Example sentence:
$SDDPT,4.72,-1.50,*53MTW
MTW = Mean Temperature of WaterIs used to record
water temperature.Example sentence:
$WIMTW,17.85,C*36VLW
VLW = Distance Traveled through WaterIs used to record
Chip Log, without NMEA the Chip Log value is calculated by adding the distance to th last record to the value of the last record. With NMEA, nothing is calculated, but the value from NMEA is taken.Example sentence:
$VWVLW,10986.73,N,10986.73,N*4CGGA
GGA = Global Positioning System Fix DataIs used to record
GPS accuracy.Example sentence:
$GPGGA,210740.790,5241.615,N,00532.961,E,2,10,1.00,21390621.43,M,-0.01,M,,*4CSupported hardware
In general, any commercially available NMEA to WLAN (more commonly known as NMEA to WiFi) converter will suffice. Therefore, the following list of hardware that I know is used by customers is not complete and certainly not exhaustive. If you operate a device that is not listed here, I would be grateful for a short note and will add it here. I get a commission from the Amazon links. If a link no longer works, I will be also happy to hear from you.| Hardware | IP / Port | Price | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|
| NMEA2000 WIFI Replicator | Default IP 10.10.1.1 / Port: 1343 | € @ manufacturer TechnoSpark Systems | Speaks TCP, and in the settings it must be set to NMEA2000, NMEA0183 does not work. |
| SEAYAK Seatalk1 to NMEA WiFi Bridge | Default IP 192.168.4.1 / Port: 23 | € @ manufacturer. Or try at eBay. | Converts Seatalk (proprietary) to free NMEA. They have also other interesting devices. |
| Vesper WatchMate XB-8000 | Default IP 192.168.15.1 / Port: 39150 | €€€€€ @ manufacturer | smartAIS Transponder with WiFi and NMEA 2000 Gateway |
| Yacht Devices NMEA 0183 Wi-Fi Gateway YDWN-02 | Default IP 192.168.4.1 / Port: 1456 | €€ @ Amazon / manufacturer | With web server for configuration |
| Yacht Devices NMEA 0183 Wi-Fi Router YDWR-02 | Default IP 192.168.4.1 / Port: 1456 | €€€ @ Amazon / manufacturer | With web server for configuration and SeaTalk capabilitiy |
| Yacht Devices NMEA 2000 Wi-Fi Gateway YDWG-02 | Default IP 192.168.4.1 / Port: 1456 | € @ Amazon / manufacturer | The smalles stick as NMEA 2 WiFi Converter |
| QK-A024 AIS Receiver with NMEA Multiplexer + WiFi | Default IP 192.168.1.100 / Port: 2000 | € @ manufacturer | Very cheap |
| Shipmodule MiniPlex-3Wi(-N2K) | Default IP 192.168.1.45 / Port: 10110 | €€€€ @ manufacturer | Multiplexer talks also Seatalk |
| NSS8 Chartplotter in combination with GoFree Wifi-1 module | Default IP 192.168.0.10 / Port: 10110 | €€€ @ manufacturer NSS8 (no longer available) and manufacturer Gofree | for the use of Simrad multi functional displays |
| B&G Zeus3 | Default IP 192.168.76.1 / Port: 10110 | ||
| Easy TRX, by Weatherdock | Default IP 192.168.16.254 / Port: 8080 |