System Inputs Command
The System Input command allows the user to set input parameters such as the type of equipment sending the input data and what error checking will be used when processing the data. The dialog box composed of four pages each represented by a tab will appear. To move from page to page click the appropriate tab. The pages are as follows:
Ship and Target Tab:
Ships Position Input:
allows the user to specify the source of the surface support vessel's position. Five selections are available, GGA, F-180 UDP Port, Fixed, Demo\Replay or IPS Remote Display UDP Input. If GGA is selected the user may select the Use DGPS Only option, see below. If the Fixed selection is chosen the user must enter the constant latitude and longitude of the surface support vessel in the edit box provided. Select the desired setting by clicking the corresponding radio button.
Note: See the section above listing Typical IPS Equipment.
Entering New Waypoints:
When entering the fixed position the latitude and longitude must be in a specific format to be accepted. This format is degrees, minutes and seconds. Acceptable formats are given below:
Latitude
N or S ## ## ####
Longitude
E or W ### ## ####
Note: The # symbol represents a number between 0 and 9. However the minutes of latitude or longitude may not be greater than 60. Degrees of latitude may not be greater than 90 and degrees of longitude may not be greater than 180.
The following are examples of unacceptable latitude and longitude entries.
N 95:04.3643 Degrees of latitude > then 90.
W 140:70:2891 Minutes Greater than 60.
- 080:58.0010 Region is entered as - not W.
If the entered latitude or longitude is invalid (i.e. a latitude of more than 90 ) the latitude or longitude will be corrected automatically, and Fixed Position Invalid, Adjusted will be displayed in the IPS message box.
Use DGPS Only:
If GGA is selected the user may select the Use DGPS Only option. If Use DGPS Only is selected and differential GPS input with at least 4 satellites reporting is not detected then the GPS data will not be used. If this is the case, DGPS Off Line and the time since the last valid DGPS input will be displayed in the ships position box instead of the ships name. Some older GPS units do not output the status of the differential GPS in the NMEA output string, therefore if DGPS only is selected no GPS data will be accepted at all. The IPS default is to disable Use DGPS Only.
Use GPS Check Sum:
allows the IPS software to use the check sum field of the GPS data string to verify that incoming data has not been corrupted. If Use GPS Check Sum is checked, the check sum field of the incoming data will be used to authenticate GPS data. The check sum is a field at the end of the data string that can be used by the receiving software to verify that a data string has not been corrupted during transmission. If the IPS determines that the incoming GPS data string has been corrupted a message will be displayed in the IPS message box and the data string will not be used. The IPS default is to disable Use GPS Check Sum.
ORE Data:
selects the type of acoustic tracking system being used. The current selections available are None or the BATS system. If BATS is selected a UDP port 5002 is automatically opened. However Broadcast UDP should be selected as Output Device in the Trackman software. See the IPS BATS Setup Procedure for more information.
Use ORE Check Sum:
allows the IPS software to use the check sum field of the ORE data string to verify that incoming data has not been corrupted. If Use ORE Check Sum is checked, the check sum field of the incoming data will be used to authenticate ORE data. The check sum is a field at the end of the data string that can be used by the receiving software to verify that a data string has not been corrupted during transmission. If the IPS determines that the incoming ORE data string has been corrupted a message will be displayed in the IPS message box and the data string will not be used.
Compass Tab:
Compass Data:
selects the method of compass input to the IPS program. The possible selections are none, NMEA VHW, NMEA HDM,NMEA HDT and NMEA HDG. If the method of compass input is HDM or HDG the user should input the local compass variance. See the section on INPUTS ->SYSTEM INPUTS COMMAND - > Variance below for more information.
Compass Time Out:
the user may select the time that must elapse without valid compass input before the program considers the compass to be non functional. The options are 10 seconds, 30 seconds, 1 minute, 2 minutes and 5 minutes. If the user does not select a time, the default time of 1 minute will be used. When the IPS software determines that compass input is non functional a dotted line will be used for the vessel outline instead of a solid line. In addition, the error message "Error in compass input?" will be displayed at the bottom of the screen and COG will be displayed on the lower right of the screen next to the target's heading until valid compass input is received.
Use Compass Check Sum:
allows the IPS software to use the check sum field of GPS data to verify that incoming data has not been corrupted. If Use Compass Check Sum is checked, the check sum field of the incoming data will be used to authenticate GPS data. The check sum is a field at the end of the data string that can be used by the receiving software to verify that the text string has not been corrupted during transmission. If the IPS determines that the incoming GPS data string has been corrupted a message will be displayed in the IPS message box and the data string will not be used.
Offsets:
Variance:
allows the user to enter the compass variance. The maximum value for variance that may be entered is 45 degrees. If the value entered is greater than 45, the variance will be changed to 45 degrees and an error message will be displayed. Only 'E' for east and 'W' for west may be displayed in the second Variance edit box.
ORE Sound Velocity:
allows the user to enter the ORE sound velocity. This value must be between 1000.00 ms and 2000.00 ms. The default value is 1500.00
User Sound Velocity Profile:
if the box is checked, the user sound velocity profile will be used. The default is off.
Ship Sound Velocity:
allows the user to enter the ship sound velocity. This value must be between 1000.00 ms and 2000.00 ms. The default value is 1500.00.
VRU/Depth:
Remote VRU/AHRS:
the user may select one of the following: VRU none, ORE MRU (R/P) TSS1 Maretron $PMAROUT, ORE MRU (R/P/H) TSS HHRP $PRDID, KVH GyroTrk, CDL RLG MinRLG1 (Subsea DVL Nav) or Octans FOG $PSXN (Subsea DVL Nav). The ORE MRU (R/P) TSS1 reports roll, pitch and heave and should be used with the standard ORE MRU system. The ORE MRU (R/P/H) TSS option reports roll, pitch, heave and heading and should be used only if you have the ORE MRU package with the heading feature and want to get your heading from the MRU. The default is VRU none. The heading, pitch, roll and heave will be reported in the Ship Position Box.
Use VRU Check Sum:
allows the IPS software to use the check sum field of VRU data to verify that incoming data has not been corrupted. If Use VRU Check Sum is checked, the check sum field of the incoming data will be used to authenticate VRU data. The check sum is a field at the end of the data string that can be used by the receiving software to verify that the text string has not been corrupted during transmission. If the IPS determines that the incoming VRU data string has been corrupted a message will be displayed in the IPS message box and the data string will not be used.
Depth:
allows the user to select the depth string used to input the target depth. The choices are None, DBT (Depth Below Transducer) or DPT (Depth Below Transducer + Offset). The IPS default is none.
DBT Offset:
allows the user to enter the DBT Offset. This offset is the distance between the surface of the water and the transducer. The number entered in the edit box will be added to the DBT depth. This value must be between 0 meters and 30 meters (98.4 ft). The default value is 3 meters (9.8 ft). The DBT Offset will be displayed in feet if the system units are feet, yards or nautical miles. If the system units are meters then the DBT Offset will be displayed in meters. The system units may be changed using the VIEW->Display->Display Units menu option. Please note the units displayed next to the DBT Offset edit box when entering the depth.
Use Depth Check Sum:
allows the IPS software to use the check sum field of Depth data to verify that incoming data has not been corrupted. If Use Depth Check Sum is checked, the check sum field of the incoming data will be used to authenticate VRU data. The check sum is a field at the end of the data string that can be used by the receiving software to verify that the text string has not been corrupted during transmission. If the IPS determines that the incoming VRU data string has been corrupted a message will be displayed in the IPS message box and the data string will not be used.