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NorthStar 8700 Technical Reference Manual

Manual is about: GPS Position Sensor, Beacon Sensors, GPS/DGPS Position Sensors

Summary of 8700

  • Page 1

    Northstar technologies 8700 gps position sensor 8800 series beacon sensors 8900 series gps/dgps position sensors technical reference manual revision h may 1, 1997 part no. Gm8900 © 1997 northstar technologies a division of cmc electronics, inc. Northstar technologies 30 sudbury road acton, massachus...

  • Page 3: Revision History

    Revision history date pages revision may 1, 1997 all h ordering information to receive additional copies of this publication, order the north- star sensors technical reference manual (part no. Gm8900)..

  • Page 4: Limited Warranty Policy

    Limited warranty policy northstar 8700, 8800 series, and 8900 series sensors northstar technologies, a division of cmc electronics, inc., war- rants its family of 8700, 8800 series, and 8900 series sensors to be free from defects in materials and workmanship for a period of two (2) years. This warra...

  • Page 5: Table of Contents

    Table of contents section 1 - about this manual . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 1.1 scope of this manual . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 1.1.1 audience . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 1.1.2 conten...

  • Page 6

    Section 7 - antennas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 7.1 overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 7.2 gps antenna (an145) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 7.2.1 description . . . . ....

  • Page 7

    9.1 standard pinouts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 9.1.1 wiring power control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 9.1.2 8700 connector pinouts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 9.1.3 8800 connector ...

  • Page 8: Tables

    Tables table 1 — 8700 parts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 table 2 — 8800 parts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 table 3 — 8801 parts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 table 4 — 8900 parts . . . . . . . . ....

  • Page 9: Figures

    Table 37 — gps-fix data sentence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 table 38 — example n sentence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 table 39 — geographic position sentence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 table 40 — gps dop and active satellite sentence . . . . . . . 57 table 41 — g...

  • Page 11: 1.1 Scope Of This Manual

    Section 1 - about this manual 05/01/97 rev h page 1 section 1 - about this manual to use this manual effectively, please read this entire two-page section first. This document doesn’t contain basic installation information. If you’re looking for instructions about mounting the sensors and antennas, ...

  • Page 12

    Section 1 - about this manual page 2 05/01/97 rev h 1.1.4 glossary and acronyms this manual contains two separate sections to clarify technical terms, abbreviations, acronyms, and initialisms. Each new term is defined when it first appears; however, a term once defined is not redefined each time it ...

  • Page 13: Section 2 - Introduction

    Section 2 - introduction 05/01/97 rev h page 3 section 2 - introduction 2.1 overview northstar’s family of position sensors, comprised of models 8700, the 8800 series, and the 8900 series, features self-contained, 12-channel gps modules with two-channel, automatic, medium-frequency radio-beacon rece...

  • Page 14

    Section 2 - introduction page 4 05/01/97 rev h 2.1.4 sensor dimensions the sensors share common dimensions as outlined below. • height = 2.0 inches • width = 4.6 inches • depth = 8.9 inches • weight figure 1 - 8700/8800 series/8900 series dimensions 2.1.5 power each sensor is easy to use: just conne...

  • Page 15

    Section 2 - introduction 05/01/97 rev h page 5 the status indicator light illuminates when the unit’s power is turned on. When you first turn power on, the light turns green for just a few sec- onds. The light then turns red, and stays red as long as the sensor is searching for a beacon. Once the se...

  • Page 16

    Section 2 - introduction page 6 05/01/97 rev h.

  • Page 17: Section 3 - Packaging

    Section 3 - packaging 05/01/97 rev h page 7 section 3 - packaging 3.1 housing the sensor is housed in a rugged aluminum enclosure with a mounting flange. The sensor enclosure includes keyhole slots, located at the rear of the sensors, which aid in installations of limited access. You can mount the s...

  • Page 18

    Section 3 - packaging page 8 05/01/97 rev h table 3: 8801 parts 3.4 northstar 8900 series parts table 4: 8900 parts wc100 dgps antenna connecting cable (rg-58u coaxial, 25 feet). Standard with 8410 an195 optional h-field dgps-only antenna with 20 feet of rg-59u coaxial cable gm635 northstar 8800 and...

  • Page 19

    Section 3 - packaging 05/01/97 rev h page 9 table 5: 8901 parts gm640 northstar 8900 dgps sensor installation manual 8902-ca optional interfacing cable for connecting to north- star 800 series gps-ready lorans (only supplied with units for connection to 800-gps or 800x-gps, if specified at time of o...

  • Page 20

    Section 3 - packaging page 10 05/01/97 rev h.

  • Page 21: Section 4 - Gps Receivers

    Section 4 - gps receivers 05/01/97 rev h page 11 section 4 - gps receivers 4.1 northstar 8700 the northstar 8700 gps position sensor decodes satellite radio signals, and provides three-dimensional position, velocity, time, and other status information at a maximum rate of once per second. Each of th...

  • Page 22

    Section 4 - gps receivers page 12 05/01/97 rev h acquisition time • 60 seconds typical time-to-first-fix (ttff) with current almanac reacquisition time • • sensitivity • -124 to -130 dbm (antenna input level) coarse acquisition • c/a code (1.023 mhz chip rate — code and carrier phase tracking) envir...

  • Page 23

    Section 4 - gps receivers 05/01/97 rev h page 13 self-test upon request from an external source via the gps primary port, using either rs-232 or rs-422, the 8700 enters self-test mode. This test requires no more than 15 seconds. Upon completion, the 8700 reports the test results on its primary port ...

  • Page 24

    Section 4 - gps receivers page 14 05/01/97 rev h • 2-d differential when 3-d differential mode can’t be used, this is the highest-performance navigation mode. The 8700 operates in this mode when it receives data from only three satellites with adequate geometry and differential corrections. Sc-104 d...

  • Page 25: Section 5 - Beacon Receivers

    Section 5 - beacon receivers 05/01/97 rev h page 15 section 5 - beacon receivers 5.1 northstar 8800 series the northstar 8800 series dgps beacon sensor system receives correc- tions broadcast by land-based marine radio beacons situated along most of the u.S. Coastline and inland waterways (see figur...

  • Page 26

    Section 5 - beacon receivers page 16 05/01/97 rev h primarily for agricultural and other land-based applications. It includes the an195 h-field antenna and the northstar 8801-ca cable assembly, which provides a standard nine-pin connector to interface the 8800 to a personal computer or other equipme...

  • Page 27

    Section 5 - beacon receivers 05/01/97 rev h page 17 • signal detection: acquisition via frequency-locked loop (fll); track- ing via phase-locked loop (pll) data processing • minimum shift keying (msk) demodulation • data decoding: parallel-matched digital filters • msk bit rates: 25, 50, 100, 200 (a...

  • Page 28

    Section 5 - beacon receivers page 18 05/01/97 rev h manual mode at any time, the host device can override automatic station selection by issuing tuning commands on the serial interface. In manual mode, the 8800 will output dgps corrections from the selected station, restoring automatic mode either t...

  • Page 29: 6.1 Northstar 8900 Series

    Section 6 - gps/beacon combination receivers 05/01/97 rev h page 19 section 6 - gps/beacon combination receivers 6.1 northstar 8900 series the northstar 8900 gps/dgps position sensor system has a unique com- bination of performance and operational features, including 12-channel gps with fully automa...

  • Page 30

    Section 6 - gps/beacon combination receivers page 20 05/01/97 rev h • fast signal acquisition • fast-reacting, accurate speed and course • remote turn-on ability 6.1.3 technical specifications power requirements • 10 to 40 vdc • 8 watts power consumption • internal 2-amp fuse • remote turn-on abilit...

  • Page 31

    Section 6 - gps/beacon combination receivers 05/01/97 rev h page 21 environment • operating temperature: zero to 55 ° c • relative humidity: 95 percent (non-condensing).

  • Page 32

    Section 6 - gps/beacon combination receivers page 22 05/01/97 rev h.

  • Page 33: Section 7 - Antennas

    Section 7 - antennas 05/01/97 rev h page 23 section 7 - antennas 7.1 overview northstar offers a variety of antenna options to suit any application. The northstar sensors’ standard antenna system consists of the following: • antenna • antenna coupling unit (acu) that provides impedance-matching cir-...

  • Page 34: 7.3 Gps Antenna (An150)

    Section 7 - antennas page 24 05/01/97 rev h for marine applications, mount the an145 low on the vessel to avoid extra motion from pitching and rolling. Be sure to install the an145 lower than high-power transmitting antennas, such as radar or satcom. 7.3 gps antenna (an150) 7.3.1 description the nor...

  • Page 35

    Section 7 - antennas 05/01/97 rev h page 25 better performance. The an190 is shipped with 50 feet of coaxial cable and an external splitter. The an200 is an an190 with 20 feet of rg-59u coaxial cable. The an200 is shipped as standard equipment with the northstar 8901 sensor). 7.4.2 dimensions figure...

  • Page 36: 7.6 Whip Antenna (8410 Acu)

    Section 7 - antennas page 26 05/01/97 rev h figure 7 - northstar an195 h-field antenna 7.5.3 cable length the length of the rg-58u coaxial cable must be a minimum of 20 feet, but not more than 300 feet. Coil up any unused length of cable; do not cut it to less than 20 feet! Be sure that all cable co...

  • Page 37

    Section 7 - antennas 05/01/97 rev h page 27 figure 8 - northstar 8410 acu 7.6.3 cable length the 8410 uses a 25-foot length of rg-58u coaxial cable to carry dgps signals to the receiver and dc power to the acu amplifier. More cable may be added if the dc voltage drop across the cable doesn’t exceed ...

  • Page 38

    Section 7 - antennas page 28 05/01/97 rev h charges in the atmosphere. If the beacon receiver antenna is the highest object, these discharges can totally override the beacon signals and cause poor operation in bad weather.) the optimal antenna location is high and clear for fair-weather operation, b...

  • Page 39: 8.1 I/o Ports

    Section 8 - input/output configurations 05/01/97 rev h page 29 section 8 - input/output configurations the northstar 8700, 8800 series, and 8900 series sensors contain either a gps sensor, a bdm receiver, or both. Each sensor has two full-duplex serial ports that you can interconnect with each other...

  • Page 40: 8.3 Standard Configurations

    Section 8 - input/output configurations page 30 05/01/97 rev h • bdm monitor output • gps time mark output • gps primary input • gps auxiliary input • bdm control input • bdm monitor input • echo port these signals may be internally connected to the sensor’s i/o ports in var- ious ways. The most com...

  • Page 41

    Section 8 - input/output configurations 05/01/97 rev h page 31 sensor (for pinouts, see table 16 on page 39). Configuration 6 is similar, except that the gps sensor takes the sc-104 corrections from port 2, either rs-232 or rs-422 (for pinouts, see table 17 on page 40). Table 8: configuration 7 tabl...

  • Page 42

    Section 8 - input/output configurations page 32 05/01/97 rev h table 10: configuration 5 table 11: configuration 4 configuration 3 (for pinouts, see table 14 on page 37) is used with the northstar 8700, which contains only a gps sensor. Inputs and outputs from both gps ports are available in rs-232 ...

  • Page 43

    Section 8 - input/output configurations 05/01/97 rev h page 33 8.5 connector pin assignments table 13 below contains the hardware port numbers and signal levels available on all the sensor’s connector pins. Specific signal assignments for standard 8700, 8800, and 8900 configurations are found in sec...

  • Page 44

    Section 8 - input/output configurations page 34 05/01/97 rev h 8.6.2 bdm control input the bdm control input accepts tuning commands in either nmea 0183 format messages or magnavox mx-50r-compatible binary control com- mands. For details, see section 10.1.1, “nmea 0183 format control mes- sages” on ...

  • Page 45

    Section 8 - input/output configurations 05/01/97 rev h page 35 8.6.8 gps primary output the primary input port supports communications via the nmea-1083 v2.0 and cmc binary protocols. The port characteristics are listed below. • signal type: rs-232 or rs-422 • data format: nmea 0183 or binary contro...

  • Page 46

    Section 8 - input/output configurations page 36 05/01/97 rev h.

  • Page 47: 9.1 Standard Pinouts

    Section 9 - connector pinouts 05/01/97 rev h page 37 section 9 - connector pinouts 9.1 standard pinouts 9.1.1 wiring power control you can wire the sensor’s control pin in one of two ways: • for permanent power “on,” connect pin 12 to pin 25. This configura- tion is for installations in which there ...

  • Page 48

    Section 9 - connector pinouts page 38 05/01/97 rev h input signals may be connected to any appropriately labeled input pin; output signals may be taken from any appropriately labeled output pin. Choose either rs-422 or rs-232 pins as required by the host device. Both rs-422 and rs-232 outputs may be...

  • Page 49

    Section 9 - connector pinouts 05/01/97 rev h page 39 input signals may be connected to any appropriately labeled input pin, and output signals may be taken from any appropriately labeled output pin. Choose either rs-422 or rs-232 pins as required by the host device. Both rs-422 and rs-232 outputs ma...

  • Page 50

    Section 9 - connector pinouts page 40 05/01/97 rev h 9.1.5 alternate connector pinouts for the 8900 an alternate configuration for the 8900 lets the bdm and gps receivers operate independently, whereby the gps receiver accepts differential cor- rections from an external device rather than the intern...

  • Page 51

    Section 9 - connector pinouts 05/01/97 rev h page 41 choose either rs-422 or rs-232 pins as required by the host device. You may use other pins if complex installations require additional inputs or outputs. • echo port: an exact copy of the noted inputs. • gps primary output: nmea-format output data...

  • Page 52

    Section 9 - connector pinouts page 42 05/01/97 rev h.

  • Page 53: Section 10 - Nmea Protocols

    Section 10 - nmea protocols 05/01/97 rev h page 43 section 10 - nmea protocols 10.1 beacon monitor control messages this section supplies information for special applications and for when you require manual control of the northstar dgps beacon receiver. Messages to control operation of the northstar...

  • Page 54

    Section 10 - nmea protocols page 44 05/01/97 rev h bitrate is unknown, in which case it’s determined automatically.) if a cor- rect broadcast bitrate is specified, the beacon receiver uses that additional information to improve acquisition and tracking of weak and noisy sig- nals. $pslib,f,b,command...

  • Page 55: 10.2 Gps Serial Protocol

    Section 10 - nmea protocols 05/01/97 rev h page 45 10.2 gps serial protocol this section describes the serial protocol used by the gps sensor to com- municate with the host device. The serial communication runs under the following setup: • speed: 300 to 38,400 baud (default is 4800) • format: 8-bit ...

  • Page 56

    Section 10 - nmea protocols page 46 05/01/97 rev h latitude llll.Ll fixed/variable length field: degrees/minutes.Decimal - two fixed digits of degrees and minutes, and a variable number of digits for decimal-frac- tion of minutes. Decimal point and associated decimal-frac- tion are optional if full ...

  • Page 57

    Section 10 - nmea protocols 05/01/97 rev h page 47 10.2.1 input sentences this section defines the valid input sentences available on the primary port. Table 23 below contains all the valid input sentence types for the gps receivers. Each section that follows provide detailed descriptions of these s...

  • Page 58

    Section 10 - nmea protocols page 48 05/01/97 rev h example a: configure the primary port to monitor mode at 19200 baud rate. $pmcag,000,0*58 initialization data command ($pmcag,001) this message initializes the gps receiver with reference universal coordi- nated time (utc) date and time, and user po...

  • Page 59

    Section 10 - nmea protocols 05/01/97 rev h page 49 initiate self-test command ($pmcag, 003) this message requests a complete self-test of the gps sensor. Test results will be automatically output (output message 902 ) on the primary out- put port at completion of the self-test sequence: $pmcag,003*h...

  • Page 60

    Section 10 - nmea protocols page 50 05/01/97 rev h table 28: set output configuration command example e: $pmcag,005,4.8,gga,010,rmc,001,vtg,001,zda,010*48 here, output messages gga and zda are transmitted every 10 seconds; rmc and vtg are transmitted every second at 4800 baud. Example f: $pmcag,005,...

  • Page 61

    Section 10 - nmea protocols 05/01/97 rev h page 51 table 31: character/element example h: $pmcag,007,15*6b erases configuration of the primary port, and cmc binary message list is transmitted by default after each power-up. Command message to the radio beacon ($gpmsk) this message configures the fre...

  • Page 62

    Section 10 - nmea protocols page 52 05/01/97 rev h example i: $gpmsk,288.0,a,100,a,004*6b here, mss and 903 are transmitted every four seconds; set the frequency to 288.0 in automatic mode, and bitrate to 100 in automatic mode. 10.2.2 output sentences this section defines the valid output sentences ...

  • Page 63

    Section 10 - nmea protocols 05/01/97 rev h page 53 table 34: navigation status sentence example j: $pmcag,900,3-d,h*5f here, navigation mode is 3-d fix. Data request list overflow ($pmcag, 901) this message is returned when more than eight data requests are pend- ing: $pmcag,901*hh example k: $pmcag...

  • Page 64

    Section 10 - nmea protocols page 54 05/01/97 rev h table 35: self-test sentence example l: $pmcag,902,613913,042,a,pass,00,63*23 -and- $pmcag,902,613913,042,a,fail,03,49*3b radio-beacon proprietary information ($pmcag, 903) this message is automatically output in response to an msk request (see inpu...

  • Page 65

    Section 10 - nmea protocols 05/01/97 rev h page 55 gps-fix data ($gpgga) this message provides time, position, and fix-related data. Table 37: gps-fix data sentence example n: $gpgga,012338.61,5619.2837,n,17235.8964,e,1,05,02.3,-00 034.2,m,,m,,*66 data field contents $gpgga,hhmmss.Ss,llll.Llll,a,yyy...

  • Page 66

    Section 10 - nmea protocols page 56 05/01/97 rev h table 38: example n sentence geographic position—latitude/longitude ($gpgll) this message provides latitude and longitude of present position, time of position, and status. Table 39: geographic position sentence gps dop and active satellites ($gpgsa...

  • Page 67

    Section 10 - nmea protocols 05/01/97 rev h page 57 table 40: gps dop and active satellite sentence example o: $gpgsa,a,3,14,22,03,09,08,29,17,,,,,,2.7,2.2,1.6*3a in this example, mode is automatic/3-d; svs used are prns 14, 22, 03, 09, 08, 29, and 17; pdop is 2.7; hdop is 2.2; and vdop is 1.6. Gps s...

  • Page 68

    Section 10 - nmea protocols page 58 05/01/97 rev h example p: $gpgsv,2,1,06,03,12,238,06.0,07,82,008,15.5,11,04,053,,27,43,178,12.3*67 in this example, messages are 2; message number is 1; sv visible is 6; prn is 03; elevation is 12 °; azimuth is 238 °; snr is 6 db; prn is 07; elevation is 82 °; azi...

  • Page 69

    Section 10 - nmea protocols 05/01/97 rev h page 59 table 43: recommended-minimum-specific sentence example s: $gprmc,224512.45,g,2518.3847,s,08339.8367,e,003.8,311.5,080793,,*2e in this example, utc is 22:45:12.45; status is good; latitude is 25 ° 18.3847' south; longitude is 083 ° 39.8367' east; sp...

  • Page 70

    Section 10 - nmea protocols page 60 05/01/97 rev h example t: $gpvtg,234.6,t,,,075.3,n,139.5,k*21 in this example, track is 234.6 ° from north; speed is 75.3 knots; and speed is 139.5 km/hr. Utc time and date ($gpzda) this message provides utc time, date, and local time zone. Table 45: utc time, dat...

  • Page 71

    Section 11 - beacon receiver binary protocol 05/01/97 rev h page 61 section 11 - beacon receiver binary protocol 11.1 beacon receivers (8800 series and 8900 series) 11.1.1 binary control messages if your differential-ready gps receiver is compatible with the magnavox mx-50r radio-beacon interface pr...

  • Page 72: 11.2 Gps Binary Protocol

    Section 11 - beacon receiver binary protocol page 62 05/01/97 rev h request configuration the hexadecimal control byte c1 asks the 8800 to report its configuration as a sequence of bytes on the rtcm sc-104 output port. The structure of this reply follows: • c1 = message identifier • c0 +msb6 = curre...

  • Page 73: 12.1 Overview

    Section 12 - 8x00 engine monitor program 05/01/97 rev h page 63 section 12 - 8x00 engine monitor program 12.1 overview figure 9 - 8x00 allstar engine monitor screen the 8x00 engine monitor is a pc-based computer program that receives nmea sentences from the 12-channel cmc allstar gps engine and beac...

  • Page 74: 12.2   Installation

    Section 12 - 8x00 engine monitor program page 64 05/01/97 rev h • pdop • hdop 12.1.3 satellite data • prn • azimuth • elevation • snr • “*” indicator if used in position calculation 12.1.4 function key tasks the main program screen contains a menu for nine of the keyboard func- tion keys. Pressing e...

  • Page 75: 12.3 Operation

    Section 12 - 8x00 engine monitor program 05/01/97 rev h page 65 12.2.3 about data files messages within data files can be read in by the 8x00 program and sent to the allstar engine. Lines beginning with a comment character “ ; ” are ignored by the program when the file is read by the receivers. Line...

  • Page 76

    Section 12 - 8x00 engine monitor program page 66 05/01/97 rev h.

  • Page 77: Section 13 - Glossary

    Section 13 - glossary 05/01/97 rev h page 67 section 13 - glossary almanac the compilation of satellite identification and orbital data used by a gps receiver. Ephemeris data a uniform measure of data defined by the orbital motion of the planets. The data is used to calculate exact satellite positio...

  • Page 78

    Section 13 - glossary page 68 05/01/97 rev h.

  • Page 79

    Section 14 - abbreviations and initialisms 05/01/97 rev h page 69 section 14 - abbreviations and initialisms bdm beacon demodulator (receiver for differential correction signals) cmc canadian marconi company dbm decibel relative to 1 milliwatt eeprom electrically erasable programmable read- only mem...

  • Page 80

    Section 14 - abbreviations and initialisms page 70 05/01/97 rev h.

  • Page 81: Index

    Index 05/01/97 rev h page 71 index numerics 8x00 allstar engine monitor program installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64 keyboard functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64 ordering a copy of . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ....

  • Page 82

    Index page 72 05/01/97 rev h conventions, understanding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 d data/power connector pin assignments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 standard configurations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30–32 dg...

  • Page 83

    Index 05/01/97 rev h page 73 i i/o ports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 rs-232 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 rs-422 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ....

  • Page 84

    Index page 74 05/01/97 rev h custom configurations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 standard configurations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 r radio-beacon coverage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 registration card, fil...

  • Page 85

    Index 05/01/97 rev h page 75.