KVH Industries eTrac manual

installation & user manual • Installation & Configuration • System Operation • Maintenance A Guide to the KVH eT rac Satellite Communications KVH eT rac ™ mini-C/GPS[...]

Congratulations! Y ou have selected one of the most advanced and convenient marine communications systems available today . The KVH ® Industries’ eT rac ™ system, manufactured by Thrane & Thrane, is designed to provide global e-mail and GPS tracking services. This manual provides instructions on the pr oper installation, use, and maintenan[...]

www .kvh.com A Guide to the KVH eT rac Satellite Communications System KVH ® and eT rac ™ are trademarks of KVH Industries, Inc. easyMail and Capsat are trademarks of Thrane & Thrane.[...]

KVH eT rac W arranty Registration Form Please fill out and return this page within thirty (30) days of pur chase for warranty registration. KVH Industries, Inc. must have this information on file to validate any future warranty claims. Date of Purchase: _________________________________ Product Serial Number: ___________________________[...]

i 34-0002Rev . D T able of Contents 1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1-1 1.1 Global E-mail and GPS T racking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1-1 1.1.1 Inmarsat-C . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [...]

ii 3.3 Using the eTrac T racking Feature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3-5 3.3.1 Local eT rac Configuration for GPS Position Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3-6 4 T roubleshooting and Maintenance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4-1 4.1 W arranty/Service I[...]

1 Introduction 1.1 Global E-mail and GPS T racking The KVH eT rac system provides global e-mail and vessel tracking capabilities via the Inmarsat-C service and the Global Positioning System (GPS). It is brought to you in cooperation with Thrane & Thrane, the world’s leading manufacturer of Inmarsat satellite communications systems. 1.1.1 Inma[...]

The Inmarsat-C system is capable of: • T ransmitting data to and from a mobile unit. • Broadcasting data to gr oups of mobile terminals. • Managing position reporting fr om fleets of mobile units. • Requesting data from the mobile units via system polling. 1.1.2 The Global Positioning System (GPS) The eT rac antenna also contains a built-in[...]

The eT rac Breakout Box The Breakout Box serves as the system’s hub, connecting the Antenna Unit to ship’s power and to the desired computer or message terminal. The Br eakout Box is not watertight and must be mounted below decks. The eT rac E-mail Application The eT rac system includes a CD-ROM containing information on how to download the “[...]

1.3 Materials Provided with the KVH eT rac System Y our eT rac system is shipped with the following parts and materials: • Antenna Unit • Breakout Box, which also contains: – Three strain r elief brackets – Six strain relief scr ews – Four Breakout Box mounting scr ews • Antenna Data Cable (16 ft/5 m) • Installation and Operation Manu[...]

1.3.1 Additional Materials Required for eT rac Use T o make full use of your new eT rac system, you will need to provide/pur chase the following: • A W indows ™ -compatible computer or optional Thrane & Thrane Message T erminal • 14 A WG shielded, stranded marine cable to connect to ship’s power • Serial data cable (not a null modem c[...]

2 Installation The KVH eT rac system is designed for simple installation and setup. Simply follow these steps: 1. Choose the installation locations (Section 2.1) 2. Mount the Antenna Unit (Section 2.2) 3. W ir e the eT rac System (Section 2.3) 4. Download, install, and configure the easyMail application (Section 2.4) Installation T ools and Materia[...]

When installing the eT rac Antenna Unit, find a location that is as free fr om obstructions as possible. Also maintain a certain distance to other antennas, GPS receivers, other Inmarsat equipment, and especially radar installations. Normally the best place for the antenna would be above radar-scanning antennas. The following safe distances should [...]

For example: a 4" (10 cm) diameter pole is potentially blocking the Antenna Unit’s view of the horizon. T o ensure that the obstruction covers no gr eater than a 2˚ arc: • Safe distance is 29 x 4" (10 cm) = 1 16" or 9.6 feet (290 cm or 2.9 m) This example is illustrated in Figure 2-2. Figure 2-2: Positioning the Antenna to Minim[...]

3. Connect the cable to the connector on the base of the Antenna Unit. 4. Secure the Antenna Unit to the mounting surface with the washers and M4 screws fr om underneath, as illustrated in Figure 2-3. Figure 2-3: Mounting the eT rac (Side View) A Guide to the KVH eT rac Satellite Communications System 2-4 www .kvh.com Antenna M[...]

2.3 Wiring the eT rac System The Breakout Box of the eT rac system brings together ship’s power , data to and from the Antenna Unit, a DB9 connection for a computer or message terminal, and input/output connections for additional peripherals. Figure 2-4: Breakout Box Interior Arrangement (T op View) The following sections provide instructions for[...]

2.3.1 Connecting the Antenna Data Cable The antenna data cable should now be accessible below decks. Run the cable to the Breakout Box installation site and follow these steps. 1. Remove the two screws that secur e the top of the Breakout Box. Set them aside along with the top of the Breakout Box. 2. Inside the Breakout Box, you will find a small p[...]

2.3.2 Connecting Peripherals to the Breakout Box When using the Breakout Box, the eT rac system can support multiple peripheral systems, including a remote on/of f switch. These peripherals are connected to the Breakout Box thr ough the J2 terminal block connections. KVH recommends that peripheral cables be run through the right-hand cable access p[...]

2.3.3 Connecting eT rac to Ship’ s Power The eT rac system requir es 10.5 to 32 Vdc (floating) to operate. An AC/DC converter will be requir ed if the system is intended to operate with AC power . While the eT rac Breakout Box is equipped with a plug for a power supply , KVH recommends dir ectly wiring vessel’s power to the Breakout Box. 1. Rem[...]

2.4 Preparing the eT rac System for Use with the Inmarsat-C Service Before the eT rac system can be used, it MUST be registered as a Mobile Earth Station (MES) with the Inmarsat-C service. The e-mail application must also be configured based on the information provided during the r egistration process. 2.4.1 Registering eT rac as an MES The eT rac [...]

When starting up the eT rac system for the first time, it should be connected to a W indows-based PC or laptop computer via the DB9 cable port on the Br eakout Box. The easyMail installation/configuration application available for download from Thrane & Thrane is compatible with W indows 3.1, 95, 98, 2000, ME, and XP . If you have a differ ent [...]

If the Status field is red, please select Options-> Configuration-> COM Settings and select the correct communication port and baud rate. The baud rate of the eT rac has a default value of 4800. If the Status field is still red, please check the installation and the power supply as described in Section 2, “Installation.” 2.4.3 Automatic e[...]

3 Using the eT rac System 3.1 An Overview of the Inmarsat-C Service Inmarsat-C is a store-and-forwar d mailing system that enables you to send and receive data to and fr om mobile terminals via the Inmarsat-C system. Four geostationary satellites provide worldwide coverage. Satellite data link coverage is excellent between 70º North and 70º South[...]

Figure 3-1: Logging in to the NCS Once the eT rac is logged in to an NCS, several LESes are available to transmit data. Y ou will need to select an LES prior to initiating a transmission so that the eT rac knows which LES to use. A default LES can be selected by choosing Options-> Set Default LES, which will open the selection screen shown in Fi[...]

Figure 3-3: The easyMail Message Window E-mail Limitations Because of the design of the Inmarsat-C service, there ar e certain limitations to the size of the messages that can be sent: • Y ou can send messages up to 10 K in size via Inmarsat-C. However , depending on variations in the Inmarsat-C service, you may be able to transmit a message that[...]

3.2.1 Entering Information in the Address Book and Sending an E-mail The easyMail address book is pictur ed in Figure 3-4. 1. Click the Address Book icon on the main easyMail screen. 2. Select New Entry to set up a new recipient. The new recipient scr een is pictured in Figur e 3-5. A Guide to the KVH eT rac Satellite Communicatio[...]

3. Click the E-Mail destination radio button. 4. Choose an 5-, 7-, or 8-bit character format based on the message that will be sent: – 5-bit characters: All characters ar e written using 5 bits per character , which reduces the message size. However , some special characters will be unavailable because the 5-bit alphabet is a reduced character se[...]

A position report from your eT rac is identified by the mailbox on the LES that stores the transmitted packet. The correct mailbox is selected by specifying the LES and a mailbox address called Data Network IDentity (DNID). Several eT rac systems can transmit position to the same mailbox at an LES. T o distinguish one eT rac’s position reports fr[...]

5. Press the OK button to start the automatic r eporting. The eT rac system is now configured to send its position at r egular intervals to the LES. The LES will store the data in the DNID mailbox and then forwar d it as an attachment to your e-mail account. Using the eT rac System 3-7 34-0002Rev . D Figure 3-6: easyMail Position Rep[...]

4 T roubleshooting and Maintenance When properly installed the eT rac system needs no maintenance. After appr oximately 10 years, an internal battery will need to be replaced and the antenna should be serviced. 4.1 W arranty/Service Information For information on KVH warranty , repair , and liability policies, please refer to the complete KVH warra[...]

4.4 Repackaging for Shipment The eT rac shipping carton has been carefully designed to pr otect the Antenna Unit and its accessories during shipment. This carton and its associated packing material should be used when repackaging for shipment. Follow the instructions pr ovided in Section 4.3, “Return Authorization.” Mark the carton FRAGILE to e[...]

Appendix A System Specifications G G e e n n e e r r a a l l   S S p p e e c c i i f f i i c c a a t t i i o o n n s s Meets all Inmarsat specifications for the Inmarsat mini-C Network for Land-mobile and Maritime terminals. (R&TTE) T ransmit Frequency 1626.5 to 1660.5 MHz [...]

G G e e n n e e r r a a l l   S S p p e e c c i i f f i i c c a a t t i i o o n n s s   ( ( c c o o n n t t i i n n u u e e d d ) ) Operating System eCosTM operating system Inmarsat-C Protocol Support Message transmission and reception with IA-5, IT A-2 and binary transfer to/from the?[...]

2.52" (64 mm) 2.19" (55.5 mm) 1.46" (37 mm) 1.26" (32 mm) 2.91" ( 74 mm) 3 X 120 F or connector : Drill a 1.25" ( 32 mm) hole. A : Drill three .2" ( 5 mm) holes for M4 scre ws. A A A Appendix B Mounting T emplate Mounting Hardware The eT rac baseplate has predrilled holes for use with three M4 scr ews. These screw[...]

KVH Industries Limited W arranty: eT rac Limited W arranty on Hardware KVH Industries, Inc. warrants the KVH product pur chased against defects in materials for and against factory labor costs for a period of ONE (1) year from the date of original r etail purchase by the original pur chaser . It is the customer ’s responsibility to verify the dat[...]

THE EXPRESS W ARRANTIES SET FOR TH ABOVE ARE THE ONL Y W ARRANTIES GIVEN BY KVH WITH RESPECT T O ANY PRODUCT FURNISHED HEREUNDER; KVH MAKES NO OTHER W ARRANTIES, EXPRESS, IMPLIED OR ARISING BY CUSTOM OR TRADE USAGE, AND SPECIFICALL Y DISCLAIMS ANY W ARRANTY OF MERCHANT ABILITY OR OF FITNESS FOR A P ARTICULAR PURPOSE. SAID EXPRESS W ARRANTIES SHALL [...]

KVH Industries, Inc. • 50 Enterprise Center Middletown, RI 02842-5279 U.S.A. • Phone: +1 401 847-3327 Fax: +1 401 849-0045 E-mail: info@kvh.com www .kvh.com KVH ® and eT rac ™ are trademarks of KVH Industries, Inc. TT_98_117623_KVH- D[...]