Matsutec HA-102 configuring

[Graham_Wright]

The supplied CD only runs on Windows.

I am a Mac man but can lower myself to purchase one of the lesser breeds for the purpose of setting up the AIS.

What minimum do I need? I can buy a Windows 7 laptop for peanuts. Would it do the job?

 

[Hoolie]

Depends on what you regard as peanuts. A couple of years ago I bought a W7 Dell D630ATG for £94 IIRC. It was only when I tried using it in sunlight I realised it has a transflexive screen and is even more visible in intense Med sun. Though I did have to fit a cd/dvd writer bought for £5.99 on eBay

 

[Graham_Wright]

Depends on what you regard as peanuts. A couple of years ago I bought a W7 Dell D630ATG for £94 IIRC. It was only when I tried using it in sunlight I realised it has a transflexive screen and is even more visible in intense Med sun. Though I did have to fit a cd/dvd writer bought for £5.99 on eBay

RM NBook 4400 PENTIUM 15.4" 2GB 160GB WINDOWS 7 CHEAP SMALL LAPTOP COMPUTER #3B | eBay.
~£50.
The configuration app requires a RS232 connection and the ability to display and interact with a menu. It is just the OS that needs to be defined. Once configured, the computer becomes redundant.
Being Chinese, the Matsutec AIS manual is not perfect (but much better than other Chinglish instructions).

 

[Graham_Wright]

I now have a Microsoft laptop (£45) (apologies to all Macmen) with Windows 7. It appears ready to do the job but is it safe to assume the 15 pin connector is RS232/422? Is it also safe to assume I can find a cable to connect the two and is it safe to assume there are optoisolators each end. (I have painful memories of connecting transmit to transmit without such isolators.)

 

[Bobc]

Can you not just borrow a laptop for an hour?

You can get a USB to RS232 cable on ebay for a couple of quid.

 

[Graham_Wright]

Can you not just borrow a laptop for an hour?

You can get a USB to RS232 cable on ebay for a couple of quid.

I would not want to risk software or hardware damage however, I now have one.
My RS232 experience involves soldering irons and knowledge of the two ends. Is it safe to assume RS232 speaks to USB?

 

[Bobc]

I would not want to risk software or hardware damage however, I now have one.
My RS232 experience involves soldering irons and knowledge of the two ends. Is it safe to assume RS232 speaks to USB?

Yes it does. All you need is the Rx and Tx and common connected.

 

[st599]

I now have a Microsoft laptop (£45) (apologies to all Macmen) with Windows 7. It appears ready to do the job but is it safe to assume the 15 pin connector is RS232/422? Is it also safe to assume I can find a cable to connect the two and is it safe to assume there are optoisolators each end. (I have painful memories of connecting transmit to transmit without such isolators.)
View attachment 130207View attachment 130208

One of your photos is a serial port, probably Rs-232, the other is a VGA port for connecting a monitor. I wouldn't connect the 2 together.

 

[st599]

You could install Windows in VirtualBox on the Mac.

 

[TSB240]

Yes it does. All you need is the Rx and Tx and common connected.

That's news to me. I have always used an rs232 serial to USB converter. Would you care to show how you wire rx tx and common from rs232 to usb without one?

 

[pessimist]

That's news to me. I have always used an rs232 serial to USB converter. Would you care to show how you wire rx tx and common from rs232 to usb without one?

I too would be curious.

 

[Bobc]

You do realise that USB stands for Universal Serial Bus? It's just a different type of serial connector.

 

[TSB240]

I understand that USB operates on a 5V differential signal and mixing this directly with an rs232 one that operates at up to 25v could be damaging. I don't see how direct connection can prevent potential overloading the USB comm port.

I think I will stick with using an adaptor.
USB to Serial RS232 FEMALE 9 Pin DB9 COM Converter Adapter Cable Windows 7 8 10 | eBay
For what they cost it really doesn't make sense to risk frying your comm ports or worse.

 

[Hoolie]

Rather to my surprise this diagram suggests that Bobc is correct -



But I would agree a converter is advisable given the wide range of signal voltages found on rs232.

However NMEA0183 specifies RS422 which has bi-directional differential connections so a converter device is needed.

 

[Bobc]

I understand that USB operates on a 5V differential signal and mixing this directly with an rs232 one that operates at up to 25v could be damaging. I don't see how direct connection can prevent potential overloading the USB comm port.

I think I will stick with using an adaptor.
USB to Serial RS232 FEMALE 9 Pin DB9 COM Converter Adapter Cable Windows 7 8 10 | eBay
For what they cost it really doesn't make sense to risk frying your comm ports or worse.

Exactly as my suggestion. It was the OP who was on about soldering a cable.

Also, regarding the voltage thing, this is why I said that you only connect the TX, RX, and ground (not the +ve)

 

[pessimist]

Think I'll stick to software................

 

[Dilemma]

I have a Mac air (2012) laptop which I have partitioned to run Windows 10 and MacOS. I have a DigitalYacht AIS which needs their software " AIS pro" running in Windows to communicate with the AIS. I had to use AISpro when I set up the AIS originally and also when it stopped transmitting and I had to diagnose and fix a dodgy aerial connection.
It's not difficult to build the partition and, with a licence, install the Windows OS. It is handy having the two operating systems on the same machine.

 

[st599]

I have a Mac air (2012) laptop which I have partitioned to run Windows 10 and MacOS. I have a DigitalYacht AIS which needs their software " AIS pro" running in Windows to communicate with the AIS. I had to use AISpro when I set up the AIS originally and also when it stopped transmitting and I had to diagnose and fix a dodgy aerial connection.
It's not difficult to build the partition and, with a licence, install the Windows OS. It is handy having the two operating systems on the same machine.

Unless you have a new M1 silicon Mac. Then it's impossible as you'd need to recompile the Windows binary.

 

[Graham_Wright]

The supplied CD only runs on Windows.

I am a Mac man but can lower myself to purchase one of the lesser breeds for the purpose of setting up the AIS.

What minimum do I need? I can buy a Windows 7 laptop for peanuts. Would it do the job?

I found a Windows 7 for £45 and it did the job as expected. I used this for the connection;-
USB TO SERIAL RS232 DB9 VGA MALE ADAPTER CABLE fits PC MOBILE PHONE WIN XP VISTA 8800216251171 | eBay

Now I need to work out how to connect the received output to my Raymarine E80 plotter. Efforts so far have not been rewarded with success.

 

[Bobc]

I used this for the connection;-
USB TO SERIAL RS232 DB9 VGA MALE ADAPTER CABLE fits PC MOBILE PHONE WIN XP VISTA 8800216251171 | eBay

Now I need to work out how to connect the received output to my Raymarine E80 plotter. Efforts so far have not been rewarded with success.

That's what I used too. Worked fine. Connection-wise, I think it was just the tx+ and tx- on the AIS that needed to be connected to the rx+ and rx- on the plotter. You need to configure the plotter for 38,400 baud.