The Instruments

The Sounder instrument

The Sounder instrument simulates NMEA sentences for water depth.

The value of many input fields can be changed with the up-down buttons located at the right side of the input boxes, or typed directly into the input boxes. Note that decimals are ignored when using up/down buttons.

Operation

After clicking the "Start" button the Wind instrument simulation will start, and NMEA sentences will be sent to the selected serial port of the PC, until the "Hold" or "Exit and Save" buttons are pressed. Note that only NMEA sentences will be send that are checked in the "NMEA sentences" panel.

When the "Open Log file" option from the main "File" menu was selected, the sentences will also be written to the user selected file.

To view the sentences being sent select the "View trace window" option from the main menu.

Clicking the "Hold" button will suspend operation, until "Cont." is clicked. "Exit and Save" will exit the instrument and save all current values in the windows registry, so that next time the instrument is used it can continue where it stopped.

A short description of each field will follow below.

Water depth
Can be given in feet, meters or fathoms.

Transducer offset
The offset to correct the location of the transducer, relative to the waterline or to the keel.

NMEA sentences panel
Tick the sentences you want to send, select the interval (0-59) and if you want a checksum calculated and added to the sentences or not.