PNAV - Portable Navigator
From Collins Software 2022
ESL - Home of Portable Navigator, NMEApro and AISsim
Founded
in 1990 and supplying software and data logging systems to many customers
and companies world wide. Originally part of ESL Effective Solutions Ltd. as
Effective Solutions (Data Products). Collins Software produces Navigation and Data Logging software for the collection of bathymetry,
sonar, magnetometer and video data for Hydrographic Survey, or just safe
navigation. In these days of
climate change recent flooding incidents make river and coastal maintenance
and dredging important so we also offer Dredging Mimic software.
Software authors: Graham Collins CEng MIET and Lewis Collins BSC Hons.
Portable Navigator Server With
Transformational Connectivity
Portable Navigator Server broadcasts all the available data, charts and images on your boat's LAN as pages of a website hosted by PN7.2 onwards and the VBB tool on your Navigation PC. Imagine the advantages of this: Any Portable Device, Smart Phone or Tablet anywhere on the vessel can now access all the latest navigation and survey data including Charts, AIS charts, Raster Charts, Data Trend and Magnified Survey plots, and AIS Collision Potential analysis with the ability to replay the latest AIS New Target audio announcement. Useful for the helmsman or with the person manning the survey equipment. Multiple devices can connect simultaneously . Shown here with an iPhone 6:
Adding a LAN router to your boat is very easy and inexpensive! Just buy a small low cost USB powered travel router e.g. the TP-LINK Nano Router (typical price around £30). This can either be powered from a USB cigar lighter adaptor or from a USB port on the Navigation PC. Normally this can be located on the navigation table. The factory default settings of the router we tried allowed it to work "out of the box", so all that was needed was to search for and join it's default network, using the password printed on the router and the PC's Settings / Network. This step should only be necessary the first time you use the router.
AIS and High Speed NMEA Simulation
AIS-Sim
6 High Speed NMEA-AIS Simulator
AIS-sim 6 is the latest version of this NMEA and AIS simulator. It includes new features which make it much more convenient to use on Windows systems with USB inputs for "plug-and-play" COM port peripherals such as GPS and AIS receivers.
New features:
Automatic COM port detection. When ever AIS-sim 6 is started the available COM ports are analysed, detected and listed as shown below.
If multiple ports are available you can use this dialogue to choose the required com port. The settings are saved in the config file and are reloaded on starting AIS-sim. If the COM ports have changed on the next use of AIS-sim, you can reconfigure the port you are using if required.
AIS true heading simulation in the AIS Message 1 configuration dialogue. This is useful if steering the AIS target with a track file. Improved Track file format which now allows negative relative heading changes and is more error tolerant. Also there is a new built in Track and Log file Editor.
AIS SART target simulation and display. These SART devices are personal Search and Rescue AIS transmitters, usually water activated, which indicate the position of a MOB (man overboard) casualty as an aid to safety. They use the previously reserved navigation states of 14 and 15 in message 1 to indicate SART Active and SART Test. New HTML help system compatible with all Windows® versions.
AISsim Version 6 also has High Speed Position simulation. AISsim now resolves the position of the simulated vessel at up to 10 times per second in the NMEA1 parser field, for the simulation of survey grade GPS receivers.
NMEApro IV Serial Data Processor