WEATHERDOCK easyTRX2 - GPS Antenna

This device will be installed the next days and will be exchanged for the existing "easy AIs IS". The easy AIS IS has gone very well and harmonized well with the Simrad NX45 plotter, because you would like to be tracked by other vehicles as well instead of. Hope this system will run as well as its predecessor. Product is used on a sailor. That one is at night and in invisible weather of all vehicles equipped with AIS, is located. MfG M. Becker

Not very cheap, but a very good product. \ R \ nYou can not only see other ships but is also seen - that's even more important to me. \ R \ n \ r \ nI use the device on the Upper Rhine. So far, all commercial vessels have been displayed to me. An inquiry with a pleasure boat showed that my signals arrive perfectly. \ R \ n \ r \ n \ r \ n \ r \ n \ r \ n \ r \ n to the registration with the Federal Network Agency think!

Article 95532, easyTRX2 with WIFI I bought the easyTRX2 almost a year ago and soon wrote a first review. Meanwhile, the device was sealed nearly 4,000 miles and gained some more experience. First of all, one can say that the device has always worked reliably. Now I can safely take the old AIS receiver off board. Not only the AIS Empafng works at least as well as with the old but also very reliable Euronav, but also the emission is impeccable. Several times, good reception has been confirmed on more than 20 miles, and control over the internet and Marinetraffic.com has confirmed that. Thus, there are only good things to say about the basics and important functions. I should mention, however, that I operate the device without integrated splitter with a dedicated mast top antenna. However, I would not buy this version, with WiFI, the extra charge is out of the money. I had expected a reliable and flexible NMEA WiFI transmitter, to which I could then try out various devices. And then I also tried all the possible software (apps) on iPad, iPhone and laptop and identified the easyTRX2 regarding the following restrictions: 1. As mentioned a year ago, the IP address is fixed and only one company is used as Access- Point possible. That restricts a lot, especially if you already have an AP on board that also connects to the Internet when needed. One must then disconnect the devices the info from easyTRX want to disconnect from the Internet and switch on to the easyTRX. Of course, then they have no connection with each other, it's all hanging on easyAIS. A client configuration would be very desirable for the easyAIS. 2. As with any AccesPoint, the easyAIS assigns DHCP addresses and remembers the assignment as usual. However, a device will only be operated with data after the first connection. If you interrupt the connection (iPad sleep) and rebuild it, the connection is open, but there are no more data. Remedy then only turns off the easyAIS now and then. (Which is not so good, because the GPS only needs some more set). 3. After upgrading to 2.2.9 firmware, the connection with iPad apps does not work anymore. However, with the PC I can still connect to WiFi and receive the NEMA data. For these reasons, I no longer use the WiFi function and do it again on the PC. The hangs on the common AP and gives all NMEA data via MaxSea to a TCP port. This works much more reliable. Good again, the easyTRX2 works as NMEA MUX. The NMEA data fed in from various instruments and plotters are combined perfectly with the AIS data and output flawlessly and losslessly both on the RS422 and on the USB serial port. The telegrams are simply passed on, which is not a problem because of the higher output speed (38kbit). A problem, however, is that all these data are also logged at breakneck speed on the optional SD card and is complete with a 2 GB card in a few days. The included evaluation program can not handle so many log data and hangs hopelessly on. So, both WiFi and logging pretty useless. Because of the negative points only 4 stars. Nevertheless, a good device, but saves you the not working properly extras such as WiFi.

Article 95532, easyTRX2 with WIFI


It may be premature to write a review after just a few days of testing but before the final installation, but other interested parties may be looking for information about this device and details are not available at this time. I can add an assessment of reliability and practical operation in the fall.

So now to "easyTRX2-WIFI". First of all I had to wait a month for delivery and my device should be one of the first easyTRXs with WiFi to be delivered.

I chose the easyTRX to expand our AIS operation after a long time to include the transmit function (we have had a Eurnav AIS receiver since 2003), and to experiment with WiFi connected devices such as iPad, iPhone and laptop as a future instrumentation type.

In the absence of any useful documentation, I could only assume that the device would also function as an NMEA multiplexer, which not only outputs the received AIS telegrams via WiFi, but also GPS data and fed NMEA instrument data.

At the manufacturer WeatherDock I only found old manuals that refer to the easyTRX without WiFi and without SD card slot. So it was left to guesswork.

The manual that is now included has not brought any clarification either, it is even older, from 03/09/2010. However, two small leaflets came with it.

A note tells you to look for the WiFi station with the name !EasyTRX2_XXXXX and you can find the password on the sticker on the bottom of the device. So don't install it first and then try to find the password! Furthermore, one learns that one can call up AIS data on IP address 192.168.10.1 port 5101.

Then it says: "Establish a wireless connection with the device before you start the program "AIS WIFI". start. Only, this program does not exist, neither in the AppStore nor on the enclosed CD.

After systematic experimentation, the device has now made quite a good impression. Here are the most important findings:

Works like a normal access point from a WiFi point of view, but without an Internet gateway. Has DHCP service and I connected four devices at the same time and they were able to communicate with each other normally. I can't yet say how many DHCP clients are supported at most.

The address (192.168.10.1) is fixed, as is the port for the NMEA-over-TCP-IP data stream (5101). (Presumably there is a maintenance program with which you could configure it differently, but nothing like that was included.) Unfortunately, it also doesn't work to log the device as a client to another access point. That would be interesting if, like me, you run your own hub that also enables Internet access via different channels. So I have to change the network on the iPad and iPhone if I want to quickly access the Internet instead of displaying ship and AIS data.

Apart from the said NMEA stream on port 5101, I didn't quickly find any other functions on the WiFi connection (e.g. browser access to port 80).

There is a wired multiplexer input (RS422) that can be switched to 4.8kb/s or 38.4kb/s. The data entered here is then output on WiFi, two RS422 posts and via USB on a virtual port. It is not clear from the manual which NMEA sentences are now forwarded externally and I have to try it out in detail first.

The USB port not only brings the said virtual COM port, but also provides the connection to the configuration program, with which the AIS and the ports are configured. Also for this program the description in the manual is old and looks completely different.

However, the program itself is quite useful. It has tabs for the function groups:
Static Data, Diagnostics, Sent Data, Received Data, SD Card, CPA Alarm and Anchor Alarm. Everything is actually self-explanatory. For commissioning you have to use this program at least once to enter the ship data. Diagnostic indicators and messages work well.

Another program supplied on the CD is used to analyze the tracks recorded on the SD card. It seems to be able to extract Google-Earth KML files, but I haven't been able to try it yet. There is absolutely nothing in the manual about it, except that the maximum size of the SD card can be 2GB.

For Windows there is also a virtual serial port emulator that is already configured and starts on the specified WIFI TCP port and creates a serial COMM port. A special USB driver does the same on the USB side. The data are thus available at two COMM ports on the PC.

On the PC, all AIS-capable navigation programs such as MaxSea can accept both the AIS and any NMEA data that may be passed on as usual.

The manufacturer WeatherDock does not seem to have an app for the advertised iPad. However, there are other apps that can wonderfully handle the data sent over TCP-IP.

For example, Watcheye AIS is available for iPad as a radar-style AIS plotter. It can be set to any IP address and TCP port and, in addition to the radar image, can also display various NMEA data. However, Watcheye AIS is not available for the iPhone.

NMEAremote, on the other hand, runs on both (iPad and iPhone) but has no AIS plotter but very nice displays for various NMEA data, for wind and close-hauled (wind magnifier) very good analogue displays.

Unfortunately, the DigitalYacht app does not work, it is permanently configured to the address of your own product.

iNavX is a chart plotter app that can also process the data from the easyTRX2-WiFi and combines AIS plotter with chart plotter. However, it only works with specially purchased cards and is therefore not that interesting as an additional device.

Back to the easyTRX2:

Positive:

Good AIS transceiver with good configuration utility

Integrated NMEA multiplexer

Many output options

Anchor alarm, CPA alarm, PAN-PAN button

Track recording on SD card

Large supply voltage range 9.6V -32.1V, with very constant power consumption


Negative:

Extremely bad documentation

Fixed WiFi function as an access point with a fixed address

actual power consumption 4.6W instead of 3.6W as in the data sheet

This product is remarkable because it provides 2 functions. Big fault, the cables are much too short! It's a shame.