There are several different ways Yacht Devices products are configured. Our products can be configured via three primary methos. Some of our products support multiple ways of configuring them while others are limited to just one.
The five basic types of configuration are:
- A text file copied onto a MicroSD card and inserted into a reader slot on the device
- An installation description string set using our Can Log Viewer software (and potentially installation software from other manufacturers)
- Sequences of button presses for those devices with physical buttons (primarily our digital switching products)
- By careful modification of your MFD's chart datum or variation settings (only used on our sensor products)
- Via a web interface
Here's a table listing our current products and the configuration mechanisms they support:
| Product | Micro SD | Installation String | Button Sequence | MFD datum | Web Interface |
| YDAB-01 - Alarm Button | X | X | |||
| YDBC-05 - Barometer | X | X | |||
| YDCC-04 - Circuit Control | X | X | |||
| YDEG-04 - Engine Gateway | X | X | |||
| YDEN-02 - Ethernet Gateway | X | ||||
| YDES-04N | X | ||||
| YDGS-01 - Exhaust Gas Sensor | X | X | |||
| YDHS-01 - Humidity Sensor | X | X | |||
| YDNB-07N - NMEA 2000 Bridge | X | ||||
| YDNG-03N - NMEA-0183 Gateway | X | ||||
| YDNM-02 - NMEA 0183 Multiplexer | X | ||||
| YDNR-02 - NMEA 2000 Router | X | ||||
| YDNU-02NF - USB Gateway | Note 1 | ||||
| YDRA-01 - Rudder Sensor | X | X | |||
| YDRI-04N - Run Indicator | X | ||||
| YDSC-04 - Switch Control | X | X | |||
| YDTA-01 - Tank Level Adapter | X | X | |||
| YDTC-13 - Thermometer | X | X | |||
| YDTD-20 - Text Display | X | ||||
| YDVR-04 - Voyage Recorder | X | ||||
| YDWG-02 - WiFi Gateway | X | ||||
| YDWN-02 - NMEA 0183 WiFi Gateway | X | ||||
| YDWR-02 - NMEA 0183 WiFi Router | X |
As you can see from the table, the two most common ways of configuring our devices are via a configuration file on a MicroSD card or via the installation description string. Let's take a careful look at these two methods.
Config file
Above you can see an excerpt from the YDES-04 J1708 engine gateway manual. This has the basic information about what's required for a configuration file and begins describing some of the parameters that can be set. For this demonstration I'm going to set the protocol to J1587 (the default is AUTO) and set the engine id to be 1, which indicates the starboard engine (the default is 0 to indicate port).
To do this I'll use Windows' Notepad application to edit a file and then save it to a MicroSD card.
Now that we've created the file we can remove the MicroSD card from the PC and insert it into the YDES.
If the process has worked and the card has been read succesfully by the gateway you will see three green blinks on the LED of the device a few seconds after you insert it. The device has now read the configuration and you can safely remove the card. The settings have been written to the device's memory and will be preserved.
When the device succesfully reads a configuration it will make also save a file called YDXXSAVE.TXT where XX is the specific model involved (in this case it's YDESSAVE.TXT). That file will list all of the settings of the device with the new changes applied. It's a good way to confirm the settings were read correctly and the device is configured as you planned.
With that, the process is done and your device is configured for your needs. One helpful tip can be to change one setting on your device, have it produce a YDXXSAVE.TXT file and then use that file as a template for any other changes you might want to make.
Installation Description String
If you have a Yacht Devices NMEA 2000 gateway or router you can use Can Log Viewer to update many of your devices via a little used field called Installation Description String 2. The NMEA 2000 spec has two installation description strings that you can set for each device. I use Installation Description String 1 for information like where I've mounted the device. But, with many Yacht Devices components the second one can be used to configure the device.
I should also mention that because Installation Description String is a standard NMEA 2000 field nearly any NMEA 2000 configuration program should work to set the values. So, if you have a Maretron USB-100 or IPG-100 and N2KAnalyzer or an Actisense NGW-1-USB and Toolkit you can easily program our devices.
Web Interface
All of the WiFi and Ethernet products have web interfaces built in that allow you to configure the devices right from your web browser. This can be performed on a phone, tablet, or computer and is usually the simplest of the configuration options.
Button Presses
You can use the buttons connected to the YDCC, YDSC, and YDRI to configure some settings on these devices. The manuals cover the procedures invovled but please note that not all settings can be adjusted using just the buttons so for some operations you will need to use the installation description string method.
Chart Datum or Variation
Although it's possible to configure several of our sensors using the chart datum or variation manipulation method it's not easiest of the available methods. If you have access to a gateway product you will find configuring via Con Log Viewer much easier. The product manuals for the sensors carefully cover the process of configuring using this method.