Setup

The DRS4W Radar creates its own wireless network access point when powered ON. The first step is to setup your iPhone or iPad to join the Radar’s wireless network by following the usual procedure to join a Wi-Fi network. All DRS4W Radars create a network with an identifier (SSID) starting with “DRS4Wxxxxxxxx”. The wireless network is protected using a password (WPA2-Personal) which is unique to each DRS4W Radar and available inside your DRS4W User Guide.

Basic Setup

While recommended, an external heading sensor is not mandatory to overlay the Radar echoes on the chart. TZ iBoat can use your device’s internal (or Bluetooth) GPS Course Over Ground (COG) to align the Radar on the chart, making the installation very easy:

DRS4W basic setup

Note that the radar echo will appear with high transparency if your vessel is moving below 1Kn (to indicate that the Heading derived from your course over ground is inaccurate).

Advanced Setup

To better align the Radar echo on the chart, it is recommended to connect a heading sensor to TZ iBoat. This can be done using a NMEA to Wi-Fi gateway (the gateway can also be used to bring additional data such as depth, wind or AIS):

DRS4W advanced setup

You need to make sure that the Wi-Fi Gateway you want to use can join an existing Wi-Fi network to connect to the DRS4W network. This means that you should be able to program the Gateway to connect to the DRS4W network by entering the DRS4W's SSID and Password.

IMPORTANT: The DRS4W does not have the ability to join an existing wireless network: it must create its own. Because the iPhone or iPad can only join one Wi-Fi network at a time, the Wi-Fi Gateway bridging the NMEA data (GPS, Heading, Depth, Wind, AIS…) MUST join the DRS4W network. Only then the iPhone or iPad will be able to get Radar Echo and NMEA data (by only connecting to the DRS4W network).

The Wi-Fi Gateway must output NMEA0183 sentences over UDP or TCP. Here is a list of recommended NMEA0183 to Wi-Fi Gateways that support connecting to an existing network:

  • Digital Yacht NMEA-0183 Wi-Fi Gateway - WLN10 (single port)
  • Digital Yacht NMEA-0183 Wi-Fi Gateway - WLN30 (three ports)
  • Yacht Devices NMEA-0183 Wi-Fi Gateway - YDWN-02 (dual ports)

Note that if your instruments output data using NMEA2000, most NMEA2000 to Wi-Fi Gateway will support transcoding the NMEA2000 data into NMEA0183 before outputting the data over UDP or TCP. Here is a list of recommended NMEA2000 to Wi-Fi Gateways that support connecting to an existing network (and NMEA0183 transcoding):

  • Actisense NMEA-2000 Wi-Fi Gateway - W2K-1
  • Digital Yacht NMEA-2000 Wi-Fi Gateway - NavLink2
  • Yacht Devices NMEA-2000 Wi-Fi Gateway - YDWG-02

If you are considering purchasing a new AIS unit, you should consider buying an AIS that has Wi-Fi capabilities and can act as a gateway to bridge existing instruments to the Wi-Fi network multiplexed with the AIS data:

  • Vesper AIS Transponder with Wi-Fi and NMEA 2000 Gateway - WatchMate XB-8000
  • Digital Yacht AIS Receiver with Wi-Fi Gateway – iAIS Receiver
  • Digital Yacht AIS Transponder with Wi-Fi Gateway – iAISTX
  • Digital Yacht AIS Transponder with Wi-Fi and NMEA200 Gateway – iAISTX Plus

For all type of gateways, the three steps below need to be achieved:

  • Configure the gateway to join the DRS4W Wi-Fi network. Follow the manufacturer instructions to configure the gateway with the DRS4W's SSID and Password.
  • If the gateway only supports TCP connection, you will have to setup a fix IP address for the gateway. We recommend using 172.31.100.100 for the gateway’s fixed IP address once connected to the DRS4W network.

‎Note: This step (fixing the gateway’s IP address is optional if you plan to use UDP)

  • Connect TZ iBoat to the DRS4W Wi-Fi network and configure the Wi-Fi Gateway UDP or TCP port from the “Initial Setup” settings (enable the NMEA Gateway connection and click on “NMEA Gateway Configuration”). Please refer to the gateway’s user guide to know the UDP or TCP port number.

Note: If TCP is used, you will also need to enter the gateway’s IP address in TZ iBoat (that is why it is important to fix the gateway’s IP address when using TCP). If the gateway supports it, we recommend using UDP instead (easier to configure).