Flir ThermovisionVoyager II Installation Guide

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Step 19:
Strip ¼” from the end of each wire as shown. 
When this is done, they are ready for termina-
tion in the Bulkhead Box. 
Step 20:
Slide all of the prepared wires and the video 
cable through the 1” reducer. Then carefully 
pass all of the prepared wires and the video 
cable through the hole in the front of the Bulk-
head Box.  
Step 21:
Slide all of the prepared wires and the video 
cable through the lock nut, and secure it to 
the 1” reducer as shown
Step 18:
Slide the outer insulation of f, and separate the 
two inner wires as shown 
						

							12 Step 22:
Connect the wires from the main sensor cable 
to terminal blocks 
J6, J7, J8, and Video In 
using the drawings provided at the end of this 
manual for guidance. 
You can also refer to the graphic inside the 
cover door of the Bulkhead Box for a color-
coded guide, or the Connections Quick Refer-
ence table on page 18.
Step 23:
Power input - connect the wires from the 
system power cable to 
J5. The cable 
ends are prepared using the same proce-
dures used in the previous steps.
 
Step 24:
Connect the wires from the Joystick Con-
trol Unit (JCU) to the 
J1 terminal block. 
The cable ends are prepared using the 
same procedures used for the main sensor 
cable. 
Step 25:
Install additional (optional) JCUs and other con-
nections as required to 
J2 - J4, as shown 
on the nex t page. 
When all wires have been connected, 
mount the Bulkhead Box in the selected loca-
tion
. 
Connections in the Bulkhead Box are shown on 
the label inside the cover door.
The wires for System Power and Pan/Tilt 
Power are individually labeled and color-coded. 
Two pairs are used for each connection to 
provide adequate load-carrying capability. 
						

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J5J1
J6
J7
J8
J2
J3
J4 
						

							14 NMEA INTERFACE
The Voyager II has the capability to “listen” to (or take commands from) radar, GPS or other devices 
using the National Marine Electronics Association (NMEA) 0183 Protocol. The NMEA 0183 protocol 
is a combined electrical and data specifi cation for communication between marine electronic devices. 
Additional information regarding the protocol can be found on the NMEA web site: 
http://www.nmea.org/ 
According to the NMEA protocol, the Voyager II is known as a listener, and another device such as a 
radar, GPS, compass or multi-function display is known as a talker. This protocol allows the talker to 
send positional information to the Voyager II camera, and it responds by automatically pointing toward 
vessels and other objects that show up on the display and tracking their movement.
The Voyager II connects to the other equipment via a serial cable (not provided with the Voyager II). 
The serial cable connects to the Voyager II through an unused Joystick Control Unit (JCU) slot on the 
Voyager Bulkhead Box.
You may need to supply:
•  2- or 3-wire serial cable from the NMEA device to the Voyager II Bulkhead Box 
•  RS-422/RS-485 electro-optical isolator 
•  NMEA multiplexer (if the input to the Voyager does not come from a multi-function display 
that acts as a multiplexer)
This document describes the steps necessary to install and verif y the Voyager II NMEA 0183 inter-
face. Operation of the Voyager II NMEA interface is described in the Voyager II Operator’s Manual.
References
•  Voyager Operator’s Manual, FLIR Document Number: 432-0002-00-10
•  National Marine Electronics Association, NMEA 0183 Version 2.0
Note, the Voyager II does not support the NMEA 0183-HS (High Speed) protocol
NMEA INTERFACE INSTALL ATION
For connecting the NMEA device to the Voyager II, two options are available, depending on the commu-
nication standard of the other device. If the output of the other device uses the RS-422 standard, the 
Voyager II communicates with the other device directly (for protection, use an electro-optical isolator). 
The other device connects to one of the open JCU connectors (similar to an additional JCU). If the other 
device uses the RS-232 standard, then it should be connected to the NMEA Interface Card, which is 
inserted into one of the open JCU connectors. One NMEA Interface Card is included with the Voyager II.
NMEA Interface Card
When using the NMEA Interface Card, the card is plugged into one of the four JCU connector slots 
in the Bulkhead Box. The interface card has a 2-wire “pigtail” to connect to the other NMEA device. 
Alternatively, the device can be connected to the nex t available JCU slot if one is available. 
Figure 1: NMEA Interface Card 
						

							15 NMEA Interface Wiring
The connection from the other NMEA device must be routed through one of the JCU cable glands lo-
cated on the bottom wall of the Bulkhead Box.
Figure 3: Cable Glands on the Bulkhead Box
Serial Communications
The JCU connections on the Voyager II Bulkhead Box are daisy-chained together, as shown in 
the fi gure below. Each JCU slot is 
interconnected to the appropriate terminals in the previous slot 
within the Bulkhead Box 
Any signals/data that come through JCU slot 4 are then passed sequen-
tially through slot 3, slot 2 and then slot 1 before being sent to the camera via the Communica-
tion port J7.
 
Note, If connecting to the JCU slot without the NMEA Interface Board, an optical isolator should 
be used on the serial lines to protect the Voyager II from voltage spikes and surges.  
						

							16 Connector Slot
The NMEA talker device, whether it uses RS-232 or RS-422, should be connected to the fi rst 
unused JCU slot. The NMEA interface card comes installed in slot J4 by default. If used, the card 
must be moved to the JCU slot af ter the last active JCU. For a system with one JCU, the connec-
tion should be made to the J2 slot, as shown in the previous example. For systems with 2 JCUs, 
the connection must use the J3 slot. For a system with 3 JCUs, the connection must use slot J4.
Figure 2: Bulkhead box JCU connection with NMEA card installed in Slot 3
RS-232 CONNECTIONS (WITH NMEA INTERFACE CARD)
There are two methods for connecting the NMEA cable to the NMEA interface card. The cable can 
be spliced to the pigtail wires from the card, or the cable can be connected to the nex t spare JCU 
slot (in the case when only one or two JCUs are used). When 3 JCUs are in use and the NMEA 
card occupies the 4th slot the installer must use the pigtail connection.
Figure 5: NMEA Interface Card with Pigtail cable
Spare JCU Slot (1 or 2 JCUs in use)
For a confi guration that uses one or two JCUs and with the NMEA card plugged into the second or 
third slot, it may be more convenient to connect to the screw terminals of the empty adjacent slot 
(J3 or J4, respectively), as shown in Figure 4, rather than splicing to the pigtail wires.
Figure 4: NMEA Interface card on Slot J3; NMEA connection in Slot J4
Pin 2Pin 1 
						

							17 When connecting to the adjacent slot, attach NMEA “A” and “B” signal wires to connector terminals 
1 and 2 respectively. These terminals are interconnected to the appropriate terminals in the previ-
ous slot within the Bulkhead Box. No additional jumpers are necessary. Refer to the drawings at the 
end of the manual for more information on specifi c pin designations on the terminal blocks.
Pigtail Connection
For a Voyager II confi guration with 3 JCUs and a NMEA interface, all four JCU slots are occupied. 
The NMEA card will reside in the JCU slot J4. Route the NMEA interface cable up to the JCU slot 
J4 and, using a cable tie, anchor the NMEA cable to the 3rd JCU cable. Cutof f the shrink wrap insu-
lator on the end of the wires and, using in-line crimp splices, attach the NMEA talker signals A and B 
to the pigtail red and yellow wires respectively. 
RS-422 CONNECTIONS (NO NMEA INTERFACE CARD)
When using a direct RS-422 connection, the cable from the NMEA talker device should be connected 
to an RS-422 isolator (for example, B&B Electronics 4850P or equivalent). Then the isolator can be 
connected to the next spare JCU slot. The connection will use 3 wires: TxA(-), TxB(+) and common 
(signal ground). Attach NMEA “A” and “B” signal wires to connector terminals 1 and 2 respectively, 
and attach the ground to pin 5. 
 
ELECTRICAL CHECKOUT
Disable the NMEA talker and verif y the static RS-422 signal levels by measuring the voltage dif fer-
ence between the dif ferential RS-422 outputs. The voltage should be measured on the adjacent 
“upstream” JCU; namely, if the module is plugged into JCU J3 slot, then the measurement should be 
on the connector residing in the JCU J2 slot.
Using a voltmeter, measure the voltage dif ference from pin 8 (hot probe of the voltmeter) and pin 9 
(return probe). The voltage reading should be greater than +2.0V.
Figure 6: Voltage Test Points
Testing the NMEA Interface
Refer to the user manual for the other NMEA device (the talker) for information on how to install the 
connection and how to enable and control the NMEA messages it will generate.
Enable the NMEA talker and set the Baud Rate to 4800. On the Voyager II, use the SETUP -> NMEA 
menu and Enable Radar Tracking to allow the Voyager system to respond to the TTM message 
(refer to the Voyager II Operator’s Manual for information on how to access the SETUP menu.) Nex t, 
get the NMEA talker to generate a TTM message. For example, select an active radar target, and 
verif y that the Voyager responds to the TTM message.
Pin 9Pin 8 
						

							18 NMEA Messages
The Voyager II recognizes (or responds to) a subset of NMEA 0183 messages (also called 
sentences). The standard NMEA 0183 messages required for Voyager II integration are as fol-
lows:
•  HDT – Heading, True
•  GGA – Global Positioning System Fix Data
•  GLL – Geographic Position, Latitude/Longitude 
•  RSD – Radar System Data
•  TTM – Tracked Target Message
•  BWC – Bearing and Distance to Waypoint
•  VHW – Water Speed and Heading
MFD as NMEA Talker
When a Multi Function Display (MFD) is used as the NMEA talker, it functions as a multiplexer, 
and incoming messages from the radar and other NMEA talker devices are passed through 
the MFD to the Voyager II. Most MFDs provide the ability to select the required messages and 
output them via an available NMEA 0183 port. Refer to the user documentation provided with 
the MFD for confi guration  information.
NMEA Multiplexer as NMEA Talker
In some installations an NMEA 0183 Multiplexer is used to interconnect the other devices and 
to provide the Voyager II with the required sentences. A Multiplexer retrieves NMEA data from 
more than one source (for example, North Seeking Gyro, GPS, and Radar); it will then distrib-
ute the data to any connected devices.
FLIR Systems recommends the MiniPlex-S multiplexer manufactured by ShipModul Marine Elec-
tronics. This device works as an NMEA Multiplexer but also allows the user to select or ignore 
any incoming NMEA 0183 sentence. This greatly reduces the risk of overfl ow and the result-
ing loss of data.  http://www.shipmodul.com 
						

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Caution: 
A non-isolated connection to external electronics may result in damage to the Voyager Camera 
System. Use electro-optical isolators when needed in accordance with sound marine electron-
ics practices
FLIRtatious 
						

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DRAWINGS & INSTALLATION TEMPLATES 
The drawings provide more detailed dimensions and mounting information. If you have any 
questions, call FLIR’s Applications Experts at 888.747.3547. 
Use the templates to locate the holes required to mount the Voyager II’s Camera Body and JCU. CONNECTIONS QUICK REFERENCE