Actisense launches dual NMEA gateway
Marine electronics specialists, Actisense, has unveiled its latest product, the NGX-1 NMEA gateway, which brings together key technology from two of its previous gateway devices.
The NGX-1 helps boaters and boating installers convert NMEA 0183 data to NMEA 2000, bidirectionally. It utilises the conversion library which was developed as part of Actisense’s NGW-1 NMEA 2000 Gateway. The NGX also uses the company’s NGT-1 NMEA 2000 PC Interface. This is said to make it safe and simple to connect a PC to any NMEA 2000 network, with the ability to provide valuable network diagnostics.
The NGX-1 is available in both ISO and USB variants to make installation simple and low-cost.
“Our customers have used the NGW-1 and NGT-1 devices for well over a decade now, with tens of thousands of these now successfully installed on vessels around the world. Recognising that customers regularly wanted to have the ability to perform both functions on their onboard networks, we made the decision to roll both pieces of functionality into our new NGX-1 – making it the ultimate NMEA gateway,” says Phil Whitehurst, Actisense CEO.
“The NGW and NGT product lines have been universally popular and have been included in the build of countless third-party systems. The NGX-1 will continue to provide that same level of flexibility and reliability which our customers have themselves become reliant on.”
The NGX-1 was originally previewed at METSTRADE. Along with the NGX-1, the company has also released a full range of NMEA 0183 professional buffers and multiplexers which have been Type Approved by RINA, most notably for vessels in the commercial marine sector. The new PRO-BUF-2, PRO-NDC-1E and PRO-MUX-2 are all able to stream NMEA 0183 data over ethernet – a feature that customers have long requested.
“We have invested significantly in the redesign of our PRO Range buffers and multiplexers. Not only are the units now in a neat metal housing, but the underlying software which gives the devices their intelligent power has been overhauled and improved to help us deliver features such as data streaming over ethernet,” says Whitehurst.
The new release follows hot on the heels of winning Manufacturer of the Year at the 2023 National Marine Electronics Association Conference and Expo’s Product of Excellence Awards. That came in September this year and was the second year running that the Dorset-based company took home the award in the level 1 & 2 (small to mid-size company) category.
