Hydromagic NMEA0183 Playback Plugin

The Hydromagic NMEA0183 Playback plugin is a plugin that allows you to send NMEA0183 data to the software as if it were received in real time. You can use this functionality to re-record NMEA0183 data for demo purposes and testing.

The NMEA0183 data is fed to the plugin by selecting a text file that contains NMEA0183 sentences. The sentences supported are the same as those supported in the regular NMEA0183 plugins.

It is possible to simulate tide as well, using the manual tide buttons in the main toolbar. The NMEA0183 Playback plugin can be used in both Hydromagic Survey and Hydromagic Dredging.

Loading the NMEA0183 Playback plugin

To load this plugin, open the preferences window by selecting "Preferences..." from the "Options" menu. In the window that appears, select the "Devices" tab. Next, click the 'Add...' button.

A list of available plugins will be displayed. In this list, select the "Hydromagic NMEA0183 Playback Plugin" and click "OK" to load and display the simulator.

Using the playback plugin

In order to start pushing the simulator data into the application, you have to select a valid NMEA0183 log file first. To do this, click the 'Browse...' button and select the file to replay. You can check whether the file is valid by clicking 'View...'.

When a file is loaded, the 'Start' button will be enabled and clicking this button will start reading the NMEA0183 file sentence by sentence. The data is decoded and sent to the survey or dredging application as it was raw data received from real NMEA0183 hardware.

You can pause playback at any time by clicking the 'Stop' button or start from the beginning by clicking the 'Rewind' button. The playback speed can be controlled with the 'Default Speed,' 'Increase Speed,' and 'Decrease Speed' buttons. By default, the playback rate is one sentence per 250 milliseconds.

To change the NMEA0183 log file, press the 'Stop' button first. This stops the simulator and the 'Browse...' button will be enabled, allowing you to select a different file.

Unloading the playback plugin

To unload the simulator, open the Preferences window by selecting 'Preferences...' from the 'Options' menu. In the window that appears, select the "Devices" tab. Next select the "Hydromagic NMEA0183 Playback Plugin" and click the "Remove..." button.

Video Tutorial

The following YouTube video tutorial shows how to replay NMEA0183 log files for demo or troubleshooting purposes. Click below to play the video. When you like the video, please click the like button and subscribe so you will receive an update when new video tutorials on Hydromagic are uploaded.

The NMEA0183 Playback plugin allows you to replay NMEA0183 log files for demo or troubleshooting purposes.