Getting Started
Just received your KBox? Here are some important information to help you get started.
First of all, take KBox out of the anti-static protection bag and look for the black plastic knob that goes onto the encoder. I remove them during transport to avoid any damage.
Put the knob on the encoder and peel the protection off the screen if it is still on.
There is a USB connector in the top left corner. Use a micro-USB cable to power KBox for the first time and make sure it is still working. All units are tested and programmed at "the factory" before being shipped to you so unless something terrible happened during transport, you will see the battery monitoring screen appears.
Press the knob once and you will switch to the stats view. This view will be very helpful when first setting up KBox on your boat to make sure that all the connections are working.
Notice that there is an LED next to the USB connector. At this point, the LED should be blue. It indicates that the wifi is ready to accept connections.
Take your favorite mobile device and search for a network called "KBox" and connect to it.
Now using iNavX or another navigation app, connect to 192.168.4.1 on port 4242 via TCP. You will start receiving data from KBox.
The data you receive is a combination of:
- everything received from the NMEA1 input
- everything received from the NMEA2000 bus (messages are converted to NMEA0183
$PCDINsentences - iNavX and a few other apps can decode them) - battery voltages and barometer information are also sent in the form of
$PCDINsentences
Note that while you are connected, the LED is green. If your iDevice disconnects, the LED will go back to blue. You can have more than one device connected at the same time (up to 8 at the moment).
You can power KBox directly from a 12V source. If you have a NMEA2000 network on your boat, you can use the power provided by the NMEA2000 network. KBox will not use more than 150mA of current which is equivalent to 3 NMEA2000 LEN (Load Equivalency Number). If you want to keep an independent ground - or just an independent switch to power KBox, you can of course provide a separate 12V power supply.
The Ground and +12V contacts are the first two on the large screw terminal.
KBox is protected against reversed polarity voltage and can work with voltages up to 40V but keep in mind that it is designed for a 12V bus. You should not plan on using voltages higher than 20V because that will impact other components of KBox.
You can connect USB and +12V at the same time without problems. When you do the ground of your USB connection will be connected to the ground of your boat.
To connect KBox to your NMEA2000 network, I recommend taking a NMEA2000 drop cable of your favorite style and cutting it in two.
It will have:
- a black and red wire for power
- a blue and white wire for data
- a yellow wire (Raymarine only, for Seatalk )
The blue wire goes into CAN - and the white wire into CAN +.
About SeaTalk
You can connect the yellow wire into 'NMEA IN2 +' if you are interested in receiving SeaTalk data. KBox supports this. You will need to recompile with support for 9bit data. Read this great description of Seatalk for more information.
KBox has two NMEA inputs. By default, they are both configured at 38400 and all data received will be forwarded via WiFi.
The first one should be connected to an AIS receiver or to a GPS. For example, the Standard Horizon GX2200 is a VHF radio with GPS and AIS receivers included.
By default, they are not used but feel free to connect any equipment, we will see how to configure the outputs later.
NMEA0183 baud rate
One important note is that the NMEA1 Output will always work at the same speed as the NMEA1 Input, and the same is true for NMEA2. So you can have NMEA1 and NMEA2 at 38400 bauds, NMEA1 at 38400 and NMEA2 at 4800 but you cannot have NMEA1 Input at 38400 and NMEA2 Output at a different speed.
BAT1, BAT2 and BAT3 are three analog inputs that will measure the voltage relative to GND. You can for example use them to measure the voltage of your engine battery, your house battery and your solar panel output.
The maximum voltage that can be measured is 21.78V but it will not damage the input if the voltages go higher.
Protect your batteries! Save your boat from fire! Install a fuse
You can get simple in-line fuse holder on Amazon. The current going through this wire will be extremely small so you can install the smallest fuse you will find, and use a small gauge wire. The fuse must be installed as close as possible to the battery.
Imagine that this wire comes loose for some reason during navigation. On one end it's connected directly to your battery and on the other end, it's going to move around, short with ground somewhere and the wire will surely melt. That is a great way to set your boat on fire!
Please talk to a marine electrician if you are not sure what you are doing!
Note that KBox also measures its supply voltage so we actually have 4 analog inputs.
KBox can measure the current going in and out of a battery. If you have a current shunt, connect the side that is close to the battery to SHUNT-BAT and the side that is connected to your boat 12V bus to SHUNT-LOAD. KBox will measure the voltage of the battery, and the current being drawn from (or charged into) the battery.
Note: We do not have a display for this at the moment. Coming soon!
To reconfigure KBox you need to be able to recompile the source. Take a look at the Developer Setup page and then at the file src/host/main.cpp which has most of the configuration.
Edit [[src/esp/main.cpp|https://github.com/sarfata/kbox-firmware/blob/master/src/esp/main.cpp#L47]] and replace:
WiFi.softAP("KBox");
by:
// Create a new network with a password
WiFi.softAP("Comanche", "SuperSecretPassword")
Edit [[src/esp/main.cpp|https://github.com/sarfata/kbox-firmware/blob/master/src/esp/main.cpp#L47]] and replace:
// Connect to an existing network
WiFi.begin("Comanche", "SuperSecretPassword");
Change the NMEA1_SERIAL.begin(38400) line in [[lib/KBox/src/KBox.cpp|https://github.com/sarfata/kbox-firmware/blob/master/lib/KBox/src/KBox.cpp#L52]].