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FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)
If your question is
associated with the detailed workings of C_wiz you may
like to try using the search capabilities of the C_wiz
Test Drive facility to answer it:
o Launch C_wiz.
o
Launch the Test
Drive facility by clicking [Help] then clicking [Test
Drive] until it is checked.
o In the search text
box at the top of the Test Drive facility, enter words
and/or phrases (in quotes) to be searched for then hit
ENTER to initiate search.
Hardware
What are the
hardware requirements
What
type of PC should I
get
How powerful should the PC be
What size hard disk do I need
What type of screen
should I use
Installation
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Upgrading
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D3s
How can I read
engine oil pressure
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Tailoring
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Really difficult ones
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If you had no luck
obtaining an answer to your
question,
please
Contact Us
What are
the hardware requirements
Essential requirements
are:
o
An
“IBM compatible” or “Wintel” PC.
o
A hard
disk.
o
Data
input ports appropriate to the data devices supplying
data (e.g. COM ports for GPS, VDO Logic Combi etc, USB
ports for ICP DAS 7000(II) networks).
Common but optional
requirements are:
o
A VGA
resolution screen, SVGA preferable.
o
A 2
button mouse.
o
A
keyboard.
o
A
removable read /write device such as a 1.44MB floppy
drive or USB flashdrive /thumbdrive.
Optional requirements are:
o
A
Windows capable printer.
o
An
Internet connection, if C_wiz data is to be transferred
via the Internet.
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What type of PC
should I get
Before buying
a PC give some thought to the type that would be
appropriate to your circumstances:
o
Conventional desktop, where you will typically get the
most cost effective compute power but at the expense of
robustness, footprint and weather tightness. Generally
only suitable in a larger wheelhouses protected from the
elements.
o
Laptop, where costs are higher, compute power lower but
portability and flexibility higher. Easily removed from
the wheelhouse (this may not be an advantage!). Could be
appropriate if C_wiz is being used as a portable engine
troubleshooting tool. Laptops range from the fairly
effeminate to the hugely macho (look up GETAC on the
Internet).
o
Industrial PC. The first installation of C_wiz was on an
industrial PC about half the size of a shoebox. Costs of
industrial PCs can be suprisingly comparable with their
consumer cousins. Could be appropriate in situations
where space is tight, mounting options are required
and/or vibration is a potential problem.
o
Industrial panel PC. A combined industrial PC and flat
panel display in a very compact envelope. Suitable for
dash mounting and when so mounted fairly weather proof.
See “Comments on screens” below. A very professional
installation.
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How powerful
should the PC be
Unfortunately there is no
simple answer to this question. Unlike PC applications
such as spreadsheets and word processors, C_wiz is a
“real-time” application. This means that it has to have
the computer resources it needs as the data arrives
otherwise the data will go stale.
For any given PC, the
variables which affect the performance of C_wiz include:
o
The number of data devices supplying data.
o
The speed at which these data devices are sending data.
o
The way in which the C_wiz data censors have been
tailored.
o
Competition for resources from other products residing
on the same PC (e.g. navigational packages).
One of the recent C_wiz
installations was on a 1.2GHz Pentium III with 512MB of
RAM. This installation was supplied data by a GPS, 2 on
/off devices and an ICP DAS 7000(II) network attached to 8 analog devices.
The PC uses the Windows XP
Professional operating system and is also running the
Nobeltec Visual Mariner chartplotter.
Performance on this
installation is excellent.
It is likely
that any PC in the wheelhouse of a commercial vessel is
going to end up with multiple applications running - if
not now then certainly later. Coupling the relatively
low cost of PC hardware with this thought, you are
probably advised to get the most powerful PC your budget
will stretch to.
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Allow 50 to 100MB of space
for C_wiz and tailorings (charts etc).
The amount of
space required for C_wiz data is primarily governed by:
o
The number of data devices supplying data.
o
The speed at which these data devices are sending data.
o
The way in which the C_wiz data censors have been
tailored.
The installation mentioned
in
How powerful should the PC be
creates data at
the rate of approximately 250KB/run hour - with all data
censors turned off.
With mid range data
censors this reduces to about 50KB/run hour.
If you wanted to keep 10
years of data on this vessel and it was used 8 hours a
day, 7 days a week then the space requirement would be:
10 years x 365 days/year x
8 hours/day x 50KB/run hour = 1.46GB
Which is not much
considering the minimum size hard disk nowadays is about
20GB.
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What type of
screen should I use
A wheelhouse
is typically a fairly light-filled environment which
makes it hard to see conventional CRT (cathode ray tube)
computer screens designed for controlled office lighting
conditions. Conventional CRT computer screens are also
fairly bulky and relatively fragile.
If you are
contemplating a CRT screen then consider avoiding these
problems by using a sunlight readable industrial flat
panel display which in many cases could be incorporated
into the dash. These are designed for shop floor
applications such as controlling automated lathes - so
the odd spilt cup of coffee should not be too great a
concern.
The temptation is then to add a touchscreen option. Our
suggestion is don't do this before considering:
o
The touchscreen film reduces light emission and hence
readability.
o
In any sort of weather it may become a lot harder to use
effectively - the pitching of the vessel makes you click
when you didn't want to or double click when you wanted
to click.
o
Accuracy is only as good as how sharp the end of your
finger is.
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How can I
read engine oil pressure
Using the current library
of C_wiz D3s, you can read engine oil pressure using:
o
A VDO Logic Combi.
o
A VDO EDB/GBI module.
o
Any SAE J1587/1708
compliant computerized engine control module.
o
A CruzPro OP30 oil
pressure gauge.
o
An ICP DAS 7017
module connected directly to the existing oil
pressure sensor or existing analog oil pressure
gauge.
Of these alternatives the
ICP DAS 7017 module is by far the most flexible choice.
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