engineering

IEC 61162

IEC 61162 is a engineering topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand IEC 61162 rather than just read about it. In short: IEC 61162 is a collection of IEC standards for "Digital interfaces for navigational equipment within a ship". The 61162 standards are developed in Working Group 6 (WG6) of Technical Committee 80 (TC80) of the IEC.

Key takeaways

IEC 61162 belongs to engineering; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect IEC 61162 to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of IEC 61162 from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

IEC 61162 is a collection of IEC standards for "Digital interfaces for navigational equipment within a ship". The 61162 standards are developed in Working Group 6 (WG6) of Technical Committee 80 (TC80) of the IEC.

Sections of IEC 61162 Standard IEC 61162 is divided into the following parts:

Part 1: Single talker and multiple listeners (Also known as NMEA 0183) Part 2: Single talker and multiple listeners, high-speed transmission Part 3: Serial data instrument network (Also known as NMEA 2000) Part 450: Multiple talkers and multiple listeners–Ethernet interconnection (Also known as Lightweight Ethernet) Part 460: Multiple talkers and multiple listeners - Ethernet interconnection - Safety and security The 61162 standards are all concerning the transport of NMEA sentences, but the IEC does not define any of these. This is left to the NMEA Organization.

IEC 61162-1 Single talker and multiple listeners.

IEC 61162-2 Single talker and multiple listeners, high-speed transmission.

IEC 61162-3 Serial data instrument network, multiple talker-multiple listener, prioritized data.

IEC 61162-450 Multiple talkers and multiple listeners. This subgroup of TC80/WG6 has specified the use of Ethernet for shipboard navigational networks. The specification describes the transport of NMEA sentences as defined in 61162-1 over IPv4. Due to the low amount of protocol complexity it has been nicknamed Lightweight Ethernet or LWE in short. There are three revision: the original published in 2011, and updates in 2018 and 2024.

IEC 61162-450/460 IEC 61162-460:2015(E) is an add-on to the IEC 61162-450 standard. This standard extends the informative guidance given in Annex D of IEC 61162-450:2011. The first edition was published in August 2015. State May 2016 is the first bridge and system manufacturers beginning with the implementation of IEC 61162-450 and IEC 61162-460. IEC 61162-460:2024 (also referred to as IEC 61162-460 Edition 3.0) is an updated add-on to IEC 61162-450. This standard extends the informative guidance given in Annex D of IEC 61162-450:2011. The third edition was published in April 2024. Known devices with -450 implementation:

AMI Marine X2 VDR Cobham SAILOR AIS Cobham SAILOR GNSS Cobham SAILOR NAVTEX Archived 2023-05-11 at the Wayback Machine Cobham SAILOR 7222 VHF DSC Class A Archived 2023-05-11 at the Wayback Machine Danelec VDR Archived 2023-06-25 at the Wayback Machine Furuno GPS Furuno ECDIS Furuno VDR Ixblue ECDIS Archived 2017-04-10 at the Wayback Machine Ixblue Netans Archived 2019-04-08 at the Wayback Machine (Full Naval Data Distribution solution) Navmaster ECDIS Netwave NW6000 SOLAS Voyage Data Recorder (VDR) Saab AIS Totem Plus ECDIS Archived 2016-10-10 at the Wayback Machine Totem Plus VDR 2014 Archived 2016-10-23 at the Wayback Machine Veinland NMEA Matrix ( bidirectional 8 Port Multiplexer / Converter ) Inclinometer SATURN Gyrocompass Norwegian Electric Systems RAVEN INS Weidmueller modular I/O system u-remote RH Marine ECDIS Known devices/systems with -460 implementation:

Robustel MG460 Maritime Cyber Security Gateway ( IEC 61162-460:2024 Gateway/Wireless-Gateway) Veinland marine approved network switch MagicNet ( IEC 61162-460 Switch/Forwarder) Veinland marine approved network gateway MagicNet-GWR Archived 2017-09-12 at the Wayback Machine (IEC 61162-460 Gateway) Chartworld eChart Secure Archived 2019-08-30 at the Wayback Machine (IEC 61162-460 Gateway)

References

External links Official IEC website TC80 "IEC 61162-1", "IEC 61162-2", "IEC 61162-3", "IEC 61162-450", "IEC 61162-460" at International Electrotechnical Commission

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with IEC 61162

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what IEC 61162 claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In engineering, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to IEC 61162 before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about IEC 61162 ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of IEC 61162

In research: IEC 61162 appears in engineering research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses IEC 61162 in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: IEC 61162 is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Electronic engineering, IEC standards, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for IEC 61162 outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study IEC 61162 in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what IEC 61162 means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain IEC 61162 out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is IEC 61162 in simple terms?

Why does IEC 61162 matter?

Because it connects several engineering ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study IEC 61162?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on IEC 61162.