AcTuiSense

A cross-platform terminal UI to configure Actisense NMEA 2000 gateways (NGT-1, NGW-1, NGX-1) over a serial port or TCP — the open, scriptable alternative to the Windows-only Actisense NMEA Reader → Hardware Configuration.

Runs anywhere Python runs: Linux, macOS, and Windows (PowerShell / Windows Terminal).

Activity Log tab — every gateway exchange (line, time, action, result, detail), fed by a live Get-Operating-Mode poll plus your own actions, just like NMEA Reader's command log:

Firmware tab — update NGX-1 / WGX-1 firmware over the reverse-engineered BstFt protocol, no Actisense Toolkit required: read the currently-installed version, Browse… for the .zip, and watch a live progress bar while the whole archive streams to the gateway (which decrypts the inner .actp itself):

Validated end-to-end against a real Actisense NGT-1 and NGX-1 — reading the operating mode and Rx/Tx enable lists, toggling per-PGN filters, activating, and committing to EEPROM.

Why

The NGT-1 will only transmit a PGN onto the bus if that PGN is in its Tx PGN Enable List, and only receives the PGNs in its Rx PGN Enable List when in Filter mode. By default these lists are minimal, so injected/forwarded application PGNs are silently dropped. Actisense ships a Windows GUI to edit these lists; AcTuiSense does the same job from any terminal, plus a plain CLI for automation.

Heads-up: this writes to your gateway's configuration (and optionally its EEPROM). It is an independent project, not affiliated with Actisense. See CREDITS.md for protocol provenance.

Install

# install straight from GitHub (recommended), with the WAGO/can0 extra:
pipx install "actuisense[wago] @ git+https://github.com/phobicdotno/actuisense.git"

# core only (serial / TCP gateway config, no can0 monitor):
pipx install "git+https://github.com/phobicdotno/actuisense.git"

# from a local checkout:
pipx install ".[wago]"          # or:  pip install -e ".[wago]"

Use pip install --user "<same spec>" instead of pipx if you prefer.

The TUI checks GitHub once at startup for a newer release (fail-silent, works fine offline) and shows a toast when one exists; actuisense --version prints the same hint. Opt out with ACTUISENSE_NO_UPDATE_CHECK=1. Requires Python ≥ 3.9, pyserial, and textual (plus paramiko for [wago]).

Use

TUI

actuisense tui                           # start disconnected, then pick a connection
actuisense tui -p /dev/ttyUSB0          # Linux/macOS serial
actuisense tui -p COM5                   # Windows
actuisense tui -p tcp://192.168.1.50:60002   # networked gateway (e.g. W2K-1)

Arrow keys / mouse to move, space toggles the RX or TX box on the focused PGN, type in the filter box to narrow the list, then Commit → EEPROM to persist.

Connection dialog (Ctrl+O): choose the source without restarting — a serial port (auto-detected ports are listed) + baud, a tcp:// gateway, or a WAGO PLC.

Bus Monitor — listen on a WAGO PLC's can0

A WAGO PFC200 on the same NMEA 2000 backbone exposes the bus as SocketCAN (can0). Log in with a username/password over SSH and the Bus Monitor tab streams live traffic straight off the wire — the ground truth for what the gateway is actually transmitting. Pick WAGO PLC (can0) in the Connection dialog, or from the CLI:

actuisense monitor --host 10.0.0.202 -u root -P wago          # decoded can0 dump
actuisense monitor --host 10.0.0.202 -u root -P wago --iface can1 -n 50

Read-only: it never writes to the bus or the gateway. Needs the wago extra (pip install actuisense[wago], which adds paramiko).

CLI (scriptable, no UI)

actuisense info        -p /dev/ttyUSB0           # hardware + operating mode + lists
actuisense enable  tx 127512 127514 127751 -p /dev/ttyUSB0 --commit
actuisense disable rx 130306 -p /dev/ttyUSB0
actuisense mode rxall  -p /dev/ttyUSB0           # filter | rxall | convert
actuisense mode convert -p COM5                  # NMEA 0183<->2000 conversion mode
actuisense list tx     -p /dev/ttyUSB0
actuisense fw NGX-1-Release-v3.068.1986.zip -p COM5   # NGX-1/WGX-1 firmware update (CRC auto-filled for known files)
actuisense baud        -p COM5                   # show serial baud codes; --set 5,7 to change (Convert mode only)

Firmware update (NGX-1 / WGX-1)

actuisense fw <firmware.zip> (and the Firmware tab in the TUI) push an Actisense firmware .zip to the gateway over the reverse-engineered BstFt protocol — no Actisense Toolkit needed. The whole .zip is streamed in 200-byte windows with XON/XOFF flow control; the device unwraps and decrypts the inner .actp itself.

• Progress bar with percent / KB / rate / ETA, and a confirmation prompt.
• CRC: the Actisense end-of-transfer CRC-32 uses a non-standard polynomial that isn't recovered yet, so the CRC is auto-filled by filename for files we've seen (e.g. NGX-1-Release-v3.068.1986.zip). For any other file, pass it explicitly with --crc 0x… (read from a Toolkit *-bstft.log); a wrong/placeholder CRC is safely rejected by the device (nothing is flashed).
• The gateway must be in Convert mode at the chosen baud — set it directly with actuisense mode convert (no NMEA Reader / power-cycle needed).
• 115200 baud pre-flight: firmware updates are refused when the serial link is not at 115200 baud (the NGX-1-USB factory rate). A gateway whose stored baud has drifted (e.g. to 38400) half-works at other speeds and has caused very confusing failed-update sessions — normalize it first (actuisense baud or the Toolkit Hardware Config tab), reconnect at 115200, then flash. CLI escape hatch: --force-baud. The TUI header always shows the current mode + baud so a drifted link is visible at a glance.

⚠️ Do not remove power until the gateway's LED returns to its normal pulse. Protocol details: docs/reverse-engineering/bstft/.

Settings coverage

Deliberately not wired up yet: NMEA 0183 P-code, and duplicate-filtering — these can disrupt the link, and their payloads are not publicly specified, so they are left out rather than guessed. Device model/firmware identification (via N2K PGN 126996) is a planned addition. The protocol module already encodes the full Actisense command set, so adding these is straightforward once each is verified against hardware.

Status

Early but working: the protocol codec is validated against real NGT-1 captures (see the tests). See CHANGELOG.md for what's wired up.

License

MIT — see LICENSE.