BDU Touchscreen

The touchscreen on the front panel of the BDU displays a wealth of general system status information. 

The header shows any errors or warnings – tap the error/warning to view its details at the Alerts page. The header also shows the status of the system's WAN connections:

State Connection Status
VSAT Cell Wi-Fi
Currently in use (Automatic Mode)
Available, but not currently in use
Not available; disconnected, deactivated, or no Internet access
Currently in use (Manual Mode)
Not available (Manual Mode)

Note: By default, the system automatically switches to the best available WAN connection. You can also manually switch. See WAN Selection.

Alternate and Backup WAN Connections

If the system is set to a port configuration that supports an alternate and/or backup WAN connection, the following additional status indicators apply. For details on port configurations, see Port Configurations.  

State Connection Status
Alternate Backup
Currently in use (Automatic Mode)
Available, but not currently in use
Not available; disconnected, deactivated, or no Internet access
Currently in use (Manual Mode)
Not available (Manual Mode)

Status Pages

Tap the arrows or swipe left/right on the touchscreen to scroll through the pages, or go directly to a page from the menu. The following information is available on each page:

Home (1)

Basic status of the WAN connections

Field Description
VSAT Status of the VSAT connection:
  • SNR – Signal-to-noise ratio; quality of the satellite signal
  • Antenna’s pointing direction relative to the bow of the vessel
Cell Status of the cellular connection:
  • Signal strength
  • Carrier and service type
  • Currently active SIM
Wi-Fi Status of the shore Wi-Fi connection:
  • Signal strength
  • Network name (SSID) 
Alt/
Backup
Only displayed if port configuration includes alternate and/or backup connection
Status of the alternate and/or backup WAN Ethernet ports:
 = Connected
 = Connected, no Internet access
= Not connected
= Deactivated

A solid horizontal bar indicates the WAN connection is currently in use.

An orange triangle indicates the WAN connection is unable to pass any Internet traffic. 

VSAT (2)

Detailed status of the VSAT WAN connection

Field Description
Antenna Current state of the antenna, such as online, tracking (but not yet online), searching, or initializing
SNR Signal-to-noise ratio; indicates quality of the satellite signal 
Sats in View Number of VSAT satellites available for use in your vicinity
Beam Beam of the tracked satellite that the antenna is currently using
RX / TX Power Power of signal received by the VSAT modem and power of transmitted signal, measured in dBm
Satellite Satellite name and orbital slot (longitude) that the VSAT modem has currently selected for tracking
AZ / EL Azimuth and elevation at which the antenna is currently pointing, relative to vessel forward
Heading Vessel heading, as reported by the NMEA device

Cell (3)

Detailed status of the cellular WAN connection

Field Description
Signal bars Cellular signal strength and connection state
Carrier Company providing the cellular network connection
SIM Card Currently active SIM (e.g., KVH Global SIM or user-supplied SIM)
Service Generation of cellular technology in use by the cellular network (e.g., 5G, LTE, or UMTS)
RSSI Signal strength value

Wi-Fi (4)

Detailed status of the shore Wi-Fi WAN connection

Field Description
Signal bars Wi-Fi signal strength and connection state
SSID Network name of the shore Wi-Fi currently in use
Security Security mode in use (e.g., WPA2, WPA3)
Protocol IEEE Wi-Fi standard (802.11ac/a/b/g/n)
Speed Data rate 
RSSI Signal strength value

LAN (5)

Status of the BDU's Ethernet ports, the built-in Wi-Fi, and the VSAT VoIP (Voice over IP) service

Field Description
IP IP address of the High-speed LAN
DHCP State of the High-speed LAN's DHCP server (On or Off)
SSID Network name of the built-in Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi State of the built-in Wi-Fi (On or Off)
Voice State of the VSAT VoIP service (Online or Offline)
Line 1/Line 2 State of the phone line(s) (Available, Unavailable)
Ethernet Link State State of the Ethernet ports on the BDU's rear panel:
= Connected
= Not connected; available
= Deactivated

Vessel (6)

Vessel-related information

Field Description
Latitude and Longitude Current vessel position
GPS source Source of vessel position data (antenna or backup NMEA)
Heading Current vessel heading
Heading Source NMEA source of vessel heading

System (7)

Antenna system information

Note: The VSAT modem is an internal component of the antenna unit, and the MTA is an internal component of the BDU.

Field Description
Serial Numbers Antenna, BDU, and VSAT modem
Software Versions Antenna, BDU, VSAT modem, and MTA

Alerts (8)

Lists any active error and warning messages (see Error and Warning Messages)

Config (9)

Allows you to do the following from the touchscreen:

  • Change the brightness of the touchscreen display
  • Revert the system to its factory-default settings (see Factory Reset)
  • Access the web interface on your mobile device via the displayed QR code (your device must first be connected to the BDU's built-in Wi-Fi)

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