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Raspberry Pi, Signal K, Actisense NGT-1, iKommunicate. etc.
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Pat Anderson



Joined: 02 Nov 2003
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City/Region: Birch Bay, WA
State or Province: WA
C-Dory Year: 2005
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Vessel Name: Daydream
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PostPosted: Sun Jan 08, 2017 12:13 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Nimrod, looks good! I will be interested in seeing it up close and personal one of these days!

My need for Coastal Explorer and the computer and monitor was not driven by having "the latest hot electronics" but by the obsolescence of my original 2005 C-80 and lack of CF cartography for it for any of the waters on the Loop. The ease of multiplexing the C-80 NMEA 0813 data and getting AIS data to the computer with the Digital Yacht USBPro AIS receiver turned out to be frosting on the cake (Brad from Rose Point Software steered me right here).

I am not smart enough to figure out how to get the input from the sounder into the computer, the C-80 still has the only radar, and the Navman fuel flow gauge still gets its its GPS input from the external GPS antenna, so I think I will keep the C-80 right where it is for now and run both systems in parallel.


nimrod wrote:
I've set up a backup touchscreen chart plotter using the following components:

Raspberry Pi 3 @ $40
Raspberry Pi 7" Touchscreen Display @ $60
Smarticase for the touchscreen display @ $25
GlobalSat BU-353-S4 USB GPS Receiver @ $30
OpenCPN vector graphics charting software @ $00

Getting the software to run was a bit of a challenge, but there is a lot of online info to help you through the install.

The GPS puck was plug and play. OpenCPN recognized it right away.

I’m hoping to incorporate AIS and radar overlays with input from my Standard Horizon VHF, and my Garmin radar.




jd

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DAYDREAM - CD25 Cruiser
CRABBY LOU - CD16 Angler (sold 2020)
Pat & Patty Anderson, C-Brat #62!
http://daydreamsloop.blogspot.com

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rogerbum



Joined: 21 Nov 2004
Posts: 5922
City/Region: Kenmore
State or Province: WA
C-Dory Year: 2008
C-Dory Model: 255 Tomcat
Vessel Name: Meant to be
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PostPosted: Sun Jan 08, 2017 12:33 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

One concern I have with using something like the Raspberry Pi system on a boat is how well it is designed for the shock that electronics experience from a bumpy ride in the boat. I did some electronics construction at the Jet Propulsion Lab back in my postdoc years and they built everything there to space flight specs (because some of their electronics did fly in space). The construction methods and the specific choices of components were different to deal with bumpy rides. I would imagine that the same is true of marine electronics built by experienced marine vendors (Lowrance, Garmin etc.) but perhaps not for the Raspberry Pi. It might be useful to google around "ruggedized Raspberry Pi" or similar to see what kind of shock testing has been done. Might be an issue, might not.
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nimrod



Joined: 15 Jul 2008
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City/Region: Mount Vernon
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C-Dory Year: 1996
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Vessel Name: 'Berta's Boy
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PostPosted: Sun Jan 08, 2017 5:55 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Good point. But if you're looking for a low-cost, low-dashboard-clutter option for a backup to your primary C/P this is something to consider. And if your R-pi goes t.u., you can swap it out in about 5 minutes.

And with the Smarticase, you can even hang the unit from the overhead shelf.

jd
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ssobol



Joined: 27 Oct 2012
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City/Region: SW Michigan
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PostPosted: Sun Jan 08, 2017 9:16 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

rogerbum wrote:
One concern I have with using something like the Raspberry Pi system on a boat is how well it is designed for the shock that electronics experience from a bumpy ride in the boat. I did some electronics construction at the Jet Propulsion Lab back in my postdoc years and they built everything there to space flight specs (because some of their electronics did fly in space). The construction methods and the specific choices of components were different to deal with bumpy rides. I would imagine that the same is true of marine electronics built by experienced marine vendors (Lowrance, Garmin etc.) but perhaps not for the Raspberry Pi. It might be useful to google around "ruggedized Raspberry Pi" or similar to see what kind of shock testing has been done. Might be an issue, might not.


You could dip the Pi board in epoxy or encase the electronics in a RTV block.
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rogerbum



Joined: 21 Nov 2004
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PostPosted: Sun Jan 08, 2017 9:46 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

nimrod wrote:
Good point. But if you're looking for a low-cost, low-dashboard-clutter option for a backup to your primary C/P this is something to consider. And if your R-pi goes t.u., you can swap it out in about 5 minutes.

And with the Smarticase, you can even hang the unit from the overhead shelf.

jd

My only concern is that if it goes t.u. due to vibration, it's likely I'm in rough water and perhaps in a situation where my electronics are more critical than normal such as going over the Columbia River bar or shooting through the "hole in the wall" between Tatoosh and Cape Flattery. I do both of those things many times a year and it's fairly often a bit rough in both locations (but nice once I get past). So for me, I like the redundancy of two Lowrance units (+ my phone).
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pcg



Joined: 31 Aug 2018
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PostPosted: Tue Feb 19, 2019 12:33 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

journey on wrote:
...signal K is a wireless/internet NMEA 2000 protocol whilst raspberry pi is a processor. So, before you go any further the question is: do you want all your NMEA 2000 data on the internel via a wireless link?

I know this is an old thread, but I'm guessing it might get resurrected as more Signal K apps appear. For that reason I'm adding a little info...

Signal K does not mandate a wireless link. It converts NMEA data to the HTML language, which is what websites speak. Today the most common way to access websites is via Wi-Fi, but remember those little RJ-45 Ethernet connectors? That's how iKommunicate delivers Signal K. It does not make it available via Wi-Fi. For that you have to also purchase the iKonnect box. This combination is an off-the-shelf solution for non-Arduino/Pi/whatever hackers.

So if you have a laptop with an RJ45 Ethernet jack you are set to go without implementing Wi-Fi. If you want to connect the iKommunicate to an iPad without Wi-Fi, then buy a Lighting to Ethernet adapter for $20.

If you want the convenience of Wi-Fi and you want to ensure that nearby boats can't read your NMEA then secure your network with a password. Properly implemented Wi-Fi security today will repel all but the NSA, and maybe them too - who knows!

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