Arduino & Raspberry Pi cruisers projects?

[MartinR]

At the NAV station I have a HD 15" high brightness 12V monitor. No touch, OpenCPN does not work well with touch. Also a MS Surface as secondary system.

No monitor in the cockpit. I use my iPhone if I really need to have the chart
there.

[MartinR]

Sensors:

https://pypilot.org/store/index.php?...product_id=129

[conachair]

Originally Posted by sjgharib

The other thing I was looking for are the sensors - is there a 9 axis open source equivalent? Or I guess you can buy a commercial one and then the data is just coming over NMEA2000?
also - What are folks using for a ruggedized monitor?

Openplotter will accept data over I2C for various IMU 9 dof sensors like the MPU-9250 with calibration functions.
https://docs.sailoog.com/openplotter...ss-calibration

Monitor I use a sony xperia waterproof android tablet in the cockpit and a 19" 12v tv monitor at the chart table, not used much - usually vnc in from the laptop.

[verkerkbr]

Originally Posted by CaptTom

To me the tipping point would be a reliable NMEA 2000 interface to OpenPlotter. I know there is (was?) a project to hijack a CANbus adapter and hack out the proprietary N2k data, but I'm not sure how far along that is.

The second hurtle would be a water-resistant, touch-screen, sunlight-readable monitor. By the time you price those out, the proprietary dedicated MFDs start to look reasonable.

I'am using a canable canbus-usb adapter. Use SignalK/Canboat for NMEA2K and signalK to NMEA183 to receive NMEA183 in OpenCPN.

But you needs some instructions to get this working.

Regards,

Bram

[S/V Alchemy]

I believe CF member Beni Bacon recently built a Raspberry Pi autopilot for her liveaboard. You might ask her. I know a bit of coding was involved, but I got the impression she was successful in teaching it port from starboard.

[Paul L]

Originally Posted by lucseawalker

You can buy small water sensors for just 2$ using very tiny wires versus more expensive float switches that often fail (in my experience) and require thicker wires. I just counted how many bilges I like an alarm and I get to 24! I know this is extreme but I have 3 hulls (being a trimaran). Instead of 24 alarm lights, a small LCD monitor would do the job with little electric consumption ..
But I agree in advance that electronics are very sensitive to salt water so it might pose problems that way...

I used the cheap home alarm water sensors for less than $5 a piece tied direct to an alarm. Simple and cheap. Adding a small CPU seems like overkill for a high water alarm.

[bokakob]

For what it is worth -- here is my humble opinion. I purchased Raspberry Pi 3B+ and thought it would work exactly as you think. Oops, this little board does not have much memory, only 1 GB. It is not particularly fast as well. Really, it is not enough for a capable systerm. It is OK for learning and playing and running just one app, but not for production unit. Just wait and get something more powerful with at least 2GB of memory, better 4GB. As is it is this board is not very powerful. I think the best use for this board is to serve as a chart plotter, at best, and use other means for various indicators and switches. This multiple arrangement would be more redundant. Imagine this little board goes bad -- all automation is down to drain. If you have multiple switches -- just one failed one could be changed/repaired with all others working fine. If the "cetralized" Raspebrry goes, so goes your boat electronics.
But as a chart plotter Raspberry is not as good as simple Android tablet. I have old Lenovo 10" tablet https://express.google.com/u/0/produ...BoCIC4QAvD_BwE and it has everything for a chartplotter (GPS, RAM, Touch-Screen, SD card slot). It also works well for video, internet, office suite. But if you add all those little things you have to buy for Ardunio/Raspberry in order for it to serve as a chartplotter -- it will be more expensive and less capable. I use simple shade screen and water proof plastic bag for my tablet and it works just fine in sunshine and spray. Use a simple rag once in a while to wipe spray off the screen. Peace.

[sailorchic34]

As to a 9 axis sensor, I used a MPU-9255 in a Ic2 (serial) config with my DIY autopilot. (Amazon has tons) Seans Pypilot code is very good. I used his MPU code as part of my autopilot. There is a standalone 3 axis compass app in his code as well.

It does requires some ability with electronics and coding. Mind you I knew nothing about the PI. It took me a month to buy the parts, teach myself python and make a autopilot (roughly like a Autohelm 4000). For me it was a fun project just to make one from scratch.

Arduino works well for sensors as it has built in A/D converters, where as Pi requires another chip or hat to get A/D input. Pi's strong point is it's low power, easy to customize and has a ton of T/T I/O pins. I built a simple autopilot for $110 in parts and a pit of time.

The cool thing that openplotter on a PI is it interface Nema and AIS and a autopilot (pypilot). Yes this can be done with a PC as well, less so with a tablet.

BTW I use a Lenova 8" tablet as a chartplotter. Lenova's tablets are as close to plane Jane (no bloatware) as one can get. The Plus versions are quite nice. Of course adding a "on-the-go" cable and a powered usb hub, one could do lots with a tablet as well. The PI offers a broad range of code that can be easily adapted and tested. It allows tinkering far more then nearly anything else.

Running openplotter and my autopilot on the same pi3, it was using only about 15% of memory and processor, so it's quite capable. My entire autopilot code is only 26k byte, so pretty tiny, though it has a ton of dependencies (that is other code it calls).

[john61ct]

A basic microcontroller can be a couple of bucks, if it adds value to a project use one

[sailorchic34]

Here is a list of parts for sailorchic34's simply autopilot. PM me for the Code which is a work in progress.

Everything is available on Amazon, unless otherwise noted

Raspberry Pi zero W H
with header (via adafruit.com) $14
Amazon has it at a higher price
You can also use any of the other
pi boards.

I used a Pi3 as it was
easier to develop on, but the
pi zero is more then adequate for
the autopilot

Crtron 13A dc
motor H-bridge $17 (very nice) will do 30 amps intermittent.
robotshop.com


Geree DC DC
converter $8.59


200X120X56MM
waterproof case $13.89
A nice gasketed cover
I use Velcro to mount it
to the cockpit.


sandisk
16gig micro sim $8.50


sp21 4 pin waterproof
bulkhead connector $14.99


eBOOT 180 PIECE
brass standoffs $9.98


CYLEWET 12 piece
waterproof buttons $8.99


paxcoo 4 piece breadboard
and jumper wire $11.99
(really all you want is the jumper
wires available elsewhere for less)


Wingoneer MPU-9255
gyro compass $9.99
Any MPU-9255 should work


84x48 nokia
5110 display $6.68
I found this for less from
others as well.

solder and soldering iron
drill and bit's

The buttons included enough for two sets. I used four of the extra to make a wired remote with a small plastic box 4”x2.5”x1” and a 30 foot 10/100 data cable with ends cut off plus another 6 pin waterproof bulkhead connector I had laying around. You'll also need a LED and 600 ohm resister (if you want a blinky led..)

Pin header connections (all GPIO #'s – Not physical pins)

Wingoneer MPU-9255
vcc 3.3v power gnd,ground

SCL,GPIO 9

SDA, GPIO 8

GPIO 27, Red Button (1 degree port)

GPIO 25, Yellow button (engage/disengage)

GPIO 5, Green button (1 degree starboard)

GPIO 20, Black button (10 degrees port)

GPIO 15, Blue button (gain and shutdown)

GPIO 22, White button (10 degrees starboard)

GPIO 6, led (blink standby, solid engaged)

GPIO 18, MOTOR pwm TO MOTOR H BRIDGE

GPIO 14, MOTOR DIRECTION TO MOTOR H BRIDGE



Nokia 5110 lcd pin header connections

LCD Pin Remarks RPi Function
RST Reset GPIO 24
CE Chip Enable GPIO 8 (CE0)
DC Data/Command GPIO 23
DIN Data In GPIO 10 (MOSI)
CLK Clock GPIO 11 (SCLK)
VCC +3.3V Power
GND Ground GND

Note ground pins for gyro, lcd, led light and motor controller, just connect to one of the many ground connections available on the pi pin header. See http://pi4j.com/pins/model-2b-rev1.html for a good pinout.

LCD drivers may be downloaded at https://github.com/rm-hull/luma.lcd

Gyro compass code and a full autopilot source code by Sean D / Boat Alexander
here: https://github.com/pypilot/pypilot/wiki

NOTE: Sean's pinouts are different then mine.

I only used Seans MPU driver code mainly as it's self calibrating, which is a great time saver. A nice bit of coding by Sean. Best to download all of seans code as the MPU code references other bits of Seans Magic.

My total cost for parts including the wired remote was less then $150. You should be able to order parts without the Pi3 for a tad less then $100. I'm using a old autohelm 3000 motor and wheel hub as a wheel pilot motor.

Generally found on ebay for $100 ish. For a tiller, you would want a ball screw linear drive with 18” motion and 300 pound force. Maybe $150/$200. It's two wires are wired to the output of the motor controller, Might need to reverse the wires depending on how it's wired.

For a underdeck quadrant mount you would want a linear drive with at least 12” motion and 600 # force or more. About $300 ish on ebay. Again a ball screw drive that allows for the wheel to turn when the autopilot is on standby.

The important bit is that the ball screw actuators will back drive (that is allow the wheel to be turned), provided that they don't come with either a friction brake or some form of power-off brake (a spring loaded device that will normally brake the shaft unless an electric solenoid is powered to retract it).

If you want a screw-type actuator and to be able to back-drive it, ballscrews with a more aggressive pitch would be the way to go vs a lead screw.

[john61ct]

words fail. . .

heck of a post sailorchic!

[sailorchic34]

Attached is a Photo of the DIY autopilot, MarkI
(Pink Cockpit coving Optional )

[conachair]

Originally Posted by bokakob

For what it is worth -- here is my humble opinion. I purchased Raspberry Pi 3B+ and thought it would work exactly as you think. Oops, this little board does not have much memory, only 1 GB. It is not particularly fast as well. Really, it is not enough for a capable systerm. It is OK for learning and playing and running just one app, but not for production unit.

Disagree completely, I've been running openplotter with several added applications for years now, plenty fast enough these days. Runs opencpn, streaming web music, SDR radio, records everything to a database, amazing little box for a few hundred mA. Every boat should have one

[MartinR]

Openplotter on my Pi is absolutely fast enough. Sometimes there is a slight lag when when scrolling and zooming charts, but definitely not annoying.

And it uses very little power to accomplish this.

[bokakob]

[QUOTE=conachair;2868617]<snip>... plenty fast enough these days. Runs opencpn, streaming web music, SDR radio, records everything to a database, amazing little box for a few hundred mA... <snip>


None of the shown above processes are graphics or computation intensive, except X-Org server (which is absolutely licked to be minimal). All other entries are mostly Python scripts, config files, static indicators, databases, etc. and THAT cannot represent computational ability of this computer.
Also, it appears that this particular setup is run by VNC viewer. That alone would remove display current and all tasks related to graphic processing, leaving your tablet to do all the heavy lifting. So, after adding "a few hundred mA + another tablet(?), it would be closer to thousand(s) mA.

Well, I have built Rasperry Pi 3 B+, loaded it with the latest Rasbian and OpenCPN onto it. I completely insist on my post earlier. When one tries to "run all those apps," I have a question, do you run "all those" applications at once or one at a time? In my case the "mighty" RPi3B+ is stuttering with two instances of Chromium with one tab only. It skips frames pretty badly with lonely video player and nothing else at anything larger than 1024x768. OpenCPN map is pretty much slow at panning and zooming at resolution larger than 1024x768 (approx.), but it is tolerable on a sailboat (slow) at 128 MB video RAM. If not DIY heatsink and mini-fan, it would throttle CPU reaching high temperature. Unless the display size is not larger than 1280x1024 this computer may work with one app at a time well.

Not that I try to play down RPi, it is a great small one-board-computer, but it is a "mighty toy" IMHO. By the time one is done with all the wires, connections, add-on boards, sensors, display screen, keyboard/mouse, etc. the cost will add up, plus one would have to manipulate resources to be able to run one app a time...

One more thing -- not all are technically literate to do this chore. At best one could purchase parts, try it, cut losses and abandon the project... Most of those engineers keep silence.

Here is my "powerful" rig + Raspberry Pi Expansion Board
Everyone is entitled to an opinion...