Open CPN - NMEA/Cat 5 into router

[lockie]

I'm trying to see if I can use a common modem/router to send NMEA data to the laptop via wifi. I've tried inputting the NMEA via a Serial/Cat5 converter with no success. Any suggestions?

Cheers, Graeme

[AedanC]

Have you tried using Openplotter on a Raspberry Pi, it can do that and a whole lot more with very little setting up.

[muttnik]

Originally Posted by lockie

I'm trying to see if I can use a common modem/router to send NMEA data to the laptop via wifi. I've tried inputting the NMEA via a Serial/Cat5 converter with no success. Any suggestions?

By "Serial/Cat 5 converter" do you mean a device for taking data from a serial cable and encapsulating it in IP over ethernet? Because it's not uncommon to run serial data over UTP and there are devices sold which convert between, say DB9 and RJ45 which can sometimes be misleadingly titled on eBay (a quick google turned up a device labelled "DB9 9-Pin Serial Port Female to RJ45 Female Cat5e/6 Ethernet" which is simply connecting pins together.). Those are definitely NOT what you want.

Assuming you're talking about a serial-to-IP-over-ethernet converter..yes, what I think you're trying to achieve should be possible and there are people on a couple of forums who've reported success with cheap adapters from eBay. How have you got your device configured?

[lockie]

Thanks muttnik;

Originally Posted by muttnik

(a quick google turned up a device labelled "DB9 9-Pin Serial Port Female to RJ45 Female Cat5e/6 Ethernet" which is simply connecting pins together.). Those are definitely NOT what you want.

Sadly that's exactly what I have. I'll check out the other devices you mentioned.

Cheers, Graeme

[Thuid]

Check out the "UDS1100-IAP" by Lantronix we use them in a few places here for industrial communication. They are really reliable and commonly available. Or look for older models if you want, they were the "UDS-10" & "UDS100". There are a couple of other companies that made similar products as well. You can do encapsulation to a software port on a computer, or you can do Point-to-Point between two of the same devices.

[Redline452]

what you need is sometimes referred to as a Serial Terminal Server, or just a Serial Server. Takes serial (usually RS232) and provides a TCP or UDP connection "port" that can either wait for a connection from elsewhere, or establish a connection to a preset IP address. I've used a pair to take Seatalk wind/temp data from an Seatalk-NMEA adapter, to a terminal server, to a Linksys WiFi router set up as a client... then another ethernet-to-serial server at home, feeding the serial output into the NMEA port of a spare ST60+ Wind instrument, which shows wind speed and direction from some 70 km away from the boat. Why? Because I could.

[cansley99]

I use a wireless multiplexer to do exactly this. Mine is made by Brookhouse Brookhouse NMEA multiplexers Home Page . It takes NMEA inputs from seberal soucres (including an AIS) multiplexes them and sends the combined signal via wireless, which you access in the usual way. Works perfectly.

[tpkas]

Have a look at the "Yakker - NMEA to wifi bridge". Very easy to set up and excellent support. I send data (via a cat5 wire) from the Furuno instruments server to an AIS reciever (which is also a multiplexer) and then hook that up to the Yakker to give me a wifi network with all of the instruments and AIS data available.

Regards,

Brian