Navico Radar/Ethernet Question

[Dockhead]

I have used O side by side at the nav table with a B&G Zeus MFD for years. I often use the radar screen on the Zeus whilst using O for plotter functions. This works great. HOWEVER, sometimes it would be nice to reverse the functions -- when I need access to the different cartography in the network (in some regions, my "for navigation" updated cartography is only on the network, and I use CM93 on O). Plus I can imagine that there are situations when the higher resolution larger screen I use with O would be useful with the radar.

So, I start to think about using the Navico radar plug in so that I can operate the radar from ship's computer. I understand that the only connection I need to do is Ethernet. I do have a couple of free Ethernet ports -- one on the back of my non-touch Zeus, and the other on my Wifi 1 module.

Here's the question: Does anyone know whether other network data is available on Ethernet from the Navico network? Although all the MFDs on the network require their own N2K connections, there must be all network data there in some form, because the WiFi 1 module gets it from there.

Furthermore, since the WiFi 1 module is simply distributing this data over WiFi, it must be an 0183 converted datastream like what I get over WiFi.

Anyone know anything about this?

[muttnik]

I don't personally have a navico network but I have dabbled with gofree with kplex and I believe yes, those data are available on ethernet. I think the wifi 1 is simply acting as a bridge so my assumption would be you should be good to go with plugging your laptop into ethernet from the wifi 1 rather than wireless. This of course is the subset of data which the plotter converts to nmea-0183 though. Does it have some proprietary n2k over ethernet thing like Raymarine's seatalk-hs? Probably if you can connect a couple of plotters together by ethernet but I know nothing about it...

Note of course that the nmea-0183 is made available on the network for clients to connect to over tcp (address/port announced via bonjour and navico's proprietary "GoFree" json-based announcements or ascertained using the menus on the ploter) rather than being broadcast.

[Hakan]

Dockhead..
First;
I'm not familiar with the Navico network as such so what you can get from the MFD in terms of NMEA 0183 I think you'll have to look in the manual.
Second;
The PC IP connection can be connected directly from your radar scanner or, may be suitable for you, via the RI10/RI11/MFD.
The radar data to OCPN is transmitted by IP-UDP protocol. And if you've fed the scanner with HDT from the MFD the heading data can be transferred via UDP to OCPN as well.
See OCPN wiki for BR24 plugin for more details. The same info is here in case of OCPN wiki connection failure; https://github.com/canboat/BR24radar...e-installation

If you don't have a very sophisticated wifi router you ought to use a wired connection to the PC for the radar data. See the same wiki for more info.

Håkan

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by Hakan

Dockhead..
First;
I'm not familiar with the Navico network as such so what you can get from the MFD in terms of NMEA 0183 I think you'll have to look in the manual.
Second;
The PC IP connection can be connected directly from your radar scanner or, may be suitable for you, via the RI10/RI11/MFD.
The radar data to OCPN is transmitted by IP-UDP protocol. And if you've fed the scanner with HDT from the MFD the heading data can be transferred via UDP to OCPN as well.
See OCPN wiki for BR24 plugin for more details. The same info is here in case of OCPN wiki connection failure; https://github.com/canboat/BR24radar...e-installation

If you don't have a very sophisticated wifi router you ought to use a wired connection to the PC for the radar data. See the same wiki for more info.

Håkan

It didn't occur to me to get the radar data over wifi. I had just never read all the way down to the bottom of the wiki, it seems.

I wonder if anyone has managed to do it using the Navico WiFi1 router? Apparently it requires increasing the base rate of the router -- possible on the WiFi1?

[NahanniV]

Not too much effort to just try it.
Let us know.

[gjorgensen]

Dockhead, this thread: http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...pn-166187.html goes into quit a bit of detail on it. Basically, the MFD seems to broadcast an NMEA0183 stream of instrument data (or can - it's possible you have to turn it on) that you can point OpenCPN towards as the TCP data source. Our new boat has a B&G setup including a Zeus2, and I plan to try this as soon as we take delivery.

[Neptune's Gear]

I use the Ethernet connection direct from a nep2 expansion box Ethernet port to the pc. Ocpn works fine, and the radar can be controlled via my Zeus 3 "" or the pc. I've not tried via wifi though.