OpenCPN and Comar NMEA 2 Wifi

[Pieter]

Dear Forum,
Please have pacience with me as probably this is not a new issue.
As i am trying to get away from the Raymarine embrace, i was already using OPENCPN for a while. Last year, when i was in Europe, I bought the COMAR NMEA 2 Wifi equipment as an addition to their "normal"AIS receiver i already had installed. I just wanted to have the AIS info also on my laptop screen when using OPENCPN (mainly because my C80 Raymarine display is letting my down). So, finaly installed the wifi AIS and even my laptop is picking up its wifi signal. Having OpenCPN up and running including the GPS attached to my laptop... is cant get any AIS/vessel displayed on my laptop screen .
1. Who has faced a similar issue and what was the solution?
2. What would i need to change in the OpenCpn set up/configuration
3. Is it my laptop (windows 7)?

Suggestions please.
Best rgds and fair winds
Pieter
SV Lumina

[bcn]

Pieter,

more information required:
- your version of OCPN (and OS under which running)
- configuration of "connections"- screen shot?
- do you have document¡on which data and under which protocol the Comar WiFi transmits the data - TCP or UDP, Ports involved....?

There is a lot of info in the manual about connections you might check

Hubert

[Hakan]

Pieter...
What I can see from "your" manual, you've two possibilities. Either connect your Comar by wire and a COM port to OCPN or use your wireless network.
For the latter you have to use the OCPN connections tool and make a new network connection using TCP and as of the Comar manual use IP address 169.254.1.1 and port 2000. Set the priority for the new connection higher than for your GPS connection.

Your PC's wireless card must be set up to either achieve a network address, DHCP, or use a static IP address in the same segment for example 169.254.1.10. You have to accept connecting to the "NMEA-2-WIFI xxx" network.

Check using the "Show NMEA data stream" in OCPN connections tab what you get.

Please learn more on your Comar manual and the OCPN wiki "connections"

Good luck
Håkan

[Pieter]

Hello Hubert and thanks...

OCPN version 4.0.0 using windows 7.
Would like to send you the print screen of the connections page of ocpn, but sorry have no idea on how to get that image here on this page.
For some reason i do get in the NMEA debug window a constant stream of in info in black.. but nothing appears on the screen. The connection icon on the right bottom part of the screen shows the yellow ! mark... seemlingly no connection...
Hope this info already helps..

Thanks again
Best rgsd
Pieter

[muttnik]

I had a quick look at the manual and it seems that unit isn't very friendly about the connection it offers: It's an ad hoc connection, no dhcp, relies on stateless IPv4 autoconfiguration which I tend to regard as dodgy but I would have thought (not being a windows person) that windows 7 would cope.

Are you sure you've managed to connect to it with an ad hoc wireless connection?
What does your data connections set-up look like?
According to the manual you should have added a network connection, protocol "TCP", address 169.254.1.1, port 2000. You do want to receive input on this connection, you don't want to transmit on that connection (I'm guessing) and leave the rest of the stuff as default

[EDIT: Just saw your last post: what are the sentences you see in the NMEA debug window? Are you seeing AIVDM and AIVDO sentences?]

[bcn]

Hakan has been more precise than me.

Screenshots you can include with attachments - the "clip"

[Pieter]

Thanks.. but after i press the prt sc button.. where does that image go, so i can attach it using the clip..?

[bcn]

In W7 it should land at "your ¡mages" | screenshots or something like that.
Dependes on the language of your PC....

There are more comfortable options/programs - Greenshot for example - that allow to capture just selected sections of the display and save those as...

[Pieter]

[Pieter]

I am not seeing any AIVDM and AIVDO sentences by the way...

[bcn]

Pieter,

so no AIS in the stream--

please a screen shot where we can see the settings :-)

[Pieter]

[bcn]

And if you try TCP instead of GPSD ?

[Pieter]

I will try that, however i believe it has more to do with the fact that once i try to connect to the Comar wifi signal.. the wifi icon on my laptop shows that yellow exclamation symbol saying that i cant connect....

[Pieter]

In time.. although it shows the Comar AIS wifi signal as an option to connect.. so some sort of signal is being transmitted...