Plugin: DashBoard

[conachair]

Originally Posted by rgleason

My Reaction: ...In some kind of a soup of alphabets and programs. It is unlikely that any of us are inclined to try to utilize these resources without having some explicit examples that work, along with reasonably complete directions and support, IMHO.
Furthermore, are these programs free and Do they meet the OpenSource requirements?

InfluxDB, & chronograf or grafana to view the data are all open source. Soon to be released InfluxDB v2 combines all the programs in one binary >
https://www.influxdata.com/products/.../influxdb-2-0/

With signalk installed (well worth a little effort) an app does all the writing of data for you, then just look at it. Extremely powerful, even more so for any sensor data. Like battery voltage >


For windows w10 might be easiest to install a linux like debian from the app store then install signalk & influx on there, seemed easier to me anyway. But well worth a little effort, you see trends in plotted data that would be invisible just looking at the numbers.

[RonSouthworth]

Hi Rick

License conditions are available on the repository to review.

The programming language of the suite is go....

google’s language based on a variation of c, apparently.

Analytics stuff.

Reminds me of pi

Fancy learning another language

It Would give the ability to realise visualisation of the NMEA data once you developed the drivers....

Ive worked on DCS systems and some SCADA systems installed on some pretty large vessels, the effort to plug it all together keeps it out of reach of creating a tightly integrated solution.

The reality of a quick cost benefit analysis, leans towards open source for a lot of mariners, entrophy bites at the wallet pretty hard when stuff is so close to the salt water.

Good food for thought as always.

/Ron

[rgleason]

See the posts below this one #432, Particularly #431 by TDan


Also Tracker has changed URL FS#1993 is here
https://opencpn.org/flyspray/index.p...s&task_id=1933

Originally Posted by rgleason

FS#1933 : Plugin Messaging Improvements & Efficiency - AIS so it does not impact program
- I believe Dan VOTED for it. Will others?

Could also be VMGc and VMGw or if it must be shorter VTC or VTW (another Barnakiel suggestion).

User Configurable Instruments- persistant. [Dan I like it!]

1. add new instruments from a template.
2. user defined instrument name.
3. user selection of nmea data & algebraic combination from limited list.
4. ability to change the formula or NMEA message type?
5. user selection of instrument format choices from a list.
6. user choices implemented via a specific instrument context menu.
7. reduce number of instruments
8. eliminate changes due to naming and change of data/formulas.

Question: Would a user be able to create a second or third instrument with different data, from a given 'template'.

How many templates would there be?

• Analog Dial (several types)
• Digital
• Histogram

Another possible advantage to a template is that the "style" could be improved incrementally and it would apply to all associated instruments?

Another improvement would be to be able to drag the indivual instruments into the format and location that you would like, so that you could have a 2x4 instrument window, or 2x3 with with the left part all an double height analog dial instrument, for example. Kind of a drag the instrument within the window/menu and drop it. (-Same could be done with the Active Route Console afterwards)

Sounds like a long term improvement to me, but a good plan!

[rgleason]

The current version of Dashboard is working well with on small issue.

Certain Dashboards have their height adjustment frozen for some reason.
Look at Dash Environment and Dash Wind in this screen.

The box adjustment icon comes up when you hover, but the box will not adjust up or down. Notice the blank space at the bottom of the dashboard. It should be possible to adjust these dashboards up to eliminate the space.


I used Tactics_pi Sample2.txt to test the majority of the instruments, and a hand made barometer.txt file to test the barometer functions. I did not test VMG.


Also I was able to freeze/crash Opencpn by Enabling Dashboard with instruments showing and running VDR_pi with the tactics_pi sample2.txt and then trying to set a waypoint and activate a route to that waypoint.


It makes perfect sense that Opencpn would not like this, and I am pretty sure not many would try this, but perhaps there should be a message or something "Don't activate a route while playing a VDR file" ?

[rgleason]

TransmitterDan, do you know why VMG does not seem to be working in Dashboard_pi?


I have tried to set an active wp and it still does not work.
http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...ml#post2904344

The problem Dashboard windows resize issue below is solved by Canne. It is a bad title in a dashboard in the opencpn.ini file. See http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...ml#post2903716

Certain Dashboards have their height adjustment frozen for some reason.
Look at Dash Environment and Dash Wind in this screen.

The box adjustment icon comes up when you hover, but the box will not adjust up or down. Notice the blank space at the bottom of the dashboard. It should be possible to adjust these dashboards up to eliminate the space.

[transmitterdan]

I think Dashboard knows nothing about routes and waypoints. It uses NMEA WCV (waypoint closure velocity) message I think. Not at a computer at the moment. So if you can get that message sent by your MFD or AP then it might work.

[rgleason]

Thanks Dan. I think that confirms it because Canne said he thought it was data from a nmea sentence.

Originally Posted by transmitterdan

I think Dashboard knows nothing about routes and waypoints. It uses NMEA WCV (waypoint closure velocity) message I think. Not at a computer at the moment. So if you can get that message sent by your MFD or AP then it might work.

[Maelruan]

Is there a way to get weather station wind data received by SDR using rtl_433 displayed in Dashboard?

See https://cognito.me.uk/computing/wind...ry-32-bit.html.

I have a Fine Offset WH1080 weather station as a spare replacing a broken masthead NASA Target, and I have used Cumulus to display wind data in a side window on the same screen as OpenCPN. However, I have just found rtl_433 can decode the same data by replacing the Fine Offset receiver with an SDR dongle. This software has an extensive library of protocols which it automatically identifies and logs, but I expect a Nmea conversion would be required. The command line options differ from those in rtl_ais etc. To use Cumulus one connects the FineOffset receiver to the PC with a USB cable, so there is no conflict when using an SDR dongle for other data. However, a second dongle needs to be setup when a dongle is also used for AIS.

[rgleason]

Maelruan, I am afraid you have lost me, to terminology, unknown devices, etc. It starts to sound like gibberish. You will have to ask a more direct and simple question or wait for someone else who understands you.
Perhaps nmeaconverter_pi would help?

[Maelruan]

RGleason -
I take it there are protocols for OpenCPN Dashboard to display data received by radio from solar powered masthead wind sensors. I expect the data they transmit is often in their manufacture's own protocol which needs to be converted to an OpenCPN acceptable protocol for Dashboard to display them.

The link in my last message points to how similar data from wind sensors transmitting on 433mhz can be decoded in Windows, using an SDR dongle controlled by rtl_433.exe, bypassing the manufacturers receiver unit. I have tested this with sensors transmitting data in FineOffset and AlectoV1 device protocols (but not in NMEA format), and displaying the results in a terminal type window. So the next leap is to get OpenCPN Dashboard to display the data.

Also, since an extra SDR dongle would be used, how would OpenCPN select the appropriate dongle for their separate data?

I realize that I'm not so clever that I could have been the first to think of this, and agree with you that someone else has very likely already thought of it and to have also found the solution.

[rgleason]

Maelruan, you are the first that I know of in this particular effort and we would like to know more and be able to use and accept this data. I believe these wireless devices will become more prevalent.
Dashboard accepts nmea0183 sentences. The manual has a relatively complete listing of all sentences that are accepted. More later.

[rgleason]

https://opencpn.org/OpenCPN/info/manuals.html

Search on nmea.. I have bad inet...

[conachair]

Originally Posted by Maelruan

RGleason -
I take it there are protocols for OpenCPN Dashboard to display data received by radio from solar powered masthead wind sensors. I expect the data they transmit is often in their manufacture's own protocol which needs to be converted to an OpenCPN acceptable protocol for Dashboard to display them.

The link in my last message points to how similar data from wind sensors transmitting on 433mhz can be decoded in Windows, using an SDR dongle controlled by rtl_433.exe, bypassing the manufacturers receiver unit. I have tested this with sensors transmitting data in FineOffset and AlectoV1 device protocols (but not in NMEA format), and displaying the results in a terminal type window. So the next leap is to get OpenCPN Dashboard to display the data.

Also, since an extra SDR dongle would be used, how would OpenCPN select the appropriate dongle for their separate data?

I realize that I'm not so clever that I could have been the first to think of this, and agree with you that someone else has very likely already thought of it and to have also found the solution.

Some stuff in here >
https://www.rtl-sdr.com/tag/weather-station/
If you can get at the data in node red then creating an nmea sentence and sending it to opencpn isn't so difficult. Node red could run in the background.

[rgleason]

https://opencpn.org/wiki/dokuwiki/do...nmea_sentences
Look for the Dashboard nmea0183 sentences.

I suspect you have rtlsdr_pi for receiving AIS, confused with nmea sentences for Instruments.

There are many clever programmers who might be able to program the conversion if you can provide the details needed and the base data that needs to be converted.

[juancho38]

Hi,

can somebody help with why I don't manage to display STW on dashboard ?
Here is the NMEA sentence (VHW) I receive :

<GREEN>10:40:12 (Serial:COM30) $VWVHW,218.0,T,215.2,M,7.4,N,,13.8,K*4E<0x0D><0x0A>
<BLUE>--> 10:40:12 (UDP:192.168.1.255:10110) $VWVHW,218.0,T,215.2,M,7.4,N,,13.8,K*4E

Many thanks for your help.