My question was one of curiosity for those who have USB pucks. I was not actually seeking
advice on what I should do, because I have already hardwired a serial puck to my VHF radio. My main point is that feeding GPS to the radio is so important that you should not rely on having a computer running. If the computer crashes, or the laptop
battery dies, then you lose your GPS feed to your radio. The radio does not need any
route information, XTE, or anything like that. It just needs location data, so a simple puck is adequate and more reliable than a
chartplotter.
In my case, I went with a
Garmin 18x LVC. It needs 12 volts, so I tapped directly into the radio's
electrical feed. If the radio's circuit breaker is on, then the puck gets power.
Quote:
Originally Posted by CarinaPDX
...While you could share that way it is silly when considering the low price of the BU-353. I wouldn't do it as it adds failure modes. Just buy the extra one...
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Although I'm all for redundancy, I think there is some added
safety in tapping into the GPS puck's feed to the VHF and monitoring it using
OpenCPN. That way, you can verify that the puck is working (red ownship icon) and sending a reasonably accurate fix (location is not halfway across the globe, and
satellite bars are green in OpenCPN). You can even run another program like PolarCOM for more in-depth monitoring of the puck's
satellite status.
In my case, I went one step further. Instead of running a hardwire to my computer, I attached a serial-Bluetooth converter to the
NMEA feed, and I can pick up the GPS feed wirelessly anywhere on the
boat using any one of a variety of laptops and tablets. I was so happy with it that I added a second serial-Bluetooth converter to broadcast
AIS data from my GX2150 radio. A second BT transmitter was cheaper than
buying a multiplexer. Both serial-BT converters run off of 5v DC, and I tapped an automotive 12v adapter with USB insert to provide the step-down voltage for them.
As for redundancy, I also have a Garmin handheld, my Android
phone (running
Marine Navigator with NOAA
charts loaded), and an
iPad running Bluecharts (which I don't like nearly as much as OpenCPN). And the new Windows 8.1 tablet that I bought for my new
OpenCPN display also has an internal GPS, so that will add yet another level of redundancy if the others fail.
Occasionally, I even look up to see where I am.
The main point of my post was to encourage people to get a serial puck attached to their VHF, so the "distress" button will work in an
emergency. A USB puck hooked up to a computer shoudl be in addition to the hardwired puck, not instead of it.