Repurposing chart plotter display?

[wkearney99]

Given that a lot of chart plotters are windows based, and likely use some pretty standard interfaces, has anyone hacked one to connect an OpenCPN setup?

That is, just re-use the display and buttons with a different board running OpenCPN. Might be a way to get a sun-readable display with some degree of weather-proofing (on the front).

I don't have any immediate needs/plans for such a thing but it seemed like an idea that might be worth pursuing.

Or has it been tried and specific hassles really make it impractical?

[witzgall]

The only Windows based chartplotters I know of are Some older Furuno and some older Simrad units. Are there any others?

I went the easier route and bought a sunlight readable display, and built a small form factor (mini-itx) computer.

Chris

[wkearney99]

Originally Posted by witzgall

The only Windows based chartplotters I know of are Some older Furuno and some older Simrad units. Are there any others?

I went the easier route and bought a sunlight readable display, and built a small form factor (mini-itx) computer.

Windows CE was used in some Raymarine gear too, iirc.

But regardless of the underlying OS, it would seem likely most of the LCDs would be using a standard display interface.

And some of the 'keyboards' would likely also use something standard (PC,PS2 or USB). Otherwise the development environment for them would also have required a lot of custom gear and it's just easier/cheaper to use off-the-shelf for simple stuff like that instead of going full-custom/proprietary. Though I wouldn't expect it to be documented anywhere public. A review of the circuits/chips being used would point out what's likely.

It'd be a trade-off, for sure, between using something new and repurposing the old gear. I'd imagine new displays would be a lot less power-hungry than even stuff from the C- and E- series Raymarine units (now more than a decade old).

Still, it'd be a clever hack, getting OpenCPN running behind an old-school chartplotter's display and buttons.