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Old 13-09-2014, 02:53   #1
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Who is (succesfully) using OpenCPN on a Linux mini pc ?

P { margin-bottom: 0.21cm; } Hello,



On different places I see people trying to get OpenCPN running. I see a lot of : do this, try that , and at the end I don know how sussesfull they were.


What I want to know is .


Did you get it working satisfactory, to be used on a long route.


What hardware do you use (Raspberry, Cubie, Beagle, Odroid, Infinite …..or other)


Which Linux version do you use, and do you have a list what you had to change during installation.


At the moment I have a Windows PC (Mini ITX), usb mux Miniplex with gps and Seatalk, ais on a rs232 port, two displays with a splitter. The problem is that the cable to the display in the cockpit is to long, so that I get a distorbed screen.
I want to install an extra computer just for navigation with OpenCPN, usb mux with gps, seatalk and also ais.


Who can help me, is it worth to start this, or is it better to go for another windows pc.
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Old 13-09-2014, 05:21   #2
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Re: Who is (succesfully) using OpenCPN on a Linux mini pc ?

Yes it is working well on cubie and odroid etc... smooth graphics and very usable. Raspberry pi is a bit slow for vector charts and many operations, it's not recommended.
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Old 13-09-2014, 05:28   #3
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Re: Who is (succesfully) using OpenCPN on a Linux mini pc ?

reinM....

Welcome aboard...

At this moment, we are not quite ready to recommend any ARM based platform for daily navigation use. There are problems with performance, and entirely too many system-specific tweaks necessary to get reliable operation. The ARM situation is very much for gadget tinkering so far.

And bless those good folks who like to do this. It advances the art.

We plan to stabilize the code so that ARM operation will be good for daily use. But we are not there yet.

Any of the available mini-itx boards running a modern distribution of linux is fine, however. There are graphics issues with some Intel platforms, but easily understood. I currently use a low power AMD processor with nVidia graphics for daily use, weeks on end without crashing. Specifically, Zotac Fusion 300 board.

Good luck
Dave
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Old 13-09-2014, 05:41   #4
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Re: Who is (succesfully) using OpenCPN on a Linux mini pc ?

I've been playing around with OPenCPN 3.2.2 on my Acer Chromebook w/Ubuntu 12.04, and while it works well, a lot of the documented options and features are either completely missing (eg., use magnetic bearings), or totally different than in the docs (the grib plugin, which I have yet to get working). Is the Linux version just not complete, or am I missing something ?
David
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Old 13-09-2014, 06:16   #5
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Re: Who is (succesfully) using OpenCPN on a Linux mini pc ?

Which documentation you are referring to?
The one at the website reflects the actual beta, so the stuff implemented since 3.2.2 into the 3.3.x series you won't find on your system.
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Old 13-09-2014, 06:22   #6
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Re: Who is (succesfully) using OpenCPN on a Linux mini pc ?

It will be interesting to see the Windows Bing (=8.1 given away by MS) systems that are coming with 200$/€ price tags.
Big issue on all these systems a the screens though - on a boat and a lot of light.
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Old 13-09-2014, 07:30   #7
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Re: Who is (succesfully) using OpenCPN on a Linux mini pc ?

Ah, I see. Not used to published docs being for anything other than the current stable release. I see that the docs that come with the distribution are correct. And I got the grib plugin working.
I guess I will try and tackle installing the beta, looks like there's lots of improvements and features. I'll post how that goes.
One question, and maybe this is off-topic, maybe not - why are there all the little squarish boxes with the "U" inside all over the chart, when I select "other" display category?
David
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Old 13-09-2014, 08:31   #8
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Re: Who is (succesfully) using OpenCPN on a Linux mini pc ?

David...
I suppose that the "squarish boxes" you refer to are the S57 chart features representing the accuracy of the survey data used to produce the chart, present on all of them.
You can of course turn their display off in the Toolbox -> Vector Charts (The object is called "Quality of data", aka. "M_QUAL")

In these cases, right-click on the chart where that weird thing is and select "Object Query..." or simply double-click there to find out what you are looking at.

Pavel
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Old 13-09-2014, 11:18   #9
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Re: Who is (succesfully) using OpenCPN on a Linux mini pc ?

Hello Dave and boat Alexandra,

Do you have an idea how long we have to wait before there is an reliable OpenCPN system working on an ARM processor ?
On boat Alexandra it seems to work, but is it there reliable for daily navigational use, or is it just working in a test environment at home ? What hardware do you use and what extra things you had to change to get it working.

Rein
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Old 13-09-2014, 11:37   #10
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Re: Who is (succesfully) using OpenCPN on a Linux mini pc ?

Rein...
3.3 works on pretty much any ARM HW without any changes and at least form me is more or less as stable as on x86.
But is it usable for someone who can hardly follow the step by step instructions and does not understand any output of the commands used? Not really. The whole ARM platform is not at this level - your problems will generally be drivers and OpenGL, which also determines OpenCPN performance and stability on any particular ARM board. Are you a geek? Get ARM and play with it. Are you not? Get a small Intel/AMD machine as Dave mentioned, you will have a much easier life. And the power consumption will actually not be that much higher than one of a 4-core ARM board of "comparable" performance...

Pavel
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Old 13-09-2014, 17:31   #11
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Re: Who is (succesfully) using OpenCPN on a Linux mini pc ?

My cubie truck measures 0.3 amps (0.2 idle) at 12 volts. The performance is better than an intel atom netbook.

Building and installing on Cubieboard 2 with HW acceleration | Official OpenCPN Homepage
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Old 13-09-2014, 17:54   #12
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Re: Who is (succesfully) using OpenCPN on a Linux mini pc ?

Sean...
My ARM board is also faster than my X years old single core first generation Atom netbook. But today we have stuff like Hectronic H6825 - COM Express Compact with Intel® Atom™ Processor E3xxx - power consumption 5-10W depending on the CPU and incomparably faster.
Nothing against ARM, I really like to play with it. But would really think my power budget twice before saying it is that much better than x86 solution, which is way easier to implement for a normal person.

Pavel
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Old 13-09-2014, 19:32   #13
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Re: Who is (succesfully) using OpenCPN on a Linux mini pc ?

Quote:
Originally Posted by nohal View Post
Sean...
My ARM board is also faster than my X years old single core first generation Atom netbook.
Good point. The newer atom processors I'm sure are much faster I cannot make a comparison.
Quote:
But today we have stuff like Hectronic H6825 - COM Express Compact with Intel® Atom™ Processor E3xxx - power consumption 5-10W depending on the CPU and incomparably faster.
Nothing against ARM, I really like to play with it. But would really think my power budget twice before saying it is that much better than x86 solution, which is way easier to implement for a normal person.

Pavel
I cannot seem to find anywhere a price or way to order the board you posted.

I know the cubie truck gets 25-30 frames per second smooth graphics and uses 2-3 watts of power running opencpn. I believe this makes it the lowest power (and probably lowest cost) solution available, but is not a good choice for people who do not compile everything from source at the moment.
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Old 04-10-2014, 01:52   #14
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Re: Who is (succesfully) using OpenCPN on a Linux mini pc ?

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Originally Posted by boat_alexandra View Post
Yes it is working well on cubie and odroid etc... smooth graphics and very usable. Raspberry pi is a bit slow for vector charts and many operations, it's not recommended.
I also have tried OpenCPN on a Raspberry PI. It works, but with zooming in-out it stalls.

On board I'am using an Asus Eeepc G8 which works very good in combination with my AIS receiver. It is a compact rugged Netbook system. Power supply is 9 volt.

I just just tried here at home the Banana Pi board, which has more power and memory then the Raspy. OpenCPN (latest Beta version) works very good on the Banana Pi with Lubuntu Linux.

Although the Banana is a clone of the Raspberry, it has just more power to run OpenCPN.

I'am now looking for a small, led driven HDMI monitor 12 volt and a rugged alu casing.

Banana Pi board was priced here at € 43,- including VAT.

Regards,

Bram
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Old 04-10-2014, 08:05   #15
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Re: Who is (succesfully) using OpenCPN on a Linux mini pc ?

Quote:
Originally Posted by reinM View Post
Hello Dave and boat Alexandra,

Do you have an idea how long we have to wait before there is an reliable OpenCPN system working on an ARM processor ?
On boat Alexandra it seems to work, but is it there reliable for daily navigational use, or is it just working in a test environment at home ? What hardware do you use and what extra things you had to change to get it working.

Rein
Beste Rein,

I' am new on this forum.

See my reaction about using a small Asus EEepc and the Banana Pi as a chart plotter.

I live in Zeeland and can show you the working of these 2 small systems. The EEEpc uses 9 volt and the Banana Pi 5 volt. and can easily be used on the boat.

Groet,


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