Raspberry Pi 3 + Openplotter - the basics...

[settlednomad]

Hi All,

Now that I have a boat, and have read about as much as I can digest on the subject above, I have decided to go with it as one of the nav systems on board. It all (for now) seems straightforward enough and won't break the bank.

But a question: does Openplotter run on the Pi as an OS or is it an all-inclusive program that can be opened up in say, Raspbian? Apparently Raspberry can only boot up to one OS at a time!

Initially, I believe I will only use the Raspberry for OpenCPN and ZyGrib, maybe I'll add a USB AIS later - once I've researched their capabilities a little better. As I understand it, OpenCPN and ZyGrib will run as their own programs within Raspbian. If I went this route, this would also allow the Raspberry to be used as a normal system if wanting to quickly browse the net or pen a few emails. Can that be done in Openplotter too?

Any input would be greatly appreciated

Best,
SN.

[settlednomad]

Sorry, possibly posted in the wrong forum! I see there is a forum dedicated to OpenCPN - my bad

[martinworswick]

following,i have the same question.

[conachair]

Originally Posted by martinworswick

following,i have the same question.

Openplotter is basically raspian with OpenCPN and the openplotter code which is quite simple but very powerful, very likely the most powerful 'one stop shop ' around on any computer for boat monitoring and sensor integration.
Easy to load,download, unzip onto a Sd card, turn on.
Don't even need a monitor, it sets up its own openplotter wifi network to vnc into from any machine.
New version based on the latest raspian stretch should be out before too long.

[settlednomad]

Originally Posted by conachair

Openplotter is basically raspian with OpenCPN and the openplotter code which is quite simple but very powerful, very likely the most powerful 'one stop shop ' around on any computer for boat monitoring and sensor integration.
Easy to load,download, unzip onto a Sd card, turn on.
Don't even need a monitor, it sets up its own openplotter wifi network to vnc into from any machine.
New version based on the latest raspian stretch should be out before too long.

So by loading Openplotter, there will still be email functionality and web browsing if needed?

[conachair]

Originally Posted by settlednomad

So by loading Openplotter, there will still be email functionality and web browsing if needed?

Chromium Web browser is built in but a bit slow.
No email client loaded but openplotter can be set to send one if certain signalk conditions are met, like low battery.

[settlednomad]

Originally Posted by conachair

Chromium Web browser is built in but a bit slow.
No email client loaded but openplotter can be set to send one if certain signalk conditions are met, like low battery.

Thanks, Conachair, that makes some sense. I think I will need to load both operating systems, one at a time, and check functionality - see what works best for what I think I need at this moment in time. I'll have plenty of time to play around with it!

To be honest, most emails and entertainment will likely be done on my laptop if at anchor or in a marina. For now, it is just brainstorming. I will be at the boat around the 7th/8th March, that's when the fun will start

[conachair]

Originally Posted by settlednomad

Thanks, Conachair, that makes some sense. I think I will need to load both operating systems, one at a time, and check functionality - see what works best for what I think I need at this moment in time. I'll have plenty of time to play around with it!

To be honest, most emails and entertainment will likely be done on my laptop if at anchor or in a marina. For now, it is just brainstorming. I will be at the boat around the 7th/8th March, that's when the fun will start

Remember openplotter is raspbian so it's easy to load other programs. Another very useful feature is wifi sharing, so if you buy a good usb wifi adapter & antenna you can use openplotter to log onto a network with that and set up it's own network with the internal wifi then everything else logs onto the openplotter network so other devices can share the high power wifi & don't need to have new passwords set. Can be very useful & easy to set up.

https://sailoog.gitbooks.io/openplot...n/wifi-ap.html