An Integrated Navigation System using iPad and Macbook

[lawrence_craig]

Hey guys,

I am looking to use my Macbook as my nav station PC for route planning. Hoping to use the navigation software (vector charts) with google earth as well as AIS.

I am then hoping to have an iPad or tablet up on deck where the route selected from the Macbook can be uploaded onto the iPad and help navigation without going to the navigation station. I also will hopefully have the AIS on the iPad as well.

Any advice or pointing me in the right direction would be greatly appreciated.

I am happy to invest in equipment that will allow this to work.

[SV Bacchus]

Lots of Windows options here, I believe, as I see OpenCPN etc bantered about all the time.

Being a devoted Mac fan and having the MacAir as well as iPhones and iPads, I am interested in what responses you get.

Following!

[Reefmagnet]

Another vote for OpenCPN. The main issue I see lies in getting your NMEA data to and from your devices as exchanging routes is trivial. You could use your notebook PC for this with OpenCPN with some cheap accessories, or buy a dedicated gateway device or (and my favourite) configure a Raspberry PI with something like OpenPlotter to act as an NMEA data server.

[lawrence_craig]

Yea, a Raspberry Pi sounds like a good option.

Then I just use VNV/Remote Desktop from Mac, iPad or iPhone to control?
Would the Pi talk to the Raymarine St6002 autopilot over NMEA?

Anyone that has any more recommendations that would be great.

[Dsanduril]

We have a PI 3 with OpenPlotter. OpenPlotter includes OpenCPN but also lots of other stuff like Kplex, Signal K, etc.

The instruments feed the data into the PI which can then display the data in OpenCPN and yes, you can VNC or RDP into the PI. But, with Kplex you can output the data as NMEA over WiFi and just pick it up on your laptop. Depends on how you want to do things. The hardest part with multiple installs of OpenCPN is syncing things like routes and waypoints (but it can be done).

OpenPlotter and Signal K also have all the pieces you need to set up a little web server that can display your nav. data. That gives me an MFD that has everything except the charts on any device that can connect to WiFi and has a browser. Pretty neat. I'm still working on the display on the Kindle as then it would allow me to read it in bright daylight (imagine sitting way up on the foredeck on watch in really nice weather - no instruments near you but you can look at your Kindle to check SOG/COG/Wind/Depth/XTE etc.).

[Edit]

And yes, the PI can output to the AP. We have a Raymarine AP and we plot our routes in OpenCPN on the PI. The route information is then sent from the PI to the AP over wired NMEA (could also be sent WiFi but wired was already in place and works, so I haven't bothered with a WiFi dongle for the Ray system).

Basically the PI sits there and runs 24/7, headless, using about 5W. It receives all available nav. data from the AIS (Vesper), GPS, and instruments (Ray). All that data is available in OpenCPN on the PI and is also available remotely over WiFi).

[/Edit]

[lawrence_craig]

That sounds like a really interesting setup.

Oh god... I thought sailing was an addictive hobby, getting the perfect OpenCPN could be a new one!

Any recommend hardware?

[Dsanduril]

Hmm, our setup is pretty simple. We have the Pi 3 (not the 3 B+, but only because ours has been running for a couple of years). Have it installed in a FLIRC case to help protect it and keep it cool.

The wired NMEA is handled by a single serial/USB converter that I've had for at least 15 years, so don't recall the model (I think it even has the Prolific chipset IIRC but it works fine). A fair chunk of the incoming data comes from the AIS which has a USB port and so is connected to one of the four USB ports on the Pi.

For the power supply I use an Anker powered USB hub. They come with a AC-12VDC brick so I just connect the hub direct to the boat (I did converse with Anker about this and they couldn't tell me the acceptable voltage range for their input so.....). The hub has a couple of high speed charge only ports that power the Pi. Also use an Anker high-power USB cable - the Pi is very sensitive to undervoltage and at 5V it doesn't take much current to have significant voltage drop in a cheap USB cable meant for 100mA.

Bluetooth keyboard and mouse for when I want to interact with the Pi directly.

A 12V monitor that is usually attached to a different PI used as an entertainment system (OSMC - has all our music) but can be swapped over if I want to use the Pi directly.

No affiliation with any of the brands/equipment mentioned, just what I have found that works for me.

[Reefmagnet]

Originally Posted by lawrence_craig

Yea, a Raspberry Pi sounds like a good option.

Then I just use VNV/Remote Desktop from Mac, iPad or iPhone to control?
Would the Pi talk to the Raymarine St6002 autopilot over NMEA?

Anyone that has any more recommendations that would be great.

What sort of talking to the autopilot are you referring to? The A/p will read data from the NMEA stream and can send data to the stream (e.g. rudder angle) but you won't be able to specifically control the operation of the autopilot remotely. Even B&G "Go-Free" remote control for their MFD's disables autopilot control for safety reasons.

[Dsanduril]

Ahh, but Raymarine isn't that clever, at least in older models of AP. Their remote facilities can be used by OpenCPN/OpenPlotter to make changes to the AP settings if you really want to go there. There are several threads over on another boating forum about building remotes and PC connections to Raymarine APs. I've never felt the need, but it is possible.

For us, we just send the route information to the AP, then we set the AP in track mode if we like.

[fogmachine]

I've used SEAiq (Home | SEAiq Pilot) on a MacBook Pro and iPad (hooked into the NMEA bus via B&G Zeus, Vesper AIS/WiFi gateway, and Yacht Devices YDWG WiFi gateway) and found it to be easier to use, much more reliable and draws less power than OpenCPN.

If you're exclusively in US waters SEAiq USA is $5 and gives access to all NOAA/USACoE charts.