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Old 05-07-2021, 14:03   #76
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Re: Big $$$ Chartplotter or Computer App(s)

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Originally Posted by EngineerRetired View Post
Love the pi, have several for various uses. (Mostly video) However I want a single PC as a server for all the other toys and navigation as well as boat systems management. Have a ton of Windows apps (I've been an MS MVP since 95) I could never give up.



When I say a PC, it will not be the typical off the shelf machine. This will be purpose built to be energy efficient (48vdc supply), ssd storage, a CPU capable of doing video editing and rendering without hours of waiting, etc. Will also need to run a couple of Windows only CAD packages. All in all I'm estimating 75 to 100 watts depending on load.
Great!

Whatever works for you.

This sent from my RPi 4 at anchor since I'm close enough for an iphone hotspot
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Old 05-07-2021, 15:54   #77
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Re: Big $$$ Chartplotter or Computer App(s)

For years I have been using Navionics on am Android Samsung $300 tablet. I also run PredictWind and other nav apps on it.
At $300, it's cheap enough to have a duplicate tablet for redundancy.
I also have Navionics and Predictwind running on my android phone.
BENEFITS
Much cheaper than having a permanently mounted mfd.
Sit anywhere in the cockpit and monitor navigation, wind and AIS.
I can monitor all those functions from my bunk while the ondeck crew uses the other tablet.
Much cheaper, much more mobile and easier to keep updated since they are always connected via hotspot.
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Old 05-07-2021, 18:14   #78
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Re: Big $$$ Chartplotter or Computer App(s)

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Looking at the buying a used blow boat and the electronics need to be replaced. As I am looking at the instruments and plotter costs I seriously ask if good software can take care of it. (Some reviews say yes, some not so sure.)

I look backward (perfect hindsight) at the money I spent on Garmin GPS devices over the years and today, my smart phone does a better job than any of the Garmin devices ever did.

Integrating all navigation and boat monitoring systems on to a single large screen sure does have its appeal. Having every thing connected to my smart phone wirelessly is also a huge attraction. I can easily (cheaply) buy an extra computer and monitor and put it away as a back up in case of damage or malfunction.

So, other than, "its always been done the old way and it might fail", what solid reasons are there for not going this route?
As another retired Engineer, I agree with much of this, but would add that the charts for much of the world (& especially SE Asia, where we've been for a while) are horrid, displaced & often lacking in detail.

So since 2014 we've been making our own high-quality charts from satellite imagery. Now that includes 2 flavors of Navionics charts & 5 flavors of CMap charts, as well as imagery from ArcGIS, Bing, Nokia, Google, & a host of others, so we get the best of both worlds. The satellite imagery is amazingly accurate, with max errors on the order of 10'/3m, & the nautical charts give depths. Everything's free on the internet, but it does require a lot of time, internet bandwidth, & a Win10 computer.

I've put together a How to Make mbTiles page that explains it all in detail. I'm still putting some finishing touches on it, but it's online now (& I'd appreciate any feedback from anyone trying it!)

OpenCPN can integrate many instruments, including Simrad & B&G 3G & 4G radars. Keep your main laptop down at your nav-station & put in a 12v WiFi router so you can use TeamViewer or other screen-sharing app to a tablet (or your phone) up at the helm.

This would give you excellent charts, & reasonable integration. And a flexible system that you can grow yourself.

Good luck!
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Old 06-07-2021, 05:27   #79
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Re: Big $$$ Chartplotter or Computer App(s)

Get the apps! Aqua Maps or Navionics . I just bought a Grand Banks 42 that has a chart plotter. Went from N.C. to the gulf coast using my ipad with Aqua Maps. Get the Aqua Maps Master, Aqua Map - App Master functions
You can download all the maps to your devise so that WiFi is not required, that’s assuming your devise has a built-in gps, all iPads do.
With everything on your ipad, tablet, you can plan all your trips anywhere you are. The apps are very intuitive and easy to use. The maps are all up to date.
I prefer the Aqua Maps over Navionics.
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Old 06-07-2021, 08:00   #80
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Re: Big $$$ Chartplotter or Computer App(s)

This is my opinion
No matter which way you go
I personally like buttons
Touch screen only bugs me

Ymmv
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Old 06-07-2021, 18:28   #81
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Re: Big $$$ Chartplotter or Computer App(s)

There are a lot of airplanes up in the sky these days navigating primarily with an ipad. I have a 10” Garman multi function display/ plotter/ fatho/ radar etc.
I like it and it is dependable and dependent only on a gps signal.
I also have an ipad with Garman Blue Charts and Active Captain. The ipad is MUCH easier to use and clearer to see with much better resolution.
I like them both. If money is an issue I would get a smaller multifunction display unit, and also an ipad (you can buy them used pretty reasonable. I’ve had one now for years, and get Nav app and charts with Active Captain. Best of both without too much money. And remember, a bigger display on a multi function usually does not have better resolution than a smaller one, it just shows a bigger area at once.
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Old 07-07-2021, 00:25   #82
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Re: Big $$$ Chartplotter or Computer App(s)

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I build my own to meet my specs. I've built them to meet much harsher industrial environments than you would ever see on the water. The monitor(s) would also meet my specs. for harsh a environment, as in you could submerse them and they keep on working.
If you were to publish here your specs and any instructions on how to build what you end up with I'm sure that we would all find it enormously useful. I know I would be interested in copying your expert system(s)!
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Old 07-07-2021, 04:30   #83
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Re: Big $$$ Chartplotter or Computer App(s)

I have a RM C-80 which I now primarily use for radar. I use iNavex and AquaMap on an IPhone. IPhone6, but a water magnet.

I would like to have a WATERPROOF (IP-68) tablet, not available from Apple.

Does iNavex and Aquamap work as well on android? Does android support all the same iNavex and Aquamap features?

I was thinking one of the Active3 tablets.

Any ither advice along these lines? How about charging?
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Old 07-07-2021, 09:30   #84
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Re: Big $$$ Chartplotter or Computer App(s)

There is a lot of personal preference involved. I learned dead reckoning on paper charts. Shortly after, I added a basic handheld GPS unit which provided Lat, and Long, and of course SOG/COG. My current setup has Raymarine Chartplotters of about 2010 vintage. They were likely top of the line at the time, but are clunky by todays standards. I use Aquamaps on an iPad for actual navigation work. Programming a route could not be simpler, the integration with Active Capitain provides great local knowledge, PredictWind routes export to the unit seamlessly. Also, it takes only seconds to update all my charts if I have access to wifi. It lives in a defender case from OtterBox for protection, and rides below decks in a RAM mount where it can stay plugged in and powered up. There is a second RAM mount above decks for those rare instances when I don't have time to duck below and consult it. I am still not ready to give up my charts, and keep them aboard, though not necessarily up to date, as an ultimate backup. Tricky inlets in the US are easily handled by a call to a TowBoat US captain, who are generally happy to share their knowledge. I too like the new Garmins, and when I can no longer keep my old RayMarines running I will probably upgrade them, recognizing the new units will seem outdated in a couple of years. So, do you NEED new electronics? Probably not. If you really WANT new electronics, and you have the funds! Go for it! It will look really cool, and make other boater jealous. Even though some of us would never admit it.
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Old 07-07-2021, 10:05   #85
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Re: Big $$$ Chartplotter or Computer App(s)

The bottom line choice is whether the electronics are a tool or a toy. When I buy a purpose-built Nav system, supposedly the manufacturer/installer has designed and built the system to properly perform its intended purpose. When I use it, I turn it on and it works. I shouldn’t have to spend hours or months wading through menus of options. This is a tool.

At the other extreme I can spend hours picking the newest, fanciest pieces, then spend lots of time trying to integrate them and get them to all work properly. This is a toy, or a hobby.

It’s important to note that no existing system is purely one or the other.

I was a ham operator in 1956. I built much of my own equipment. Maybe 10% of my time was spent on-the-air. Building the equipment was a big part of the enjoyment. As a sailor, I want to enjoy using the boat. I don’t want to spend weeks customizing software to change the color of a chart icon. I want my batteries to charge enough to yield a reasonable life without replacement. I don’t want to spend weeks designing, measuring and optimizing the charging system to extract the last amp-hour of energy, or to try and get some purported state-of-charge meter to read to 1/10%.

Different horses for different courses.
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Old 07-07-2021, 10:15   #86
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Re: Big $$$ Chartplotter or Computer App(s)

I have been a Garmin fan for decades. And I used Coastal Explorer software on my PC for planning. Chartplotter with 9" screen and new radar unit cost under $2,000 at West Marine and with NMEA 2000 kit it will talk to most everything. Tablet does not have depth finder.
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Old 07-07-2021, 18:28   #87
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Re: Big $$$ Chartplotter or Computer App(s)

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If you were to publish here your specs and any instructions on how to build what you end up with I'm sure that we would all find it enormously useful. I know I would be interested in copying your expert system(s)!
Daniel, a lot depends on what you want, what your goals are.

We want super-accurate charts & we don't like spending money, since we have no real income. So we have OpenCPN (free) & we make our own mbTiles, which are super accurate charts. With a single key, we can switch between ArcGIS, Bing, Nokia, or Google satellite imagery, or CMap & Navionics marine charts, all for free. Our computers get replaced every 5-6 years, but mainly because we use them for other things. They're not particularly fast, but they've got 17" screens & 2 drives, a small SSD for the OS, & a crappy spinning disk which we replaced with a 4TB SSD in a 2.5" hard-drive form factor. That package is ~$1100, but you can get away with cheaper if you don't want the 4TB SSD, which is $450 of that.

We have a MUX so all our instruments are combined, & that MUX feeds a cheap 12v WiFi bridge (both wired to come on with our instruments), so all computers can get the data, which lets OpenCPN use our AIS for GPS & AIS info. Next we'll add a large-ish tablet running TeamViewer so we can see & control our nav-computer from the helm. Our radar is a Simrad 3G, & OpenCPN has a plugin that lets OpenCPN display & control the radar, either overlaid on the charts or in a separate window (you see why we like 17" screens).

We can then add whatever other instruments we want to the network, either into the N2K or into the MUX, & OpenCPN (or other computer apps) can display them.

But this reflects our wants, & everyone has different ideas about what they want on their boat. Some want as simple as possible, & don't mind paying for that, which usually means a big MFD. We don't like having the heart of our system out in the rain, & we've yet to find an MFD that we can control as easily as OpenCPN or that has anything near the quality of charts that we can make, but that's us.

You probably want to think about what you want, define it, & then you can work towards building that. And as you notice from this thread, there are lots of folks happy to help.

Good luck!
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Old 08-07-2021, 06:42   #88
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Re: Big $$$ Chartplotter or Computer App(s)

Quote:
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... So we have OpenCPN (free) & we make our own mbTiles, which are super accurate charts. With a single key, we can switch between ArcGIS, Bing, Nokia, or Google satellite imagery, or CMap & Navionics marine charts, all for free. Our computers get replaced every 5-6 years, but mainly because we use them for other things. They're not particularly fast, but they've got 17" screens & 2 drives, a small SSD for the OS, & a crappy spinning disk which we replaced with a 4TB SSD in a 2.5" hard-drive form factor....
Jon, with the big screens on your PCs and all the time you might be on them, and three refers, I wonder how 450 watts of solar can keep up.
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Old 08-07-2021, 07:21   #89
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Re: Big $$$ Chartplotter or Computer App(s)

For me the answer is "both". I think there should be a good basic dedicated marine system installed on the boat - doesn't need to be the biggest MFD on the planet at the helm. And then OpenCPN or similar on a tablet, laptop and/or PC, since most people have one anyway.

The dedicated marine electronics system has the edge for reliability, durability, weatherproofing, sunlight-readable. Homegrown systems are becoming much more competent, but still have some weak links, and once you get into the industrial-grade PCs, sunlight readable displays and weatherproof controls, the price advantage starts to disappear.

And two systems means redundancy, and the ability to review charts and plan a trip away from the boat. If your SO is as keen as mine on navigating, the tablet comes out alot, to keep the skipper on track.
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Old 08-07-2021, 08:23   #90
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Re: Big $$$ Chartplotter or Computer App(s)

First let me say if you think boat electronics are expensive I urge you never to get into aviation. When I came to boating I was surprised how CHEAP the electronics are compared to what I was used to.

That said, I'm taking a hybrid approach. I'm in the middle of it so I can't say how it will work but....

I have a boat with almost 20 year old electronics including two chartplotters, helm and nav station, integrated with RADAR and basic sailing gauges. I have found that the GPS on the chart plotters is weak, and the chart presentation very basic.

I'm replacing the unit at the nav station, which will be used more for planning than actual navigation, with a pi running openplotter and a PICAN-M hat along with SeaTalk-1 to SeaTalk-ng/NMEA conversion cables. I have to do a little fiddling to get RADAR to the helm and the pi, but hopefully nothing too tricky.

Now I have an NMEA devicenet backbone linked to Seatalk-1/ng I can add a good standalone GPS, AIS, another DSC VHF, and should be able to pipe it all to both OpenCPN and old chartplotter.

A future chartplotter upgrade at the helm should also be easy, although I'm currently using an iPad for that.
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