NMEA via ethernet/wifi

[muttnik]

Originally Posted by conachair

This might be of interest.

Yachting and Boating World Forums - View Single Post - iPad........AIS?

Actually I wrote the multiplexing software there to do pretty much exactly what MollyMawk was asking. Primarily written for GNU/Linux but it compiles and runs on OS X (assuming you have xcode installed or otherwise have a c compiler) though with only cursory testing as I don't actually own a mac. And there's no GUI, so not ideal fanboi fodder. It was mainly written to use the pi as a multiplexer and serial to wifi bridge, but is also handy on the laptop as I can take in data from the network and punt it to a pty which I can then instruct opencpn etc. to use as a serial port. I understand the next version of opencpn will do that natively, but it's handy for now.

It's not hugely polished yet but it does have stuff like sentence filtering and source failover. If anyone wants to give it a whirl it's here: do please give me feedback: it's a work in progress.

On a related note: If anyone has lashed together a bunch of opto-isolated spi-connected rs422 ports I'd be interested to see a component list/diagram: I'm a beginner at this electronics malarkey but that seems a better way to go than usb-serial connectors and the pi's dodgy serial interface.

[goboatingnow]

Originally Posted by muttnik

Actually I wrote the multiplexing software there to do pretty much exactly what MollyMawk was asking. Primarily written for GNU/Linux but it compiles and runs on OS X (assuming you have xcode installed or otherwise have a c compiler) though with only cursory testing as I don't actually own a mac. And there's no GUI, so not ideal fanboi fodder. It was mainly written to use the pi as a multiplexer and serial to wifi bridge, but is also handy on the laptop as I can take in data from the network and punt it to a pty which I can then instruct opencpn etc. to use as a serial port. I understand the next version of opencpn will do that natively, but it's handy for now.

It's not hugely polished yet but it does have stuff like sentence filtering and source failover. If anyone wants to give it a whirl it's here: do please give me feedback: it's a work in progress.

On a related note: If anyone has lashed together a bunch of opto-isolated spi-connected rs422 ports I'd be interested to see a component list/diagram: I'm a beginner at this electronics malarkey but that seems a better way to go than usb-serial connectors and the pi's dodgy serial interface.

What you want I could knock up a design. There's also a good few breakout boards available of the shelf.

Dave

[muttnik]

Originally Posted by goboatingnow

What you want I could knock up a design. There's also a good few breakout boards available of the shelf.

Any info would be helpful. Haven't found any optoisolated rs422 spi breakout boards but as a rank amateur at electronics I'm probably looking in the wrong places.

Also ...apologies to anyone who downloaded my multiplexer software yesterday evening: I accidentally switched the link to an old version which spat out copious compiler warnings on recent versions on OS X. Hopefully fixed now.

[glywn380]

Originally Posted by nohal

Mollymawk...
That's exactly what was implemented in OpenCPN 3.1.1105 beta. It can receive NMEA from Serial (or virtual serial emulated on USB/Bluetooth) and retransmit it to TCP and/or UDP (Ethernet, wired or wireless does not make a difference)
So the solution is to connect your NMEA devices via serial links to one of your computers which then retransmits the data to the network for use by the other machines.

Pavel

This is just what I was looking for, however, there is no help in the help files on this feature, and being techno dummy on networking I need some simple a b c's on how to set this up. I have a Panasonic Toughbook for my boat computer on the nav table and would like to use my IPad/IPhone on deck to show the NMEA data (and I am looking to set up one as a nav program/instrument repeater - I have NX2 server and system - on deck too) via one of the apps now available. Idiot's guide, if possible, please.

[muttnik]

Originally Posted by glywn380

I have a Panasonic Toughbook for my boat computer on the nav table and would like to use my IPad/IPhone on deck to show the NMEA data

If you're running windows maybe take a look at NavMonPC mentioned earlier in this thread and whose author has provided input to this discussion. Personally I don't use Windows, but it looks to do what you want, the documentation seems great, and it doesn't stop you running another chartplotter program in conjunction with it

[tkurki]

I have just successfully set up
- Raspberry Pi
- running gpsd
(- gps data from usb gps puck)
- ais data from Radio Ocean RO4800 VHF via Digital Yacht's Nmea2Usb converter
- broadcast to wifi with socat
- ais targets displayed by INavX on iPad

Next step:
I have old Raymarine log, sounder & wind transducers, which I plan to wire to NMEA2000 and i70 display via iTC5. Once that is up I would like to have this data on the iPad as well. canboat should be able to read the data via Actisense NGT-1 and translate it to nmea 0183 sentences, but any suggestions on what to use for multiplexing the streams coming from gpsd and canboat?

Digital Yacht - Light Years Ahead
Raymarine iTC-5 Instrument Transducer Converter
https://github.com/canboat/canboat
NGT-1: NMEA 2000 to PC Interface

[Lake-Effect]

Originally Posted by muttnik

Actually I wrote the multiplexing software there to do pretty much exactly what MollyMawk was asking. ... It was mainly written to use the pi as a multiplexer and serial to wifi bridge, but is also handy on the laptop as I can take in data from the network and punt it to a pty which I can then instruct opencpn etc. to use as a serial port. I understand the next version of opencpn will do that natively, but it's handy for now.

It's not hugely polished yet but it does have stuff like sentence filtering and source failover. If anyone wants to give it a whirl it's here: do please give me feedback: it's a work in progress.

NICE. Looking forward to trying it.

I also do electronics, so when/if I get further into making interfaces, I will happily share the info.

[muttnik]

Originally Posted by tkurki

any suggestions on what to use for multiplexing
the streams coming from gpsd and canboat?

With the caveat that everything I know about canboat is what I've read
in the last 5 minutes (ie very little), my (obviously biased) suggestion is:

* ditch socat and gpsd
* use kplex to:
- read the input from the usb gps puck directly
- read the ais data from the nmea2usb converter
- read from the tcp nmea-0183 stream output by n2kd (if that's how you
intend using canboat: see caveat above :-)
- make the multiplexed data available either via broadcast udp or as a tcp server

There's a .deb of kplex for raspian available.

Obvious statement but if you have multiple usb devices it would make
sense to do a bit of udev rule configuration (whatever solution you choose)
to ensure that you don't have to keep reconfiguring according to what
order and where you plugged in your usb devices

[cowelld]

I've posted previously under a couple of different threads but this seems to be more germane.
I've recently hooked up my Simrad NSS to a WIFI bridge to use with the BR24 radar (which uses Ethernet for the radar data). I then wrote the BR24 Plug-in for the OpenCPN display of the same. Only recently have I been looking at the other features offered on the Simrad/Lowrance units. One of the newest features of the NSS is that it offers GOFREE which is an Ethernet version of NMEA 0183. Find the TCP/IP address of your NSS unit and enter that into the OpenCPN communications module and you have instant NMEA data. The NSS does all conversions from NMEA 2K and 0183 although it's a little pricey as a LAN interface.
The CANBOAT NMEA 2K interface uses the Actisense hardware but any CANBUS device will handle the lower layers of the OSI model. I've been working with a PIC 30F6015 with a TJA1050 interface. You can pretty well do the same with any new OBD II automobile interface. Since 2007 they use CANBUS as well. It's just a matter of time before someone uses the $12 OBD II USB converter for the $100 Actisense. I haven't looked at Kees software but I'm sure there's an Opensource OBD package that would cross over. Most of them are simple serial port interfaces.
If you're looking for an easy NMEA 2K to 0183 converter (and visa versa) then check out the Simrad AT10 at $50 or so. If there's not a lot of special PGN's to translate then it's a simple fix. You'd have to have Simnet cabling or crossover cable though. The cheap way is buy a 1' connector and cut it in half and solder it.

[s/v Jedi]

Originally Posted by cowelld

If you're looking for an easy NMEA 2K to 0183 converter (and visa versa) then check out the Simrad AT10 at $50 or so. If there's not a lot of special PGN's to translate then it's a simple fix. You'd have to have Simnet cabling or crossover cable though. The cheap way is buy a 1' connector and cut it in half and solder it.

The AT10 is brain dead IMO. If anybody wants one tell me, I'll sell my brand new one with a good discount :S

[goboatingnow]

Originally Posted by cowelld

I've posted previously under a couple of different threads but this seems to be more germane.
I've recently hooked up my Simrad NSS to a WIFI bridge to use with the BR24 radar (which uses Ethernet for the radar data). I then wrote the BR24 Plug-in for the OpenCPN display of the same. Only recently have I been looking at the other features offered on the Simrad/Lowrance units. One of the newest features of the NSS is that it offers GOFREE which is an Ethernet version of NMEA 0183. Find the TCP/IP address of your NSS unit and enter that into the OpenCPN communications module and you have instant NMEA data. The NSS does all conversions from NMEA 2K and 0183 although it's a little pricey as a LAN interface.
The CANBOAT NMEA 2K interface uses the Actisense hardware but any CANBUS device will handle the lower layers of the OSI model. I've been working with a PIC 30F6015 with a TJA1050 interface. You can pretty well do the same with any new OBD II automobile interface. Since 2007 they use CANBUS as well. It's just a matter of time before someone uses the $12 OBD II USB converter for the $100 Actisense. I haven't looked at Kees software but I'm sure there's an Opensource OBD package that would cross over. Most of them are simple serial port interfaces.
If you're looking for an easy NMEA 2K to 0183 converter (and visa versa) then check out the Simrad AT10 at $50 or so. If there's not a lot of special PGN's to translate then it's a simple fix. You'd have to have Simnet cabling or crossover cable though. The cheap way is buy a 1' connector and cut it in half and solder it.

While getting a canbus interface is easy. You then have to implement j1939 and then add the custom nmea2k protocol extensions. ( fast packet protocol etc) , that's a " little " bit more work.

Dave

[coredump4]

Originally Posted by Mollymawk

While we're about it, it seems logical to make the NMEA data available to the computer - both so we can use OpenCPN for navigation, should we ever want to, and so that we can get a fuller AIS display than what the VHF affords.
The obvious way of doing this, of course, is via a serial-USB adaptor.

Now, onto my question. It seems to me that it should be possible to broadcast the NMEA data via ethernet to a router, and then via wifi, so that we can also receive the same data away from the chart table on my MacBook Pro and - what's more - on my new Android tablet (Samsung/Google Nexus 7).

But I have absolutely no idea where to start with this. Is it even possible? What equipment would I need? Would it be affordable?
I already have a router (TP-Link TL-MR3420), to which I would hope to connect the NMEA devices - somehow.

I've wondered about this many times myself, and every time I research this, I'm frustrated by the lack of information available. However I have a little info now that might be of interest to this crowd. I apologize if this has come up elsewhere, but I thought it bore mentioning in this thread.

It seems that some of the personal hotspots available from the mobile carriers are able to supply NMEA0183 to attached devices, though they often neglect to describe how this is accomplished. I recently got a Novatel MiFi 5792 (from AT&T here in the U.S.) that does this. It has a GPS receiver, and when enabled, it makes NMEA sentences available on TCP port 11010 (the port # is configurable in the device's management BUI). Furthermore, this device even has device drivers available to create virtual COM ports on Windows, Mac & Linux boxes, so your regular GPS-enabled apps can make use of the data. The drivers are embedded in the MiFi itself, so attached devices can download them without an Internet connection. The only downside is lack of virtual COM ports for iOS and Android devices.

I also have an older Sprint Overdrive hotspot (Sierra Wireless AirCard W801) that was the original source of my frustration. It clearly has a GPS, and says it can provide geolocation data to attached WiFi clients, but never says how this is accomplished. This device too supplies NMEA0183 strings on TCP port 5502. This port is undocumented and unconfigurable; I eventually found it by port-scanning the device. And I don't think Sierra makes virtual COM ports available. Still, software that can be configured to use a network source of NMEA strings could be pointed at the Overdrive.

Obviously, these devices are intended for use on their respective carrier's data network, but the GPS and WiFi features will work fine far out at sea... so unless the devices' firmware is such that it refuses to function without a WAN link, it might serve the OP's needs for NMEA sharing. Tablets are still a problem for now though.
Hope this helps!

[ebaugh]

I'm not sure how to do NMEA 2K, but NMEA0183 can be done using Moxa Serial to Ethernet converters. We share NMEA data both directions with our primary navigation PCs. One at both steering stations. Both PC's get GPS, Heading and AIS and send Autopilot Nav data.

The original configuration documented here:

http://www.panbo.com/archives/2010/0..._mar_azul.html

This configuration works for some Android and IOS applications over WiFi, although we did not have any at the time. Later for charting we switched from Coastal Explorer to MaxSea TZ. MaxSea did not support TCP, so we had to switch modes on the Moxa Server to use the custom serial driver Moxa provides for Windows PC's. This makes the PC think it's directly connected to a serial port. However only Windows computers are supported in this mode.

[motu42]

Ive just added NMEA over Wifi to FreeBoard, which now outputs a stream of NMEA strings (one per line) over TCPIP port 5555. (Freeboard also acts as a NMEA multiplexor.). You only need the Freeboard-server, on a raspberryPi - the other parts of the project do more, but are not required for this.

If you need a more specialized format, let me know, I will add it.

[ebaugh]

Originally Posted by motu42

Ive just added NMEA over Wifi to FreeBoard, which now outputs a stream of NMEA strings (one per line) over TCPIP port 5555. (Freeboard also acts as a NMEA multiplexor.). You only need the Freeboard-server, on a raspberryPi - the other parts of the project do more, but are not required for this.

If you need a more specialized format, let me know, I will add it.

Is it TCP or more likely UDP? A couple of years ago when I last tinkered with this, TCP worked with Coastal Explorer and UDP with MaxSea TZ, only the serial driver written by Moxa worked for both. And the server box only does one of the modes at a time, serial device, TCP or UDP. In TCP mode, it allows up to 4 simultaneous connections.

Read through your website on the full application, I may tinker with some of this eventually. The problem is, and please correct me if I'm wrong, is there is no way to use commercial charts with an open source chart plotter? In the US that's not an issue, but in the Caribbean, I don't know of any reliable source for current electronic charts. I understand you can digitize paper, but I don't carry paper to begin with.

However, I love the idea of an open source autopilot, it's one of the things I have no backup for, and life would be very ugly for the two of us to hand steer on multi-day passages. Do you have that part working?

The PC chart plotters are not that expensive, $300 plus charts, this would be a way to link in all the ancillary data and perform the autopilot function for a fraction of the cost. Basic Chart Plotter PC + FreeBoard misses only Radar data. And that looks like it is coming to those PC Plotters that don't already have it.

http://www.panbo.com/archives/2013/0...in_europe.html