12vdc Marine Computers

[bfloyd4445]

Originally Posted by rgleason

I have recently looked at ready made "Waterproof Sunlight Readable" (marine) monitors 10.5" and they generally cost just under the outrageous prices for Multifunction displays. When you add their "Fanless Mini PC Boxes" (generally with older slower, less power adaptive cpus) to the equation you have a setup that equals Simrad, Furuno and Raymarine costs for similar functionality. ...So this is not the route to go.

For our setup:
There appear to be two options:

A. CPU below receiving Seatalk/Nmea, GPS, AIS, Radar, etc. Wifi with Teamviewer to Tablet at helm.

B. CPU below receiving Seatalk/Nmea, GPS, AIS, Radar, etc. VGA or HDMI cable to small display on swing out arm. Perhaps Teamviewer + wi/fi for Tablets.

It does not appear to me to be possible to have a Tablet that will provide all the connections required. So the first priority is to figure out a mini box CPU that will be adequate for this marine task, but not overkill.

1. If the unit is in a cabinet, protected from outside, is it necessary to have it "fanless" and sealed?
2. Are there ways to filter or protect the unit from salty air that are not costly? In $ or space?
3. Could it just be fanless, with some natural air flow?
4. Are there small tube heat pipes available that can be added at little cost?
5. Will salt air soon destroy it?
6. If the Mini Box were inexpensive and would last 3-5 years, it could be replaced latter with an upgrade in performance.
7. Just get an off the shelf mini box and install in a cabinet and see how it does.

Finding an inexpensive suitable Monitor 8" - 12"

1. What are the real minimum specs needed for viewing?
Nit: 800- 1000?
Contrast: 3-4?
2. Can a Dodger + an adjustable glare shield on top and sides help?
3. Some of the sunlight readable manufacturers have:

• Layers of glass and components that capture the light and use it to increase brightness.
• Software that senses light changes on the screen and adjust.
• Can a user recreate some of this?

mil spec 15 inch displays can be had for around a thousand bucks or less. opencpn uses a shared port, I use a usb, actually 2 usps, I don't have the radar overlay installed as yet but gps and ais work fine. here is a link to data connectionbs for opencpn Data Connections | Official OpenCPN Homepage
Seems to me your making this whole thing overly complex and will be handicapping yourself with a low powered prone to freeze ups processor when any current netbook or laptop can do much better and use 12VDC power. The display will be the biggest power hog not the processor.
Give me six months and I will have it dialed in but there are plenty of others that have already in the opencpn forums.

[rgleason]

15" Milspec Display > $1000 Where? I haven't seen any. Would rather have 12" < $

West Marine had sale on Garmin 740 + Radar = $1200 now that was a deal. I did not hear about that, probably good I did not hear about it or I would have agonized as I like Opencpn for many reasons.

Need low power, have (2) group 24 + very small PV. I am concerned about the salt air with electronics.

[travellerw]

Originally Posted by CPO

I’ve been searching, reading and thinking about a computer based navigation system to replace the current Raymarine chartplotter I have. I haven’t found exactly what I’m looking for in my search so far. So I decided to just list my criteria and see if anyone has a list of equipment/configuration already available. In a perfect world, I’m looking for a turnkey solution. Hopefully, someone has already invented this wheel. I’m also sure that there are others who are interested in this or a similar system.

• Touchscreen (17 in or so) displaying chartplotter (opencpn), ais, and radar information at chart table. Radar can be left off the wish list if not feasible.
• Weatherproof touchscreen (12in) displaying the same information at helm station. Helm station would also have separate wind, speed, depth and autohelm displays, but not integrated nor required to be addressed here.
• Both touchscreens would be able to manipulate the displays. Connected either through Bluetooth or USB to the cpu. Both would be able to operate independent of one another (one screen displaying navigation information and the other showing a movie).

Some other information….I’m not technically expert, nor entirely clueless. I would want system compatibility, upgradeable – both hardware and software (I don’t care if its windows or unix based), powerful enough to also handle dvds and internet apps (streaming video, email, office apps, internet). I am looking for off the shelf equipment that’s plug and play and a roadmap on how to connect and configure this system.
I’ve seen similar systems described in other posts, but they have been entirely too technical for me. I don’t want to build a cpu, solder anything, take anything apart or build anything. Plug and play. Power consumption isn’t an issue. Price is….less expensive is better. Quality and reliability are required. Thanks in advance to all who respond.

You could do this pretty easy with a Surface 3 and and external waterproof monitor. It wouldn't be super cheap though. Probably around 2K or so..



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[BluegillBoy]

best and also cheapest monitors i've found are used Panasonic Toughbook VDL02 units on eBay. usually these come from retired systems in police cars. i've got 2 of the 12.1 in. ones. 1000 or maybe 1200 nits. easy to hook up. $50 - $150 on eBay. not always available, but when they are, they come on by the dozens. again, a police or sheriff's department just retires a bunch and they came up for sale. (slight pause, just checked eBay, there are a bunch for about $50 each. grab em!)

as far as processing power goes, a graphic plotting program like OpenCPN doesn't take much. I've run plotting programs on old P4s.

currently i'm using an intel board with an integrated Atom CPU chip. retails for about $75 and includes an onboard power supply so you just hook up boat standard 12V. the entire setup, cables, computer, touchscreen monitor, AIS receiver, antenna, ran me about $400. of course the radar would add about $1200 or so i think.

anyway, don't overpay or overthink. as far as computers go, a nav plotter is very basic stuff.

[rgleason]

Panasonic Toughbook VDL02 on Ebay looks reasonable
-Needs RS-232 Serial port for the touch screen signals
-Needs 3rd party drivers
-Devise swing out mounting for 5 lbs.
-Not waterproof, so keep under dodger and swing back in bad weather.
-Power use

Drivers
Windows 2000,Windows 98,Windows 98 SE,Windows ME,Windows NT,WindowsXP... https://panasonic.ca/PCS/Drivers/cfvdl02_drivers.zip
W7 32 bit... https://panasonic.ca/PCS/Drivers/VDL02_win7_32bit.zip
W7 64 bit...https://panasonic.ca/PCS/Drivers/48170_UPDD.zip

Index of ./CF-VDL02 Drivers/

Touch-screen LCD monitor / TFT active matrix, Diagonal Size 12.1", 1024 x 768 at 60 Hz, 11 in x 1.2 in x 10.6 in, 5.5 lbs, Pixel Pitch 0.24 mm, 16.7 million colors, 1200 cd/m2, Speaker(s) - stereo - integrated, Expansion / ConnectivityInterfaces 1 x VGA - 15 pin HD D-Sub (HD-15) ¦ 1 x serial RS-232 - 9 pin D-Sub (DB-9) ¦ 1 x audio line-in - mini-phone stereo 3.5 mm, Power Operational 50 Watt
Operating Temperature 41 °F - 95 °F, Humidity Range Operating 10 - 90%

50 watts is considerably more than a Multifunction Display, is this at full power?
I don't believe these panels are using LED's are they? It does not appear this display is for our purposes unless I can retrofit LED's somehow, ir in normal use they draw much less. The price appears to be ok.

[rgleason]

What a treat, here is a discussion/search for a display:
http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...r-59672-4.html

Neptunes Gear has found Marine Electronics, AIS, GPS, all types. – Neptune's Gear Ltd ...just a thought...

[BluegillBoy]

You're right, the 50w is at full brightness. That can be dimmed. In fact I seldom use full brightness. Nonetheless, it is a powerhog compared to sailors expectations. I've got twin diesels driving balmar alternators. Think of that... A diesel powered touchscreen!

The intel motherboard I'm using has two serial headers, touchscreen and AIS. Also, the VDL works fine on serial to USB adapters.

Not LED. Old tech. But cheap.

[bfloyd4445]

here are a couple of mil spec options

display with touch screen Picture - More Detailed Picture about 17 inch aluminum alloy panel rackmount industrial touch monitor, medical equipment, special displays of military aviation Picture in LCD Monitors from tian kun IT CO.,LTD | Aliexpress.co

this company can provide what ever kind of connection you require
All-Weather Fully Submersible NVIS Dual Mode Capable LCD Monitors and LCD Computers with High Bright Sunlight Readable Displays

this one is a bit pricier than others but also bigger

Argonaut - Tflex G6 Series Sunlight Readable Marine Monitor

[rgleason]

Found this note under Environmental very instructive:
VTPC104XA4: 10.4 inch All-Weather All-Terrain Fully Sealed IP67 (NEMA 6) Rated Submersible Extreme Operational Temperature Sunlight Readable LCD Computer

Pressure Venting and Equalization: Changing temperatures, dust, salt, and moisture considerably impact the electronics of marine equipment. Rain or splashing sea water, for example, can cool down an electronic enclosure dramatically, causing a vacuum of 200 mbar (3 psi) or more inside the enclosure. If the pressure is not equalized, air and moisture are drawn through the seal into the enclosure where the moisture condenses on the cooler inner walls. This can considerably impair performance. VarTech's protective pressure equalization venting system is a barrier against this type of contamination. The vent is waterproof and dustproof to IP69K standards


Pressure Venting and Equalization

[rgleason]

Heat Pipes - Use and fabrication techniques
Heat pipe - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Instructive Power Supply remodel working with heat pipes
Remodel standard power supply unit into a fanless one. (Silent computer)

Fanless Heat Pipe CPU Cooling System - more how to

How do CPU Coolers work ---> Heat Pipes

Cooling Designs for up to 35w TDP ---> Heat Pipes

Homemade flexible heat pipes
Home-made flexible heat pipes (Silent computer)

Sources of Heat Pipes

Images of heat Pipes


AVid Thermalogy How Heat Pipe works
Excellent Product references

Ebay
http://stores.ebay.com/Wattbits/Heat...sub=2024426017

[rgleason]

Expensive but nicely designed Mini case with Fanless cooling and alu fins on sides.
FanlessTech: HDPLEX H1.S review
"TDP up to 55W CPU”

Add Intel Broadwell Core M board TDP 15w
A good vent as indicated above.

Various options
http://www.hd-plex.com/

[seglar-lulle]

Hi,

I built a system recently around the smallest Intel NUC with an Atom processor, 8GB memory, 256GB SSD and Win7. Runs directly on 12V, no adapters. That HW came in under 300 euros. Size of the box is like a paperback.
The screen I chose was a 22" high resolution camping LED-TV. Also 12V native. Came in under 150 euros.
Then a Bluetooth keyboard with a trackpad built in (I think they referred to it as a Media keyboard).
For connecting to the on-board Garmin plotter and Garmin AIS I got a Shipmodul Miniplex (150 euros). Only thing remaining now is connecting the Autohelm ST50 instruments. I am still considering options to convert the SeaTalk stream to NMEA0183.

Anyway, for roughly 600 euros I have a very nice fan-less, low power 12V system in the cabin.

/Lulle


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[Neptune's Gear]

I have a few monitors available. I have the 15" one in my cockpit...
Marine Electronics, AIS, GPS, all types. – Neptune's Gear Ltd
Happy to discuss your requirements, and pricing might be flexible, depending what you want.
Cheers
Matt

[Jubilee39]

Originally Posted by seglar-lulle

Hi,

I built a system recently around the smallest Intel NUC with an Atom processor, 8GB memory, 256GB SSD and Win7. Runs directly on 12V, no adapters.
For connecting to the on-board Garmin plotter and Garmin AIS I got a Shipmodul Miniplex (150 euros). Only thing remaining now is connecting the Autohelm ST50 instruments. I am still considering options to convert the SeaTalk stream to NMEA0183.

Anyway, for roughly 600 euros I have a very nice fan-less, low power 12V system in the cabin.

/Lulle


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Doesn't the shipmodule convert the seatalk or have you used all the inputs?

[seglar-lulle]

I got the cheapest, which doesn't handle Seatalk :-(

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