Best Computer for Open CPM - Sail Mail - Winlink - Pactor

[maxingout]

Very impressive set up that you have. You must have specialized knowledge in computers to be able to figure out and create this design. I generally understand what you did, but I would have to spend lots of time figuring out how to do it myself, and I suspect that I would get stuck without lots of help from a friend.

[reflectionsv37]

It's really not as difficult as you might imagine. When I first started building my own was about 12 years ago when that glass of wine poured into the laptop.

I use to order almost exclusively through the site newegg.com You'll find articles there on motherboards, memory, hard drives etc. You should now be able to find tutorials on Google and Youtube that show how all the hardware plugs together. A couple days of reading and you'll have a pretty good idea of what is involved. Another way to find out is visit a computer shop that sells components and spend some time asking them questions. They are usually happy to help!

Installing the operating system and configuring afterwards can be a little frustrating. If you get stuck at that point, find a teenager to help! It's amazing what they know!

Gene

[reflectionsv37]

Another possibility to achieve the same thing with less options is to search for car computers. They have preconfigured systems in very small cases that run on 12 volt power. They are sometimes called limousine computers. I find the cases are usually too small for my big fingers to work on and since they have less room, they have less options for adding hard drives and other components.

[conachair]

Originally Posted by maxingout

All of these electronics/computers/plotters/displays/AIS/radios start to really add up, and it important to consider how much power it all takes.

It's like a giant electronic and electrical puzzle, and the solution is different based on the choices that each yacht makes.

Indeed every boat is different. For bluewater I really can't see why you'd run a plotter, charts alone will, cost a fortune then you'll be stuck in some dirty port harbour for weeks wondering which office the next chip might get delivered to if at all, plus the power draw.
Or can you download the next set of expensive charts now?
I must be one of the more low key cruising boats here - computer runs OpenCpn, has thermometers on the engine head, exhaust elbow and alternator all with alarms, monitors main house batter bank again with alarm, connects to gps & ais. Opencpn handles ais alarms. Very accurate barometer graphs pressure. All the sensors cost no more than a beer or 2.

All this gets put out over wifi for any other device to view as web pages and signalk- chart plotter under way is waterproof sony xperia in the cockpit running Opencpn. Everything gets recorded into a database once a minute. Connects to ham radio with a signalink audio/USB for downloading weatherfaxes.
Raspberry pi - about 35 ukp, plus a spare so if it goes down swap out the whole thing. Monitor is never on so no power there, sony draws little. Pi draws 0.3a.
Offshore Vhf (and anchorage) is a little ham radio baofeng uv5r, draws milliamps. Costs about 20ukp, main Vhf usually stays turned off offshore.

Why try harder

For years I played round with minatx systems and it never really worked that well, power supplies were unreliable, maybe just bad luck, and the whole thing just never really got going plus no backup if it went down.

Now it's rock solid, the Pi stays running for weeks at a time without rebooting. And as the power is so low there no problem running it all the time, also if there's wifi onboard I can view battery voltage and pressure anywhere with a web browser.

Very happy to have a system which works, doesn't cost much, easy to set up (mostly, database took a day or so) and is reliable.
Might sound a bit daunting but it has actually been easier to set up than a minatx.
Plus it's really handy being able to do route planning anywhere, on the laptop or Xperia and transfer everything to the Pi. Same for swapping favourite waypoints at happy hour. I use filezilla file browser, can talk to laptop, Xperia and pi so just swap the Opencpn xml files.
Best bit personally is it just works, the openplotter software in the Pi is designed just for sailing, no extra stuff in there.

[Moo]

Fanless mini industrial PCs are a good option.

I got one from Ebay from this store I think. The model that I got is an i5, it has 8x USB ports, 6x Serial ports (NMEA-0183) direct to the machine without adapter cables (slightly risky but you can add an opto-isolator if you like), 12V.

It is arguably over-powered but the upside of this is that it just ticks over and doesn't get hot so remains nice and efficient. At sea it runs 24/7 Maxsea TZ v3, OCPN, GPSGate splitter (to log all NMEA 0183 data). ViewFax for weather faxes, WxSat (for NOAA weather sats), Airmail and whatever else we want to use it for.

My version does not have a vga video output do I had to get a HDMI-VGA converter external to the pc.

Oh and I have a RPI as per Conachair too. Except mine is installed in a waterproof box with a 7" touchscreen. Rapidly becoming the main computer on the boat and will eventually take over from the Windows PC as the main boat PC underway.

[conachair]

Originally Posted by Moo

Oh and I have a RPI as per Conachair too. Except mine is installed in a waterproof box with a 7" touchscreen. Rapidly becoming the main computer on the boat and will eventually take over from the Windows PC as the main boat PC underway.

Openplotter operating system for the Pi details if anyone is interested..

https://www.gitbook.com/book/sailoog...tation/details

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by Pelagic

The other decision aspect which I still don't have a clear picture on (excuse the pun)...is a PC monitor vs a Smart TV?

I have a Smart HDTV at home with two USB's connected to two portable hard drives 1 & 2 TB for stored music and movies for cruising. (This TV will fit in our cabin)

Networked to my laptop and internet it really is nice.

But is the screen characteristics of an HDTV suitable for a computer monitor where you want the processing power for chart work? Or should I just get a dedicated monitor?

If you have a computer hooked up to it, you don't need a smart TV, which is nothing more than a computer built into the monitor. They are more bulky and more expensive.

I have three screens on my boat:

1. 4K monitor fix mounted over the nav table, 23".
2. 32" dumb TV, Samsung, mounted on the salon bulkhead
3. 19" dumb TV in my TV locker, specifically for watching TV.


#1 serves my ship's computer and can also be connected to my laptop. For OpenCPN, navigation, weather, Neptune Planner+, visitmyharbour, etc., etc.
Can also repeat the Zeus MFD at the chart table. Plain computer monitor with no sound.

#2 has sound, but I don't use any of the TV functions (the RF socket is broken anyway). I use it for (a) watching movies via ship's computer; (b) watching anything streamed from the ship's computer; (c) repeating the chart plotter so I can see it from anywhere; (d) repeating ship's computer for whatever purposes (look at photos for example). Can also be connected to laptops via HDMI or to tablet or phones via the Sony wireless connection, forgot what it's called. It's really versatile and useful and it's a plain old dumb Full HD TV.

#3 is rarely used, but sometimes I want to listen to digital radio I get via the Glomex amplified TV antenna on the masthead, or watch BBC news or something when I can't stream it. Europe is now fully served with freeview digital TV so I can get like 150 channels anywhere -- it's like cable or satellite TV. It's wasted on my since I don't watch TV, but this is a great solution for anyone who does watch TV. Again, this screen is a plain, dumb Full HD television.


Someone no doubt is going to pipe up now and see why do you need all this carp on a boat; why don't you listen to the wind for Pete's sake. Well, I live AND WORK on board a good part of the year, in some years more than half the year.

[Simi 60]

Depends on power supply/excess.

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by maxingout

I have not looked at power consumption as a parameter to decide what type of computer to have on board. I will have to check that out among the available choices.

When everything is turned on, I could see that there would be possible power issues.

In the past my biggest power consumer was the autopilot and water maker. When I was in the trade winds, my two Aerogen 6 wind generators produced a combined 400 amp hours each day, and I could run anything I wanted. But outside the trade winds and in the calms, power became more of an issue.

All of these electronics/computers/plotters/displays/AIS/radios start to really add up, and it important to consider how much power it all takes.

It's like a giant electronic and electrical puzzle, and the solution is different based on the choices that each yacht makes.

One of the big advantages of the new cheap Intel Atom based minicomputers is that the systems are designed for appliances and tablets and are phenomenally low powered. They have no fans. Mine uses maximum less than 5 watts (!) while watching 4K movies, and normally about 3 watts -- in use, not idle. I connect the box directly to ship's 13.6v power supply with no dropper, stabilizer, etc.

This can be a big deal for those who are conserving power.

[Simi 60]

I have a $30 mk808b attached to my 40 inch "dumb" TV which effectively makes it a smart tv.
Email, streaming, movies, music, Google, light games all work fine.

[Three Sisters]

Originally Posted by maxingout

Very impressive set up that you have. You must have specialized knowledge in computers to be able to figure out and create this design. I generally understand what you did, but I would have to spend lots of time figuring out how to do it myself, and I suspect that I would get stuck without lots of help from a friend.

I can only add that you may want to keep in mind that the wpa2 protocol for wi-fi has been breached by hackers. Who knows what devices the new software or firmware will support. And who knows how long ago this hack was completed. Just something to keep in mind while planning your new system. Best of Luck.

[rgleason]

This RPI Accessories Page is started. Any other suggestions?
https://opencpn.org/wiki/dokuwiki/do...rdware:screens

[Moo]

Originally Posted by Three Sisters

I can only add that you may want to keep in mind that the wpa2 protocol for wi-fi has been breached by hackers. Who knows what devices the new software or firmware will support. And who knows how long ago this hack was completed. Just something to keep in mind while planning your new system. Best of Luck.

It won't change anything, or shouldn't, in terms of what devices are supported. There will be, already has been in many cases, a simple update.

As long as you are using a secured connection on your browser i.e. https you are safe. I personally don't give a stuff who sees my NMEA data

[Moo]

Originally Posted by rgleason

This RPI Accessories Page is started. Any other suggestions?
https://opencpn.org/wiki/dokuwiki/do...rdware:screens

Weatherfax & Communication
BaoFeng UV5R, draws milliamps. Costs about $30-50 USD, No Ham Lic. Req'd BaoFeng BFF8HP, is the successor. No Ham Lic. Req'd

Rick, that radio is a transmitter, it needs a license in most countries. It is also UHF/VHF where there is not much weatherfax transmitted.

[Three Sisters]

Originally Posted by Moo

It won't change anything, or shouldn't, in terms of what devices are supported. There will be, already has been in many cases, a simple update.

As long as you are using a secured connection on your browser i.e. https you are safe. I personally don't give a stuff who sees my NMEA data

Mr. Krebs of course has something to say about it, much of it is what you have already provided. Still an interesting read.

https://krebsonsecurity.com/2017/10/...ss/#more-41189