Feature Requests

[ZagsAtCF]

Can a compass overlay be added to vector charts?

[donradcliffe]

Originally Posted by ZagsAtCF

Is it possible to show if an approaching boat will pass in front or behind you in the AIS closest approach dialog?

The current version does that.

[Jon Hacking]

Originally Posted by ZagsAtCF

Is it possible to show if an approaching boat will pass in front or behind you in the AIS closest approach dialog?

Good question, Zags, & you'll be glad to know this is already implemented, & has been for a while.

If you right-click on an AIS target, one of the options (& I'm sorry, I don't remember the exact wording) shows the projected courses of each boat, along with the CPA point & distance. Right click on the target again to turn this off, or it will turn off by itself after you pass each other.

[RoguePrivateer]

I am really sorry if this is wrong way to post something, forums are not my forté

After making a waypoint each time I right click, the top option in the box is 'undo create waypont'.

That top option would otherwise be 'measure' which I use constantly, which means I keep deleting new waypoints.

How do I get rid of that command without closing OpenCPN and reopening each time I create anything?

Cheers,
RP

[Hakan]

RP..
There's no settings to move or omit the menu item. Possible a future request if a common concur.
You may try the shortcut "M" (or "F4") to start measure instead? (Esc to end it)

[Stuwy2]

Hi all,

I am trying to get my boats raymarine data on opencpn and whilst I know I can use a seatalkng to USB wire/gateway I am attempting to find a solution that is cheaper than £190!

The radar uses an ethernet cat 5 cable essentially into the back of my MFD, I popped RJ45 connectors on the plug into the MFD and the cable from the radar and stuck a switch in between with an extra cable running to the laptop. The MFD sees and talks to the radar as usual. I am receiving radar data and can display on opencpn as well. Also the MFD network assigned my laptop a new IP, I have the IP for the MFD as well. The port appears to be 10110 and I can ping the MFD with a response. As raymarine use the seatalk HS/ethernet connection to talk between MFDs etc all the data is there however I believe that openCPN cannot read it? Is that correct? If so my feature request would be for openCPN to be able to read the data.

My basic understanding has come to an end, as far as my research has come i believe raymarine use there own ethernet protocol. Is there any way to read and convert to something opencpn can use or just interpret the data.

Using the Raymarine radar plug in I can see the radar simultaneously on the MFD and in a boxed window on openCPN, but can't overlay it yet due to opencpn not knowing the gps position or orientation of the boat.

[mgrouch]

Originally Posted by Stuwy2

Hi all,

I am trying to get my boats raymarine data on opencpn and whilst I know I can use a seatalkng to USB wire/gateway I am attempting to find a solution that is cheaper than £190!

The radar uses an ethernet cat 5 cable essentially into the back of my MFD, I popped RJ45 connectors on the plug into the MFD and the cable from the radar and stuck a switch in between with an extra cable running to the laptop. The MFD sees and talks to the radar as usual. I am receiving radar data and can display on opencpn as well. Also the MFD network assigned my laptop a new IP, I have the IP for the MFD as well. The port appears to be 10110 and I can ping the MFD with a response. As raymarine use the seatalk HS/ethernet connection to talk between MFDs etc all the data is there however I believe that openCPN cannot read it? Is that correct? If so my feature request would be for openCPN to be able to read the data.

My basic understanding has come to an end, as far as my research has come i believe raymarine use there own ethernet protocol. Is there any way to read and convert to something opencpn can use or just interpret the data.

Using the Raymarine radar plug in I can see the radar simultaneously on the MFD and in a boxed window on openCPN, but can't overlay it yet due to opencpn not knowing the gps position or orientation of the boat.

Yakbitz seatalk to NMEA is $50.

http://yakbitz.com

[Stuwy2]

Originally Posted by mgrouch

Yakbitz seatalk to NMEA is $50.

YakBitz

thanks, i'll keep that in mind, however its seatalk1 and not ng and would mean i need two connections to the laptop to see radar as well as all the other data, also would mean I couldn't control the autopilot. Also Also $49 is amazing however shipping is $69 and while i am not arguing with the value or cost of the shipping its now over $110.
You also seem to be missing the point. I have the rj45 and all that kit already from old house projects and therefore free. I am frustrated that raymarine has put the data behind a paywall considering they dont even support there own softwear anymore (raytech rns 6.2).

For those who don't have access to the special gateways and cables, rj45 and network cables are both dirt cheap and readily available

[Jon Hacking]

Originally Posted by Stuwy2

Hi all,

I am trying to get my boats raymarine data on opencpn and whilst I know I can use a seatalkng to USB wire/gateway I am attempting to find a solution that is cheaper than £190!

The radar uses an ethernet cat 5 cable essentially into the back of my MFD, I popped RJ45 connectors on the plug into the MFD and the cable from the radar and stuck a switch in between with an extra cable running to the laptop. The MFD sees and talks to the radar as usual. I am receiving radar data and can display on opencpn as well. Also the MFD network assigned my laptop a new IP, I have the IP for the MFD as well. The port appears to be 10110 and I can ping the MFD with a response. As raymarine use the seatalk HS/ethernet connection to talk between MFDs etc all the data is there however I believe that openCPN cannot read it? Is that correct? If so my feature request would be for openCPN to be able to read the data.

My basic understanding has come to an end, as far as my research has come i believe raymarine use there own ethernet protocol. Is there any way to read and convert to something opencpn can use or just interpret the data.

Using the Raymarine radar plug in I can see the radar simultaneously on the MFD and in a boxed window on openCPN, but can't overlay it yet due to opencpn not knowing the gps position or orientation of the boat.

Stu, I'm not really the right person, & perhaps someone more knowledgeable will chime in here, but OpenCPN is quite capable of receiving its data over ethernet, either wired or WiFi. Under Options/Connections you can setup a new connection over Ethernet, as long as the IP address doesn't change.

The main problem I see is that I don't know what protocol your MFD is using, as it might not be normal tcp/ip. We can plug our Simrad 3G radar into OpenCPN, & it will display that radar data, but it's not speaking normal tcp/ip. Dave (or someone) had to use a protocol analyzer to get OpenCPN to read it (& speak it) correctly.

BTW, you say you plugged your MFD, radar, & computer into your switch. If your switch is a WiFi router, then you don't need the cable into your computer, as OpenCPN can listen to any Ethernet connection, including WiFi.

However, it may be that your "switch" is actually a "hub" (or is behaving as a hub, as switches or routers can usually be configured as hubs). The difference is that a switch (or router) looks at each packet of data & decides which physical port(s) to forward that data to. A hub is much less discriminating, & just forwards ALL data received to ALL other ports. This is why hubs are usually much less expensive, as they don't need to process the data at all.

Hubs are obviously less efficient on busy networks, but it also means that you don't have to define a full connection path between talkers & listeners. Your network isn't busy, so it can easily tolerate a simple hub, & that also makes other things somewhat easier as well.

You say "... Raymarine uses the SeaTalk HS/ethernet connection to talk between MFDs etc [so] all the data is there..." Your MFD may only be using the Ethernet to talk to the radar-dome, in which case it doesn't need to send other data (wind, GPS, etc) over that Ethernet connection. This is why I can't see my non-radar data from my Simrad, even though I have an ethernet cable between my Simrad radar-display (MFD) & my computer. In this case, OpenCPN can't really solve this problem, as it's really a "feature" of the MFD.

One possible solution is to put ALL your data into your hub, using a multiplexer that reads in all the protocols you're using (NMEA 2K, 0183, ST1, etc) & can output them as Ethernet to your hub. These boxes do exist (like the MiniPlex series from ShipModul) but they're expensive & I'm still trying to get mine to work (the 0183 input isn't seeing my AIS, even at the correct baud - I need to upgrade my firmware).

But your case might be simpler. If all you're using besides the radar is SeaTalkNG (which is really NMEA 2K with different connectors) then you can use an NG to Ethernet adaptor & feed that into your switch/hub.

This would have the advantage of saving you a USB connection, & even better, would put ALL data out over the switch/hub. If you buy a switch/hub with WiFi, then ANY computer anywhere on the boat could get all that data & display it with OpenCPN.

However, I haven't tried to price NG/Ethernet adaptors, so it could still be close to your £190. But given that I'm having to deal with many more protocols, & therefore, much more $$ for my MUX, I think £190 is pretty cheap.

You don't describe your autopilot control setup, but presumably that's connected to your MFD somehow (which means that your MFD is acting as a MUX of sorts). If so, then my above solution would also give OpenCPN GPS & heading info, since your fluxgate compass usually outputs a heading signal ~10x/sec.

Not only will this give OpenCPN all that data, but it will also unlock your radar's MARPA functionality, letting it track ships that don't have AIS as if they do, & providing you with CPA & TCPA info. We've found this very useful here in SE Asia, where many ships, & especially tugs (& tows) don't have AIS. I think we paid $110 to get an 0183/2K adaptor, just so the radar could get the heading info.

Finally, if you let OpenCPN talk on that Ethernet connection, then it can control your autopilot as well if you want.

[stevead]

For those who don't have access to the special gateways and cables, rj45 and network cables are both dirt cheap and readily available

Developer time and access to Raymarine's proprietary Seatalk HS protocol is not readily available nor dirt cheap.

Have you taken a network capture of the traffic on the Seatalk HS Ethernet network ? When you say it's using port 10110, which happens to be the IETF standard port for NMEA 183 over TCP or UDP, have you determined whether it indeed is using TCP or UDP and whether it is something that resembles a NMEA 183 sentence ? It could quite well be that it may be the Seatalk binary protocol encapsulated with TCP or UDP.

As others have intimated, given your existing investment in Raymarine MFD's, radar and other devices, £190 might be a small price to pay to get that data into a PC.

[Stuwy2]

thanks both for your input, taken on and understood, the £190 isnt expensive no and I agree however getting an expense passed the wife considering we are full time cruising especially as its not a need and just a nerdy want!

I have another plan to run with tomorrow, taking the nmea183 output from the ais module that is not connected to anything and seeing if i can get converted to USB with parts i have about my friends and my boat. The main reason for getting it onto the laptop is thats where most of our charts are.. Not necessary but would be nice to have all our data in one place.

Yes Jon its a hub and not a switch. Yes our MFD is talking to the radar and i hadn't considered that the other data is only transmitted to another MFD if it asks for it so its not just readily available on the network.

Stevead, I was checking the active connections using the cmd prompt and "netstat -a" command, the IP was also confirmed on the plotter and my network connections window, it also lists the connection as TCP and the port as 10110. If the data is there, and i suspect it is not as per the above, it is in raymarines own protocol.

So plan C.

Will report back in a couple of days, thanks for the replies so far

[Jon Hacking]

Originally Posted by Stuwy2

... I have another plan to run with tomorrow, taking the nmea183 output from the ais module that is not connected to anything and seeing if i can get converted to USB with parts i have about my friends and my boat. The main reason for getting it onto the laptop is thats where most of our charts are...

Stu, a word of caution regarding reading your NMEA 0183 data. Serial to USB modules are readily available, but the problem is that RS232 serial is +/-9v switching, while 0183 is 0-5v switching. A good converter will still detect this & work correctly, but the majority of my hassles trying to connect friends GPSs to USB is poor converters.

So back when we first installed AIS in 2006, we asked our dealer for a quality serial/USB converter & he suggested KeySpan. Since we have radios & Pactor modems that also need computer control, we bought a 4-port KeySpan in 2006, & that thing hasn't skipped a beat in 16 years now (touch wood). It's ~2x as expensive as the cheapos, but worth it IMO.

But I'm surprised you don't have your AIS connected to your MFD. As I say, your MFD should be acting like a MUX of sorts, combining all inputs & putting them on your ST-NG (NMEA-2K) bus. So feeding your AIS to your MFD, & then getting a NG/Ethernet adaptor & feeding that to your hub would get AIS & GPS to your computer AND your MFD.

Getting your AIS into your computer is extremely useful, as it will also supply OpenCPN with a GPS signal (assuming your AIS is a transceiver). OpenCPN has the best AIS display I've ever seen, mainly because computer displays are much higher resolution than dedicated AIS displays, & because targets are displayed on your charts.

And yes, I understand entirely about getting proposals past the Chancellor of the Exchequer. I'm rarely allowed to have money, as all I do is spend it!

[Stuwy2]

Originally Posted by Jon Hacking

Stu, a word of caution regarding reading your NMEA 0183 data. Serial to USB modules are readily available, but the problem is that RS232 serial is +/-9v switching, while 0183 is 0-5v switching. A good converter will still detect this & work correctly, but the majority of my hassles trying to connect friends GPSs to USB is poor converters.

So back when we first installed AIS in 2006, we asked our dealer for a quality serial/USB converter & he suggested KeySpan. Since we have radios & Pactor modems that also need computer control, we bought a 4-port KeySpan in 2006, & that thing hasn't skipped a beat in 16 years now (touch wood). It's ~2x as expensive as the cheapos, but worth it IMO.

But I'm surprised you don't have your AIS connected to your MFD. As I say, your MFD should be acting like a MUX of sorts, combining all inputs & putting them on your ST-NG (NMEA-2K) bus. So feeding your AIS to your MFD, & then getting a NG/Ethernet adaptor & feeding that to your hub would get AIS & GPS to your computer AND your MFD.

Getting your AIS into your computer is extremely useful, as it will also supply OpenCPN with a GPS signal (assuming your AIS is a transceiver). OpenCPN has the best AIS display I've ever seen, mainly because computer displays are much higher resolution than dedicated AIS displays, & because targets are displayed on your charts.

And yes, I understand entirely about getting proposals past the Chancellor of the Exchequer. I'm rarely allowed to have money, as all I do is spend it!

Apologies, I should have explained earlier but I wanted to keep it short in asking specifics, yes the AIS650 is connected to the MFD via seatalkNG as is the autopilot and everything else, although the radar and depth are connected directly to the MFD. It is a complete Raymarine system and I am very happy with it, MFD has AIS and radar overlays and target tracking etc etc, however data capture and route logging is lacking

Also some success today, with a (quality) serial to USB converter I am now receiving AIS and GPS via 183, next issue is seeing if i can get the built in multiplexer on the AIS to shove the rest of the data that is on the seatalkNG backbone as well, such as wind and depth... tomorrows problem, going to have a beer in partial success.

This would be so much simpler if Raymarine just added a 183 output on the MFD... or actually would be much easier if they just used standard networking protocols so 1 RJ45 cable would have everything on it... oh and a standard network jr45 plug rather than their own version, but then i guess it would not be "waterproof"

[Stuwy2]

update for those interested, the AIS650 multiplexer isn't actually a multiplexer as I would understand the word and does not work how hinted at on the raymarine website. it does not send data that it received on the seatalkng on the 0183 output, only gps and ais data, that in itself makes sense until you realise that its actively filtering the rest of the information out. hayho! Also currently talking with their customer support as to how to access or why the data isn't available on the ethernet network considering its designed to be sent to another MFD.

So this sarga will end here for the time being with, radar, position and AIS on openCPN. Until such a time I can convince the admiral that we need depth, water temp, wind direction and strength, autopilot and data logging on the laptop.

It would mean, 1 new backbone cable £40 , the gateway itself £175, a seatalkng T connector £30 and i can reuse the stopper i have. total £245!

[Oceanride007]

Feature request, or maybe its already there.
My Raymarine NG already gets data to my Lap top via Vesper XB8000, I can see lots of Dials like true wind, Wind angle, visible on Navmon PC.
My feature request is can I have a transparent overlay Dial of True and apparent wind displayed on my OpenCPN chart like Gribs , or second best would be a popup like the Dashboard.