OpenCPN active route to NMEA?

[rszemeti]

So I have SignalK running, and mynvarious displays picking up data, either via Signalk directly, or over the NMEA2000 bus.

Ihave a route set up and activated in OpenCPN, and Iget distance to go, curse to steeretc in OpenCpn console on the right hand side of the screen, all is good and well.

What Iwould like is to pick up the same data (waypoint, course to steer, dtg, brg) etc on my B&G display at the helm. It is already picking up other sihnlak data such as GPSand mag heading, but I can't see the opencpn track data

Any clues? Idon't need any autopilot control at this stage, but imagine it is similar .. our autohelm will accept NMEA0183 data eventually ...

[stevead]

This question is probably better directed to a SignalK forum.

Unless SignalK can accept the NMEA 183 APB, RMB, XTE sentences that OpenCPN emits when a route is active, AND combine them to form a meaningful NMEA 2000 PGN 129284 message, then the short answer probably no. You might be able to cobble something together using node red.

[Dsanduril]

I’m not super familiar with the N2K -> SignalK side of things, but can you see that information in SignalK?

For our own setup, to get that information into SignalK I created an outbound connection in OpenCPN (network, some random port, UDP IIRC) then created a matching input connection in SignalK. All the route/waypoint info was then available in SignalK. Don’t think I did anything to prevent data loops but not a perfect recollection on that.

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by stevead

This question is probably better directed to a SignalK forum.

Unless SignalK can accept the NMEA 183 APB, RMB, XTE sentences that OpenCPN emits when a route is active, AND combine them to form a meaningful NMEA 2000 PGN 129284 message, then the short answer probably no. You might be able to cobble something together using node red.

Why wouldn't you be able to receive the 0183 sentences into the B&G plotter's 0183 listener port?



I'm interested in this question, but I'm even more interested in whether a way has appeared to transfer routes (and waypoints and maybe tracks) over the network. O nominally has this function but last time I checked it doesn't work.

[rszemeti]

Originally Posted by Dsanduril

For our own setup, to get that information into SignalK I created an outbound connection in OpenCPN (network, some random port, UDP IIRC) then created a matching input connection in SignalK. All the route/waypoint info was then available in SignalK.

Ah ha! OK, that should get it out then. I guess XTE is one of the required sentences, I'll try and figure out what the others are. Thanks, I think that will get it going.

[rszemeti]

Originally Posted by Dockhead

Why wouldn't you be able to receive the 0183 sentences into the B&G plotter's 0183 listener port?

Mostly because I don't have a B&G plotter, just a Triton2 display ... and it does not have an NMEA0183 port, just a NMEA2000 port.




It looks like i have a solution .. create a UDP outgoing NMEA0183 format port in OpenCPN, filter this for XTE etc outbound. Create a new listener port in SignalK that listens for this info ... I can now see an XTE item in the databrowser ... all I need now is to get this data out onto the NMEA canbus port on the SignalK server and it should work ...

[stevead]

You will only have part of a solution if you convert NMEA 183 XTE sentences as all your B&G Triton will display will be cross track error and direction to steer.

If you want to display waypoint name, waypoint bearing, time and distance to go, you will need to aggregate information from other NMEA 183 sentences such as APB and RMB.

Clearly you didn't follow my advice to look on the SignalK forums otherwise you would have found the following https://github.com/SignalK/signalk-t...f35d948d782652

[rszemeti]

Yes, I know I need other sentences, I said I filtered for "XTE etc" ... as I am not on the boat right now and don't recall the others I selected. This completes the OpenCPN side of things I think.



Thanks for the link to some source code, but I have no idea what it does, I am not really interested in anything that is going to need code modifications, I'm trying to keep my sailing experience as a "user" not a programmer, as I spend too much of my life programming anyway. Hopefully, those bits of code are now included in some SignalK plugin, I'll bug them about that part of it.

[rszemeti]

So, it looks like that code to get the NMEA200 PGN's outbound was never pulled ... SignalK appears to be mostly stalled, the last commit was 8 months ago, there is little traffic on the mailing list and many of the questions get no response it seems looking at the mail archive.



Pity, as it is mostly very good and clearly has had a lot of active development in the past. There are 3 other pull requests that implement similar functionality, but they don't appear to have gained any traction with the SK devs, the pull requests never got actioned, some date back a fair way too.

[Tehani]

Originally Posted by rszemeti

So I have SignalK running, and mynvarious displays picking up data, either via Signalk directly, or over the NMEA2000 bus.

Ihave a route set up and activated in OpenCPN, and Iget distance to go, curse to steeretc in OpenCpn console on the right hand side of the screen, all is good and well.

What Iwould like is to pick up the same data (waypoint, course to steer, dtg, brg) etc on my B&G display at the helm. It is already picking up other sihnlak data such as GPSand mag heading, but I can't see the opencpn track data

Any clues? Idon't need any autopilot control at this stage, but imagine it is similar .. our autohelm will accept NMEA0183 data eventually ...

Don't complicate your life. Put a two-way gateway between OpenCPN (USB or WiFi) and the NMEA2000 network.

https://opencpn.org/wiki/dokuwiki/do..._vyacht_others

[rszemeti]

Originally Posted by Tehani

Don't complicate your life. Put a two-way gateway between OpenCPN (USB or WiFi) and the NMEA2000 network.

https://opencpn.org/wiki/dokuwiki/do..._vyacht_others

Sounds like an overcomplication, another piece of gear to fail. I'm pretty much there, just waiting for the SignalK guys to merge that bit of code into the master branch and we're done. My plan has always been to use SignalK as a the central source of all data, either as an SK tcp connection over wifi, or via the NMEA2000 adaptor on CAN0 ... I'll stick with that.

[Tehani]

Originally Posted by rszemeti

Sounds like an overcomplication, another piece of gear to fail. I'm pretty much there, just waiting for the SignalK guys to merge that bit of code into the master branch and we're done. My plan has always been to use SignalK as a the central source of all data, either as an SK tcp connection over wifi, or via the NMEA2000 adaptor on CAN0 ... I'll stick with that.

Well, the translation you intend to do seems more complicated to me:

NMEA0183 -> SignalK -> NMEA2000.
and:
NMEA2000 -> SignalK -> NMEA0183.

But as they say around here: About tastes, the colors.

[rszemeti]

Nope,


OpenCPN-> SignalK-> NMEA2000
..........................-> NMEA0183


OpenCPN is already picking up all its nav data from SK, feeeding the route info back is a logical choice.

[Tehani]

Originally Posted by rszemeti

Nope,


OpenCPN-> SignalK-> NMEA2000
..........................-> NMEA0183


OpenCPN is already picking up all its nav data from SK, feeeding the route info back is a logical choice.

And what device are you using to convert N2k into SignalK?
Apart from the SignalK update, you need that the same device also "speak" in NMEA2000.

[rszemeti]

I have a Pican M card and the usual SK plugin.