Recomendation for NMEA AIS Mutiplexer to OPCN

[Trim50]

I finally broke down and bought an AIS-B and want to know which is the cheapest/best (yes both) multiplexer that will enable Raymarine E80, Laptops and Android Tablet via BT or wifi.

I'm interested in hearing peoples experience using the wireless AIS connection to OPCN.

[Snore]

Assuming that the Ray display can accept NMEA 0183 inputs, you can wire the AIS output direct to the plotter and connect an MadMan marine NMEA 0183 to wifi device to the same leads.

..... I had that setup before doing some upgrades and have my MadMan wifi gizmo for sale.... See the Classifieds

[FatChance]

Originally Posted by Trim50

I finally broke down and bought an AIS-B and want to know which is the cheapest/best (yes both) multiplexer that will enable Raymarine E80, Laptops and Android Tablet via BT or wifi.

I'm interested in hearing peoples experience using the wireless AIS connection to OPCN.

The ShipModul MiniPlex-2Wi is what I'll be adding to our boat soon for this:
ShipModul Marine Electronics

[Trim50]

I couldn't find your Madman for sale...how much are you asking?

[Trim50]

Looks like what I want, but with shipping to Thailand would be pricey.

[petter5]

If you are running linux, multiplexer can be run unde linux Marinux Website

it's included by default in the Xinutop "dedicated" Opencpn linut distrubution, it is easy to download and run just from a USB stick if you wan to test it - and no pricy shipping to Thailand :-)

[CarCode]

But OpenCPN is already a multiplexer.
Look here: Pratiques et Techniques de la Plaisance

Gerhard

[Snore]

Originally Posted by Trim50

I couldn't find your Madman for sale...how much are you asking?

Apparently it got archived, a link to the original thread follows. Any hoot, asking $90 and I also have a GPS "puck" that can be plugged into a USB port. Add the two and viola! AIS and GPS on OpenCpn.

http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...-a-148897.html


PM or e-mail me if you are interested in them.

[muttnik]

Originally Posted by Snore

Apparently it got archived, a link to the original thread follows. Any hoot, asking $90 and I also have a GPS "puck" that can be plugged into a USB port. Add the two and viola! AIS and GPS on OpenCpn.

But surely this isn't a multiplexer as requested, and given the lack of integrated GPS and extreme paucity of NMEA inputs on an E80 a multiplexer is possibly what the OP needs (assuming a desire to display AIS on the E80 as well as tablets' laptops etc.). I have other technical doubts about the Madman wireless thingy but that's a separate issue.

The expensive commercial options are of course things like the brookhouse and shipmodul (mentioned by FatChance) products.

As Gerhard said, if you don't mind leaving a laptop plugged all the time in OpenCPN itself can do a decent job of multiplexing data. You can output over a serial line back to the E80 and over the network.

My preferred solution is a single board computer (I'm using a raspberry pi v2) with attached serial-to-usb adapters which is also set up to act as a wireless access point, distributing the NMEA data over the network using kplex. Might be a little too hacky for people who want something a little more off-the-shelf.

I've had OpenCPN working just fine with AIS connected wirelessly using the above set-up.

iMux - The Brookhouse NMEA 0183 Wifi multiplexer
Kplex: An NMEA-0183 Multiplexer

[FatChance]

Originally Posted by Trim50

Looks like what I want, but with shipping to Thailand would be pricey.

Trim, if you're talking about the ShipModul unit, shipping is free and they ship worldwide from the Netherlands. If you're not in the EU, VAT is excluded and the price is around 289 euros for the 2Wi unit (the one you likely want if you're using 0183). The above mentioned Raspberry Pi setup with Kplex or always on laptop with OpenCPN running would work if you're willing to get a little more technical. For me, it's not the technical portion of getting Kplex or OpenCPN setup as a multiplexer that bothers me, but rather I just prefer for this purpose to have a dedicated board with a low power draw that handles multiplexing in an always-on configuration and is hopefully less of a hassle for long-term maintenance. Also, the ShipModul or Brookhouse style units are a little more turn-key, you'll have to do some configuration with the software initially, but once configured it's pretty much set and forget from what I understand.

[muttnik]

Originally Posted by FatChance

I just prefer for this purpose to have a dedicated board with a low power draw that handles multiplexing in an always-on configuration and is hopefully less of a hassle for long-term maintenance.

Fair enough: there's also a question of robustness. The commercial solutions will be in a nice easily mountable housing with opto-isolated inputs. My solution may be relatively cheap but a raspberry pi with a bunch of serial-to-usb adapters (and in my case some additional breadboard connected to it) is more physically fragile and considerably less neat.

[FatChance]

Originally Posted by muttnik

Fair enough: there's also a question of robustness. The commercial solutions will be in a nice easily mountable housing with opto-isolated inputs. My solution may be relatively cheap but a raspberry pi with a bunch of serial-to-usb adapters (and in my case some additional breadboard connected to it) is more physically fragile and considerably less neat.

Yes, more good points regarding the robustness and isolation of the inputs. Basically, I want to get one I can install and mostly forget about, is robust and reliable, has low power draw, and is a smaller all in one unit. On our boat the space and power is already pretty limited, so the form factor, power draw, and total size requirement of the ShipModul unit are what are attractive to me. I've also read some nightmare stories about Brookhouse support when a problem arises, so that quickly ruled out them as an option.

I guess at the end of the day it boils down to what you really want and need, and what your budget is. If you're on a shoestring budget, just getting an existing machine to use OpenCPN as a network multiplexer might be best. Just a little more cash and a decent level of technical expertise, the Raspberry Pi 2 with Kplex would be a nice option. If money isn't much of an issue and and you just want something that works without too much fuss after initial configuration and probably has a longer lifespan in a marine environment or some offshore work, I like the ShipModul. Just my own opinion after a hefty amount of reading and research on the subject. Will followup once I finally get it all installed.

[witzgall]

This may not help the OP, bu the Em-trak B100 transceiver connects to NMEA 0183 with the separate outputs, as well as N2k and USB. The USB connection can provide both GPS and AIS information over that single connection.


The e80 (classic I assume) has a single data port that can handle the AIS traffic. However, I have found that their implementation of AIS handling to be a bit rough, compared to later generation chartplotters. You will need the Data cable, and currently, ray is out of them.


Chris

[rdempsey]

Originally Posted by Trim50

I finally broke down and bought an AIS-B and want to know which is the cheapest/best (yes both) multiplexer that will enable Raymarine E80, Laptops and Android Tablet via BT or wifi.

I'm interested in hearing peoples experience using the wireless AIS connection to OPCN.

Raspberry pi model A ($20) with wifi adapter ($10) running kplex.

I added a 4 port rs232 to usb adapter and now have GPS, AIS, and fluxgate compass broadcast over wifi.
Once the wind sensor gets installed it goes on the fouth port.

OpenCPN on laptop displays this wifi data with no problem.

[travellerw]

I think the cheapest/best solution is a Vesper XB-8000. Not only does it provide AIS transponding, but it multiplexes everything (NMEA 0183, NMEA 2000). It downconverts, upconverts, spews the data on WIFI and is generally awesome. I feed both OpenCPN and PolarView over WIFI from the Vesper.

If you factor the costs of a separate AIS TRANSPONDER and a multiplexer, then its a good deal (can be readily had for $740, sometimes as low as $700).