Cheap diy nmea to wifi adaptor - tested and working

[ianj99]

You simply need one of these £50 serial to wifi interfaces:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/111514368587 which will operate from the ship's supply so only needs power and nmea data.

plus Navmonpc (http://navmonpc.com) running on a laptop or Windows tablet, as the tcp client. The incoming nmea data can then be routed by Navmon to as many virtual com ports you need - one for each application eg charting software etc. (Navmon is a great free Windows app but no doubt there are Mac and Android equivalents out there)

I thought it was going to be a lot more difficult as I initially received garbage over the wifi connection until I swapped over the input wires from my nmea source. (its an Airmar nmea compass which has balanced outputs).

This will mean I no longer need a domestic wifi router and notebook as a nmea server thus saving several amps and some space in the wheelhouse.
Ian

 

[KAM]

Would this work with Seawi on an android tablet.

 

[ianj99]

Would this work with Seawi on an android tablet.

I don't see why not since Seawi can apparently read nmea 0183 and 2K data from a tcp connection.

You can specify the tcp port in the interface's browser based setup (default is 8899 and IP address 10.10.100.254) and it has a dhcp server.

So the steps are:
Disconnect from your existing wifi connection (if any)
Connect to the device,
Type 10.10.100.254 in your browser address bar and log in using the default credentials (admin admin)
Change the serial baud rate, and change the IP and port number if necessary.
Reboot the device and close your browser.
Reconnect and open your app, in the wifi setup, change IP and port number to whatever you set them to if not the default ones.

I

 

[lw395]

Without the (fairly nice) case and LEDs, connectors....?
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/serial-tt...ther_Computing_Networking&hash=item1c49ef5ec9
Same seller.
£16.50.
Is it the same thing?
What apps will read this? On a phone?

 

[ianj99]

Without the (fairly nice) case and LEDs, connectors....?
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/serial-tt...ther_Computing_Networking&hash=item1c49ef5ec9
Same seller.
£16.50.
Is it the same thing?
What apps will read this? On a phone?

I bought one of them as well, but by the time you've boxed it, built a power supply to drop ship's battery volts down to 3.3v at 500ma, added an opto isolated input or level translator (input signal range is 0-3.3v), it was simpler to use the ready built unit.

The embedded module is really meant to be built into a larger device, as the name suggests.

There is a version without the ethernet port which is cheaper - I think its the £39.50 model in the above ebay shop.

The manufacturer's website: http://en.usr.cn/Serial-to-WIFI/RS232-to-WIFI-802.11-B-G-N-Converter

 

[KAM]

Thanks Ianj99 for a great tip. Just got this working after an hours fiddling about with my phone and tablet and seawi. I can now see all my boats data including AIS whilst lying in my bunk and Seawi will text me in the pub with wind and depth data and tell me if my anchor is dragging. What an excellent piece of kit.

 

[ianj99]

Thanks Ianj99 for a great tip. Just got this working after an hours fiddling about with my phone and tablet and seawi. I can now see all my boats data including AIS whilst lying in my bunk and Seawi will text me in the pub with wind and depth data and tell me if my anchor is dragging. What an excellent piece of kit.

I'm glad you like it. I think many owners tend to turn their noses up at these low cost alternatives to the branded ones thinking the higher price must guarantee a better product.
Ian

 

[jameswang]

Aha, Great job. Thank you for sharing.

 

[KAM]

Its very nicely made and web interface very easy to use. The quality looks much better than my expensive raymarine seatalk converter which is just a clip together plastic box with spring loaded terminals. Looking forward to lying in my bunk and not having to go into the cockpit to check the wind and depth. Seawi is very good too with all the data on one page.

 

[Alpha22]

Would this work with the Digital Yacht AIS app on an iPad????

 

[ianj99]

Would this work with the Digital Yacht AIS app on an iPad????

Provided the app can get the data via a tcp client connection it should work.

Here is a quick 'how to':-

1) Find the device in your list of wifi networks and connect to it. (Pic 1)
2) Enter 10.10.100.254 into the address window to open the unit's browser setup and login (admin admin) (Pic 2)
3) Click on the 'Application settings' so you can change the baud rate to 4800 or 38400 (i.e. to match the speed of your nmea data source) (Pic 3)
4) Close the browser window after clicking on 'reboot' in the 'Device management' menu and then cycle the power to it once the first green led is lit.

Reconnect to it in your wifi connections list.

Finally go into your navigation app's settings for the nmea / gps data source and choose TCP/IP client, enter 10,10.100.254 for the address and 8899 for the port. Pic 4 shows how its done in Navmonpc.

That should be it.

You can change the login credentials, IP address, port number, network name, network security etc should you wish.
Ian

 

[nigelmercier]

I note you already have a Wi-Fi network, as do I. It therefore seems more sensible to get a device that interfaces to the existing router, rather than wireless.

I've bought one of these for £8, but haven't connected it yet:
RS232 Serial to Ethernet Converter TCP IP Module http://amzn.to/1K7noCO

 

[ianj99]

I note you already have a Wi-Fi network, as do I. It therefore seems more sensible to get a device that interfaces to the existing router, rather than wireless.

I've bought one of these for £8, but haven't connected it yet:
RS232 Serial to Ethernet Converter TCP IP Module http://amzn.to/1K7noCO

I don't have a network on board. I did use a TP Link router and a notebook as a tcp server with Navmonpc routing the data, but the power consumption is way more than the nmea-wifi interface which is why I decided to use one.

 

[nigelmercier]

I don't have a network on board...

My mistake, it looked like you were connected to one. However, anyone who already has a network might like to consider the wired option in my Post #12: http://amzn.to/1K7noCO

If you are concerned about having to make a 5V power supply, buy a cheap cigarette socket to USB adaptor on Amazon or eBay, remove the case, wire it in.

Example of such an adaptor for 75p here: http://amzn.to/1DciPCx I don't think I could make one for 75p, I'm seriously considering using these in future projects.

 

[Breizh]

Some really great information on this thread, many thanks!

Breizh.

 

[ianj99]

My mistake, it looked like you were connected to one. However, anyone who already has a network might like to consider the wired option in my Post #12: http://amzn.to/1K7noCO

If you are concerned about having to make a 5V power supply, buy a cheap cigarette socket to USB adaptor on Amazon or eBay, remove the case, wire it in.

Example of such an adaptor for 75p here: http://amzn.to/1DciPCx I don't think I could make one for 75p, I'm seriously considering using these in future projects.

Please post the setting up steps to get it working via a router.

 

[nigelmercier]

Please post the setting up steps to get it working via a router.

I imagine it will be similar to the Wi-Fi model.

 

[ianj99]

I imagine it will be similar to the Wi-Fi model.

That is true if it was connected directly to a laptop or pc but presumably not if its connected to a router.

I would think its dhcp server will need to be disabled, and I think it will need to be changed from AP mode to station.
I assume it will get its IP from the router, otherwise it will need a static one appropriate for the routers address range. Might also need port forwarding?

I'm not a network guru hence my request for the actual working settings for others at a similar level but you're input is welcome.
Ian

 

[nigelmercier]

I'm not a network guru hence my request for the actual working settings ...

Will let you know when I try it.

 

[laika]

You simply need one of these £50 serial to wifi interfaces:

I believe this is the same device that forum user curtis also reported success with a year ago:
http://www.ybw.com/forums/showthread.php?376686-IPAD-AIS/page4

so that's at least two forumites using a fifty quid device which seems to do what the digital yacht thingy claims for several times that. Manual seems a little...errr..challenging though.

Does it support bi-directional communication?

I note in the blurb it says it supports UDP (which I presume means it can output the serial data as udp packets rather than as a TCP stream). Might that be a better choice of protocol for this sort of thing?