Nav data on your phone?

[Kelpie]

After a recent sleepless night at anchor watch, I've been idly musing about how nice it would be to be able to call up all my wind and depth data without getting out of bed.

I'm vaguely aware that there's some way in which modern instruments can be networked and use wi-fi to talk to a phone or tablet. I have no idea whether my instruments would be compatible but they are fairly new so maybe.

Is this likely to be hideously expensive and complicated? Would it be easier to fit a repeater? I'm mostly interested in wind, although depth would obviously be good too.

In addition to anchor watch, it could also be good for when I'm off watch and wondering whether SWMBO might be thinking about putting in a reef. It's nice to have numbers to back up your hunch of 'that was a big gust...'

 

[PaulRainbow]

Would be helpful to know what nav gear you have.

 

[Kelpie]

Would be helpful to know what nav gear you have.

Raymarine i60

 

[AngusMcDoon]

I wanted similar functionality, so made this...

Anchor watcher YAPP - remote boat monitoring from a mobile phone

It does a bit more than your requirement as it sends the data via Bluetooth to your phone when on-board or via mobile internet when in the pub. An Android app monitors the data and alarms when needed. I can't make and sell them as kits because it interfaces with NMEA 2000 and I don't have a license from the NMEA, but it's all open source if you want to have a go.

 

[Refueler]

There are various units you can buy to distribute data .... some expensive (generally those with a "Marine' in the label !! ) or other that boaters have designed / created for own use.
I'm no expert at this - but as I see it ....

Majority are fed NMEA and/or Seatalk data and then unit sends out as WiFi. A phone / PC / Tablet with suitable program can then receive and display the data.

I have a NMEA2WiFi unit ... about 40 quid ... it has my Plotter / AIS fed in ... it then sends out all info on WiFi - feeding my Tablet, as well as via USB cable for my PC chart program that cannot accept WiFi.

NMEA2WIFI - 2x INPUT NMEA 0183 TO WIFI MULTIPLEXER WITH SEATALK INPUT SUPPORT | eBay

The guy who builds these has now produced an enhanced version ... NMEA4WiFi

NMEA4WIFI - 4 x INPUT NMEA 0183 WIFI MULTIPLEXER WITH SEATALK1 INPUT | eBay

Therefore ... if like my boat - you have NMEA data out from your instruments - you can feed that data into the above unit and send out to your phone via WiFi.

My boat - anyone else on board can input the WiFi password and also have the data. It can also pick up WiFi such as Marina WiFi and resend out.

NOTE : The unit does not accept NMEA2000 .... but as long as your instruments can send out NMEA 0183, regardless of brand - you can combine and distribute the data.

 

[Gixer]

All my NMEA data is sent by cable through a Wi-Fi device from Quark (Other makes available) which sends the data wirelessly to my phone and tablet. this is then read by a free app called NMEAremote which shows me wind/speed/depth, etc.
Works really well.

 

[dunedin]

Raymarine i60

Do you have any chart plotter on board?

 

[AngusMcDoon]

Raymarine i60

Do you have a chart plotter on the same network as your instruments? Some can duplicate their screens on tablets by WiFi.

 

[AngusMcDoon]

Do you have a chart plotter on the same network as your instruments? Some can duplicate their screens on tablets by WiFi.

Who let you in here asking my questions?

 

[GHA]

[Imgur](https://i.imgur.com/mlSIwJ9.mp4)

After a recent sleepless night at anchor watch, I've been idly musing about how nice it would be to be able to call up all my wind and depth data without getting out of bed.

I'm vaguely aware that there's some way in which modern instruments can be networked and use wi-fi to talk to a phone or tablet. I have no idea whether my instruments would be compatible but they are fairly new so maybe.

Is this likely to be hideously expensive and complicated? Would it be easier to fit a repeater? I'm mostly interested in wind, although depth would obviously be good too.

In addition to anchor watch, it could also be good for when I'm off watch and wondering whether SWMBO might be thinking about putting in a reef. It's nice to have numbers to back up your hunch of 'that was a big gust...'

There is indeed such technology & imho should be well up the list of really good idea to have on a cruising boat. ?

Briefly - Raspberry Pi 2w mini computer, 5v power supply, couple of 32Gb sd cards, a way of getting your data into the Pi

Then all the software is written, then burn Welcome to OpenPlotter’s documentation! — OpenPlotter 3 documentation openplotter onto as SD card, put it in the Pi & turn on. No need for keyboard or mouse, access from anything which can access wifi & show a webpage though setting up a laptop would be easier. It runs signalk which does all the data magic > Signal K » Demo

What it does -

• creates it's own wifi network
• takes pretty much any data, turns it into 'signalk' dqtq which is sort of like nmea which you can read.
• do whatever you want with that data, gold dust is saving everything to a database which you can view from any device, like peak gusts,10 minute averages etc , really is a game changer, see small trands which would have been invisible otherwise.
• everything gets send out over wifi as well so opencpn on laptop/ tablet etc can get live ais/nav/wind data.

If you have a smartshunt then one wire will get battery data in there >


Hardest part is finding a Pi zero, or any Pi ... rpilocator - Find Raspberry Pi Computers in Stock
Then it's mostly wiring, nmea0183 needs some serial/usb adaptors, nmea2k not so sure , various options which google will find no doubt. And a few new interfaces to learn, everything can run on the Pi, so plots,dashboards, all available on any device.

But really really well worth going for, OPi zero uses very little power & will happily run quietly year after year.

Can't be much, if anything, anyone could think of to do with data on a boat which openplotter/signalk can't do.

https://imgur.com/mlSIwJ9

 

[ryanroberts]

Seeing as I am now apparently an Orca sales rep. That can repeat instrumentation data onto phones, eventually watch apps.

 

[Refueler]

I am always amazed at the lengths and depths some go to ....

My present setup :

Budget plotter with AIS transponder ... Onwa 39A
NMEA2WiFi
8" Android Tablet (WiFi) Navionics Boating and Lakes
10.1 Android Tablet (WiFi) OpenCPN
10" Acer One PC (USB) Seaclear
Samsung S8 Smartphone (WiFi) Navionics Boating and Lakes

Took all of about 30mins to connect up and get data flowing to OpenCPN and now Navionics Boating app via WiFi ... (Because I am evaluating android apps with some other guys ... I have 3 Nav apps setup .... OpenCPN on one tab, Navionics app on another, Seaclear on an Acer one PC - all running simultaneously from that NMEA2WiFi ... I can also include my Samsung phone if I want same time).

No need for extra adaptors or converters ....

If I added a Wind unit that output NMEA - that could be included as well in the setup. Because I have the older NMEA2WiFi unit - then I am full input. But if I was to do this again - I would get the later NMEA4WiFi unit and then I could have :

GPS
AIS
Wind
Speed

inputs ....

Plus the unit outputs all info via USB cable .... simultaneously.

 

[AngusMcDoon]

No need for extra adaptors or converters ....

Unless or until the OP states otherwise, from what we know he has a NMEA2000 based system, so some sort of converter is required. They are not as cheap as NMEA0183 stuff because the NMEA are litigious against anyone who produces commercially anything stating compatiblity with NMEA2000 who have not bought a license from them. They don't bother suing unlicensed producers of NMEA0183 kit. I could produce a NMEA2000 to Bluetooth or WiFi kit for a few quid, but there's a good reason why I don't.

 

[Kelpie]

Do you have a chart plotter on the same network as your instruments? Some can duplicate their screens on tablets by WiFi.

Nope- we are actually running two plotters but they are both standalone.
The boat cane with a Lowrance HDS5 which is in the cockpit. That's really just used as a GPS log now, and the track is handy when visualising how the boat is moving around at anchor. But we sailed off its charts tonks ago, and didn't bother updating them because...

We bought an ONWA KP-708A, which gave us a bigger screen, free global charting, and a class B+ AIS. This is at the chart table.

 

[Kelpie]

By the way, I don't think any of my instruments are linked, except the log and wind which I presume are connected so that true wind can be calculated.
It would be quite nice if the autopilot could talk to the wind too, and follow the windshifts...

 

[GHA]

By the way, I don't think any of my instruments are linked, except the log and wind which I presume are connected so that true wind can be calculated.
It would be quite nice if the autopilot could talk to the wind too, and follow the windshifts...

Log,wind,gps would be a good start - is it all nmea2000 data?

Signalk can create whatever you want to send out from any data you have & send it out over whatever you want.

Do you have win laptop onboard? Have a play > Release Version 1.0.0 · SignalK/signalk-server-windows

 

[Refueler]

Unless or until the OP states otherwise, from what we know he has a NMEA2000 based system, so some sort of converter is required. They are not as cheap as NMEA0183 stuff because the NMEA are litigious against anyone who produces commercially anything stating compatiblity with NMEA2000 who have not bought a license from them. They don't bother suing unlicensed producers of NMEA0183 kit. I could produce a NMEA2000 to Bluetooth or WiFi kit for a few quid, but there's a good reason why I don't.

Please explain how you can assume he has an NMEA2000 based system.

He has a KP-708A ... which is NMEA 0183 .... and lets assume that like many - the plotter is the central part of the system. With a simple unit as I linked to .... he could link all .... his i60 has Seatalk .. that links to the unit I linked to ...

Seems with what he already has - all he needs is an app on his phone to use the WiFi data that such a simple unit as I illustrated gets from his Onwa nd i60 gear .....

Not everyone considers NMEA2000 the 'bees knees' ....

 

[Refueler]

By the way, I don't think any of my instruments are linked, except the log and wind which I presume are connected so that true wind can be calculated.
It would be quite nice if the autopilot could talk to the wind too, and follow the windshifts...

I would assume they are linked via Seatalk ..... ?? If so - we are on a winner !!

 

[Buck Turgidson]

job done.

 

[AngusMcDoon]

Please explain how you can assume he has an NMEA2000 based system.

From what he says he has an i60 log and wind which are connected to each other and nothing else. From Raymarine's current spec here...

i60 Instrument Displays | Raymarine

they have 2 SeatalkNG connections and nothing else. Maybe he has older ones which do have Seatalk, but the OP can confirm that. Does the KP-708A connect to NMEA2000?