A challenge to make a cheap plotter for under £60

[Hurricane]

I had a spare Raspberry Pi so I thought I'd have a go installing a new (to me) distro called OpenPlotter.
Essentially, OpenPlotter is a Linux Distribution that gathers together a number of software projects into one place.
The main project component is OpenCPN which I have been using for a few years in a live environment on our Princess.
There are also a number of other useful utilities included in the distribution.

It is dead easy to install - all you need is a computer attached to the internet to download the necessary software and install it onto a microSD card.
Then you just assemble the parts and switch on.

The parts I used are:-
A Raspberry Pi 3 Model B
An 8Gb microSD card
A cheap keyboard
and a GPS dongle.
I'll provide links later to where the parts can be bought.

Here is a pic of all the parts.

The software installation process is described simply in the download.
Here is a link to the OpenPlotter web site.
http://www.sailoog.com/en/openplotter
You will need a microSD card reader but, essentially, you download a free formatting program, format a microSD card and copy the project files onto it.
Then you connect it up to a monitor or TV, power it from a USB power supply and there you have it - a fully functioning plotter.
OK - I know that it will need a case/box and a TV/monitor isn't for external use but this test was designed to see how cheap a plotter could be made.
Maybe the Raspberry Pi could be stuck inside or to the back of a marine monitor or domestic TV.
I have a friend in Sant Carles who has a secondary TV mounted inside his cabin facing out so that he can see the display at the helm.
Anyway, I put this together to see how well it works and how cheap it could be - not to make it robust to use as a main plotter.

I copied all my OpenCPN charts from my ships systems and then took these screen shots:-

There is enough space on the microSD card to load the vector charts for the whole world - this is a view of the Balearics.

And this shows some British Admiralty charts on Mallorca - note charts at different scales are "quilted" together.

And some zoomed in to local chartlets that have been georeferenced so that they work accurately.

The software also worked with my own accurately georeferenced Google Maps overlays - this one of Portinatx in Ibiza

So, how well did it work.
To be honest, it is a lot slower than my ship's PC but it is fast enough to be useful if someone wants to make a really low cost plotter.
Panning is ok - zooming in can take half a second or so to draw the screen.
However, I have seen some commercial plotters that are slower so maybe I'm being a bit unfair.
And you have to remember that this is a complete plotter system with charts in a credit card sized microprocessor.

Other software
There are a number of other features that come with it.
These new Raspberry Pis have WiFi built in so you can connect to the internet using (say) the marina WiFi.
Chromium is supplied so browsing the internet is just like using a desktop computer.
The Linux desktop environment is very like Windows - I moved the task bar from the top and put it at the bottom of the screen - it then works just like Windows.
Once running, anyone familiar with Windows would be able to use it straight away.

A useful extra that has been added is a program called ZyGrib.
Some will know that Grib files are a standard format used to transmit weather forecasts round the internet.
ZyGrib is a nice little interactive reader/displayer that allows you to download the latest set of Grib files for a particular area and display them graphically.
The latest set of Grib files provides weather forecasts for a few days ahead.
The beauty of this concept is that once downloaded, the Grib files can be used off line - at sea for example.
Here is an example of the Raspberry Pi's ZyGrib display.

I wanted to put this system together as a challenge to make the cheapest plotter.
So, here is a list of the components and their costs.

The Raspberry Pi itself £32
from here:- https://thepihut.com/collections/raspberry-pi/products/raspberry-pi-3-model-b
A GPS Dongle £12.95
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/112340945352?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT
A cheap keyboard/pointer device £6.98
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2-4G-Mini...478876?hash=item2100a11a9c:g:WhkAAOSwr~lYq~-z
An 8Gb microSD card £4.21
(bigger one might be better but this project is all about being cheap)
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/8GB-Kings...hash=item4d4fc5e337:m:mBtd8mF9Eeh-9oZbq_FGoZw
That makes the whole lot £56.14 - all components new and available now.

I have excluded the monitor/TV and power supply from my costs - as explained above.

Anyway, I wanted to build this as an exercise.
So, could it be used in anger - yes, I think it could but I will be sticking with my "power hungry" ships PC.
Once I'd built it, I thought it might be interesting to post it on here.

 

[matthewriches]

Good work but then I am a Raspberry geek

 

[Nigelpickin]

Great post, I do enjoy your DIY threads Hurricane, reminds me of Caractacus Potts ��

 

[rafiki_]

Fantastic thread Mike. Would this drive a (non-Apple) tablet screen? Could be a nice solution on the little rib if I could waterproof a screen?

 

[paul salliss]

Very clever and interesting

 

[Bouba]

Brilliant, you are quite the genius

 

[Lon nan Gruagach]

Apart from the neatly sidestepped cost of a screen...
Lets start shaving some £ off eh?

New Raspberry Pi ZeroW : £9-60, built in WiFi so no need for a dongle!
For me the 162 GPS (same guts as the one you show but has 2m USB lead means you can get the GPS reciever away from the Wifi) http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/VK-162-GPS-Navigation-Module-Antenna-USB-Interface-G-Mouse-Waterproof-Black-/262772172969?hash=item3d2e7128a9:g:JBEAAOSw241YWnfo £9-39

saving so far ~£28

 

[Oscar24]

Brilliant, you are quite the genius

+1
Thanks Hurricane, I've been looking for an excuse to buy a PI for ages now.

 

[NormanB]

Hurricane - that's very impressive work.

I realise that this was an exercise in 'cheapness'.

How much (£££) would you need to throw in to:

A. Make it say twice as fast.
B. Integrate into a rugged system box suitable for the marine environment.

So that it would be a viable back up to the laptop.

Respect.:encouragement:

 

[Hurricane]

Apart from the neatly sidestepped cost of a screen...
Lets start shaving some £ off eh?

New Raspberry Pi ZeroW : £9-60, built in WiFi so no need for a dongle!
For me the 162 GPS (same guts as the one you show but has 2m USB lead means you can get the GPS reciever away from the Wifi) http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/VK-162-GPS-Navigation-Module-Antenna-USB-Interface-G-Mouse-Waterproof-Black-/262772172969?hash=item3d2e7128a9:g:JBEAAOSw241YWnfo £9-39

saving so far ~£28

Great - you have beaten me by reducing the costs further.
I wonder if moving to a Pi Zero would be fast enough but - hey - this is all about making it cheap!!
The GPS module is a good cost saver as well.
I chose the USB GPS because it came with a guarantee that it would work - and with some notes!!
Your solution beats mine because you are braver than me.

You win.

 

[Hurricane]

Hurricane - that's very impressive work.

I realise that this was an exercise in 'cheapness'.

How much (£££) would you need to throw in to:

A. Make it say twice as fast.
B. Integrate into a rugged system box suitable for the marine environment.

So that it would be a viable back up to the laptop.

Respect.:encouragement:

Answer A
Twice as fast - well that would cost a lot more.
My ships solution uses a fast Intel i3 processor and is way quicker than the Pi.
But the extra cost ins't comparable.
To get anything significantly quicker you would need to pay in excess of £200 instead of the 32 quid of the Pi.

Answer B
I would like to change this into a challenge to everyone.
This is the BIG issue with all PC based navigation systems.
The Monitor.
If we could find a reasonably priced, sunlight viewable, robust and water resistant monitor, a system like this would be a real prospect as a replacement for a manufactured plotter.
All the software is available - OpenCPN even has software to control the ship's auto pilot.
And, IMO, OpenCPN's AIS interface is second to none - I use it all the time - instead of Raymarine's
So, is there anyone out there that has a good solution for a robust sunlight viewable monitor?

 

[Hurricane]

+1
Thanks Hurricane, I've been looking for an excuse to buy a PI for ages now.

Yes - and if you don't use it for navigation, the Pi will always run your TV systems - using Kodi - I have loads of them - all round the house and on the boat as media centres.

For navigation - if anyone wants any of my DIY georeferenced charts - just PM me.

 

[Hurricane]

Fantastic thread Mike. Would this drive a (non-Apple) tablet screen? Could be a nice solution on the little rib if I could waterproof a screen?

The answer is yes - and no

Any (non Apple) tablet would probably be running Android and there is a version of OpenCPN that runs natively on the Android anyway.
So, if you have an Android device, head over to the Play Store and search for OpenCPN.
However - be aware that the free version is NOT the same as the paid one.
When OpenCPN was released on the Android, someone took the source code and released it for free.
The paid version is the one to load - much better support and it works.
Same charts are used for all versions.
I have it running on my Android phone and my Android tablet.

Getting technical though.
It is possible to link versions of OpenCPN together using UDP and TCP over ethernet.
This means that if you have an OpenCPN system (say on a boat) that has an AIS feed, the AIS data can be transmitted to mobile devices within the boat (within that LAN).
I've done it and it works but I wonder whether it is actually worthwhile.

So, in answer to your question, it would be better to find a waterproof/ sunlight monitor and just use the RPi system as the inelegance for a system for a RIB.
Having said that, when I wanted a plotter for my RIB last year, I bought a Garmin dedicated plotter.
The PC is great but, IMO, best used as a parallel system - in fact, it is great when used as a parallel system.

 

[julians]

I use a waterproof android tablet (sony xperia z3 ) running navionics,it works well enough for me,but its not without issues. Firstly while the screen is very bright, if its exceptionally sunny it can be hard to read,and secondly it can overheat and shutdown in extended periods direct sunlight with no airflow,its fine if yoi keep moving,but at anchor it will overheat ( in the med)

 

[Richard10002]

Are Open Cpn charts free? Can you get them for the UK?

Just curious, as it's hard to get lost on The Bridgewater Canal

 

[Hurricane]

Are Open Cpn charts free? Can you get them for the UK?

Just curious, as it's hard to get lost on The Bridgewater Canal

Most charts are chargeable.
OpenCPN can use charts in a number of different formats.
CM93 and S-57/S-63 to name a few.
I mostly use the old BSB raster format that was originally supported in OpenCPN.
I scan a chart and georeference it myself - it is a "kind of" hobby of mine.
Sometimes, the georeferencing can be very accurate.
For example, I georeferenced some Google images of our marina.
Our system records the ship's track all the time.
Not only do all the tracks terminate exactly on the boat's berth, but they actually terminate on the radar arch where the GPS mushroom is located.
See here

 

[TwoHooter]

Wow, this is an exciting time to be involved in all this.

Might be worth explaining that I need to do a refit of our electronics next winter and Hurricane has been amazingly helpful.

I think that the next phase of leisure marine electronics will be to place the ship's computer, electronic charts, and navigation software at the heart of the electronics suite. Plotters, as we know them, will not really be needed. At the moment I intend to build our new system like that.

Monitors - Warning, it's a minefield:
Litemax:
http://www.braemac.co.uk/litemax_durapixel.html
http://www.displaysolutions.co.uk/site/?page=products&action=list&cat_id=22
and others

Olorin> http://www.olorin.com/

My solution: a Panasonic Toughbook which can be moved from Pilot House to Flybridge with a docking station at both positions, backed up by (probably) Olorin monitors in the Pilot House. At least that's the current idea.

Edit: Neovo monitors are pretty good - we have one to display Maxsea TimeZero from the ship's PC - but they don't dim low enough to preserve night vision.

None of this is cheap and probably never will be. The money savings are coming in other areas. I don't believe a high quality splash-proof sunlight-readable fully-dimmable monitor will ever come down to the price of a Raspberry Pi.

For me the money saving is not the driver. It's the excitement of seeing whether it is becoming possible to build an open-source navigation suite.

 

[Hurricane]

Wow, this is an exciting time to be involved in all this.

Might be worth explaining that I need to do a refit of our electronics next winter and Hurricane has been amazingly helpful.

I think that the next phase of leisure marine electronics will be to place the ship's computer, electronic charts, and navigation software at the heart of the electronics suite. Plotters, as we know them, will not really be needed. At the moment I intend to build our new system like that.

Monitors - Warning, it's a minefield:
Litemax:
http://www.braemac.co.uk/litemax_durapixel.html
http://www.displaysolutions.co.uk/site/?page=products&action=list&cat_id=22
and others

Olorin> http://www.olorin.com/

My solution: a Panasonic Toughbook which can be moved from Pilot House to Flybridge with a docking station at both positions, backed up by (probably) Olorin monitors in the Pilot House. At least that's the current idea.

Edit: Neovo monitors are pretty good - we have one to display Maxsea TimeZero from the ship's PC - but they don't dim low enough to preserve night vision.

None of this is cheap and probably never will be. The money savings are coming in other areas. I don't believe a high quality splash-proof sunlight-readable fully-dimmable monitor will ever come down to the price of a Raspberry Pi.

For me the money saving is not the driver. It's the excitement of seeing whether it is becoming possible to build an open-source navigation suite.

Yes - it was your email to me earlier this month that gave me the idea of testing it out on the Raspberry Pi.
I knew about the OpenPlotter project but I hadn't actually looked into it in any depth.

It was definitely worth playing with but there is no point spending loads of money on a nice sunlight waterproof monitor and then only drive it with a Raspberry Pi.
There is much faster PC hardware out there for comparatively little extra (Intel's range of NUCs for example).

 

[rogerthebodger]

I have used OpenCPN on a Mini ITX box for some time driven direct from the 12VDC boat supply.

This is the screen I use inside my wheel house.

This is a CAR DVD screen I fitted into a sealed stainless box at my outside cockpit area.

Screen can be rotated so it can be viewed from containaway of from behind wheel.

Viewing the screen is OK except in very bright direct sunlight.

Inputs GPS USB mouse, NASA AIS Engine with RS232 to USB, inputs from Simrad IS11 instruments into NavmonPC. also input from SH GX2000 VHF for DSC position reports and emergency position on OpenCPN.

The inside screen also driven direct from 12VDC and acts a video monitor for viewing DVD's Satellite TV as well a terrestrial TV.

The outside csreen is standard video input and I have a VDA to video converter to display the same on both screens.

 

[Hurricane]

I have used OpenCPN on a Mini ITX box for some time driven direct from the 12VDC boat supply.

This is the screen I use inside my wheel house.

This is a CAR DVD screen I fitted into a sealed stainless box at my outside cockpit area.

Screen can be rotated so it can be viewed from containaway of from behind wheel.

Viewing the screen is OK except in very bright direct sunlight.

Inputs GPS USB mouse, NASA AIS Engine with RS232 to USB, inputs from Simrad IS11 instruments into NavmonPC. also input from SH GX2000 VHF for DSC position reports and emergency position on OpenCPN.

The inside screen also driven direct from 12VDC and acts a video monitor for viewing DVD's Satellite TV as well a terrestrial TV.

The outside csreen is standard video input and I have a VDA to video converter to display the same on both screens.

Yep - I built my miniITX about 4 years ago - it is a reasonable spec - Intel i3 running at 3.3Ghz with 8Gb RAM on an Asus motherboard (P8H77).
Certainly quick enough - I feed the VGA output to screens throughout the boat - 2 at each helm and the boat's TVs.
However, a miniITX machine would probably use more power than new systems these days.
For example the Intel NUCs or the Gigabyte Brix computers - all of which use smaller, lower power, electronics.
Having said that, I won't be replacing my miniITX yet.

I like the idea of your home made screen.
Yesterday, I had a look at the new low cost Raspberry Pi screens - it would be interesting to see how good these are.

BTW
Did you know that with a system like yours, (using OpenCPN) you can "re-transmit" AIS round your boat using WiFi/LAN to mobile devices also running OpenCPN.
It is all done in the "connections" setup inside OpenCPN.
Your mobile devices can then display the excellent AIS/CPA features that OpenCPN offers.