ais engine to android

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nemodreams

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I am right in thnking that if I have - say - a nasa ais engine ( serial port connections ) then I can input nmea to android with a wifi multiplexer that has serial imput ?
ie here ( they are approx £50 )
http://www.vela-navega.com/index.php/nmea2wifi

Basically - since I have an android tablet onboard - there are simple apps that work as basic ais radar type screen - but need a wifi/bluetooth nmea input source ?

Also - if the ais engine is outputting to usb - not serial - then do these need to connect to a pc ? I assume they cannot connect to android via otg cable ?

Basically - whats the easiest 'cheapest' way to get a serial or usb engine data onto android tablet ?

Yes - I can do it easy with a laptop ! - but I have a tablet at the moment and its convenient and easier to carry about !
 
nemodreams said:
I am right in thnking that if I have - say - a nasa ais engine ( serial port connections ) then I can input nmea to android with a wifi multiplexer that has serial imput ?
ie here ( they are approx £50 )
http://www.vela-navega.com/index.php/nmea2wifi

Basically - since I have an android tablet onboard - there are simple apps that work as basic ais radar type screen - but need a wifi/bluetooth nmea input source ?

Also - if the ais engine is outputting to usb - not serial - then do these need to connect to a pc ? I assume they cannot connect to android via otg cable ?

Basically - whats the easiest 'cheapest' way to get a serial or usb engine data onto android tablet ?

Yes - I can do it easy with a laptop ! - but I have a tablet at the moment and its convenient and easier to carry about !
Click to expand...

I made one the other day for less than a tenner -

http://www.ybw.com/forums/showthrea...-for-less-than-a-tenner&p=6235293#post6235293

Well worth the effort, opencpn which will run on android must have as good an AIS display as anything else out there. :cool:
 
nemodreams said:
I am right in thnking that if I have - say - a nasa ais engine ( serial port connections ) then I can input nmea to android with a wifi multiplexer that has serial imput ?
ie here ( they are approx £50 )
http://www.vela-navega.com/index.php/nmea2wifi

Basically - since I have an android tablet onboard - there are simple apps that work as basic ais radar type screen - but need a wifi/bluetooth nmea input source ?

Also - if the ais engine is outputting to usb - not serial - then do these need to connect to a pc ? I assume they cannot connect to android via otg cable ?

Basically - whats the easiest 'cheapest' way to get a serial or usb engine data onto android tablet ?

Yes - I can do it easy with a laptop ! - but I have a tablet at the moment and its convenient and easier to carry about !
Click to expand...

My AIS engine outputs NMEA and i use one of these http://yakbitz.com/Yakker.aspx which sends that data by wifi to my onboard tablet or fone. I use Boat Beacon android app for a basic app and am waiting for the next release of Marine Navigator to get the AIS overlay add-on so i can see AIS data on my Admiralty charts. I currently have the trial version running. The Yakker device works great and support is good.

Www.solocoastalsailing.co.uk
 
Regarding apps....

Marine navigator is basic and clunky (currently no AIS support.

OpenCPN on PC is great, but slow as a slow thing going slowly on a tablet. I have a rather pricey Samsung Galaxy Tab Pro and it cripples it. On my previous Android tablet it was unusable.

Transas iSailor works well on Android and has AIS support. Not the cheapest and you have to pay a little extra for the AIS to work, but it does all work well.

All IMO of course.
 
Thanks -GH
I did see that post - must take a deeper look. My electronics is a bit dire ! I wish I could make on for a tenner !( Maybe if I had a good clear wiring diagram I'd have a go ? - got me thinking now !)

Plum - So basically that unit I referenced above was similar to your yackbits dodah.( they are on the bay quite cheaply )

Yes - open cpn android is an option. I have mx mariner on the tablet ( no ais facility as yet ) - but do not really want ais overlaid on charts - it gets too cluttered. I'd prefer a simple radar type screen with basic data of vessels - name. speed, cog etc - and ideally my position - but the tablet gps would handle that.
MX mariner is a nice simple app - very cheap charts( Admiratly direct copies - like it ! )
 
nemodreams said:
Thanks -GH
I did see that post - must take a deeper look. My electronics is a bit dire ! I wish I could make on for a tenner !( Maybe if I had a good clear wiring diagram I'd have a go ? - got me thinking now !)

Plum - So basically that unit I referenced above was similar to your yackbits dodah.( they are on the bay quite cheaply )

Yes - open cpn android is an option. I have mx mariner on the tablet ( no ais facility as yet ) - but do not really want ais overlaid on charts - it gets too cluttered. I'd prefer a simple radar type screen with basic data of vessels - name. speed, cog etc - and ideally my position - but the tablet gps would handle that.
MX mariner is a nice simple app - very cheap charts( Admiratly direct copies - like it ! )
Click to expand...

Yeh, looks like the Yakker (http://yakbitz.com/Yakker.aspx) does the same as yours, just put it forward as an alternative. Like you, i did not want to go down the pc route and found openCPN for android difficult to master. I like the simplicity of Marine Navigator for chart plotter but will look at MX Navigator as i had not seen that one until you mentioned it, thanks.

Www.solocoastalsailing.co.uk
 
PaulRainbow said:
Regarding apps....

Marine navigator is basic and clunky (currently no AIS support.

OpenCPN on PC is great, but slow as a slow thing going slowly on a tablet. I have a rather pricey Samsung Galaxy Tab Pro and it cripples it. On my previous Android tablet it was unusable.

Transas iSailor works well on Android and has AIS support. Not the cheapest and you have to pay a little extra for the AIS to work, but it does all work well.

All IMO of course.
Click to expand...
Have you tried running OpenCPN with OpenGL off? Some people have reported problems with tablets. I have O on my Sony Experia 10" tablets with no noticeable lag or poor response.
 
MX mariner is a nice simple app - waypoints, routes, track file and a basic measure tool. It uses digital copies of Admiralty charts and £4.80 ( yes under a fiver ) buys you the West UK set - every chart from mid Scotland to most of Ireland and down to the Scillies - Channel Isles. Every scale of chart - which change when you zoom in - right down to all theharbour plans.

The app has to be bought at £ 8 or so. Charts gave updates for a year.
Very easy to download - no security hassle - pay google play. In app - choose charts set ( 4 for all uk Ireland ) pay google pay - download to your sd card ( approx 400 mb )

It saves all current routes. watpoints/marks etc to a gpx file. This can be exported into another device. Also - once I bought the app and charts - I was able to download the app and charts for free onto my phone as well !

Strangely it had no option to import gpx files ? I had all my waypoints on the Garmin as a .wpt file generated by Aussie Explorer on the old laptop. I used a simple online file converter to change it to a gpx file. I planted the file in the mx folder on the sd card where it stored its gpx files - and bingo - I have all my 140 odd waypoints on the tablet.
 
Hi Vladis - small world !

As I asked regard the similar unit to yours - will this work direct from a GPS attached to serial port - and send to one of the apps for android that transfer .wpt and .gpx files ?
 
nemodreams said:
Thanks -GH
I did see that post - must take a deeper look. My electronics is a bit dire ! I wish I could make on for a tenner !( Maybe if I had a good clear wiring diagram I'd have a go ? - got me thinking now !)
Click to expand...

Wiring is actually simple, just 4 dupont wires connect between the Esp8266 & RS232 adaptor. This is more complicated that it is in real life, couldn't find a part for the RS232 unit -

uilzgCg.png



In real life -

OvnCCp5.png



Then the programming is all visual, no need to write any code, looks a bit like this - then you would need a male to male rs232 cable to go between the nasa ais engine & serial/TTL adaptor.

EDIT- It's actually a male to male crossover cable, pin 2 of the nasa ais engine D9 connector needs to go to pin 3 of the rs232/TTL converter.
XXD2Lkf.png


One thing I haven't tried is making the esp create its own wifi network for the tablet to log onto, other than seeing on a forum that it's possible. Mine logs onto a network run by a raspberry pi.
 
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