anybody using rasberry pie and cpn as an on board plotter?

[[194224]]

I have just gone through this process with PyPilot. I have a computing PhD from the early 1980s and some limited linux after that but not much else. Interest but not knowledge. I would say that at the current state that it is not for everyone. It works well when it is finally set up but you really need someone to help out with the software install.

Not for everyone that's for sure but I wouldn't want to put people off. The Linux OS is highly abstracted. The initial build is done on Windows (typically) and after that the configuration is done within the OpenPlotter application. You might need to do an OS update but that is a trivial one-liner. Looking at the build document for my last system there is almost no native Linux stuff in there other than my changes to overcome some things I don't like about the default build (eg the log rotation scheme) - not essential at all.

PyPilot I acknowledge may be different and you have much more knowledge than I have in that area. All I've done with it is add a 10 DoF IMU and configure it. If the OP is just looking for a basic build with OpenCPN then the off-the-shelf image is a good and relatively easy start. Adding more complex things like PyPilot can follow if required. I look at the OpenPlotter forum regularly and it is clear that PyPilot can be troublesome as there are lots of people asking for assistance with the software exactly as you suggest.

 

[st599]

The openplotter GUI is complex, but works well. I would add one peripheral at a time or it becomes difficult.

One thing I did was run the Pi via a battery pack that is charged from the 12v and use a separate travel router that does WiFi, GPRS etc. running directly off the 12v. You can then monitor the LAN and if it drops switch off.

I also have a cronjob that monitors the chart and weather folders and records when changes are made in a database (long story, but to do with UKHO's repeated threats to remove paper charts and such a recording being a necessity on coded boats). What I'd like to do is set up a basic mail queue and have it email a report each time it updates and the email to send whenever the WiFi is connected.

 

[dgadee]

Yes, it is not as difficult to set up as Linux things used to be, but a helping hand would be useful is what I was trying to suggest. Also useful would be the opportunity to buy a ready prepared card - not sure if that is possible.

Perhaps of interest is that in both my systems I used a laptop screen. On one I could hide the gubbins behind a panel but on the Seawolf I had to use a box. Laptop driver and Pi are in the white box and the driver for the autopilot is above the VHF handset. Screen and driver were about £60 - the lowest power/cheapest option I could think of. Note the elegant screws holding the screen in place.

 

[[194224]]

For one setup I went through a similar process for the monitor. I bought a second-hand bare laptop screen from ebay and the driver electronics from Aliexpress or similar. Incredibly cheap, great quality but the aesthetics let it down. What you have there may not be the height of elegance but for functionality spot on I expect.

 

[dgadee]

For one setup I went through a similar process for the monitor. I bought a second-hand bare laptop screen from ebay and the driver electronics from Aliexpress or similar. Incredibly cheap, great quality but the aesthetics let it down. What you have there may not be the height of elegance but for functionality spot on I expect.

Yes, I was going to do something fancy but ....

 

[bluerm166]

Had a lot more trouble loading a Canon printer driver on Linux Debian (until I eventually found a very specific Canon instruction) than I did loading and running Open CPN .
Exploring Debian on spare desktop drive since Christmas.
Waiting for an 8GB Rasberry Pi 4B since Jan last year ,currently forecast October.

 

[Birdseye]

PyPilot I acknowledge may be different and you have much more knowledge than I have in that area. All I've done with it is add a 10 DoF IMU and configure it. If the OP is just looking for a basic build with OpenCPN then the off-the-shelf image is a good and relatively easy start. Adding more complex things like PyPilot can follow if required. I look at the OpenPlotter forum regularly and it is clear that PyPilot can be troublesome as there are lots of people asking for assistance with the software exactly as you suggest.

When you say things like " add a 10 DoF IMU and configure it " I am already out of my depth. I was at university when the very first transistors were becoming available as exotic components, so if something is greasy or 12v or 240v I can handkle it but I dont know a 10 DoF IMU from and emu! What I need, and I suspect many others need, is a basic step by step guide for dummies who have no interest in the internal workings and only in the results.

 

[dgadee]

When you say things like " add a 10 DoF IMU and configure it " I am already out of my depth. I was at university when the very first transistors were becoming available as exotic components, so if something is greasy or 12v or 240v I can handkle it but I dont know a 10 DoF IMU from and emu! What I need, and I suspect many others need, is a basic step by step guide for dummies who have no interest in the internal workings and only in the results.

Agree. I spent 3 days trying to figure PyPilot things out (ports!) before it clicked. Then I found online intros but they were not basic enough. Another 2 days on integrating AIS with OpenPilot.

Brill when it works, though.

 

[[194224]]

When you say things like " add a 10 DoF IMU and configure it " I am already out of my depth. I was at university when the very first transistors were becoming available as exotic components, so if something is greasy or 12v or 240v I can handkle it but I dont know a 10 DoF IMU from and emu! What I need, and I suspect many others need, is a basic step by step guide for dummies who have no interest in the internal workings and only in the results.

I think your points are fair, I apologise as my efforts to help have failed. I only mentioned the IMU because gdagee referred to PyPilot which as he says, can be complex.

You don't need Pypilot, you don't need an IMU if all you want is a chart plotter. If you later want the pi to drive your autopilot then you will need them. There is so much you can add on to OpenPlotter and you don't need to eat the elephant in one bite.

I was trying to help and give a bit of encouragement just to try it and see how it goes; not what you're looking for I now see, but my intentions were honest and well intentioned. There is no doubt that you will have to learn something new, terminology, technology etc. if you want to try it and there will be the odd moment of frustration. If you've looked at the OpenPlotter documentation and decided it's not for you then fine. Buying a ready made solution where all you have to learn is which buttons to press is a perfectly reasonable choice. Indeed it is the way most people would go. Nothing wrong with it whatsoever.

My university days were probably not far removed from yours - thermionic valves and early BJTs etc! I came across OpenPlotter and gave it a go. I learned stuff and came to enjoy it. I would encourage others to just try and see for themselves.

Again - sorry.

 

[Birdseye]

Whoa! No need to apologise. I appreciate your efforts to help. I was only saying that the starting point of the help was beyond my present competence. And yes, my university electronics was all triodes and pentodes, mostly now long forgotten.

I had a go at Linux a few years ago and gave up when it became clear that Linux was more of a hobby for those who were interested in op systems, whereas my need was for something plug and play like windows. That said I often end up helping others with windows or spreadsheets or business user interfaces so maybe not a complete numpty.

I would be interested in following up this thread topic in a bit more detail so I will pm you for some help.

 

[dutyhog]

The dongle should work without problems from MacOS 10.13 (High Sierra) and above.

Thanks for finding that out. The dongle will be OK with my OSs then.

 

[karl.e]

Its a lot easier now. Simply install Raspberry buster. Its a desktop operating system, with all the nice GUI and start button like you get on Microsoft Windows.
When I was setting it up there was even an option to install Microsoft Windows (Bill Gates, Palmer Microsoft). There is not a lot of native software supported on Windows for Raspberry Pi.

I installed Raspberry Buster.
For chartplotting, I was able to get the charts and plotter from over here.

Marine GPS SDK for Embedded Linux | Nautical Charts App

opencpn is also very easy to set up on Buster.

 

[mattonthesea]

.
When I was setting it up there was even an option to install Microsoft Windows (Bill Gates, Palmer Microsoft). There is not a lot of native software supported on Windows for Raspberry Pi.

I installed Raspberry Buster.
For chartplotting, I was able to get the charts and plotter from over here.

Marine GPS SDK for Embedded Linux | Nautical Charts App

opencpn is also very easy to set up on Buster.

Only curious: does that mean you could set up openCPN on a Windows Pi and run Visit My Harbour charts? Would it be clunky?
And does the link mean that OENC charts will have competition on Linux? Or is the relatively tiny market with their while?

 

[dgadee]

Isn't Buster just the normal OS to load onto the Pi? I use it on one system but do think there are advantages in having OpenPlotter, though I was a bit hesitant before.

That company seems to be trying to encourage hardware people to produce a plotter based on 'embedded linux':

"i-Boating SDK on embedded linux is available to sellers/ manufacturers of chartplotters, who wish to give i-Boating as a cartography alternative to their customers. The embedded linux version is only available to developers of such products."

A waterproof box with a daylight visible screen running OpenCPN or OpenPlotter would be very attractive.

 

[karl.e]

I set up Raspberry Pi Desktop and installed both i-Boating and opencpn on it. Its a linux distribution. It has Graphical user interface (like Windows). It even comes with an internet browser. You can use buster like any normal desktop - browse internet, edit document or xls files etc. I just followed the instructions on the official website over here to set it up . Operating system images – Raspberry Pi I did not use the openplotter sdcard image. I set up the packages separately.

Raspberry PI is an ARM system (unlike PCs/Laptops which are usually Intel/AMD). So any software (including opencpn) would need to be re-compiled for Windows 10/11 OS running on Raspberry PI. It should be possible to compile and run opencpn on there as well. I don't think anyone has undertaken the project of compling opencpn for windows running on raspberry pi. Its definitely possible but someone would have to fund that project and get it done.

 

[Glisferox]

One pertinent point is that new Raspberry Pis are increasingly hard to source. The later Pi 4s perform extremely well but I've run it on the model 3B with good results too. They are often available second hand.

This is easing up now. Some suppliers are selling legit Pis as kits, so you have to buy keyboard, mouse and other bits with them. Eben Upton of the Pi Foundation says this quarter will be difficult, Q2 they will make as many Pis in the quarter as they did for a quarter before COVID and Q3 they'll be able to make as many as they like. There's almost certainly pent up demand, so getting them before mid year could require some persistence.

 

[KeithMD]

One pertinent point is that new Raspberry Pis are increasingly hard to source.

Agreed, in the consumer retail market, that has been true for about two years. Covid Lockdown badly disrupted the worldwide supply chain of computer chips and components. The Raspberry Pi foundation made a conscious decision to prioritise supply to their industrial customers, because they often had people's job depending on it. Unlike the retail or hobby market, where it was effing inconvenient, but not job-threatening.

Supporting Raspberry Pi's industrial customers - Raspberry Pi

Raspberry Pi Adds 100,000 Units to Supply Chain, Back to Pre-pandemic Levels in 2023

Some suppliers are selling legit Pis as kits,

A good example is PiHut, which still has some supplies of the Pi3 trickling through
Raspberry Pi 3A+ Starter Kit