Budget nav system to get me going

[Okeydokey]

My first post, please be kind

I find that the jester folks here share the greatest in common with my own mindset.
I am looking at using OpenCPN, through a VHF aerial & AIS receiver dongle, onto a laptop I am currently rebuilding with a solid state hard drive.
This looks to me to be an optimal budget solution for navigation, tide prediction. Would love to add weather, probably end up with www.metoffice

Any improvements or ideas gratefully appreciated.

 

[LASSALLE]

good evening ,

I use OPENCPN with VHF-AIS, with succes .
For the weather, it is possible to add GRIB. You have to get an accès web.

You can take UGRIB or ZYGRIB

JJ

 

[LittleSister]

Not meant unkindly:

Surely the 'optimal budget solution for navigation, tides' is a paper chart and almanac? (You'd probably need/want these anyway as a back up in case your computer failed.)

Budget solution for weather would be a VHF radio (inshore) and a domestic portable radio with long wave (offshore). (Or a NASA Navtex if you wanted the luxury of not having to be up early/late to catch the radio forecast.)

 

[Okeydokey]

Not meant unkindly:

..... Budget solution for weather would be a VHF radio (inshore) and a domestic portable radio with long wave (offshore). (Or a NASA Navtex if you wanted the luxury of not having to be up early/late to catch the radio forecast.)

Quite right LittleSister (not taken unkindly), I assumed these, and a compass as routine, that is... as you suggest in case of equipment failure. By 'optimum' I mean something more than the bare bones basic, I was thinking of the bit that is going to fail as opposed to the backup.

 

[Gargleblaster]

(Or a NASA Navtex if you wanted the luxury of not having to be up early/late to catch the radio forecast.)

In my experience Navtex only ever seems to work on a coastal basis. I have never received a Navtex message more than 100 miles offshore. I thought I would be able to receive Navtex stations around the Azores but no such luck for me or others I have spoken to that had similar expectations. I was once south of Bermuda and for about 3 days running received Canadian Navtex with all the ice reports. But that has been the only time I have received Navtex offshore.

I download the Dover tide tables each year and have an old almanac with the tidal streams in them. That seems to work for me. I like Stanford plastic charts as they seem to put up with a wet cockpit. And a Garmin 12 that I bought over 10 years ago as I have given up on celestial as it is too unreliable.

 

[doczweivel]

I'm also planning to use OpenCPN 3.2.0 which I downloaded and a GPS antenna plugged into the USB on a laptop. I bought a refurbished ruggedized CF29 Panasonic so that it should stand up to a little bit of abuse, since it is supposed to be my primary navigation center on my Westsail 28.
I am interested to know how the AIS works. Can I get one that will plug into a USB on the computer? I understand the AIS receiver to be in line between the antenna and the radio, and there could be a need for an adapter to get from the AIS to the computer depending on the computer.
It is budget so far, as I have $350 in the laptop, power supply, GPS antenna, CDRW combo drive and some extra RAM for the laptop.
I downloaded maps from NOAA's website. I believe I will end up purchasing C-MAP to provide detailed charts. I will have paper charts for when everything else quits.
Kind regards!

 

[LittleSister]

I have given up on celestial as it is too unreliable.

If the celestial bodies' orbits are becoming unreliable we are in BIG trouble (and navigation's the least of it)!

 

[Independence]

Agree with Galyva regarding Navtex. I purchased a receiver which linked to my VHF for the 2008 Azores.

Recall getting numeropus warnings of un-exploded devices in Outer Hebrides and gale warnings in Outer Mongolia but asolutely nothing on weather for where I was. Of course it may have been me!!

 

[Okeydokey]

Thanks Glayva, that is a useful insight. I must say as part of my project, (having just bought a 'previously owned' Magellan MAP330) I know what you mean.
I'm a lot closer to what I have been looking for, trying to get the laptop to run on 12V is proving a bit problematic. Looks like I may have to build a Mini ITX type machine which is going to stretch the budget a knats. I also have a plastic sextant on the way... again previously owned but I'm sure the celestials won't mind

 

[Gargleblaster]

I also have a plastic sextant on the way... again previously owned but I'm sure the celestials won't mind

While I have a very nice C. Plath sextant, I was always afraid to break it or drop it overboard so always took along a plastic EBBCO which did the job quite well. As mentioned previously I don't bother anymore with celestial navigation as GPS has made navigation so reliable and simple. Not bothering with celestial also means that room is not taken up with a nautical almanac and sight reduction tables.

 

[ScallywagII]

Ebbco Sextant was all Shane Acton used on Shrimpy, and that was pre GPS. I used one on an Atlantic circuit for a few noon sights, mostly to reassure myself that I could still do it if, for example, a lightning strike took out all the electrics. For a noon sight, reduction tables are not required, just an almanac, and quartz watch. The noon altitude gives the latitude and the time gives the longitude. Results were OK and if used regularly would get better.

For morning and afternoon sights a scientific calculator from poundland will do the reductions. The formulae are in the nautical almanac. I can also recommend Stellarium.com for your computer. They have a free download of a real time star finder, which shows the celestial bodies from any location and time. Note the time of a sight, put in this time and your assumed position and stellarium will display the altitude and azimuth of sun, stars, moon or anything else. Correct the observed altitude for dip. semi-diameter and refraction (use the card from an almanac, not necessarily the current one), then move your position line perpendicular to the azimuth using the helpful GOAT. Greater Observed Altitude (shift the position line) Towards the celestial body. Don't worry it's simpler than it sounds. Stellarium is great fun anyway.

Some old laptops may run directly from 12V. My old Toshiba does, but it is 10 years old and more recent machines seem to have some clever circuitry which means that even though the battery may be 11V you need to supply 19V to make it work. I recommend a 12V laptop adapter. E-bay list several that would power a netbook for under £10 delivered. Solid state HD is definitely the way to go, less power demand and not vulnerable when banging around. My Acer which came with a small SS drive and was very slow, but I found a simple download which made it run much faster.

A shortwave radio with SSB will receive weatherfax, and an inexpensive or free program on your computer will decode these and give nice forecast maps. If the radio and computer are left running, the maps will automatically start recording. In theory the programs will also decode navtex when within range, but I have not had any success. When not needed for weatherfax, I used SW radio for entertainment and propaganda from around the world.

 

[hrchivers]

To power up a laptop - Maplin do reasonably cheap DC-DC converters which power from 12V - just dial the correct output voltage which will be marked on your laptop and plug in.

I am also a fan of weatherfax; I don't have the power to leave everything running, but schedules are published. Plug a cheap SSB radio audio output into the mic socket of the your laptop. You will probably need to run the laptop from its battery for SSB, power converters generate radio-noise.

 

[Okeydokey]

Brilliant! Many thanks, the Stellarium.org site is great fun and clearly very useful. My 13 year old son has already started learning trig in maths and whilst we wait for the Ebbco to turn up we have built our own sextant... (of sorts). Downloaded all sorts of almanac/adjustment PDF's and are now well on our way. We have also had a chance to get to Maplin's in Poole for some bits and bobs.

 

[Aiseag]

Hello,


With the weather pluggin (running with OpenCPN 3.2.2), you can even ask for a grib via a email-functionality.

I have been using this functionality because my computer resources are limited and I do not want to store too much software.

+@
sd

 

[Aiseag]

good evening ,

..... GRIB... UGRIB or ZYGRIB

JJ

Hello,

Because my computer is rather limited on storage resources, I can (Weather plugin - running on openCPN 3.2.2), use a functionality to ask for a grib file, this file will be sent to my email adress within a very short delay.
Of course I still need an Internert Access but I keep free space on my HD for charts...
+@
sd

 

[Wunja]

Quite often a PC will run from 12V if you take the battery out. It does then become 100% reliant on the power connector which would stop me using a cigarette lighter socket.

 

[rogerhudson]

I'm trying to find out if the garmin gpsmap78 cand display the same sort of 'highway' display (with XTE) as the monochrome 72, the published garmin manual doesn't show screen shots.
Any ideas?

 

[PabloPicasso]

I'm also planning to use OpenCPN 3.2.0 which I downloaded and a GPS antenna plugged into the USB on a laptop. I bought a refurbished ruggedized CF29 Panasonic so that it should stand up to a little bit of abuse, since it is supposed to be my primary navigation center on my Westsail 28.
I am interested to know how the AIS works. Can I get one that will plug into a USB on the computer? I understand the AIS receiver to be in line between the antenna and the radio, and there could be a need for an adapter to get from the AIS to the computer depending on the computer.
It is budget so far, as I have $350 in the laptop, power supply, GPS antenna, CDRW combo drive and some extra RAM for the laptop.
I downloaded maps from NOAA's website. I believe I will end up purchasing C-MAP to provide detailed charts. I will have paper charts for when everything else quits.
Kind regards!

A dedicated plotter might be no more money, especially a used one, and a damn sight more reliable, plus not so power hungry as a laptop. Imagine relying on bill gates's windows in a blow (sacre bleu!).

 

[LASSALLE]

I'm also planning to use OpenCPN 3.2.0 which I downloaded and a GPS antenna plugged into the USB on a laptop. I bought a refurbished ruggedized CF29 Panasonic so that it should stand up to a little bit of abuse, since it is supposed to be my primary navigation center on my Westsail 28.
I am interested to know how the AIS works. Can I get one that will plug into a USB on the computer? I understand the AIS receiver to be in line between the antenna and the radio, and there could be a need for an adapter to get from the AIS to the computer depending on the computer.
It is budget so far, as I have $350 in the laptop, power supply, GPS antenna, CDRW combo drive and some extra RAM for the laptop.
I downloaded maps from NOAA's website. I believe I will end up purchasing C-MAP to provide detailed charts. I will have paper charts for when everything else quits.
Kind regards!

hI,
To be care ! only the C-MAP V2 can be read with OPEN. If you buy C-MAP, it is V3 which can't be read by OPEN, they are coded.
The maps from NOAA are free.
JJ

 

[obmij]

I'm with pablo above. The cheapest and easiest way to get you going is a plug and play chartplotter from the likes of Garmin.

You can get a brand new one for less than £300. I paid around £200 for a used 551. It's intuitive, reliable and easy to use. Has all the charts I need as well (i.e northern europe)

Faffing around with laptops and pirated charts 'might' have made sense when plotters were a couple of grand and basic but these days why bother?

You can pick up an older style plotter for around £100 charts and all