Home made chart plotter

*cough*

AngusMcDoon said:
Over on Scuttlebutt. No confirmation that they work with OpenCPN yet, but the file format is open and unencrypted, so with some geekhackery they should.
Click to expand...

There is code around online to do some of the geekhackery required, though not (at present) all of it ;-)
 
If we're looking at Linux for boating purposes, why not go the whole hog and think about a Linux LiveCD we could make for yachties? They're really easy to make using remastersys http://www.geekconnection.org/remastersys/

Base Distro:

I'd go for Xubuntu as it's more suitable to lower powered machines and a bit graphically less demanding - could always include a script to upgrade to Gnome or KDE http://www.xubuntu.org/tour

Navigation and weather:

gpsd - allow multiple programs to connect to a single GPS

OpenCPN - Rock solid navigation program - integrates well with AIS

Gippy - NMEA Data display tool

ZyGrib - GRIB Viewer - also used to download GRIBS for OpenCPN

Xtide - free tidal data


Entertainment:

Mplayer/VLC - play any video

Rythmbox - music organiser, player and ripper

Mencoder script to rip DVDs and videos for watching onboard

Worldwide Radio timetable???


Communications:

Firefox

Thunderbird

Pidgin

Skype

SailMail?
Pactor?



Anybody got any other ideas?
 
st599 said:
If we're looking at Linux for boating purposes, why not go the whole hog and think about a Linux LiveCD we could make for yachties? They're really easy to make using remastersys http://www.geekconnection.org/remastersys/
Click to expand...

Program set looks good... GoogleEarth would be nice, but of course it requires accelerated drivers, so probably best left out.

What I would suggest is that for me LXDE trumps XFCE, it's a more conventional 'windows-y' interface style, slightly lighter resource-wise and has an overall feeling of LXDE re-done slightly better...

Also, Mint derivatives seem generally more polished than Ubuntu ones, with many of the ubuntu release car-crashes sorted out, and all pre-installed codecs etc that you could want.

I would definitely consider LXDE Mint as a basis over either Xubuntu or Lubuntu.

But yes, overall, a very neat idea. Particularly appealing is the idea to throw something like this onto a USB stick, then you have a complete navigation setup that can be ported around.

Regards,

Mike
 
I've been running a linux desktop as my desktop/development environment since about 1997 and produced various live CD's in the course of my last major job. I can't for the life of me see why anyone would particularly need or want to run linux from a custom live CD at sea. The only machine I take on board is a netbook and it is dual bootable (as I sometimes work on it whilst travelling on public transport) but for my onboard needs of checking email/getting news/getting met/downloading weatherfax etc. I can see no benefit in booting up in a different OS. I have anchored up and done some programming on it under linux on occasion but I can't really see the need for booting into a compressed filesystem on a CD/DVD.
 
EdBeynon said:
I've been running a linux desktop as my desktop/development environment since about 1997 and produced various live CD's in the course of my last major job. I can't for the life of me see why anyone would particularly need or want to run linux from a custom live CD at sea. The only machine I take on board is a netbook and it is dual bootable (as I sometimes work on it whilst travelling on public transport) but for my onboard needs of checking email/getting news/getting met/downloading weatherfax etc. I can see no benefit in booting up in a different OS. I have anchored up and done some programming on it under linux on occasion but I can't really see the need for booting into a compressed filesystem on a CD/DVD.
Click to expand...

Once you have the liveCD, you have the distribution mechanism to distribute the software and any scripts, documentation etc. in a format that can then be easily installed on a storage format of your choice: HDD, CD-ROM, SSD, USB key etc. You wouldn't run it from a CD drive - that would be pointless as the idea is to save power.

There's no way on earth that the boards discussed on this post will run Windows (not that anyone should want to) so there won't be a dual-boot issue.
 
A few years ago I did some research into vehicle pcs for a project at work and the market was limited, but a very quick google search indicates the market for 12v pc tecnology is a lot better now. Without any exhauistive search I found a dual core box with decent hard drive and ram for the price of a laptop, and for the low power end there are the atom based systems. You can fit a lot these days in a 2din box. Mouse devices for outdoors are sill like hens teeth but there are pleny of water froof keyboards, and it should not be too difficult to get a 12 inch screen into a home made acrylic box that has a chance of survioving taking it green over the bows.

Good luck with the project any way, what ever else it should be fun, and if it ends up as a dumb idea who the hell cares, you will have had the fun of doing it.
 
EdBeynon said:
I've been running a linux desktop as my desktop/development environment since about 1997 and produced various live CD's in the course of my last major job. I can't for the life of me see why anyone would particularly need or want to run linux from a custom live CD at sea. The only machine I take on board is a netbook and it is dual bootable (as I sometimes work on it whilst travelling on public transport) but for my onboard needs of checking email/getting news/getting met/downloading weatherfax etc. I can see no benefit in booting up in a different OS. I have anchored up and done some programming on it under linux on occasion but I can't really see the need for booting into a compressed filesystem on a CD/DVD.
Click to expand...

I think you may be missing the point. To build a complete PC navigation suite setup under Windows or any other OS is a time-consuming piece of setup and configuration work.

The biggest risk for onboard PC based navigation is disk or other hardware failure that takes the PC out, along with that hard-won, optimised, on-disk configuration. Under windows, especially with proprietary software including DRM'd charts, that means getting hold of new hardware, followed by a long and painful rebuild process which requires a lot of time and maybe some access to help from the software/chart providers over licensing the reinstallation of software or chart data.

OK... disk imaging can help with this, but that relies upon identical backup/replacement hardware. A far better approach is simply to have a live USB stick based install, which you have installed fully on your primary hardware. If that hardware goes down, then with a big live USB stick distribution and a charts backup partition on the same stick, you are nearly ready to go... you just need any old backup or replacement piece of x86 hardware that will run the distribution.

That's why a LiveUSB Linux charting distribution would be a great piece of kit. It's because it seriously reduces a huge amount of the risk involved in Windows PC-based navigation solutions.

Nobody is suggesting that running from USB/CD/DVD would be the norm. The important thing is that install to disk would be possible with most things already configured, and as a backup, running from USB/CD/DVD would be possible, irrespective of precise hardware config involved.

Regards,

Mike
 
supra30 said:
I think you may be missing the point. To build a complete PC navigation suite setup under Windows or any other OS is a time-consuming piece of setup and configuration work.

The biggest risk for onboard PC based navigation is disk or other hardware failure that takes the PC out, along with that hard-won, optimised, on-disk configuration. Under windows, especially with proprietary software including DRM'd charts, that means getting hold of new hardware, followed by a long and painful rebuild process which requires a lot of time and maybe some access to help from the software/chart providers over licensing the reinstallation of software or chart data.

OK... disk imaging can help with this, but that relies upon identical backup/replacement hardware. A far better approach is simply to have a live USB stick based install, which you have installed fully on your primary hardware. If that hardware goes down, then with a big live USB stick distribution and a charts backup partition on the same stick, you are nearly ready to go... you just need any old backup or replacement piece of x86 hardware that will run the distribution.

That's why a LiveUSB Linux charting distribution would be a great piece of kit. It's because it seriously reduces a huge amount of the risk involved in Windows PC-based navigation solutions.

Nobody is suggesting that running from USB/CD/DVD would be the norm. The important thing is that install to disk would be possible with most things already configured, and as a backup, running from USB/CD/DVD would be possible, irrespective of precise hardware config involved.

Regards,

Mike
Click to expand...

I'm sure you've got it right.

As I said: making an ARM based Live-CD will be challenging and rewarding. When you have made a custom iso image for either an x86 or ARM platform then post a link to it here.
 
EdBeynon said:
I'm sure you've got it right.

As I said: making an ARM based Live-CD will be challenging and rewarding. When you have made a custom iso image for either an x86 or ARM platform then post a link to it here.
Click to expand...

I'll have a go at the x86 version via VirtualBox. Will have to think about the ARM version.
 
Dogs vs Birds...

AngusMcDoon said:
The Beagleboard is similiar to the Hawkboard. We considered it for our work project, but it is more expensive and it doesn't have VGA output as standard. You have to buy another add on bit.

But if OpenCPN can be persuaded to run on the Hawkboard, I'm sure it can run on the B-board too.
Click to expand...

Looking at how OpenCPN runs (with a few charts) on Atom based machines, I would be a bit worried about the Hawkboard as a target. The Hawkboard's OMAP SoC is completely free of any kind of hardware to which graphics processing can be handed off, and at 300Mhz I suspect it may crawl somewhat when OpenCPN is in full 'quilted chart canvas' flow...

The Beagleboard looks a far better target to me, less chance of it running like a dog with no legs.

Regards,

Mike
 
supra30 said:
Looking at how OpenCPN runs (with a few charts) on Atom based machines, I would be a bit worried about the Hawkboard as a target. The Hawkboard's OMAP SoC is completely free of any kind of hardware to which graphics processing can be handed off, and at 300Mhz I suspect it may crawl somewhat when OpenCPN is in full 'quilted chart canvas' flow...

The Beagleboard looks a far better target to me, less chance of it running like a dog with no legs.

Regards,

Mike
Click to expand...

Maybe true. But the Hawkboard has one major advantage. When the project at work is finished I can womble one out of the bin for free :D
 
i would love to help out on this as much as i can. I have been running a Fanless ITX based PC on board for the last 4 years with great success.

Although i am afraid it is windows (well a windows VM on top of an ubuntu OS) with a SSD RAID

I had to use windows to get the software i wanted (seapro and deckman)

I think there is room for a small box with reasonable 'dampness' protection with access to the net, ability to plug in a USB DVD etc. In fact i am really suprised that someone like garmin has not taken this on and developed one of their touchscreen 12 or 15 inch models further to include 'media' functions

On to the bad bits, screens. I had a lilliput but frankly the resolution was not great for a chartplotter, i really think 800x600 is needed as a minimum, i am currently running a 1280 x1024 touchscreen and it is only just big enough, i am looking to upgrade to 1920 x 1024 but may need to ditch the touchscreen on basis of costs.

if an approriate screen could be sourced then i think there is more legs to this than you might think. Maybe a way to look at it might be a large display screen down below where planning etc takes place and a smaller, waterproof, touchscreen on deck running as a second monitor might be worth a thought (it has been on my mind for a while, i am using VNC on an iphone at the moment which is far from ideal)
 
Building custom installations - tools for x86

st599 said:
I'll have a go at the x86 version via VirtualBox. Will have to think about the ARM version.
Click to expand...

For Debian or Ubuntu variants, have a look at remastersys...

The remastersys website also hosts a nice light LXDE debian-based distro that could be a good starting point ;-)

Regards,

Mike
 
There should be a couple of articles on the Ubuntu website about making live CD's. When I was doing it I started from a command line install into a chroot'ed environment and started from there, then added X and the stuff I really needed. I suspect that is the route you might need to take for the ARM version.
 
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