My COVID-19 Lockdown Project: 10” Android Car Stereo to Navionics Chart Plotter

[Andrew_Trayfoot]

How about having the camera up the mast but looking down just in front of the bow for fine control of position when picking up a mooring bouy?

That was one of my ideas.
Just a bit of a pain routing the cable.

 

[Andrew_Trayfoot]

...I'm glad someone has been reading me banging on about that...

This was one of the main reasons I did this. I have been using a succession of tablets for years running Navionics and the biggest issues is that you have to turn them up to full brightness on a sunny day. Unfortunately when you do that even the best charges can't keep up with the battery drain.

The car stereo head is designed to be readable in daylight and us defiantlyvery bright. It runs on 12v, so no issue with the battery...

 

[pandos]

Last year I bought a tablet from London Plotters and it only has 528k and 4mb ram...it ran Marine Navigator with Visit My Harbour raster charts...with an ais overlay so I am presuming it will work fine.. from the point of view of memory...

 

[fifer]

Last year I bought a tablet from London Plotters and it only has 528k and 4mb ram...it ran Marine Navigator with Visit My Harbour raster charts...with an ais overlay so I am presuming it will work fine.. from the point of view of memory...

Unless your tablet is from 1991 I think you may have mixed your numbers up

 

[Frankklose]

The Android Radio works very well Screen is bright price less then 55 pounds Android 9 1GB 16gb storage. Works very well with Navionics. Use Wifi for Ais

 

[Frankklose]

Forgot tot mention the Sound of the radio is good 4x 45 watts

 

[pandos]

Unless your tablet is from 1991 I think you may have mixed your numbers up

MioWORK Z100 Rugged enterprise tablet

You are correct... My numbers are right just the little letters were wrong.?

 

[pandos]

The Android Radio works very well Screen is bright price less then 55 pounds Android 9 1GB 16gb storage. Works very well with Navionics. Use Wifi for Ais

Obviously I will not know for sure until my radio arrived from china... but .....Do you think AIS can be hardwired via USB?...

I already have an Ais receiver with WiFi but if I could hardwire an Emtrak transponder, l might be tempted.

But if I spend too much now, I won't be able to pay to launch ...?.

 

[JohnGC]

It's running Android 9

Thanks.

I'd also be interested to hear how much current it draws .

 

[Frankklose]

The radio draws less than 1 Amp in mute. For Navionics I use a NMEA2Wifi Multiplexer , don't think you get it to work via the USB input. Navionics listens to a WiFi port for GPS and AIS data. I have the 7 inch (for my daughter s boat) and 10 inch on my boat. Both radios are similar and less than 55 pounds on eBay. You have to look for Android car radio 2 Din GPS Android 8.1 or 9 and the lowest price normally €56 to €59.

 

[Andrew_Trayfoot]

Thanks.

I'd also be interested to hear how much current it draws .

I'll stick a multi metre on it later on and see what it says

 

[Andrew_Trayfoot]

It is pulling 0.52A running Navionics

 

[gregcope]

Do you know what the backlight was doing at that time?

Might be worth doing it again, in full sun.

 

[JohnGC]

It is pulling 0.52A running Navionics

Thanks, even at 3 times the current that would be usable (assuming the screen backlight is on). As it stands that seem very good.

 

[Andrew_Trayfoot]

Thanks, even at 3 times the current that would be usable (assuming the screen backlight is on). As it stands that seem very good.

That was on full brightness + Navionics + streaming a YouTube video (to simulate AIS traffic over WiFi)

 

[JohnGC]

That was on full brightness + Navionics + streaming a YouTube video (to simulate AIS traffic over WiFi)

What interests me about this in particular, is the 10 inch screen which in my option is a good size for a small boat plotter.

 

[Andrew_Trayfoot]

What interests me about this in particular, is the 10 inch screen which in my option is a good size for a small boat plotter.

I have used 10" tables with navionics and they work well

 

[JohnGC]

I have used 10" tables with navionics and they work well

Me too, including a rugged Windows 7 version, although I prefer OpenCPN. But I find this particular solution attractive.

 

[fredrussell]

This all sounds very promising. I suppose the only downside being the lack of ‘waterproofness’. At least with a tablet you can stick a waterproof case on it if it’s not waterproof by design.

 

[pandos]

This all sounds very promising. I suppose the only downside being the lack of ‘waterproofness’. At least with a tablet you can stick a waterproof case on it if it’s not waterproof by design.

I think the reality is that if you fit it outdoors with the back sealed and some kind of protection to stop deluges... it is should be just as good as a tablet,,and no reason that you could not drop a plastic bag down over it...mine was posted from China yesterday so until it arrives I'll be guessing but am inclined now to fit it inside possibly above the saloon table where I could see it from the cockpit or sitting in the companionway...


I would be slightly concerned that such a big screen would be susceptible to a winch handle in a frantic tack or gybe...