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

LorenzoC said:
I think that bezel and cover are the right project completion.
Click to expand...
You are probably right.
This will be its third season and am still very pleased with it.

Last winter o fitted a NASA NMEA electronic log and an MMEA wind transducer. This all all now multiplexed into my Yakker along with depth so I can now display all that on the screen if I want to.
Can also feed depth into Navionics and creat my own charts!
 
Andrew_Trayfoot said:
My COVID-19 Lockdown Project
10” Android Car Stereo to Navionics Chart Plotter

Though people might be interested....

Any suggestions as to what I do with the reversing camera :) .

Parts:
Android Car Stereo Head Unity £89

The Device
View attachment 89736

Android Car Stereo GPS Navigation Radio Player Camecho 2 Din 10'' Touch Screen Bluetooth WIFI FM Receiver Mobile Phone Mirror Link with Dual USB + Back Camera


Android Launcher
AGAMA Car Launcher - Apps on Google Play
Other launchers are available….

Memory Stick for Additional Storage
SanDisk Ultra Fit 64 GB USB 3.1 Flash Drive Up to 130 MB/s Read

Waterproof Plugs

IP68 SP21 Aviation Plug Socket Connector 2Pin/3Pin/4Pin/5Pin/6Pin/7Pin/9Pin Waterproof 500V 30A(12pin)

4 Pin for
Power In +
Power In -
Permanent Power In +
Power Out for Camera +


Waterproof Switches
View attachment 89738
2 of Coolais 2 Pcs Waterproof Push Button Switch Latching Metal Push Button Switch On Off 12mm 3A 250V AC PBSL-02 (High Head)

Power
Back Light/Night Dimming
Camera

FM Antenna

Stuck in the top of the box next to the GPS Antenna

1 Pcs Car Radio Antenna FM Radio Antenna Patch Universal Windshield Paste 5M （Black） (black)

Gadget
Bit of old wet suit to make a gasket.

AV Sockets

Old SCART to phono Adaptor for Phone Sockets

Marine ply I had in the garage

M6 Machine Screw/Wood Screw studs
M6 Dome Nuts

Plywood Enclosure


View attachment 89728


Gasket

View attachment 89729

Rear Panel

View attachment 89730

Phone sockets are for:
Reversing Camera Video In
Audio in
Not quite sure what I am going to use the reversing camera for. I may try and stick it up the mast!
View attachment 89731

Launcher

View attachment 89732

Navionics

View attachment 89733

FM Radio

View attachment 89734

Music Player

View attachment 89735

Plus any other Android app I choose to install...
Click to expand...
 
2025 update...

After 5 years of sterling service technology has moved on.
So here is the Mark 2 version:

Samsung S series phones have a feature call DeX which allows them to be plugged directly into a monitor via USB C. This got me thinking "could I make a 14" chart plotter for the price of a portable monitor?" (Other Android phones may also support this feature).

I had a spare phone in the draw with a broken camera and a non touch screen portable monitor in my work laptop bag, so I took them out on the boat and it worked really well.

A quick search on Amazon and a day and £85 later I had a touch screen version....

This is the bill of material list:

IMG-20250913-WA0023.jpgIMG-20250913-WA0022.jpgIMG-20250913-WA0021.jpgIMG-20250913-WA0019.jpg


This was the protype

IMG-20250913-WA0024.jpg


I used the existing mount that i had in place for the original 10" car radio version.

IMG-20250913-WA0025.jpg
Enjoy.....
 

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Samsung has Smartview .... I use it to project via WiFi my phones screen onto a large TV in my hobby room. The phone can then have charger plugged in while sending out the screen. Or just have phone in hand to control what you view etc.
 
Our "keep it simple stupid" was just to buy a large Samsung tablet with built in GPS and put the apps on that. No messing no "making things work"

The choice of which tablet was simply on screen brightness we chose the brightest screen version we could find so it stands a chance of being visible in daylight.

Why anyone would buy a conventional "chart plotter" now astounds me. When for FAR less money you can buy a larger, brighter, tablet and install cheap or free navigation apps and charts.
 
Some years ago when plotting progs were becoming popular - I discussed with various people whether possible to modify small LED / LCD TV's that were starting to appear in shops ... the idea didn't get much further that that.
I also mentioned about whether possible to modify an existing plotter to have such plotting progs installed on them.

Still today - I think this could have been done - but with the evolution at a fast rate of the plotting apps - it would have been shortlived.

Looking at my own navigation uses ... I would say that planning of a trip is about 90% on a tablet with Navionics Boating app.

The actual trip on my 38 ... checking the track made is by the Garmin 92 plotter, but still the tablet plays a large part being 'in hand' ... so comes out about 50-50 plotter to tablet.

Would I remove the plotter and work solely with the tablet ? No I would not. But I do think as tablets and apps evolve - the dedicated plotters will fall by the wayside ... we already see the evolution of the MFD - attempts to keep plotters at the front.
 
Refueler said:
Some years ago when plotting progs were becoming popular - I discussed with various people whether possible to modify small LED / LCD TV's that were starting to appear in shops ... the idea didn't get much further that that.
I also mentioned about whether possible to modify an existing plotter to have such plotting progs installed on them.

Still today - I think this could have been done - but with the evolution at a fast rate of the plotting apps - it would have been shortlived.

Looking at my own navigation uses ... I would say that planning of a trip is about 90% on a tablet with Navionics Boating app.

The actual trip on my 38 ... checking the track made is by the Garmin 92 plotter, but still the tablet plays a large part being 'in hand' ... so comes out about 50-50 plotter to tablet.

Would I remove the plotter and work solely with the tablet ? No I would not. But I do think as tablets and apps evolve - the dedicated plotters will fall by the wayside ... we already see the evolution of the MFD - attempts to keep plotters at the front.
Click to expand...
I use an android touch screen as per the first edition of the OPs project. I have tried connecting it to to a 19 inch 12v. Tv. It worked very well.

But I now find that my waterproof shockproof tablet with a huge battery, picking up ais over WiFi and running Navionics, does everything I could want from a plotter.

As a side note, I have been trying to pinch printed photos to expand them, maybe I am too old for touch screens😢
 
Tablets give convenience .... ability to be in 'hand' and not fixed in place. As evolution continues - the Tablet will I think become more the way people go.
MFD's are holding on by their fingernails so far ... but as more data streams get converted and Tablet apps develop to accept them ... that hold will diminish ..

My 8" Tablet slips into jacket pocket ... displays routes / tracks / AIS and trip data ... enough for me to feel content with how things are.
 
I have a samsung 10" tablet to suppliment my 5" garmin with out dated charts, plan routes on navionics with up to date info and transfer across to garmin via sd card so same shown on both, means I get OS maps for inland too.
I have a wifi unit between matsutec ais and plotter so the tablet gets ais too.
For just weekends on rivers the mount slots out and my wireless charging phone holder slots into same place.
I can't see me replacing the garmin any time soon.
20230709_120149.jpg
 
Refueler said:
Tablets give convenience .... ability to be in 'hand' and not fixed in place. As evolution continues - the Tablet will I think become more the way people go.
MFD's are holding on by their fingernails so far ... but as more data streams get converted and Tablet apps develop to accept them ... that hold will diminish ..

My 8" Tablet slips into jacket pocket ... displays routes / tracks / AIS and trip data ... enough for me to feel content with how things are.
Click to expand...
Agreed, but will never replace my laptop for work, tablets just don't hack it.
 
So my recent project was to use an old Panasonic Windows fz-g1 tablet on the boat. I got it for £25 on ebay. I think it was ex British gas. It is waterproof, rugged and has ~1000 nits screen. I installed Linux (kubuntu seems to work best with the touchscreen - basically flawless) and it runs opencpn perfectly. As a side project I then installed waydroid (so it can run android apps) and navionics also works perfectly.

Yes it is a bit chunky but it otherwise has all the functionality of a orca tablet. More in fact as I can connect usb devices etc and use it as a full pc. It even has a barcode reader from its previous life - I can shoot lasers at seagulls.

I might write it up if I get the time as I'm so pleased with it.
 
toothless said:
So my recent project was to use an old Panasonic Windows fz-g1 tablet on the boat. I got it for £25 on ebay. I think it was ex British gas. It is waterproof, rugged and has ~1000 nits screen. I installed Linux (kubuntu seems to work best with the touchscreen - basically flawless) and it runs opencpn perfectly. As a side project I then installed waydroid (so it can run android apps) and navionics also works perfectly.

Yes it is a bit chunky but it otherwise has all the functionality of a orca tablet. More in fact as I can connect usb devices etc and use it as a full pc. It even has a barcode reader from its previous life - I can shoot lasers at seagulls.

I might write it up if I get the time as I'm so pleased with it.
Click to expand...
That's very tempting. The cheapest I can find right now on ebay is 37.05 (or 49.95 with a power adapter - I'd want to get a 12v DC adapter anyway so the no power adapter option might make sense but I guess the mains one is useful for setting it up/using it at home for an extra 13 quid). I expect the 2nd hand ex British Gas battery that comes with it is going to be pretty guffed so it will be connected to the boat DC power most of the time. Anyway, cheers, it might make a good winter project, especially getting openseagullzap installed, a good blast from the laser might be ideal for keeping my chips safe next summer :-).
 
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