So what setup are you all using for OpenCPN.

[richlear]

There is a lot of detailed info on this thread but I am trying to get my head around a pretty simple setup. I want to use my laptop (Windows7) with openCPN or something similar as an "offline" planning tool, creating routes etc. To that end I have the VMH unified charts which are on a USB stick or at least unlocked by using the stick. When sailing I would like to use an Android tablet (Google Nexus 7).

What would be the simplest way to go here to use the same charts and preferably the same app to plan on a laptop then use on a tablet? I looked at Navionics but it seems there is not a version that will run under Windows for planning?

Any suggestions gratefully received!

Cheers

rich

 

[ShinyShoe]

Does the laptop come with you? Do you have power for it on the boat down below where can stay safe and dry? If so - what about running it with something like VNC Server on it and connecting to that from the Nexus 7 in the cockpit?

Alternatively there is a OpenCPN version for Android? But you wont get VMH on it.

If you are focused on VMH as a chart then if you don't want the laptop onboard - you can get some small windows 7 low power units that could be used the same way. If VHM isn't the be-all and end-all (not convinced it is and you were looking at Navionics) then I'd consider a RasPi down below running the new Licenced Vector Charts on OpenCPN...

 

[richlear]

Yes, the laptop is always with me and stays below but not generally switched on when I am sailing - I guess it could be as I have a small inverter but that was not the original intention. I am not fixed on VMH if there is a simpler option that I can use for both cases. The main issue is compatibility so I can plan on the laptop with the luxury of keyboard, mouse etc then transfer to the tablet to have to hand in the cockpit.

 

[Dockhead]

I've always defied the trend and chosen a proper chartplotter - they're waterproof, work well, are visible in sunlight, and are designed to do the job.

So do I! I would not be without a proper marine chartplotter at the helm, and for good measure I have one at the nav table too -- a pair of 8" B&G Zeuses.

But chart plotters are for pilotage, and they -- with their little low-res displays and the vector charts they are made to use -- suck for navigation and passage planning. For that you need paper, or raster charts and a high resolution display, and proper drawing tools. OpenCPN is superlative for this.

To answer the OP's question:

Ultra cheap ultra low power BQeel Intel Atom based media computer, running Windows 10, plugged directly into 12v power and fixed mounted behind the nav table.

23" ultra high resolution (4k) display, powered with a DC/DC converter.

Remote USB/audio/CD card interface panel-mounted above the nav table.

Wireless mini keyboard/trackpad and separate wired mouse (OpenCPN needs fine mouse manipulation).

Official "For Navigation" raster charts for UK and Northern European Atlantic Coasts from VisitMyHarbour, kept right up to date, and about 100 gigabytes of all kinds of other charts.

Connected to the boat network via a GoFree wifi interface, but soon will substitute Ethernet so I can operate the radar also from OpenCPN.

I'm really pleased with it. I cruise through an average of 10 countries every year and I have paper charts stuffed under every bunk, and I finally realized that this is a losing battle on a short-handed pleasure vessel.

You can do more or less all the chart work you're used to doing on paper, with O. Create routes and save them as .gpx files, transfer to the main navigation system with a thumb drive.

O also has a fantastic log plug-in which I now use for all logging.

On this computer I also run Neptune Planner + for Channel-crossing tidal planning. I use zyGrib for getting and working with GRIBs.