What do you do with your Raspberry Pi?

demonboy

demonboy

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I've been watching the Pi since it came out but its lack of ports and processing power meant that I ended up buying an Aleutia to run my entertainment centre (XBMC), navigation system and Connectify hotspot.

However, now that the B+ has come out, with the extra USB ports and improved audio, I'm tempted to buy one just for the hell of it. I'm interested to know what other onboard projects RPi owners have done with their unit, and what accessories are worth getting hold of. I'm especially interested to know if anyone uses it as a wifi receiver and hotspot for other peripherals to connect to. Is the Pi able to cope with a long distance USB high gain antenna, for example (like the Faculty X here - http://www.faculty-x.net/NET-WL-USB-UTP2450-12.htm)?

Interested in your thoughts, comments, pictures, ideas etc.

Cheers,

Jamie
 
Ours acts as an nmea multiplexer so wireless devices can pick up the nmea data. It also runs a server that supplies the data to my smart watch. This same server allows the smart watch to control things throughout the boat using relays connected to the Pi, such as our bimini lights, the heater and the watermaker. In progress are controls for the anchor windlass, including a chain counter feature.
 
OpenCPN, with GPS via GPIO pins and AIS via USB
kstars for the night sky
wefax software (dismal results)
WiFi dongle for connectivity in the marina for email, Zygrib, et al
Alsa wifi extender for long distance wifi
All controlled by miniature wireless keyboard and touch screen monitor
An eight port USB hub is used for AIS, wireless keyboard dongle, wifi for the above, power for the Pi, usb sound card (input for wefax), and other stuff.

The pi with all the associated spaghetti is kept in a plastic jacob's cracker box.
 
agurney said:
OpenCPN, with GPS via GPIO pins and AIS via USB
kstars for the night sky
wefax software (dismal results)
WiFi dongle for connectivity in the marina for email, Zygrib, et al
Alsa wifi extender for long distance wifi
All controlled by miniature wireless keyboard and touch screen monitor
An eight port USB hub is used for AIS, wireless keyboard dongle, wifi for the above, power for the Pi, usb sound card (input for wefax), and other stuff.

The pi with all the associated spaghetti is kept in a plastic jacob's cracker box.
Click to expand...

Not that I need it but I'm interested to know how the Pi handles OpenCPN. I'd read elsewhere that it was a bit clunky.
 
Not much pi action since the purchase of a cubietruck....
Runs OpenCpn easily,
http://docs.cubieboard.org/products/start#a20-cubietruck
The new arduino is interesting as well.... A Leonardo and Linux in one box..
http://arduino.cc/en/Main/ArduinoBoardYun
Pricey though.
For navigation I'm heading towards cubietruck, it's fast, easy to link up with a fast ssd drive and pulls under 0.5A running OpenCpn with a usb/serial converter to get AIS and gps.
Arduino is a favorite for messing around with data logging like fridge temp and switching stuff, pulls little and with a bluetooth adaptor is easy to talk to. :cool:
 
My Pi multiplexes NMEA data out onto a socket over the WiFi for consumption by other devices and hosts a simple HTML5 web page that displays instrument data on my tablet and smart-phone. I'm also just beginning to get it configured to store and multiplex Navtex messages, recording them in a simple database and offering a variety of search and index functions.
 
Just come across this thread and it seems particularly apposite since I found it whilst taking a break from writing the web site for our Pi project.

We are implementing a low-cost but sophisticated monitoring system which will later be expanded to allow us to control on-board devices remotely. It's accessible from anywhere anytime using the net with a browser - smartphone, tablet, PC ...

Tests so far including one camera, one GPS puck, one WiFi access point, and a 3G dongle/wifi receiver consuming less than 0.4 amps at 12V.

We have a mixture of serious and fun bits - the serious bits will alert us to any so-and-so trying to b*****r with our boat or the boat wandering off. Fun bits include being able to keep GPS plots of our cruises along with clickable annotations, photos, film etc.

We will release the basic system as freeware under the terms of the GPL. More sophisticated functions will be available on a paid basis.

And when we get back to our boat it works as a wifi hotspot so we don't quarrel about who gets to use the net connection ! Made a huge difference to marital disharmony last time we were there !

Sorry to jump into this thread as neither the web site or the software are ready for prime time yet but the web site should be live tomorrow and the first public release of the software available week beginning 28 July.

I'll update this thread as soon as the web site is available and hope to receive some constructive comments :) Treat me gently, I'm a sensitive soul !

Penny
 
Last edited:
pragmatist said:
Just come across this thread and it seems particularly apposite since I found it whilst taking a break from writing the web site for our Pi project.

We are implementing a low-cost but sophisticated monitoring system which will later be expanded to allow us to control on-board devices remotely. It's accessible from anywhere anytime using the net with a browser - smartphone, tablet, PC ...

Tests so far including one camera, one GPS puck, one WiFi access point, and a 3G dongle/wifi receiver consuming less than 0.4 amps at 12V.

We have a mixture of serious and fun bits - the serious bits will alert us to any so-and-so trying to b*****r with our boat or the boat wandering off. Fun bits include being able to keep GPS plots of our cruises along with clickable annotations, photos, film etc.

We will release the basic system as freeware under the terms of the GPL. More sophisticated functions will be available on a paid basis.

And when we get back to our boat it works as a wifi hotspot so we don't quarrel about who gets to use the net connection ! Made a huge difference to marital disharmony last time we were there !

Sorry to jump into this thread as neither the web site or the software are ready for prime time yet but the web site should be live tomorrow and the first public release of the software available week beginning 28 July.

I'll update this thread as soon as the web site is available and hope to receive some constructive comments :) Treat me gently, I'm a sensitive soul !

Penny
Click to expand...

Sounds interesting, Penny. Please do keep us posted .
 
Mine's mainly used to re-distribute wifi as an access point. We have one fancy long-range usb thingy but two laptops and two phones. Plus it seems some marinas (e.g. port chantereyne) now give you an account for free wifi which can only be associated with one mac address at a time. Using the pi as a router and access point allows everyone to share.

Oh yes and I also used it as an nmea router, seatalk to nmea converter with attached GPS thingy and plugged into the boat electronics but frankly that's just for fun and I pack it up when I actually sail: I don't own an iPad and seem to do ok with paper charts, ST50s and the luxury of a plotter at the helm...
 
As promised yesterday, the web site with the free software is now up at http://www.skippersmate.co.uk . Sure there is lots wrong with it and things we've missed. The first public release of the software will be the week of 28 July and I will post again here if people are interested.

All comments (constructive pretty please !) would be most welcome.

Penny
 
pragmatist said:
As promised yesterday, the web site with the free software is now up at http://www.skippersmate.co.uk . Sure there is lots wrong with it and things we've missed. The first public release of the software will be the week of 28 July and I will post again here if people are interested.

All comments (constructive pretty please !) would be most welcome.

Penny
Click to expand...

Hi Penny,

Ive had a quick look at your website. Here are a few thoughts. I hope you find them constructive.

Your menu on the home page jumps about when something is selected. Its not a big thing but it is a bit distracting.

Your home page mentions notifications if the boat moves and a wifi hotspot. What are cameras for?

You give us a list of suitable hardware but where can we go to buy this?

The software page went straight over my head. Is there a nice simple turnkey solution for nice simple people?

What is SDR radio?

Ill have a longer look later.

Hope you find this useful.

We are hoping to be in Dartmouth in the next few weeks. Is the wifi still up and running?

Regards

Tim and Alice.
 
liftkeel said:
Hi Penny,

Ive had a quick look at your website. Here are a few thoughts. I hope you find them constructive.

Your menu on the home page jumps about when something is selected. Its not a big thing but it is a bit distracting.

Your home page mentions notifications if the boat moves and a wifi hotspot. What are cameras for?

You give us a list of suitable hardware but where can we go to buy this?

The software page went straight over my head. Is there a nice simple turnkey solution for nice simple people?

What is SDR radio?

Ill have a longer look later.

Hope you find this useful.

We are hoping to be in Dartmouth in the next few weeks. Is the wifi still up and running?

Regards

Tim and Alice.
Click to expand...

Many thanks, Tim and Alice. Sorry - we're no longer involved with the wifi having moved to 3G - it seems to provide a better solution than wifi. The Three dongle works really well in Dartmouth.

The detailed response is really helpful. I'll do my best to answer them all !

Your menu on the home page jumps about when something is selected.
Thanks - think we've fixed that :)

Your home page mentions notifications if the boat moves and a wifi hotspot. What are cameras for?
The cameras can be used to look at your boat to soothe your (troubled) mind - and for motion detection so it can alert you to an intruder, and record video and snapshots to help identify the ...... !

You give us a list of suitable hardware but where can we go to buy this?
The hardware is all available from places like eBay, Maplin, Amazon etc. If you don't want to source it yourself we can supply a complete set, including one camera, ready-configured. We're software people not hardware so we just add a small mark-up to cover costs.

The software page went straight over my head. Is there a nice simple turnkey solution for nice simple people?
Yes ! It is a bit of a long list, isn't it ? We can supply the complete software on an SD card and you just plug it into your Raspberry with the peripherals and away you go. Alternatively if you want to be ultra-lazy you can, as I mentioned under hardware, buy a complete set - if you do that it comes fully configured and ready to go so you don't even have to use the settings screens to configure it for camera, GPS etc. We're also thinking of putting up a downloadable image that you can burn to an SD card yourself - as a relatively easy way to install and try it.

What is SDR radio?
Quite exciting ! Well I find it fun ! It stands for Software-defined Radio but essentially means you can do with a lot less in the way of hardware. So we're working on using an AIS receiver hooked up to software to give real-time AIS. Of course if you've got the web then you can see the stored AIS coming over the web but it's nothing like as up to date as that you can see for yourself on the boat - sort of important when some big beast is about to run you down.
Hope this all helps clarify.

BTW I thought you hated being called Tim ?!
Cheers
Penny
 
Going back to the hotspot/repeater idea, I'm interested to hear how people set this up, i.e. what software and hardware was required. I used to tinker with Ubuntu and can happily run hotspots on Windows but I'm new to Raspberry and would like a breakdown on what hardware I should purchase before leaving the UK and what software I need to install on my SD card. Also, regarding the power issue, is using a 1amp cigarette USB plug ok for stepping down to 5v?
 
pragmatist said:
As promised yesterday, the web site with the free software is now up at http://www.skippersmate.co.uk . Sure there is lots wrong with it and things we've missed. The first public release of the software will be the week of 28 July and I will post again here if people are interested.

All comments (constructive pretty please !) would be most welcome.

Penny
Click to expand...

Penny, I can't find any prices anywhere on your website.
 
Forty_Two said:
This one is a doorstop, i can confirm that 12v on a GPIO pin does not make a happy cpu :(

View attachment 44105

This one however, is happily reporting on my floaty thing in the South of France :cool:

View attachment 44106
Click to expand...

I've just read your thread on this project. Have you ever written up a breakdown on how you set this system up? Alternatively, perhaps you could just tell me when you're going into production with this ;)
 
demonboy said:
Going back to the hotspot/repeater idea, I'm interested to hear how people set this up, i.e. what software and hardware was required. I used to tinker with Ubuntu and can happily run hotspots on Windows but I'm new to Raspberry and would like a breakdown on what hardware I should purchase before leaving the UK and what software I need to install on my SD card. Also, regarding the power issue, is using a 1amp cigarette USB plug ok for stepping down to 5v?
Click to expand...

There's a list of the hardware we use on the http://skippersmate.co.uk website - also a list of the software. Here http://www.elinux.org/RPI-Wireless-Hotspot is a guide to a hotspot on a Raspberry.

The stepdown is one which has 4 USB ports and can be used for 24V or 12V to 5V (it claims to be able to handle anything from 40V downwards). You would probably get away with a 1 amp one but a higher rated version is preferable.

The RPi B has 2 USB ports so we add a powered hub (5V) and then run either a wifi receiver or a 3G dongle from that. We add a wireless access point to the RPi which then provides the boat hotspot using either form of backhaul as available.

In terms of prices, the software on the Raspberry is free, as is basic server access. For the more advanced server features, we're currently looking at a charge between £7 and £15 per month. What's included in each version is detailed on the web site on the Versions page. Firm prices within the next 2 weeks.

Penny
 
pragmatist said:
There's a list of the hardware we use on the http://skippersmate.co.uk website - also a list of the software. Here http://www.elinux.org/RPI-Wireless-Hotspot is a guide to a hotspot on a Raspberry.

The stepdown is one which has 4 USB ports and can be used for 24V or 12V to 5V (it claims to be able to handle anything from 40V downwards). You would probably get away with a 1 amp one but a higher rated version is preferable.

The RPi B has 2 USB ports so we add a powered hub (5V) and then run either a wifi receiver or a 3G dongle from that. We add a wireless access point to the RPi which then provides the boat hotspot using either form of backhaul as available.

In terms of prices, the software on the Raspberry is free, as is basic server access. For the more advanced server features, we're currently looking at a charge between £7 and £15 per month. What's included in each version is detailed on the web site on the Versions page. Firm prices within the next 2 weeks.

Penny
Click to expand...

Hi Penny, thanks for your reply.

I notice on your wiki it says the Pi connects to the internet via an ethernet connection. I'm not looking to do that, I'm after a wireless connection that connects to the marina network and uses that to create the hotspot.

With regards your pricing, I don't understand the monthly server charge. Can you explain this in more detail? Are you saying you are providing a centralised server and we log into that?
 
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