2024-01-22, 05:02 AM
(2024-01-20, 12:51 PM)Dudematters Wrote: I have an old Seafarer 501 with a depth transducer, and I am pretty sure it won't be easy to connect that to my PI5 and MacArthur HAT.
So I was searching for a new transducer, but the prices are pretty high. Now I've found this one for a reasonable price (I think):
Raymarine M78713-PZ thru-hull depth - 1 PC - 29.600.13 - 2960013 - supports NMEA2000.
Now my question is (and I am inexperienced with depth transducers); will it work correctly with Openplotter 4 (beta) and the MacArthur hat?
I'm not sure that's the question you actually need to ask. Openplotter (signalk) will indeed work with NMEA 2000 (and NMEA 0183). So the question is how do you get those two worlds (openplotter & nmea 2000) connected to each other.
With NMEA 2000, every device (depth transducer, wind sensor, chart plotter, openplotter, etc.) are all just nodes on a network sending and reading data.
Do you currently have an existing NMEA 2000 network? If not, the cheapest NMEA 2000 device will get more expensive, because you'll need a NMEA2000 network to plug it and Openplotter into with power and terminators, etc. to have a valid network, even if the transducer and openplotter are the only two nodes on it. It's a great way to go and easily expandable, but it's more complicated than just plugging a thing into openplotter.
Check out this: https://actisense.com/news/the-basics-of...0-network/
The easiest way I personally have found to interface Openplotter into a N2K network is with Copperhill Technologies PiCAN-M hat. I am currently using a WaveShare 485 CAN hat -- https://www.waveshare.com/wiki/RS485_CAN_HAT_(B). I have yet to install it in a boat, but the it is MUCH more affordable than the PiCAN-M. There are a lot of other options as well.