2024-02-14, 03:26 AM
I'm new to OpenCPN, OpenPlotter. I've installed it on a RasPi4 and played around with the charting and have started giving thoughts for a DIY autopilot to use with PyPilot. As part of that I started looking at Marine Anemometers and got rather a big sticker shock. I'm assuming the cheap weather stations (La Crosse, AcuRite, etc) have too slow an update and crappy direction resolution (N, NNE, NE...). Having worked with Microcontrollers and software for many years, I am struggling with the price jump to Marine gear. I'm guessing its just... what the market will bare! 
Of course, I did a search here on the forum and saw several comments about others starting one, but I didn't see any complete projects laid out. Maybe they finished them and decided to go into production and undercut the other guys by say... half price. 
But half of those systems is still too rich for my sensibilities!
Maybe there is some fundamental road block that I'll slam into in a bit, but as of now, I don't see it. I've laid out a tentative solution and I have some parts coming in tomorrow to test my WAG's. Based on what I have so far, I'm looking at an all up price of around $10 US and certainly less than $20.
Thinking optimistically that the mechanical and electronic parts are going to work, I've given thought to the communications aspects with OpenMarine. I started looking around and I must be looking in the wrong places. I was looking for a top-level architecture of communications paths. I see it accepts many standards (NMEA 0183, 2000, Signal K, CAM, and SeaTalk, etc). Haven't quite decided on weather to support NMEA 0183 or Signal K or both. Any suggestions on that?
What I'm most interested is the communications path. I plan on it being wireless and would like to use WiFi. I'm assuming that either most people have a router on board or they set up the RasPi as an access point. Either way, once connected would I be using a TCP/IP connection, UDP/IP, HTTP or ???? Also, I can't tell... is it more typical that there is a RasPi running OpenCPN and a second one running PyPilot or are they both running on the same RasPi? Either way, if I should be using a connection based protocol (TCP) would I need to connect to both OpenCPN and PyPilot? ... Or does something else handle all the other apps that might need wind data? I've seen plenty of YT on the pretty pictures OpenCPN has and things working, but nothing on how that is all working under the covers? I gather OpenCPN needs wind data for the virtual dials and I know PyPilot has modes to use wind data so they both need it. Anyway, it would be helpful...
Of course, if I come up with anything that is useful, I'll be making it Open Source in case someone else has a similar DIY bent... or is equally disenchanted with $1K+ anemometers.
Of course, I did a search here on the forum and saw several comments about others starting one, but I didn't see any complete projects laid out. Maybe they finished them and decided to go into production and undercut the other guys by say... half price. But half of those systems is still too rich for my sensibilities!Maybe there is some fundamental road block that I'll slam into in a bit, but as of now, I don't see it. I've laid out a tentative solution and I have some parts coming in tomorrow to test my WAG's. Based on what I have so far, I'm looking at an all up price of around $10 US and certainly less than $20.
Thinking optimistically that the mechanical and electronic parts are going to work, I've given thought to the communications aspects with OpenMarine. I started looking around and I must be looking in the wrong places. I was looking for a top-level architecture of communications paths. I see it accepts many standards (NMEA 0183, 2000, Signal K, CAM, and SeaTalk, etc). Haven't quite decided on weather to support NMEA 0183 or Signal K or both. Any suggestions on that?
What I'm most interested is the communications path. I plan on it being wireless and would like to use WiFi. I'm assuming that either most people have a router on board or they set up the RasPi as an access point. Either way, once connected would I be using a TCP/IP connection, UDP/IP, HTTP or ???? Also, I can't tell... is it more typical that there is a RasPi running OpenCPN and a second one running PyPilot or are they both running on the same RasPi? Either way, if I should be using a connection based protocol (TCP) would I need to connect to both OpenCPN and PyPilot? ... Or does something else handle all the other apps that might need wind data? I've seen plenty of YT on the pretty pictures OpenCPN has and things working, but nothing on how that is all working under the covers? I gather OpenCPN needs wind data for the virtual dials and I know PyPilot has modes to use wind data so they both need it. Anyway, it would be helpful...
- Are there top-level, technical communications links you might have that would help me?
- I've seen where some boats will have more than one anemometer... say on the mast head and one low on the back rail and sometimes on the bow pulpit. How does OpenCPN/PyPilot use such data and how is it differently formatted to distinguish which one is which?
Of course, if I come up with anything that is useful, I'll be making it Open Source in case someone else has a similar DIY bent... or is equally disenchanted with $1K+ anemometers.