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Engine monitor
#1
Hi all,

I was wondering if someone could guide me in the right direction building my boat engine monitoring!
My idea is basically that I want to see the engine hours, RPM, tank level to start with in an web interface (SignalK) thru my Raspberry Pi or any other device.
I have an old Volvo Penta 2030 engine. From the physical dashboard I can see tank level, RPM, engine hours.
The goal is keep the existing official/original sensors and get the data into SignalK. 
I could not find details on the require hardware to get all those data (tank level, RPM, engine hours).

Could I get the data directly to the RaspberryPI or would I need a separate device like an Arduino?

My guess is that all the sensors are Analog and 12V!? Therefor I would need a analog-to-digital converter like an MCP3008, but how channel and bit do I need?

I have found some ready to go hardware that translate analogue signals to an NMEA2000. However it is very expensive and I don't need NMEA2000 conversion as  JSON input is fine for SignalK.

I am new to openplotter, so I apologize if this has been answer. But learning everyday!

Thanks
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#2
You could probably do this stuff with SensESP and one or more ESP32s or ESP8266s. You'll need external components to get the signals to the levels that your ESP needs (3.3V max).
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#3
Thanks for your reply. SensESP came up in my search but does not seem to be on sale neither to use existing sensors. Anyhow definitely seems to do exactly what I'm looking for.
http://signalk.org/2020/12/18/sensesp-1.html


Quote:SensESP is a Signal K sensor development library for ESP8266 and ESP32. It can be used as a high-level toolkit for creating ESP-based hardware sensoring devices that interface with Signal K servers. In practical terms, you can use it to create temperature or engine RPM sensors, tank level sensors, anchor chain counters, satellite compasses, bilge level alarms, or smart light controllers for your boat.


I'm looking for a more "easy" approach, where I read data from the existing sensors. Found a post from years back with no real answer/solution, https://www.raspberrypi.org/forums/viewt...p?p=743246

I had to replace the LCD display engine hours and I'm convinced there is an open alternative, https://www.marinepartseurope.com/en/vol...-2486.aspx
There is even a extra panel available to duplicate display, https://www.marinepartseurope.com/en/vol...0-278.aspx
The electric schema does not help much, https://www.manualslib.com/manual/102986...=43#manual
I can code, but I am no (very little) electronic knowledge.

Thanks
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#4
Next version of openplotter-gpio app has a tool to get RPM using just a GPIO and a simple hall-effect sensor
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