GPS mode with Navionics

[polaris]

Hi all,
Happy user of pypilot with compass and wind mode so far. I’d like to also use it in GPS mode, but for many good and bad reasons can’t use OpenCPN and am instead stuck with Navionics.

I understand pypilot needs to get NMEA APB sentence which Navionics does not emit. It can however export a route in GPX format. 

Question is if there are tools that can take the GPX route as input and emit the NMEA APB message to pypilot. Ideally either running on Linux or iOS.

Hopefully not the first trying to make this work, would also love to hear of alternative ways to achieve similar results

[MigGat]

May I ask why are you stuck with Navionics?

I was quite attached to Navionics in the past, so I wrote a couple aplications to translate/transform/synchronize Navionics GPX format with OpenCPN and other software, before I realized the best option was to avoid using Navionics at all, or having it just as a backup. I don't use OpenCPN because -I'm sorry- I don't like it at all.

Depending on your setup maybe you could use AvNav to replace Navionics and you would have you problem solved.

[polaris]

Stuck with Navionics as they have pretty much the only decent chart of my sailing area (Lake Geneva, Switzerland). OpenCPN anyway not a great option given VNC UI for iPad.
Avnav is indeed the alternative I’m looking into, using it for autopilot control with Openstreet maps, and Navionics in parallel for the nautical chart.

[seandepagnier]

It is possible to rip any of the charts into mbtiles and use with opencpn.

There may be some tools for emitting APB. It was discussed in the past that this function can live in the chart plotter, the autopilot, or even a separate service. Currently it is implemented in opencpn, as well as the autopilot route plugin which overrides the default implementation providing more options. Eventually pypilot itself could support the feature, and continue following a route even if the plotter is disconnected for example.