I'm interested in seeing / hearing what sort of computer and chart table setups everyone is using for OpenCPN. After some inspiration.I've got hold of a visit my harbour chart stick which is brilliant on my main laptop, but there's no way I'm taking that laptop into a boat environment!:DI tried it on an older laptop but the performance was way to slow using raster charts so I'm kind of resigned to buying a new laptop.But I've also seen some good setups with mini-PCs and TVs or Computer monitors but I'm concerned about power usage, so just wondering what setups people are going with, and the kind of current they're taking to run them. Power usage for PC's and laptops when not motoring can be an issue on a little yacht (like mine). Assume 2/3 amps for a laptop.Despite this, I'm surprised your old laptop isn't up to the job, the requirements of charting s/ware is pretty low.
I use a skip sourced Acer at least 10 yrs old. You may need to clean the startup/prefetch/cache etc.I now use the VMH recommended Xoom 10' tablet underway after p/planning on the laptop and sending the route to the Garmin 128 and the tablet.
The laptop is shut down.The Xoom, high spec in its day, still works well, 1A on charge and up to 10hrs on its battery. Clamped to the saloon table its bright enough unless the sun is directly aft (so not a problem this summer.)I'm running Memory Map FYI. Power usage for PC's and laptops when not motoring can be an issue on a little yacht (like mine). Assume 2/3 amps for a laptop.Despite this, I'm surprised your old laptop isn't up to the job, the requirements of charting s/ware is pretty low. I use a skip sourced Acer at least 10 yrs old. You may need to clean the startup/prefetch/cache etc.I now use the VMH recommended Xoom 10' tablet underway after p/planning on the laptop and sending the route to the Garmin 128 and the tablet. The laptop is shut down.The Xoom, high spec in its day, still works well, 1A on charge and up to 10hrs on its battery.
Connection bus box (proprietary bus) 57765 AdvanSea Bus: Each S400 instrument features AS-1 Bus. This Half Duplex single-cable bi-directional 38400 baud Bus, enables extremely fast and reliable exchanges between all S400 instruments on board.
Clamped to the saloon table its bright enough unless the sun is directly aft (so not a problem this summer.)I'm running Memory Map FYII'm quite impatient, and to my mind the charts took a bit too long to redraw when panning the screen. The laptop has a clean installation and all correct drivers so should be good. Its probably about 10 years old.2-3 amps sounds manageable to be honest.Pvp, I do think they're great plotters, but they're expensive, and I like the fact the boat laptop / PC has a lot more expansion potential.
I'm using OpenCPN with VMH charts installed. Laptop is a 3yr old Toshiba Satellite L855, which runs fine. The laptop also doubles up as a TV/DVD player, not that i use it for that much. I can use it stand alone with a USB GPS receiver:am also in the process of fitting a N2K to wifi adapter so i get AIS, depth, speed etc on the laptop.As for power consumption, i'm using it connected to shore power mostly.
I did have it plugged into 12v with a power converter (laptop is 19v), but my solar panels couldn't keep up. Rather than turn the battery charger on i plugged the laptop into the mains. For a trip out i wouldn't think it would be too disastrous. A dedicated plotter will always do a better job than a cobbled-together laptop set-up. And it'll be waterproof.
Or perhaps all your sailing is done in perfect conditions?I get that your happy with your setup. And I've considered chart plotters and admit they can work well.But I started this thread to have a discussion about PC based setups so if you're going to get confrontational just because I'm interested in a different setup to yourself then please don't bother replying.And FWIW no I don't sail in perfect conditions only, quite the contrary, a laptop with an SSD should cope with rough weather no problem as long as its adequately secured. And while its helpful to be able to see it from the cockpit, its not essential.I've coped fine with paper charts up until now and they never move from the chart table on my boat. A dedicated plotter will always do a better job than a cobbled-together laptop set-up.
And it'll be waterproof. Or perhaps all your sailing is done in perfect conditions?My laptop is connected to the onboard systems via a Shipmodul bluetooth multiplexor, so it can display GPS and AIS. The depth and wind are both NASA so won't talk to anything else.
I'm in the process of fitting a N2K network with wifi and a new triducer plus a Garmin GMi10 in the cockpit. I shall then have GPS, AIS, depth, SMG and water temp on the laptop and on a Lenovo tablet.
All of that, minus the AIS will be visible on the cockpit instruments. I can plug a radome into it for Radar. I can add a multitude of other sensors, same as you could with a plotter. In fact, there is nothing that you can connect to a plotter that i won't be able to connect to this network.The laptop also does:Email and internetTV via a wifi adapter, including recording.DVD player.Media center.Admiralty tides and tidal streams.and all the other usual PC stuff.So i don't agree that a chart plotter will always do a better job than a laptop and i have had a few chart plotters on mobo's where power was not a consideration.
On a sailboat, where power is an issue, big plotter screens use a lot of power. Plus, they are damned expensive, a good quality plotter, with charts, is best part of a grand, plus a fitting kit or a Navpod.You are of course correct that it isn't waterproof and is hard to see in bright light. However, it's down below at the chart table. For outside i have a 10' Lenovo tablet (£89.99) which runs stand alone with Marine Navigator and VMH charts. With the N2K network and wifi adaptor the tablet will also have access to all the onboard data. It's easy enough to keep it dry but a bit of a pain keeping it out of bright sunlight though. I get that your happy with your setup.
And I've considered chart plotters and admit they can work well.But I started this thread to have a discussion about PC based setups so if you're going to get confrontational just because I'm interested in a different setup to yourself then please don't bother replying.And FWIW no I don't sail in perfect conditions only, quite the contrary, a laptop with an SSD should cope with rough weather no problem as long as its adequately secured. And while its helpful to be able to see it from the cockpit, its not essential.I've coped fine with paper charts up until now and they never move from the chart table on my boat.Ah, so you're not familiar with forums then? I have at least three versions of OpenCPN availalble on my boat.A couple on cheap Chinese Android phones, and at least one on Raspberry Pi (original & Pi 2), run OpenCPN with Antares and other charts. 12V 8' or 10' touchscreen monitor for the Pi, which also runs GRIB, wefax, AIS, ADS-B and whatever else I happen to be tinkering with at the time.One of the Pis runs permanently with a webcam and sensor, which uploads a snapshot of the weather, temperature and pressure every 30 minutes over the marina's wifi. No shore power, just an aero4gen and a house battery.I don't know about current, but it can't be much, and I've had no problems in that respect.OK, I have lots of spaghetti lying around, but it gives me something to do when it rains. I have a Furuno plotter in the cockpit, however at the chart table I have a laptop running OpenCPN.The Dell Latitude E7240 with SSD sits under the chart table lid with it's screen closed in a Dell E series docking station.
On the chart table there is only an Asus MB168B+ LCD screen, plus small wireless keyboard with membrane cover and mouse. Power to docking station is via a standard Dell 12V power supply.Main advantages of this setup are that the laptop is in a dry, protected environment, the VMH chart stick and other USB conectors are attached to the docking station where they are unlikely to get accidentally knocked, and there is no spagetti lying across the chart table. On the subject of spagetti.I'm currently using the NMEA 0183 setup with an independent USB GPS. The GPS, bluetooth dongle and an infrared sensor for a remote are all connected to a 4 port USB hub hidden under the chart table. This connects to a USB socket, also under the chart table. I just have a single USB cable going from that socket to the laptop.When i fit the N2K network i'll be using a wifi adapter to get the data to the laptop, so no wires at all. I'll be leaving the existing wiring in place as a backup.The TV is wireless too, but i do connect an audio lead to the stereo for better sound.
On the subject of spagetti.I'm currently using the NMEA 0183 setup with an independent USB GPS. The GPS, bluetooth dongle and an infrared sensor for a remote are all connected to a 4 port USB hub hidden under the chart table.
This connects to a USB socket, also under the chart table. I just have a single USB cable going from that socket to the laptop.When i fit the N2K network i'll be using a wifi adapter to get the data to the laptop, so no wires at all. I tried OpenCPN on an older laptop but the performance was way to slow using raster charts so I'm kind of resigned to buying a new laptop.You may be able to improve OpenCPN performance by enabling OpenGL &/or OpenGL caching, by clicking the 'advanced' button under graphics options.another try before doing that, though - raster charts have to initialised (in OpenGL mode I think they are texturised) and are then cached. Each chart you view requires undertaking this process once, which takes a few seconds; when you return to an already-initialised chart area, though, it should display immediately.When you're using OpenCPN at home, passage planning a new area, start by zooming in and out of the area, and panning around it, too. You'll see the annoying hourglass as it initialises all the charts you'll be using, but after they've initialised it'll be much faster.You can probably increase NCacheLimit to 40 or more in opencpn.ini. A dedicated plotter will always do a better job than a cobbled-together laptop set-up.
And it'll be waterproof. Or perhaps all your sailing is done in perfect conditions?Now I think you're talking at cross purposes. I would agree that for cockpit navigation nothing is as good as a dedicated chartplotter. Here's my 7-inch Simrad running Navionics:58474But 'cockpit navigation' to me means what you do when you're helming the boat, checking position and pilotage.
At the chart table, I want to be able to do other things like:Plan at multiple scalesCompare weather modelsWeather and tide route my passageCompare tricky parts of the passage on raster or paper charts, to check that I am happy with the vector charts i'll be looking at on the cockpit plotterFor chart table use, nothing else is in the room compared to a PC setup, particularly a dedicated PC talking to the instruments through a fixed multiplexer. Here is my PC running the same Navionics charts as I have in the cockpit but on a seventeen inch screen:58475The PC allows me to:Flick seamlessly between the vector Navionics and Imray rasterRun tide routing for a passage in multiple packagesPull down GRIB files from PredictWind and Squid, run weather routing in bothOverlay weather models on charts in real timeRun automated real-time polars which feed back into the weather routingetcNo chartplotter is going to get near that.For the OP, consider a fanless mini-PC solution rather than a laptop. A complete setup with voltage regulator, screen and mounting hardware is likely to cost in the region of £350-£400. Being fanless the mini-PC pulls very little amps.
The setup above pulls about 2.5amps total. I use Raspberry pi 3 running openplotter, fantastic. 0.1A with monitor turned off. Monitors engine temp as well and broadcasts the lot over wifi to a Xperia tablet in the cockpit.
Downside for some would be not being able to use VMH charts as it's Linux.looks like a good setup. I have a similar setup to GHA.I used to run OpenCPN on a HP laptop but now I run OpenCPN on a Raspberry Pi3 using the OpenPlotter build.I have a 15' flat screen monitor (screen from an old Toshiba laptop) at the chart table and a 10' Panasonic Wireless touchscreen repeater in the cockpit.I can therefore do passage planning or route changes in the comfort of the cabin but easily follow the route using the cockpit display. I only have one instance of OpenCPN running so there can be no mistakes over syncing routes or waypoints between multiple devices. I'm interested in seeing / hearing what sort of computer and chart table setups everyone is using for OpenCPN. A 10' Panasonic Wireless touchscreen repeater in the cockpit.That sounds interesting. How viewable is it in bright light? How is it connected and powered?The vYacht wifi adapter i have just ordered has a LAN socket so maybe i could connect the laptop via LAN and use the wifi between the laptop and tablet.
Or maybe hardwire the tablet via LAN, but that means running independent software.I'm really interested how you have this setup and how well it works, because at the moment my 'weak link' is the sunlight viewability of my Lenovo tablet. Bitbaltic.I did actually read your excellent blog post on the subject my only concern for my boat was perhaps the power draw was a little bit too high, but it looks like an excellent setup.Has it worked well in actual use?Well apart from the fact that the VGA part of the mini-PC blew up last weekend precipitating the replacement of the PC:rolleyes: (in practice all this has meant is ordering a like for like replacement. My hope is that the replacement unit, which is 'Mark 2' doesn't do this again. If it does, it wil be replaced with a different brand of min-PC.
At least, at around £100 a pop, the PC itself can be regarded as semi-disposable).Because we have also installed a chartplotter I found we are using that a lot underway, so how core a PC would be to your setup depends on whether you have any other gizmos that you are using. The main thing the PC is used for is weather forecasting- both in advance and comparing the actuals to expectation underway- and for this it is better than anything, running specific software from PredictWind and Squid. I also make a lot of use of it for weather routing with those tools. For passage planning, being albe to look at both raster and vector at whatever scale you need just with the click of a mouse is a huge advantage, also I have multiple options for tide planning which is very helpful in the Bristol Channel.
It is also very good for interrogating AIS targets in complex situations with lots of boats about, far better than the plotter for that. Whilst underway generally it is plotting the boat's polars with the PolAuto software. You can also wire it up to run an autopilot- I did this originally but it was a case of too many cooks for the old Simrad TP20 so I rolled back to the AP being controlled by the cockpit plotter.
SO I have to confess I wouldn't be without it now.Re. As part of the installation I did a couple of things. I replaced an ageing 120ah battery with a new Rolls of about the same capacity (this one (The performance of the Rolls has been tremendous under load.
As I say the PC and screen together pulls about 2.5a, with the full instrument network on (including the cockpit chartplotter) the pull is 4 point something amps. This is easily enough to sail for 12hrs or so without reaching 50% depletion of the battery and in fact I have never seen its voltage drop below 12.6v.For belts and braces I also fitted a small (20w) solar panel on top of the garage (this one (tml)). This was dead easy to do and it produces around about 0.5a of charge. The idea here was just to offset the draw produced by the PC system when sailingh on a sunny day, and give some top up options other than the engine when away from shore power.So far the power draw of the PC installation hasn't been a problem at all due to the above.but more importantly, I see that you have a Yeoman:)Pete:D Dead right and I spent ages looking for that too (it's the 'compact' version which is hard to find). I actually bought it at the same time as I set up the PC. Apart from the redundancy- it is very low power and talks to a simple Garmin GPS, so provides an emergency back up solution- it protects my paper chart (it has the clear film cover) so I can answer a nav question with any working method I feel best- on digital raster, vector, using the Yeoman itself (!) or old school with a dry pen on the Yeoman film.
Like yourself I always get the paper charts out to pre-plan and keep a folio chart of the area we're sailing through on the yeoman whilst underway. Wouldn't be without it either:). Following the lead of a poster on here I built myself a boat PC system using a Sumvision Cyclone mini PC and a secondhand 15 inch monitor, both of which run on 12 volts. My system is mainly for internet use, and for running a number of programs including Quicken and Libra Office.
It also runs Open CPN very well on its Atom processor, using a U-blox 7 USB GPS dongle. The only issues with it have been a temporary faiolure of its connection to the GPS which was caused by a Windows update, and cured by rolling back the driver for the virtual COM port. The other issue is the very small size of its storage, at 32GB, much of which is taken up by the operating system and program files, plus a maximum of 64GB on a memory card.I am now playing around at home with a Gigabyte Brix BACE 3150 which has a Celeron processor.
I have added 8GB of RAM (overkill, 4GB would be fine) and a 240GB SSD, and am running Windows 10 Professional, 64 bit operating system. The only real downside to this is that the Brix has a 19 volt 2.1 amp power supply and will need either to run from a universal car laptop adapter when on the boat, or from a dedicated boost converter (something like this? 6asc%3D35391%26meid%3D3a1fecbc3e283fe9c7 a263%26pid%3D100005%26rk%3D4%26rkt%3D6%26sd%3D221 ). Some good info coming through.I was wondering, today's inverters are pretty efficient, I think read around 90%?So could power savings be made by using an inverter in conjunction with a modern LED television? (which could be VESA mounted)Because although there are lots of old 12v monitors out there, I imagine power efficiency has come on in leaps and bounds since then?I don't think and inverter is required.All 3 of my monitors are 12VDC. The 2 TV /monitor came with a 240VAC to 12VDC external power supply that I just did not use and powered it directly from the boat 12VDC supply and would work even when my batteries are charging at 14 VDC +. It was only my satellite TV decoder that did not like 14 VDC so I just used a low cost DC to DC regulator which works fine.
I have a similar setup to GHA.I used to run OpenCPN on a HP laptop but now I run OpenCPN on a Raspberry Pi3 using the OpenPlotter build.I have a small 5' Garmin chartplotter for redundancy should the main system fail however so-far my Pi OpenCPN/OpenPlotter system has been rock solid. (Latest Sea Trial was a 5 week cruise through Turkey and Greece where it didn't miss a beat.)Altogether very happy with my setup.Same here, first decent passage with the latest pi incarnation was uk-portugal, solid all the way.Some more details.I use the Opencpn android app on an Xperia in the cockpit, fine under the sprayhood even when it's sunny. Solo with a tiller this is fine as the windvane is usually steering. The Pi sends ais & gps data over wifi plus the Xperia talks to the Pi over vnc so is basically a touch screen monitor, but the Opencpn app is easier to use. Also on the Xperia I have a tasker app macro set up which copies all the routes etc from the Pi and backs everything up so route planning can be done down below and easily synced to the Xperia.Another Opencpn bonus is being able to paste lat and long easily into new way points, I never use the navtex reciever engine anymore but use the Pi running fldigi to recieve navtex broadcasts from a ham radio then any interesting missing fishing nets, live firing ranges etc are dead easy to paste straight into Opencpn so become part of the charts.And openplotter isn't even a release yet, still beta! It really is so powerful already with all the email/sms possibilities and all for 0. I have a Samsung N110 netbook running Windows XP with all the bells and whistles disabled to reduce the processor load to a minimum.A bluetooth GPS puck provides the NMEA data for OpenCPN with Visit My Harbour's latest Universal Chart USB stick.
I've also got the complete set of CM93 vector charts (don't ask).I also have an ancient Garmin 45, with an external aerial, relaying GPS position to the NMEA input of a Standard Horizon GX2200 DSC/AIS VHF radio. The NMEA output from the radio goes to the netbook via usb and overlays AIS info on OpenCPN.It all works.The only bug is the ancient Garmin 45 thinks it's 1996!
The position data is fine, just the date is wrong. As that is not transmitted over the data cable it poses no problem. I've got an HP laptop. It's got a solid state disk so power usage is fairly minimal - and it's splashproof.
Lives on the chart table and also doubles up as a media centre and place to put all the user manual PDFs that I've downloaded or scanned.Connected to GPS via a McMurdo AIS unit which has USB output (thus providing both GPS and AIS). I've also got a 12v charger for the laptop - but this only gets turned on when the engine is running as it consumes 5AH. Latest version of OpenCPN with VMH raster charts. I built myself a boat PC system using a Sumvision Cyclone mini PC and a secondhand 15 inch monitor, both of which run on 12 volts. It also runs Open CPN very well on its Atom processor, using a U-blox 7 USB GPS dongle.Very interested in OpenCPN.
Was looking to source an old laptop but your Sumvision set up strikes me as a good idea. Especially as I have one at home (currently connected to an old samsung non smart tv so I can stream movies). They are great little pcs.
Silent, tiny, cheap!Is there a way to get it to run 12v or do I have to run a converter to power it?Is the 64 gig capacity enough? I have not yet installed OpenCPN or ordered the maps.Great thread.ThanksS.
Very interested in OpenCPN. Was looking to source an old laptop but your Sumvision set up strikes me as a good idea. Especially as I have one at home (currently connected to an old samsung non smart tv so I can stream movies). They are great little pcs. Silent, tiny, cheap!Is there a way to get it to run 12v or do I have to run a converter to power it?Is the 64 gig capacity enough? I have not yet installed OpenCPN or ordered the maps.Great thread.ThanksSThe input to the Sumvision is a standard 12v DC power jack.
All the mains adapter does is produce 12v DC. So to wire it up the minimum you need is the jack plug wired to your power supply; I would urge you to use a fused 12v CCTV regulator (around the 20 quid mark) however. Well doing some digging today I discovered that its possible to get a USB powered monitor.For example this:draws 5w of power and is ran from the USB port of the computer, the response time suffers a touch apparently, but for chart plotting it could be ideal.I have been using an Asus MB169B+ at the chart table since beginning of last season. ( See post #17). It works fine from either the USB 2 or USB 3 ports on the Dell Latitude. The response time when running OpenCPN and other nav applications is not an issue.I did run a small bead of silicon under the bezel in an attempt to protect from inevitable drips landing on chart table.
One other issue was the micro USB3 connector on the side. It does need taping in every time to stop boat movement and weight of cable shaking it out. I have been chatting in another thread here about a chartplotter idea I had. Am relatively new to the marine electronics realm, but I am inheriting the problems that came with my wife:cool:She (now we) has a 2001 Bayliner 2655 Ciera purchased in Virginia (we are on the west coast of USA in the Columbia River), with an old Garmin nav chart plotter (the obsolete, difficult-to-find card to update our charts with modern, local charts is a significant portion of the cost of a new chart plotter), and a Standard Horizon GX1500S marine VHF radio. Our stereo system is a standard car stereo installed inside the cabin with a bluetooth remote control.
Two problems have cropped up.1. The USB port on the stereo system (although designed for use with iPods) doesn't work correctly with her iPhone which she uses primarily for music content, storage, and streaming audio2. Our marine VHF radio just crapped out on us this weekend.
My OpenCPN setup was driven by a few factors:I had a couple of Gigabyte Brix N2807 (Celeron, 12v) mini PCs kicking aroundMy wife wants to be able to watch TV at anchor / in a marinaI already had VMH chart download (hence windows required)I want a certain level of info in the cockpitThere is no way I would want to rely on any Microsoft product if things are going wrong.So the solution:Cockpit mounted Garmin GPS158. Built in GPS Antenna and although not a plotter gives me enough info in the cockpit. Provides GPS over NMEA 0183 to the PC and the VHF. So if I ever have to hit the distress button Microsoft are not involved. Routes & Waypoints can be sent to the GPS.NMEA 0183 from the Log & Wind instrumentsInterface box built to provide 5 serial ports to 1 USB port using CH340 USB to TTL adapters and Max 232 TTL to RS232 adapters.Aforementioned Gigabyte Brix mini PC with SSD & 4Gb RAM. Windows 10 & OpenCPN.Cello 15.6' TV / DVD player acting as VGA monitor at 1366 x 768I did want to add a Digital Yacht AIT1500 AIS transceiver, however (surprise surprise) I'm discovering that this boating business can be a bit expensive.
The budget was getting a bit tight, so I've bought the Quark dual channel receiver for this year connected to a pushpit mount antenna, which will double as an emergency VHF antenna if required.It all works as it should. The PC is a bit slow, but perfectly adequate, & obviously doubles up to provide all the other PC functions.
As has been discussed elsewhere the Cello TV is not the greatest but again, perfectly adequate.The TV claimed 1.15A. It came with a 12v 5A regulated PSU. The PC ran originally of a 2.5A supply, so I run the whole lot off of the TV's PSU. Once I had it all working I put an ammeter in the line and started checking. Very pleased with the resultsTV only 800mA (I expect this to go up if a DVD was playing)TV & PC 1.15ATV & PC CPU loaded up 1.3AInstruments all on, VHF on standby, no illumination on instruments 600mASo the whole lot should consume about 2A, with the odd spike from the VHFThis is intended for cruising from the Solent to Lyme bay with the odd Cherbourg / Channel islands trip. I agree with what was said about needing something in the cockpit but am happy with the GPS15862949.
On a budget I think a tablet with navionics is probably the best their is now. The tablet can be put in a waterproof cover and easily mounted. Even had it like this on my kayak for a while. Navionics is kept upto date better than raster charts too.I found running both opencpn with cm93 charts and navionics worked well, especially if you have ais over wifi - the opencpn ais display is excellent.Word on the street is UK charts for opencpn could be imminent.http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/f134/opencpn-on-raspberry-pi-problem-180681.html#post2334431http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=142031&d=. Only on Windows unfortunately, and only as raster I think.What's on the way by the looks of it is licensed charts which will run on a Raspberry PiYes, Windows and raster only, can't understand why VMF chose to only support MX Mariner on Android, rather than OpenCPN. That said, i tried the free 'unofficial' Android OpenCPN but it was as slow as hell. A Vector option would be nice.I've put Transas iSailor on my tablet and it seems to work really well.
The app was free but i had to pay about £30 for the charts and another £9.50 for AIS to work. Some of the features that are available on iOS are missing in the Android version, but overall it seems pretty decent. It would be nice if we could get OpenCPN to run with Navionics.I asked about this on the Navionics stand at the London Boat Show and got a really strong brush-off, not the usual helpful Navionics attitude at all. I thought about it and decided they are trying hard not to upset the makers of chartplotters which are really their main market in the marine sector at the moment.
It seems to me that when OpenCPN has access to the usual charts that leisure boaters use the market for chartplotters is going to shrink, possibly significantly.I have a number of old BSB charts from Maptech days but I prefer Vector charts and have purchased a small folio of S63 ENCs from Chartworld for my current cruising area.I appreciate I am quoting from an old post but while investigating Chartworld I discovered they don't seem to allow you to buy their charts unless you have an approved ECDIS which OpenCPN on a PC definitely isn't! - see this quote: We ask you to enter the S63 ENC User Permit and/or the Hardware ID (How do leisure sailors buy Chartworld vector charts? There is a lot of detailed info on this thread but I am trying to get my head around a pretty simple setup.
I want to use my laptop (Windows7) with openCPN or something similar as an 'offline' planning tool, creating routes etc. To that end I have the VMH unified charts which are on a USB stick or at least unlocked by using the stick. When sailing I would like to use an Android tablet (Google Nexus 7).What would be the simplest way to go here to use the same charts and preferably the same app to plan on a laptop then use on a tablet? I looked at Navionics but it seems there is not a version that will run under Windows for planning?Any suggestions gratefully received!Cheersrich.
Does the laptop come with you? Do you have power for it on the boat down below where can stay safe and dry?
If so - what about running it with something like VNC Server on it and connecting to that from the Nexus 7 in the cockpit?Alternatively there is a OpenCPN version for Android? But you wont get VMH on it.If you are focused on VMH as a chart then if you don't want the laptop onboard - you can get some small windows 7 low power units that could be used the same way.
If VHM isn't the be-all and end-all (not convinced it is and you were looking at Navionics) then I'd consider a RasPi down below running the new Licenced Vector Charts on OpenCPN. I've always defied the trend and chosen a proper chartplotter - they're waterproof, work well, are visible in sunlight, and are designed to do the job.So do I! I would not be without a proper marine chartplotter at the helm, and for good measure I have one at the nav table too - a pair of 8' B&G Zeuses.But chart plotters are for pilotage, and they - with their little low-res displays and the vector charts they are made to use - suck for navigation and passage planning. For that you need paper, or raster charts and a high resolution display, and proper drawing tools.