boat computer interfaces What would you want?

[Bill Roosa]

Hi all
I got a bug to build a boat computer for possible commercial sales and was wondering what instrument systems are out there that you all would like/need it to interact with. This is similar to a post recently on diskless computers.
NMEA and SeaTalk are two that I know are very common. What other systems would it need to be able to talk with?

Also interested in where you would place it, helm or nav station?

Thanks and see you on the waters

Bill

 

[sailingdog]

You'd probably also want to have Bluetooth, so that a wireless keyboard and mouse could be used with it. The computer itself should be down below, but the placement of the screen, keyboard and mouse could be in either location.

 

[Tim R.]

Is Seatalk open source? I thought those sentences were proprietary Raymarine. Just about everything does some version of NMEA which is publically available.

 

[Stu Jackson]

It's NOT either down below or behind the wheel

There is a third option, which I've seen now on a C34 and a C36. The C34 is one of at least two C34s participating in the Baja HaHa, and my friend's C36 traveled down from San Francisco to the Channel Islands and back a few years ago.

The location for recreational boats in the mid-30 size is on a swing arm in the companionway.

Here's why: [please note that I did not write this, it comes from our C34 colleague who is sailing in the HaHa, and had sailed down the coast from Vancouver, BC - he has first hand knowledge of what works and this is part of his report from his first 1500 miles...]

- new chartplotter with radar and AIS - large 8 inch screen on a bracket at the companionway. This is the perfect position for the instrument. Weekend sailing, you stand behind the wheel. Doing serious miles, you relax more comfortably in the cockpit and you can't see instruments behind the wheel.

Functions, Bill?:

---AIS is amazing. I thought it was poor mans radar, but it is much better than radar if you are trying to figure out what a vessel is up to (speed, direction, position, closest approach, vessel name and MMSI number right there for you). And best of all, the whole thing folds into the companionway so we don't worry about expensive electronics being left outside.

Pictures: http://c34.org/bbs/index.php/topic,4962.msg30192.html#msg30192

 

[Tom Spohn]

I agree with Stu. Computer can be anywhere, but display in the companionway is ideal. I installed a 10" Furuno there on Ram swing arms originally because my boat has a tiller. It really is easy to see and a joy to use. The display comes with a remote that I use to change screens, zoom in/out, etc. which I think is a necessity if placed in the companionway.

 

[kenn]

Tops on my list:

1) an industrial-grade laptop (splash and knock-resistant). maybe a tablet type with touch-screen
2) wireless interconnect to boat networks (NMEA, etc). Could be bluetooth, zigbee or wifi

#2 will be take some effort but the first guy past that post will do quite well

(of course I'll be making do with a 2yr old ASUS eee running Linux and a $30 USB GPS; I can't justify spending more on the pc than I did on the boat)

 

[Bob Poff]

Bill, how detailed do you want to get?
Are you looking at being a system integrator, or maybe developer?

As to systems, I just bought a Nexus NX2 system. They have a free program to display instruments. With just some minor dinking around thus far I haven't been able to get the program to listen to NEMA 0183 sentences directly. It complains about not seeing the NX2 FDX server. So I'm guessing that it communicates in a proprietary fashion.
So there's one "language" for you.

I also see there appears to a Garminish language. At least the 17x GPS I just bought gives you the option of NEMA or Garmin speak.

From a developer standpoint, I think it would nifty to have a direct RF/PC self contained interface to the TackTick system.

Something I think might sell (as supported by the above comments) is a system that integrates all the data aross systems, then provides a mulitsocket transport layer to other devices via several wireless media. So that you could have a MFD at the helm with a dongle, a Pocket PC, iPhone, or other devices connected to the "network". You now have the manufactures offering handheld remote controls that work within their system. But I don't think so once you start to mix and match.

On the subject of navigation software it appears that everyone has there own favorite. Licensing them and offering a bundle package might play.

 

[Bill Roosa]

SeaTalk

SeaTalk is a propriatary language Tim R, however if you have a program like hyperterminal and understand that it is just a standard IEEE connection called a data buss you can easily read the data streem and then program a simple case statement to handle the various sentences. The language is text with a format similar to NMEA (text deliminated by commas). Pretty easy stuff.

 

[Bill Roosa]

NX2 FDX server

Bob, perhaps your system is looking for the server as a daemon type program. A program that looks at the IO port for whatever (NMEA in this case) and then reports out to the OS or writes to a file that your program reads from. Basically a translator.
FWIW

On a different note, what you are saying is a universal remote for a boat information system!!! Interesting concept.

 

[Bob Poff]

FDX is a protocol of theirs used between the computer and the "server" (I'd call it a hub) that all the sensors connect to. Information here
The stuff I bought is still in the boxes. Since it's not going to be installed for a while, I'm planning on setting it up on the bench to snoop around a bit to see what they're doing.

Universal Remote. Good choice of words. Describes it completely.

You could have a stream originating at the "Funneling" PC. Maybe with it running separate applications/drivers for each supported instrument format. Some handles into the streamer. Maybe a periodic frame that describes the fields in the stream to make installation and configuration easier.

At one time I might have tackled it. But I'm not the programmer I once was.