Recommended Cockpit Platform

[hpeer]

Originally Posted by edventuredad

I AM a computer geek, and after all the messing around with trying to make OpenCPN work well, looking into waterproof displays that would take the beating of the boat life, the absolute need for reliability when everything else is going to hell, and all the other things, I finally decided to get a Raymarine MFD that was a retired model off e-bay for about $500. I'm so glad I did. I appreciate all the work that the open source folks are doing and I'm a big proponent of it, but for my navigation I needed something that just worked. Add the Navionics charting, frequent chart updates, and the ability for it to auto-route and it was money well spent. And, when I think about the amount of time that I spent on all of the monkeying around with trying to make Openplotter and OpenCPN work, it would have been a major cost savings to have just started with the purpose-built MFD.

I kept my "boat computer" going for various things, but found that it became unreliable... doing a little update to some software that then messed up the OpenPlotter engine and needing to debug that, issues with the screen not working consistently, etc. It was just a lot of time and trouble when what you need is something reliable and you want to sail. The promise of good things, customization, etc. is really appealing, but there's a reason the purpose-built devices cost what they do and that comes down to reliability in a harsh environment.

Well one problem is I do not like, do not trust and will not use Navionics.

I know many others disagree but that is my reasoned opinion.

See it is a bit funny, we each have deeper layers of experience and concern.

Navionics MAY be perfectly acceptable in your situation, your region. But I have traveled where they were not.

I don’t want to get off thread but pointing out that there MAY be additional concerns even with OTS equipment.

[s/v Jedi]

Originally Posted by hpeer

Well one problem is I do not like, do not trust and will not use Navionics.

I know many others disagree but that is my reasoned opinion.

See it is a bit funny, we each have deeper layers of experience and concern.

Navionics MAY be perfectly acceptable in your situation, your region. But I have traveled where they were not.

I don’t want to get off thread but pointing out that there MAY be additional concerns even with OTS equipment.

Yes and it is experience why I like to have iSailor on the iPad as a second opinion when it comes to charts. This because we relied on Transas charts as second source for many years and those are the ones in iSailor today.

[hpeer]

Something I think many people confuse is to differentiate the PLATFORM from the DATA.

From my limited experience the major MFD suppliers are tied to one chart source. I think there is one exception but I do mot know who.

The APP providers need to be able to display a variety of chart sources. And that is a different complication because not a chart sources are in the same format OR the provider changes the financial agreement.

I very much like iNavEx, and NV charts. But NV changed their access to a subscription so that iNavEx can no longer provide them.

I also like AquaMap very much and use it as my primary planning tool. In the USA it has the best charts possible and Explorer charts are available for the Bahamas. In the Caribbean the charts are usable but not nearly as good as NV.

OCPN with Ocharts is moving in the right direction.

[flpaoli]

Originally Posted by philiosophy

Raymarine customer support in Sydney has supported me and my C80 as well as helping me with my selection of transducers by loaning me two different one for free. We can all be missed at the modernization and proprietary elements of modern technology, True. That said I have yet to hear of any Electronics company that has the support, especially on a 15 year old C80 chart plotter I bought at a swap meet. Just saying...

Sounds like you found a good example of good employees, motivated people who take pride in their work, making a difference there in Sydney. Nice to see that!

[torrmundi]

Check out this project by Open Boat: https://www.segeln-forum.de/thread/9...r-v4/?pageNo=1. This is a 4th version chart plotter by this group; it is a RPI 4 based device, with 1200 NITS LCD panel. This link is, I believe, the V3 10”, 1000nit display ca. 2020: https://open-boat-projects.org/en/10...ter-1000-nits/

[fxykty]

If you want something that “just works”, off the shelf marine hardware is the go to. Everything else is a kludge that needs knowledge, care and attention to install and maintain. Especially if you’re mounting in a cockpit that can get wet.

Regarding charts, Raymarine plotters (Element/Axiom) work with either Navionics or C-MAP. Other brands (B&G for one) are the same. If you don’t want either of those chart sets, then recreational MFDs are not for you.

FWIW, we’re currently in Indonesia. Navionics is spot on in most spots, and where it doesn’t have enough detail we use satellite images. Our iSailor Transas charts our slightly worse than Navionics - more often offset incorrectly but generally the same level of detail. The CM93 2015 chart set we have for OpenCPN is hopeless and there are no charts in the O-Charts store for this part of the world.

OpenCPN is a chore and requires ongoing maintenance, especially if combined with a Pi. Nothing is plug and play, so getting radar to display or to control an autopilot can be an exercise in frustration if you aren’t willing to geek out with GitHub. After months of flailing around I’ve given up on getting PyPilot to work with my Raymarine pilot. It sometimes works, but then craps out and disconnects or sends some weird instruction to turn. That’s not acceptable.

As a basic navigation app and a place to display MBTILES OpenCPN is great. Beyond that, the enthusiasts can have it - I’d rather go sailing, snorkeling, visit locally, or have a beer, than to struggle on a computer. YMMV

[hpeer]

Well, I pretty much agree with a few observations from my own personal experience. My personal experience with RM and Navionics has been worse than yours. And I have difficulties with OpenCPN support on Android, which is why I wanted to move off that platform.

One thing is the COST of commercial devices. I can, and DO have multiple instances of nav equipment. In order to make up for some of the failures. I can not do that with commercial products.

All this is to not argue, I take your valid points. Just explaining a bit where we have some differences.

My original thought to get some more off the shelf tablet. The The PI was due recommendations. And it is cheap enough Incan fool with it over the summer and, if it works adequately, buy a back up. I already have most every thing else except ethernet radar.

I am a big believer in redundancy. Even the best equipment can fail. Right now Inam using a an Android and an iPhone. And over the years each one has quit at a bad time.


No one perfect solution.

[bcn]

Originally Posted by fxykty

The CM93 2015 chart set we have for OpenCPN is hopeless and there are no charts in the O-Charts store for this part of the world.

The complete actual Indonesian ENC portfolio for OpenCPN is available at o-charts. Not a cheapy, but this is the decision of the Indonesian authorities...

[fxykty]

Originally Posted by bcn

The complete actual Indonesian ENC portfolio for OpenCPN is available at o-charts. Not a cheapy, but this is the decision of the Indonesian authorities...

€280 for the Indonesian chart set - absolutely ridiculous. No thank you. And wasn’t available last year when we were planning our Indonesian cruising.

We purchased the Australian set a few years ago and were not impressed with the coverage and quality of that chart set - the CM93 2015 base maps were generally more accurate and covered more area (as one example, look at how poor the offical chart set coverage is around the Gold Coast).

[flpaoli]

Originally Posted by fxykty

OpenCPN is a chore and requires ongoing maintenance, especially if combined with a Pi.

I'm curious. Please, can you share your experience with the Pi. Why was it worse than running OpenCPN on Windows? When did things break?

[fxykty]

Originally Posted by flpaoli

I'm curious. Please, can you share your experience with the Pi. Why was it worse than running OpenCPN on Windows? When did things break?

The Pi is flakey and since I’m not expert by any stretch of the imagination with Linux it’s simply a recipe for frustration. My wife can attest to the number of times I would say “it should work like this, but it just doesn’t” and finally asked me why I don’t quit?. One day Bluetooth works, the next it doesn’t. Wifi would drop connection randomly. Never could get SSD memory working so charts would take a long while to load from network memory. Any issue could be software or hardware or platform or a combination, which is very frustrating to troubleshoot and solve. For me, it’s just not worth the frustration.

On my old MacBook Pro OpenCPN has been running happily for the last 6 years, updating versions once a year or so. On Windows I’ve run it for 4 years. But other than network connections for data I don’t mess with the basic setup on either platform. And I can be confident that if there’s a problem with something it’s very unlikely to be the hardware platform.

Like the OP with Navionics, I’m with the Pi. It’s fine for you, but I choose not to subject myself to it.

[MikeKolling]

Originally Posted by fxykty

The Pi is flakey and since I’m not expert by any stretch of the imagination with Linux it’s simply a recipe for frustration. My wife can attest to the number of times I would say “it should work like this, but it just doesn’t” and finally asked me why I don’t quit?. One day Bluetooth works, the next it doesn’t. Wifi would drop connection randomly. Never could get SSD memory working so charts would take a long while to load from network memory. Any issue could be software or hardware or platform or a combination, which is very frustrating to troubleshoot and solve. For me, it’s just not worth the frustration.

Totally agree, that's my experience too. I couldn't trust it

[mgrouch]

Originally Posted by MikeKolling

Totally agree, that's my experience too. I couldn't trust it

Previous man had to quit because his wife told him to do so. What are your reasons?

[wholybee]

There are a lot of rpi enthusiasts here, and so lots of recommendations for it. But, it isn't simple, no mater how much a package like OpenPlotter or BBN tries to dumb it down. And, it isn't any more reliable of an OS then either MacOS or Windows. The enthusiasts and purists will fight and argue that to death, but it's fact. Linux is only reliable if you understand it enough to work with it properly. I am saying that for an agnostic point of view, I work with and enjoy them all. But I could never recommend Linux for someone that is looking for a quick setup and it works solution.

If you want a reliable and easy to setup and use OpenCPN system, get either a Windows or Mac laptop.

[rgleason]

Originally Posted by hpeer

Something I think many people confuse is to differentiate the PLATFORM from the DATA.

I very much like iNavEx, and NV charts. But NV changed their access to a subscription so that iNavEx can no longer provide them.

.. In the Caribbean the charts are usable but not nearly as good as NV.

OCPN with Ocharts is moving in the right direction.

Opencpn has an NVchart Plugin, I wonder if it still works?