Arduino & Raspberry Pi cruisers projects?

[conachair]

Originally Posted by bokakob

[ I have a question, do you run "all those" applications at once or one at a time? In my case the "mighty" RPi3B+ is stuttering with two instances of Chromium with one tab only.

Yes, many applications run simultaneously but not chromium. Doesn't get on well with chromium. The other greedy app is gqrx for SDR which uses a lot resources but very handy to record weatherfaxes. Better to turn off opencpn with that but sigK & Openplotter can stay running. Everything else works fine together, clementine or streaming web radio using MPD which plays through a plugin hifiberry amp with opencpn running and signalk doing verious bits like saving to a influxdb database. Will happily serve web pages from chronograf over wifi to view the saved data. Nore red doing some stuff as well like getting daily gribs and as a GUI for some ESP32 devices over MQTT. All st the same time without glitches.

By the time one is done with all the wires, connections, add-on boards, sensors, display screen, keyboard/mouse, etc. the cost will add up, plus one would have to manipulate resources to be able to run one app a time...

One more thing -- not all are technically literate to do this chore.

Isn't that the same for any system? Loading the image is simple, getting data in will be no different for any system, still need to get it in there somehow. At least with openplotter it's simple to route and it takes care of the multiplexing for you.


With wifi built in it's easy to send data from a esp32 or similar as signalk to cut down the wires, which could be done on anything running signalk.

All in all it runs extremely well 24h a day and has done for a few years now, far beyond a toy. Just don't expect chromium to run perfect.
A week's worth of cpu with opencpn running

[Reefmagnet]

Pi's are so cheap and low powered there's no issues using multiple units running dedicated applications. Even pi cluster servers are reasonably practical. The advantage of multiple pi's are redundancy and cheap spares. This is the advantage over a proprietary mfd regardless of price differential. Plus they have the advantage of relatively easy of software and feature upgrading.

[feudalkaos]

Originally Posted by lucseawalker

I am a newbie with Arduino and Raspberry Pie but I believe that these 2 inexpensive technologies can offer great benefits to DIY cruisers ...


The first system I like to build is a multi-bilge alarm so any seawater leak, fresh water or fuel leaking from a tank .. any leak at all in any of our numerous bilges triggers an immediate alarm so we can deal with the situation very early .. before we hear or smell something ...


I searched the web and found several Arduino and Raspberry Pie techies group but I wonder if there is any group focused on useful projects for cruisers already existing online? I like to join such group if I hear about any!
We should all work together on similar projects benefiting from each other inputs


Other than running Open Cpn on teh Raspberry Pie, we can have tank level monitoring, engine monitoring, intruder alarms, energy monitoring and more

I cannot say if there are a lot of groups devoted to this topic but I have done a fair bit with it and am more then happy to help if you have questions or just want to talk through you ideas. Below is my current setup for reference.

I have 3 Raspberry Pis and two arduinos doing various jobs around my boat.

Each Pi is running Openplotter and I am using SignalK and NodeRed for most operations.

One Pi is sort of the main master and so everything feeds to it then it feeds out to my network so all of my off the shelf Raymarine devices have access to the data. The main mast Pi has the two arduinos connected and is reading data from them over USB serial. This Pi also has my USB GPS receiver attached and a BME280 Temperature, Humidity, and Pressure sensor to detect interior environment.

One Arduino connects to all of my tank sensors and has a touchscreen to display tank levels. The data from it is transmitter to my SignalK server on the main Pi then transmitted out to my network.

The other arduino has a float switch connected to it and hatch open sensors. It also has an output with very high volume 12V buzzer for audio alarm. This connects back to the main Pi and shares the data from all the inputs and also the main Pi and anything else on the network to trigger the alarm output.

I also have a serial adapter connected from my Outback Power Systems Mate to the main Pi to collect all of my power system data.

My second Pi has an MPU-9255 connected to get pitch, roll, and mag heading. This is on it's own Pi because I had an extra and it made it much easier to mount near the center of the boat.

The third Pi is mounted in a weather proof case in the cockpit under the helm and put of sight. It has another BME280 Temperature, Humidity, and Pressure sensor to get outdoor environment. This one also has a DaisyHat AIS receiver for Raspberry Pi.

My networks are Wifi, ethernet, NMEA2000, NMEA0183, and original Seatalk.

To connect all of the networks and handle most of the data conversions I am using a ShipModul MiniPlex-3Wi-N2K. This handles combing networks and sharing data. It is mostly preconfigured but offers a lot of great options.

On the main Pi I am also using and InfluxDB for capturing events from SignalK such as GPS location, temperature, wind speed, and all of the other data points from my boat. These are stored currently for a year before I archive them. I access the data while I am on the boat using a Graphana server also running on the main Pi. This gives me historical views of everything that's happening on my boat.

To be able to see the data while I am off the boat I use IO.Adafruit.com. This is a MQTT host that offers a free amount of data you can stream and various view modules to see what the data looks like. I have a cellular router that gives me an internet connection anywhere I have cell reception or it can switch over to Wifi to use the free Wifi from various places like marinas. As long as I have an internet connection I am sending data out and can see it from anywhere in the world.

Lastly, I added email and text support to my main Pi so I get emails alerts when the boats leaves its current position, a hatch opens, the bilge alarms goes off, or a number of other events. I can also email or text the boat at any time to tell it to report its current position.

[feudalkaos]

Originally Posted by bokakob

For what it is worth -- here is my humble opinion. I purchased Raspberry Pi 3B+ and thought it would work exactly as you think. Oops, this little board does not have much memory, only 1 GB. It is not particularly fast as well. Really, it is not enough for a capable systerm. It is OK for learning and playing and running just one app, but not for production unit. Just wait and get something more powerful with at least 2GB of memory, better 4GB. As is it is this board is not very powerful. I think the best use for this board is to serve as a chart plotter, at best, and use other means for various indicators and switches. This multiple arrangement would be more redundant. Imagine this little board goes bad -- all automation is down to drain. If you have multiple switches -- just one failed one could be changed/repaired with all others working fine. If the "cetralized" Raspebrry goes, so goes your boat electronics.
But as a chart plotter Raspberry is not as good as simple Android tablet. I have old Lenovo 10" tablet https://express.google.com/u/0/produ...BoCIC4QAvD_BwE and it has everything for a chartplotter (GPS, RAM, Touch-Screen, SD card slot). It also works well for video, internet, office suite. But if you add all those little things you have to buy for Ardunio/Raspberry in order for it to serve as a chartplotter -- it will be more expensive and less capable. I use simple shade screen and water proof plastic bag for my tablet and it works just fine in sunshine and spray. Use a simple rag once in a while to wipe spray off the screen. Peace.

This is a valid argument but I would like to counter some of your points here.

Firstly, the Raspberry Pi is a little slow when it comes to some graphics related functions but with low level processing it is more than adequate. I have been using them for years in many applications and they work great for each application as long as you use the correct software and OS builds. When you use the default NOOBS build or other off the shelf builds not suited to your needs, you get software that isnt right for you and will cause the system to appear slower than it should. If you build it with the correct OS for your application it can provide great performance. To be fair, do not expect this to rival a $3000 PC or $5000 Chartplotter. This is a $35 computer. Considering the cost vs performance, I think you are getting an amazing deal. Alternatively, if you have a higher needs systems you can look at the Odriod XU4 or other devices. These are similar in design but much more powerful. They do cost more of course and they have less of a following than Raspberry Pi so the support is a little more scarce but there aren't difficult to work with at all.

Secondly, as far as failure and replacement, there could not be an easier setup. If your $35 Raspberry Pi fails you can unplug it, take out the memory card, insert that card into another one, then off it goes as if nothing ever happened. If you are using these for anything important and you wont be somewhere that would be easy to get a replacement, you can have spares on board. Since they are $35 its pretty easy to keep a few without breaking the bank.

Lastly, I agree completely with using a tablet. I myself use an Ipad and a Samsung for various purposes. With that said, I do not feel that the Raspberry Pi offers any worse results for the purposes of the original request and a Tablet is not capable alone of connecting to the anything that would report that the bilge had water in it.

[Aquasition]

Originally Posted by lucseawalker

I am a newbie with Arduino and Raspberry Pie but I believe that these 2 inexpensive technologies can offer great benefits to DIY cruisers ...

The first system I like to build is a multi-bilge alarm so any seawater leak, fresh water or fuel leaking from a tank .. any leak at all in any of our numerous bilges triggers an immediate alarm so we can deal with the situation very early .. before we hear or smell something ...

I searched the web and found several Arduino and Raspberry Pie techies group but I wonder if there is any group focused on useful projects for cruisers already existing online? I like to join such group if I hear about any!
We should all work together on similar projects benefiting from each other inputs

Other than running Open Cpn on teh Raspberry Pie, we can have tank level monitoring, engine monitoring, intruder alarms, energy monitoring and more

Honestly, in my opinion, this is more of a buy, not build thing.

I started down EXACTLY the same path as you a few years ago after getting my first boat. Raspberry Pi, Arduino, sensors, etc.

Then I discovered Siren Marine's MTC (Monitor, Track, Control) system and haven't looked back since, for so so so many reasons they're hard to even begin to document here.

On top of my list is that projects need to be bilge-safe, i.e. they're guaranteed to not spark and ignite fumes. You wouldn't want to invalidate your insurance if you put stuff in your bilge that wasn't meant to be there and it led to an explosion, right?

From a financial perspective, sure, you're going to invest in the MTC and sensors, but, the cost of the annual service is pretty much fully credited back by insurance discounts similar to how Lojack worked for car insurance. And as fun as "makers" like us enjoy these projects, you'll be saving an enormous amount of time by going with a commercial "connected boat" system from the initial builds to the maintenance.

I'd highly recommend checking Siren Marine out and then deciding how much DIY you want to get into. Feel free to PM me, I'm happy to further discuss.

Either way, no matter what you decide, good luck -- and I look forward to seeing progress and updates here if you do move forward on your own!

(And to keep things fully above board, I'm in no way compensated for this endorsement -- I'm a happy customer of theirs. I have gotten to know their founder and some of the team in Newport, RI over the past few years of seeing them around the community and through friends of friends.)

[kiwiaviator]

I am monitoring bilge pump and battery voltage at this stage on my RPi3.

Comms is through a Sixfab shield https://sixfab.com/product/raspberry...ase-shield-v2/ Lots of good info including code on the site. Don't forget to buy a 3G or 4G module for the shield.

Analog to digital through a I2C board of which there are plenty available. I am using Adafruit library.

Python code follows. I'm not a professional coder so be nice It emails when batteries below a preset voltage and when bilge goes off. It also prints your values in a 4 column format.

# Read sensors in yacht and email
# Author: Kevin Ormond

import time
import smtplib

count = 0
countb = 0

# Import the ADS1x15 module.
import Adafruit_ADS1x15


# Create an ADS1015 ADC (12-bit) instance.
adc = Adafruit_ADS1x15.ADS1015()

# Note you can change the I2C address from its default (0x48), and/or the I2C
# bus by passing in these optional parameters:
#adc = Adafruit_ADS1x15.ADS1015(address=0x49, busnum=1)

# Choose a gain of 1 for reading voltages from 0 to 4.09V.
# Or pick a different gain to change the range of voltages that are read:
# - 2/3 = +/-6.144V
# - 1 = +/-4.096V
# - 2 = +/-2.048V
# - 4 = +/-1.024V
# - 8 = +/-0.512V
# - 16 = +/-0.256V
# See table 3 in the ADS1015/ADS1115 datasheet for more info on gain.
GAIN = 1

print('Reading ADS1x15 values, press Ctrl-C to quit...')
# Print nice channel column headers.
print('| {0:>6} | {1:>6} | {2:>6} | {3:>6} |'.format(*range(4)))
print('-' * 37)
# Main loop.
while True:
# Read all the ADC channel values in a list.
values = [0]*4
for i in range(4):
# Read the specified ADC channel using the previously set gain value.
values[i] = adc.read_adc(i, gain=GAIN)
# Note you can also pass in an optional data_rate parameter that controls
# the ADC conversion time (in samples/second). Each chip has a different
# set of allowed data rate values, see datasheet Table 9 config register
# DR bit values.
#values[i] = adc.read_adc(i, gain=GAIN, data_rate=128)
# Each value will be a 12 or 16 bit signed integer value depending on the
# ADC (ADS1015 = 12-bit, ADS1115 = 16-bit).
# Print the ADC values.
print('| {0:>6} | {1:>6} | {2:>6} | {3:>6} |'.format(*values))
voltage = values[0]/100.0
# Email if low voltage under 12v
if values[0] < 1200 and count <= 0:
from email.MIMEMultipart import MIMEMultipart
from email.MIMEText import MIMEText

fromaddr = "xxx@xxx.com"
toaddr = "xxx@xxx.com"
msg = MIMEMultipart()
msg['From'] = fromaddr
msg['To'] = toaddr
msg['Subject'] = "My Yacht - Low Voltage"

body = "House battery array below 12v. Voltage is " + str(voltage)
msg.attach(MIMEText(body, 'plain'))

server = smtplib.SMTP('yourmailserver.com', 25)
server.starttls()
server.login(fromaddr, "yourpassword")
text = msg.as_string()
server.sendmail(fromaddr, toaddr, text)
server.quit()
count = 360
# Email if bilge pump operates
elif values[1] > 900 and countb <= 0:
from email.MIMEMultipart import MIMEMultipart
from email.MIMEText import MIMEText

fromaddr = "xxx@xxx.com"
toaddr = "xxx@xxx.com"
msg = MIMEMultipart()
msg['From'] = fromaddr
msg['To'] = toaddr
msg['Subject'] = "My Yacht - Bilge Pump Operation"

body = "Bilge pump has operated"
msg.attach(MIMEText(body, 'plain'))

server = smtplib.SMTP('yourserver.com', 25)
server.starttls()
server.login(fromaddr, "yourpassword")
text = msg.as_string()
server.sendmail(fromaddr, toaddr, text)
server.quit()
countb = 30
else:
# Pause for ten seconds
time.sleep(10)
count -= 1
countb -= 1

[travelnodes]

Hello,

I live in Charleston, SC and I'm looking to meetup with some MOITESSIER HAT (sailoog.com) customers. I am new to sailboat ownership and trying to get everything wired up for using a Moit-Hat on a Raspi3 and integrating all the various systems on the boat.

In my experience, I learn better in person seeing fully functional setups vs. reading hours and hours of online text/images. Is anyone going to be traveling in the southeast U.S. with a boat that has this setup? (maybe to a boat show or regatta) If so, could we arrange to meetup?

Thanks,
Joe