OpenCPN Radar Overlay PlugIn

[svcattales]

Originally Posted by Hakan

Greg...
But still.....the cheapest and the most "straight forward" is to get the NMEA0183 from your AP computer even if it's on the other hull. There must be another cable from your control unit to the computer, can't you follow that? And BTW, the advantage by using Nav data from OCPN to an AP is that you can point a position on the chart and start "navigate to here" and the AP will know what to do.

Håkan

I'm ready to run the cable between AP computer and OCPN so I can have two-way NMEA0183 data transfer. On the AP computer there are two NMEA-OUT terminals labeled "TX+" and "TX-" and two NMEA-IN terminals labeled "RX+" and "RX-". I'm thinking I need a four-wire cable to hook up to the four NMEA terminals on the AP computer, but I don't know which pins to use on the RS232 (DB9) connector? Help.. which pins correspond to the NMEA terminals on AP computer?Also, I'm using a shielded cable for the NMEA wires. Do I need to connect the shield on one or both ends? I would appreciate any help you can provide.

[ChuckSK]

Greg

I would use an rs422 to USB adapter and avoid the rs232 and db9 connector.

Just connect the 4 wires from the AP to the bare wires on the adapter as shown on the adapter, then plug in the USB connector. Here is the adapter that I use.

USB RS422 Cables

good luck
chuck

[svcattales]

Originally Posted by ChuckSK

Greg

I would use an rs422 to USB adapter and avoid the rs232 and db9 connector.

Just connect the 4 wires from the AP to the bare wires on the adapter as shown on the adapter, then plug in the USB connector. Here is the adapter that I use.

USB RS422 Cables

good luck
chuck

Chuck, Your rs422 looks like a better idea than I had in mind. Unfortunately, I bought a USB/serial converter that plugs into a hybrid db9 connector. The db9 connector has screw terminals that correspond to each of the nine pins so I don't have to rely on my poor soldering skills. Will this work and if so, which pins should I use? Thanks for the help.

[ChuckSK]

Greg

The NMEA 0183 output of the AP is RS422. Using anything else is a hack. My recommendation on RS232 wiring would be a guess.

chuck

[bdbcat]

Greg...

You need three pins wired.

The pin numbers should be molded into the DB-9 part of the adapter. Very small.... Use an ohmmeter to trace back from the DB-9 to the screw terminals. I would not rely on any pin numbers printed on the screw terminals.

Pin 5.....Ground, for TX- and RX-
Pin 2.....TX+
Pin 3.....RX+

There is a 50% chance that pins 2 and 3 will need to be interchanged. Depends on everyone's definition of in and out, and usually needs experimentation. Are you feeling lucky today?

Start with the A/P TX+ line alone. Connect it to pin 2. Fire up OCPN, enable the port, and look at the data stream in the NMEA debug window. You should see some traffic, which will be the A/P transmitting its internal compass heading. If you do, that's good. Power down, connect RX+ to Pin 3, and you're done.

If you see nothing, power down everything and move the TX+ wire to Pin 3. Try again. If it works here, then we know RX+ must go on Pin 2.

Only two choices. Place your bet.

Good Luck
Dave

[svcattales]

Originally Posted by bdbcat

Greg...

You need three pins wired.

The pin numbers should be molded into the DB-9 part of the adapter. Very small.... Use an ohmmeter to trace back from the DB-9 to the screw terminals. I would not rely on any pin numbers printed on the screw terminals.

Pin 5.....Ground, for TX- and RX-
Pin 2.....TX+
Pin 3.....RX+

There is a 50% chance that pins 2 and 3 will need to be interchanged. Depends on everyone's definition of in and out, and usually needs experimentation. Are you feeling lucky today?

Start with the A/P TX+ line alone. Connect it to pin 2. Fire up OCPN, enable the port, and look at the data stream in the NMEA debug window. You should see some traffic, which will be the A/P transmitting its internal compass heading. If you do, that's good. Power down, connect RX+ to Pin 3, and you're done.

If you see nothing, power down everything and move the TX+ wire to Pin 3. Try again. If it works here, then we know RX+ must go on Pin 2.

Only two choices. Place your bet.

Good Luck
Dave

I'll try pin 2 first and do it when I feel lucky. It may be a few days before I can try it since I'm still doing the install of dome and pulling wires. I did test the gradar with temporary hook-ups and got good radar returns so I'm really excited about having radar again. Thanks for giving us all a great addition to OCPN!

[svcattales]

Originally Posted by bdbcat

Greg...

You need three pins wired.

The pin numbers should be molded into the DB-9 part of the adapter. Very small.... Use an ohmmeter to trace back from the DB-9 to the screw terminals. I would not rely on any pin numbers printed on the screw terminals.

Pin 5.....Ground, for TX- and RX-
Pin 2.....TX+
Pin 3.....RX+

There is a 50% chance that pins 2 and 3 will need to be interchanged. Depends on everyone's definition of in and out, and usually needs experimentation. Are you feeling lucky today?

Start with the A/P TX+ line alone. Connect it to pin 2. Fire up OCPN, enable the port, and look at the data stream in the NMEA debug window. You should see some traffic, which will be the A/P transmitting its internal compass heading. If you do, that's good. Power down, connect RX+ to Pin 3, and you're done.

If you see nothing, power down everything and move the TX+ wire to Pin 3. Try again. If it works here, then we know RX+ must go on Pin 2.

Only two choices. Place your bet.

Good Luck
Dave

Dave,

Good clean living pays off. I got lucky on the first try and pin 2 was correct for TX+. The boat icon on OCPN lined up with the correct heading and lots of heading data showed up on the gradar_pi log. Pin 3 was also correct for RX+, but autopilot showed "no nema 1 data." I checked the NMEA debug scroll and it showed GLL and RMC sentences, but the AP didn't see them. I looked at the connection to com8 (AP) and found that I had not checked a box "output on this port." Once I checked the box the NMEA debug scroll showed the output transactions in blue and AP could see the data. I tried the "navigate to here" and activate route functions and AP turned towards the course, but the docklines prevented an intercept.

I just finished the gradar installation today and everything is up and running. Can't wait to do some sea trials so I can see how it works in real conditions. Thanks again for the help.

[ewitts]

Gotta thank all the Open CPN gang for another great addition. I have been using Open CPN for a while and I have been through a lot of the versions. Dec 2013 I took off for a six month cruise with AIS and other new tools all working nicely with open cpn, google earth feature, loved it for updating the old Mexico charts. Really loved all we had on this trip.
My wife started sailing with a sexton and I have been using a GPS and paper charts on this boat since 2002. I had bought a navico 3g radar for the trip and when I got home found you guys had gotten the overlay for it going. I just got it working, nice job. Again thanks for all the great tools.

[seandepagnier]

I am wondering if there is any plan to merge the garmin and br24 radar plugins. This is because just today I managed to improve performance by a factor of 6 (8% cpu instead of 50% cpu) at max refresh rate while also improving image quality. It would be nice if all the radars could share the rendering code.

[svcattales]

I just finished sea trials with Garmin HD plugin and I was very happy with functionality. Seeing the radar returns overlaying buoys and ships gives redundant proof that "my ship" is depicted accurately on the chart. Entering an anchorage at night will be less stressful with this new capability.

I had two incidents during sea trial that I'm not sure of the cause, but I have my suspicions.

1. At one point I accidentally closed OCPN while trying to close a different window. When I launched it again the radar came back just fine, but the com ports for GPS and autopilot stopped receiving/sending NEMA sentences.

2. I had a couple instances where OCPN response slowed down considerably when trying to zoom or using right-click menu.

I suspect that my McAfee security firewall is interfering with com ports and maybe causing both problems. McAfee does not interfere with radar, however. I turned off firewall and things seemed to work better, but I can't say that this conclusion is valid since I haven't duplicated the trial. Has anyone else experienced these issues and isolated cause?

I have one item on my "wish list" for radar plugin. It would be nice to see a radar-only screen (without the chart) display and include an electronic bearing line (EBL) capability. The "radar-like" AIS display already functional in OCPN would be a great display if radar returns could be added to it. The AIS display already includes an EBL capability. I'll repost this idea in appropriate thread.

[Hakan]

svcattales...
re: "It would be nice to see a radar-only screen (without the chart) display"
That function as available in Navico, Lawrance.... Br24Radar_pi. Sean's opinion some posts above is not bad. Take all common features from the three radar plugins and separate only radar communication and preferences. Next is not that easy - who?

re: "and include an electronic bearing line (EBL) capability"
That is unnecessary to involve in the radar plugins. Use the "ocpn-draw" plugin where EBL is one of its features,see picture.

Håkan

[svcattales]

Originally Posted by Hakan

svcattales...
re: "It would be nice to see a radar-only screen (without the chart) display"
That function as available in Navico, Lawrance.... Br24Radar_pi. Sean's opinion some posts above is not bad. Take all common features from the three radar plugins and separate only radar communication and preferences. Next is not that easy - who?

re: "and include an electronic bearing line (EBL) capability"
That is unnecessary to involve in the radar plugins. Use the "ocpn-draw" plugin where EBL is one of its features,see picture.

Håkan

Hakan, Thanks again for your help. I'm studying the "ocpn-draw" plugin and I think that will work fine for me. The EBL and VRM capabilities look good and doing that on the chart is OK. When offshore the chart doesn't have lots of clutter to interfere with plotting other ship traffic. After many years of using "stand-alone" radars I like the simplicity of seeing just the vessel plots on a blank screen, but I guess I will have to adapt.

[NahanniV]

Originally Posted by svcattales

Hakan, Thanks again for your help. I'm studying the "ocpn-draw" plugin and I think that will work fine for me. The EBL and VRM capabilities look good and doing that on the chart is OK. When offshore the chart doesn't have lots of clutter to interfere with plotting other ship traffic. After many years of using "stand-alone" radars I like the simplicity of seeing just the vessel plots on a blank screen, but I guess I will have to adapt.

You can create a RADAR only screen by creating an empty chart group and selecting that when you don't want an overlay.

[svcattales]

Originally Posted by NahanniV

You can create a RADAR only screen by creating an empty chart group and selecting that when you don't want an overlay.

Nahann, Thanks for the idea. I'll give that a try.

[Franziska]

Hi everybody.

Sorry to hijack this thread, anyone has answers to this:

http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...d.php?t=156410


List of Antenna only Radars which work with Opencpn under Windows?

Thanks,

Franziska

www.ladyrover.jimdo.com