Route Transfers to Navico (Simrad, Zeus, etc.) Plotters from O

[Rasbats]

Attached is a route from OpenCPN saved as GPX. It has been translated to a Lowrance USR file using GPSBabel. The route is from Salcombe to Dartmouth in South Devon, UK.

Could someone put this on a card (remove .pdf) and try reading it with their Navico MFD?

If this works then an option can be built into Obabel.

Mike

[RaymondR]

Originally Posted by adwuk

Some good questions, which I don't know all of the answers to because I haven't tried all the different ways of using the device with plotter and/or OpenCPN. I tend to do one of the following:
1) create a route on OpenCPN. Send the route to the device. Shut the lid on the laptop and allow the device to continue navigation. If changes are needed, or I want to check progress, open the laptop, make any changes, resend the updated route and close the laptop again.

I'm assuming the device has a GPS from which it receives position data via NMEA sentences.


2) create a route on OpenCPN. Send the route to the device and also receive it on the plotter. Then I use the waypoints to create a route on the plotter and get the plotter to navigate. Any changes to the route are subsequently done on the plotter.


The device uses the NMEA sentences received from it's GPS and software you have written and loaded to the device in conjunction with route and waypoint data received wirelessly from a computer on which you have generated a .gpx route file using OpenCPN to generate the NMEA sentences required by the autopilot to steer the vessel.

I haven't actually turned the plotter on in scenario 1 to see what is displayed on its screen. The Tritons do display the navigation info properly though.

Does that help?

So, you have implemented the hard and software to implement a stand alone GPS instrument which can receive route data wirelessly to control the autopilot whilst drawing a very small current.

I have been looking for this very practical device for about two years now, nirvana, route plan on the computer, wirelessly transfer, low power overhead device steers vessel.


Brilliant conception, clever implementation, how do I get my hands on one.

[adwuk]

I'm happy to make one up for you if you want to PM me your email address. I will also need to confirm that the device provides the NMEA data that your autopilot requires, but that can easily be changed to suit. Also, let me know if you need the GPS built in to the device, or if there is another GPS data source on the NMEA 2000 network that can be used - it will change the cost as the GPS is one of the more expensive components.

I will try and create a video of the system in use - but will not be able to do that until the weekend as the boat is now in Scotland. That said, the device was successfully used to navigate from Plymouth (approx 400nm over 3 days) with no issues.

[John6022]

Hi Adwuk
Your system sounds great.

I wonder how it might work combining it with a Furuno GP33 GPS, which is connected into a NMEA 2000 network with Triton displays.

Besides NMEA 2000 the GP33 has a separate connection on the back for NMEA 0183 data, it can read/write both. Suppose you could do your planning, waypoint and route creation on your laptop/tablet using Open CPN, then via your little gizmo, transfer the route/waypoints to the GP33. The GP33 is then responsible to maintain a constant vessel position and range/bearing to the next waypoint. This means the laptop/tablet can be shut down between waypoints to save power, while the GP33 at 330 milliamps takes care of the navigation between waypoints.

The only potential problem I see is that the GP33 instructions say if you upload data it overwrites what is already on the system. In that case I suppose you'd have to have a folder on the laptop containing all routes/waypoints which you'd add to each time, then transfer the lot each time.

Any thoughts?
John

[rgleason]

Attached is a route from OpenCPN saved as GPX. It has been translated to a Lowrance USR file using GPSBabel. The route is from Salcombe to Dartmouth in South Devon, UK.

Could someone put this on a card (remove .pdf) and try reading it with their Navico MFD?
If this works then an option can be built into Obabel.
Mike

Mike I intend to do this. For the Touch Series, I think I have to put it on a microSD card and take out the charts to insert the microSD (with the gpx translated to USR).

Then I guess I use a B&G Touch File menu to read it.