Twocan - a new Plugin

[stevead]

Thanks Rick for the post with the video that illustrates fault finding/diagnostics for NMEA 2000 networks.

Very apt given that I've recently been made aware of a few problems with the plugin that seem to correspond with network faults that result in dropped NMEA 2000 frames. I have developed a fix ready to check in to the next release, however it is important for end users to make sure their network topology is correct and properly terminated.

A good starting point for end users to learn about NMEA 2000 networks is the Maretron NMEA 2000 Network Installation Guide

Thanks also for mentioning the Copperhill Technology PICAN-M Can Bus adapter. It definitely works with the plugin, and a nice feature is that it can power the Raspberry Pi from the NMEA 2000 network. (Just remember to shutdown the Pi before turning off the instruments !)

Thanks Hubert for the feedback. I'll add the instructions for the Rusoku adapter to the guide.

Question for Rick. "To whom do I grovel to get the Twocan plugin promoted from being listed in Plugins Under Development to being listed in the "official" list of Plugins For OpenCPN

Re: GSV sentences, I've only recently been made aware of the NMEA 183 v4.11 standard which as you mentioned introduced additional Talker ID's for the GSV sentence to identify the different satellite positioning systems. (BTW it also introduced standard XDR transducer names which are now supported in the latest release of the Engine Dashboard).

The additional Talker ID's are:
GA: Galileo Positioning System
GB: BDS (BeiDou System)
GI: NavIC (IRNSS)
GL: GLONASS Receiver
GN: Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS)
GP: Global Positioning System (GPS)
GQ: QZSS

Off the top of my head, I think I've already added support for this in the next release.

Thanks to everyone for their encouragement & feedback.

[rgleason]

Steve, I'll send you an email tomorrow. We can move it to the plugins list, it certainly is time to do that. Thanks for all the great work. Talk tomorrow.

Rick

[rgleason]

Steve, I've moved the documentation to PlugIns from beta.

[rgleason]

Now you need to provide screenshot, description and links to k. Thamks

[gedass2000]

Hi,

I redesigned twocan plugin driver for Rusoku TouCAN Marine adapter.
Now driver can work without CANAL library and communicates directly with USB endpoints using WinUSB library.

Would be nice if somebody could help to test it on real boat.

Driver dll:
https://rusoku.com/downloads/RusokuT...rine_v_0_1.zip

Source code:
https://github.com/rusoku/TwoCanRusokuDriver

Soon will be published driver version for dual TouCAN Marine WiFi too.

Regards
Gediminas

[bcn]

Gediminas..


question: does that require to uninstall something from the former, working install?


Thanks


Hubert

[gedass2000]

Originally Posted by bcn

Gediminas..


question: does that require to uninstall something from the former, working install?


Thanks


Hubert

Hubert,

just copy dll to C:\Users\USER\AppData\Local\opencpn\plugins\twocan _plugin_pi\data\drivers

and select: "TouCAN Marine" from twocan interfaces list

Gediminas

[Aldebaran17]

Originally Posted by stevead

Very apt given that I've recently been made aware of a few problems with the plugin that seem to correspond with network faults that result in dropped NMEA 2000 frames. I have developed a fix ready to check in to the next release, however it is important for end users to make sure their network topology is correct and properly terminated.

Steve,

that was me with the issues of dropped frame (we had some emails going back and forth a while ago).

When will the new version be released?

I had actually an issue with terminating resistors: the Waveshare CanHat for the Raspberry has a builtin terminator, which I was not aware of. It is stupid in my eyes, since it force the CanHat at the end of the chain. So, my network had two terminators at one end of the backbone. This is fixed, but does not solve the issue with dropped frames.
I did also move to the masthead aerial instead of the emergency antenna rigged on deck: no change either, except that I see much more AIS targets now (up to 20-30nm distance routinely)

I tested also SignalK (same hardware) and it has no issues: AIS does not freeze in OpenCPN when receiving data via SignalK.

Best,

Manfred

[stevead]

Announcing the beta release of version 2.0

For you brave souls, the respective tarball for your OS can be downloaded from
https://cloudsmith.io/~steven-adler/...beta/packages/

Then from OpenCPN, from the plugins dialog, select “import plugin”

I apologise that I have yet to add this to the beta plugins catalog.

The fixes/features:
1. Updated logic for the reassembly of fast messages in the case of dropped/lost frames. Some users have reported errors on busy networks, and in particular with AIS traffic. The dropped frames were also detected using other utilities such as candump so it was not the plugin dropping frames, but a flaw in the reassembly of messages. BTW the major cause for this error is usually a network fault either a dodgy connection or terminator.

2. Fix to PGN 129284 (Navigation Data), error in byte ordering of message parameters.

3. NMEA 183 -> NMEA 2000 gateway feature. Converts NMEA 183 sentences to their NMEA 2000 counterparts. Note that AIS or DSC sentences are not yet converted. I expect that some users may ask whether this enables OpenCPN to control a NMEA 2000 autopilot, the answer is it was not designed to do so, it is untested, and I have no idea what may happen if you try to do so, so don’t !
(That being said, the long term aim is to allow the plugin & OpenCPN to control a NMEA 2000 autopilot)

4. Added Mac OSX driver for the Kvaser Leaflight adapter. Similar to the Mac OSX driver for the Rusoku Toucan adapter, this driver is also based on the MacCAN API.

5. Hopefully fixed the “dirty” shutdown that some users have reported on some platforms.

I will also mention that a “new” driver for the Rusoku Toucan driver has been made available by Gediminas from Rusoku. Refer to the previous post in this forum. Unlike the previous driver, this new driver does not rely on the CAN Abstraction Layer (CANAL) driver canal32.dll that must be copied to the Windows System32 folder.

Please report any bugs to either this forum or to twocanplugin@hotmail.com

[more]

Originally Posted by gedass2000

Hi,

I redesigned twocan plugin driver for Rusoku TouCAN Marine adapter.
Now driver can work without CANAL library and communicates directly with USB endpoints using WinUSB library.

Would be nice if somebody could help to test it on real boat.

Driver dll:
https://rusoku.com/downloads/RusokuT...rine_v_0_1.zip

Source code:
https://github.com/rusoku/TwoCanRusokuDriver

Soon will be published driver version for dual TouCAN Marine WiFi too.

Regards
Gediminas

today I try on win 10 x64 but not new RusokuToucanMarine_v_0_1.dll. and fail.
tomorrow I try again.

[SCarns]

I've moved in a different direction and am no longer using my Rusoku TouCAN Marine. If someone would like one that is already in the USA, PM me and make me an offer for it. It will allow you to use Stevead's excellent plugin directly with OpenCPN.

[more]

Originally Posted by SCarns

I've moved in a different direction and am no longer using my Rusoku TouCAN Marine. If someone would like one that is already in the USA, PM me and make me an offer for it. It will allow you to use Stevead's excellent plugin directly with OpenCPN.

I only play with openCPN, for me more easy is work hard , save money bay B&G ZEUS³ - 16 with chart or couple tablet with license navionics app,download chart for off internet

[stevead]

Announcing the production release of version 2.0

This should appear shortly in the Plugin Manager.

To reiterate the earlier beta announcement this new versions includes the following features & fixes:

1. Updated logic for the reassembly of fast messages in the case of dropped/lost frames. Some users have reported errors on busy networks, and in particular with AIS traffic. The dropped frames were also detected using other utilities such as candump so it was not the plugin dropping frames, but a flaw in the reassembly of messages. BTW the major cause for this error is usually a network fault either a dodgy connection or terminator.

2. Fix to PGN 129284 (Navigation Data), error in byte ordering of message parameters.

3. NMEA 183 -> NMEA 2000 gateway feature. Converts NMEA 183 sentences, including AIS, to their NMEA 2000 counterparts. Note that DSC sentences are not yet converted.
I expect that some users may ask whether this enables OpenCPN to control a NMEA 2000 autopilot, the answer is it was not designed to do so, it is untested, and I have no idea what may happen if you try to do so, so don’t !
(That being said, the long term aim is to allow the plugin & OpenCPN to control a NMEA 2000 autopilot)

4. Added Mac OSX driver for the Kvaser Leaflight adapter. Similar to the Mac OSX driver for the Rusoku Toucan adapter, this driver is also based on the MacCAN API. Both of these drivers are now based on an updated version the Mac-CAN API.

5. Hopefully fixed the “dirty” shutdown that some users have reported on some platforms.

6. An updated Windows driver for the Kvaser Leaf Light device.

7. The new version of the Windows Rusoku Toucan driver which was made available by Gediminas from Rusoku. Refer to the previous post in this forum. Unlike the previous driver, this new driver does not rely on the CAN Abstraction Layer (CANAL) driver canal32.dll that had to be copied to the Windows System32 folder.

8. Support for PCAP packet capture log files. This is the format used by Wireshark (and no, to the best of my knowledge, there is no NMEA 2000 parser for Wireshark, nor do I have the appetite to write one). However I've discovered that B&G chart plotters log their data in the PCAP format, so replay to your heart's content.

Please report any bugs to either this forum or to twocanplugin@hotmail.com

[arnolddemaa]

Hey,
I have been using OpenCpn for several years and my network is now NMEA2000. I would like to start with TwoCan, it is becoming more mature and gives less ballast than SignalK, which in turn provides a service and translation. Now Twocan supports multiple hardware interface platforms. My question is which one is best for me. I do have an Actisense NGT 1, but I don't think it is supported. I work on a low power on-board computer with Windows 10. I would also like to know what the status is for controlling an autopilot by means of an active route. I now also use this functionality via a NMEA 0183 connection. Thanks in advance for the good work

[bcn]

The NGT-1 is not supported (yet). Steve started some time ago (pre-COVID) an attempt and our support was not sufficient to get that running.


The Rusoku Toucan is a fine device, well manufactured.