Good point Loose. Although I could get an active VGA to HDMI converter, that would just add bulk to what must be a portable screen, so I'll go find my other unused laptop and rip it's screen out; maybe there's a HDMI board for that one.

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Karsten said..
Good point Loose. Although I could get an active VGA to HDMI converter, that would just add a bulk to what must be a portable screen, so I'll go find my other unused laptop and rip it's screen out; maybe there's a HDMI board for that one.

I would suggest that if the lappy had a HDMI out port that then there is greater likelihood that the controller board will support HDMI as well.

I don't mind VGA. I'm running vga at 1320 x 768 and it is enough resolution for me.
I would like a bigger screen though .

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shaggybaxter said..
I don't mind VGA. I'm running vga at 1320 x 768 and it is enough resolution for me.
I would like a bigger screen though .

Real estate is everything on a monitor

Thanks LC for all the great ideas & info.
I have just ordered my LCD Controller Board Driver Kit for LTN160AT01 1366X768 - from China, I'm in no hurry - I need to get through some important items off my "Do Do List" first!!

I want to make this one portable to use in the cockpit - no room left at the Nav Station.

Hey LooseChange,

Thanks for the inspiration to dust off my old Raspberry Pi 3 and load OpenCPN!
I've installed o-charts too and will be purchasing the dAISy and a usb GPS to get it up and running.

Anyone recommend a good usb GPS?
I have been looking at the GlobalSat BU-353-S4..

Much Love,
SeaSneeze

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SeaSneeze said..
Hey LooseChange,

Thanks for the inspiration to dust off my old Raspberry Pi 3 and load OpenCPN!
I've installed o-charts too and will be purchasing the dAISy and a usb GPS to get it up and running.

Anyone recommend a good usb GPS?
I have been looking at the GlobalSat BU-353-S4..

Much Love,
SeaSneeze

Good choice GlobalSat BU-353-S4 is the one to get, has very fast acquisition time and seems to able to receive signals down in the basement.
I initially had problems loading OpenCPN on mine, upgraded to the latest Raspbian , was either system glitch or operator glitch but all is well now.
I'm still using CM93 charts for the time being.

Thanks LooseChange!

I'll go ahead and get a GlobalSat.

Much Love,
SeaSneeze

Was going to do some work on the boat but thought "Stuff it" and went out and tested the AIS on the Raspberry Pi plus the dAISy receiver and as you can see it worked rather well.



Ahoy Cap'n unidentified alien interloper on the scope (showing in yellow)


Arghh, We have the scoundrel ... get closer to her


All is revealed now, it's the sail training ship Sycamore ( I looked up the MMSI)

My toys came today . Got the GPS to work on windows 10 using Google maps then open cpn . No maps installed yet though . Next set up ais , mount it on a board and screw it down on the boat for a real test using the tv as a temporary screen . So glad for the original post to stir me into action

Well finally had a positive result trialling my low powered , bluetooth wireless ais on android opencpn.

Living inland offers few opportunies to run the necessary tests so it took longer than it should have.

First of all i have been super impressed with both the build quality and support of the daisy2 unit.

My aim was to have a low powered , wireless ais connected to my android mobile phone and or tablet running opencpn. ( yet to test bt to multiple devices simultaneously)

The problem i encountered was matching the baud rates of the daisy2 and hc-06 bluetooth module.

First attempt i was unaware of the issue then next i underestimated my ability to quickly and easily change the baud of the bt module using an Arduino nano board ( no previous experience of Arduino ) so eventually decided to change the baud of the daisy2 and wulla ... success.

When time allows and skills improve I will revert the daisy2 back to the NEMA standard baud and change the bt module.

I found the small stub antenna adequate over the distances I am interested in so that problem was easily solved.

It's going to take some time understanding the configuration and operation within opencpn , some moving targets will help and I feel sure that with practice it will become an important tool.

What was the range with that stub antennae and was it outside the vehicle?

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Lazzz said..
Thanks LC for all the great ideas & info.
I have just ordered my LCD Controller Board Driver Kit for LTN160AT01 1366X768 - from China, I'm in no hurry - I need to get through some important items off my "Do Do List" first!!

I want to make this one portable to use in the cockpit - no room left at the Nav Station.

Looks like you have your nav station set up mate.

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Shanty said..

Lazzz said..
Thanks LC for all the great ideas & info.
I have just ordered my LCD Controller Board Driver Kit for LTN160AT01 1366X768 - from China, I'm in no hurry - I need to get through some important items off my "Do Do List" first!!

I want to make this one portable to use in the cockpit - no room left at the Nav Station.

Got my monitor all ready to go - just gotta mount it somewhere.
I ended up gluing the bits to the back of the screen - will glue a cover over them when I work out where it's going!!

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Shanty said..
Looks like you have your nav station set up mate.

Yeah, nearly where I want it - everything is hidden behind the monitors

Ramona , box was sitting on backseat Mazda bt50 in heavy traffic and approaching Westgate bridge started picking up targets around 3 - 4 nm away.
It was a bit difficult as concentration was on driving.
I seem to remember previous setup few years back in the cabin of TS with same antenna was a little greater .
For my purpose compromise on that sort of range is balanced by its mobility and flexibility.
Powered by a 2000 mAh backup USB battery bank in the box which also powers and recharges my android device and music system.
I have all up axle Weight of 1450 kgs so weight control of accessories is paramount.
I am changing from fixed 100 watt solar panel to 2 X 120 watt flexible panels so found some weight loss there with added capacity.

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madmission said..
Ramona , box was sitting on backseat Mazda bt50 in heavy traffic and approaching Westgate bridge started picking up targets around 3 - 4 nm away.
It was a bit difficult as concentration was on driving.
I seem to remember previous setup few years back in the cabin of TS with same antenna was a little greater .
For my purpose compromise on that sort of range is balanced by its mobility and flexibility.
Powered by a 2000 mAh backup USB battery bank in the box which also powers and recharges my android device and music system.
I have all up axle Weight of 1450 kgs so weight control of accessories is paramount.
I am changing from fixed 100 watt solar panel to 2 X 120 watt flexible panels so found some weight loss there with added capacity.

Thanks for that. I don't have an AIS and don't really need one but because the Daisy is so cheap I thought it might compliment my 22 inch plotter and OpenCPN. I have a metal antennae at my masthead which has an excellent range and was considering a splitter but they are not cheap and I might get too many contacts cluttering the screen. I usually only have about 3 miles on the screen so a pushpit mounted antenna would be sufficient.