OpenCPN and OpenPlotter on Raspberry Pi
So something that has entertained me over the last few years while I wait for boat work season is working on optimizing a chartplotting system on Raspberry Pi.
In case you are not familiar, Raspberry Pi is a tiny, affordable computer board that runs on opensource linux software. The Pi 4 has up to 8gb of ram, a 1.5Ghz 64bit processor, dual micro HDMI ports, gigabit ethernet, a 40 pin GPIO header, micro-sd slot, and tons of USB.
OpenCPN is an opensource charting software that uses the standard ENC/RNC charts available from NOAA. With a gps sensor and an AIS receiver, its a great navigational setup that can be achieved inexpensively. Depending on the model Pi and how you set it up, it can be laggy. Which would be my only complaint.
OpenPlotter is an opensource marine platform that builds on OpenCPN to work with SignalK and NMEA data from instruments, PyPilot (an autopilot integration program), and tons of other programs making it a fully functional plotter and controller.
I can list some of the additional boards and headers I have experimented with, but ultimately, I think the final build will be based on a mini-computer (like a Mac Mini, but not running the MacOS). The Pi builds have just been too laggy and unstable for my liking. In fact on a passage in Runaway, the Pi failed and we ended up just using my laptop. Openplotter on the laptop still, but not on the pi.
I will add more to this topic if people are interested. Just let me know.
