New mini-PC installed in boat to control nav, cameras etc. Expedition lifeboat conversion. Ep99 [4K]

To HELP CHARGE ALAN'S BATTERIES for the journey north, to buy merch, and to support my videos and help them grow in scope and quality here: www.alexhibbert.com/aho
EPISODE 99
Now settled ashore Edinburgh for a few months, the work goes on. This time I install a ceiling-mount and mini-PC that will be the 'brain' or tech hub of Alan's future activities.
Model: NME A/S (Husnes, Norway) 7.5m TELB
Engine: Bukh DV48 turbo diesel
Feel free to ask any questions in the comments!
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Thanks to vanguardstorage.co.uk/ for warehousing facilities.

[@jabjab1010]

Alan second statement as he becomes self aware as you ask him to open the pod door. . .”I’m sorry Alex, I can’t do that.”

[@teeanahera8949]

“Open the pod bay door Alan…” I wonder how many commenters will get your reference to such a ground breaking film.

[@madmax2069]

Haha, that scene did pop into my head.

[@hansklein8024]

"Metric & 19th Century" made my day 😁 Thank you for sharing all the bits! The monitor is really fragile. Hence, I reccomend buying a good wall or ceiling mount and adding some padding. Maybe also a protective cover. When things start flying around it might be unpleasant to loose the insight into Alan's brain.

[@philgray1023]

I wonder what the ocean race guys use. They bash along horrendously and have computer screens. I on the other hand have my tv suspended from a swing out wall mount and the previous Samsung survived the Atlantic and Pacific. The Atlantic was particularly unkind. The "multi" voltage power adapter was not well chuffed when introduced to 240 volts for the first time.

[@Jehty_]

I would also setup an app (like TeamViewer) that allows you to control the pc with a smartphone. That way if the desktop screen, mouse or keyboard breaks you still have a second way.

[@AlexHibbertOriginals]

Yes, the current squat tripod etc is for leisure mode. I'm look at various VESA mount options for when things are rolly.

[@Requiess42]

I wholly agree with you, the current monitor situation does not look very assuring. On that note, I would recommend looking into (industrial ?) touch-screen panels. They are much tougher than desktop screens, usually protected by a glass panel and padding. Many models also directly run on 12/24V. The touch input adds another layer of redundancy and is sufficient for many interactions, especially when the keyboard and mouse are stowed away somewhere.

[@AlexHibbertOriginals]

I should have mentioned that this squat mini tripod is for when in harbour and keeping the monitor mobile. I'll certainly have a mount for use at sea, but have a decision to make with the whole worksurface situation.....

[@r-urbex1611]

A spare converter or two would probably be a good idea, ive killed a fair few of those things over the years

[@AlexHibbertOriginals]

True

[@PsRohrbaugh]

@@AlexHibbertOriginals If there's space on Alan, I'd just keep the OEM power supply. You can run it from shore power, your generator, or an inverter (which you should have if you don't already). The only uncertainty with an inverter is whether to get something 1000+ watts which can run power tools and microwave ovens, or something in the 250 - 1000 watt range, which can run most normal appliances from laptops to cell phone chargers.

[@PinkLittleElephant]

You have probably considered it anyway, but add an extra external backup device (e.g. 4TB SSD) and back up any footage from the brain? Also make sure that the backup doesn’t mirror (ie delete) … one of my clever schemes went horribly wrong when the source drive failed and the backup program decided that as the original files had disappeared, it should align the backup by deleting them there too :-(

[@questionableendeavours]

Just gave Alan a wave as we crossed the Queen's ferry Crossing. Nice to see him sitting there ❤

[@AlexHibbertOriginals]

Hopefully he wasn't too rude in reply.

[@questionableendeavours]

@@AlexHibbertOriginals think he was just having a snooze 😜

[@licencetoswill]

great machine for running opencpn / openseamap / predictwind / and all those handy things.

[@upscaleshack]

You named every continent during your meet-up segment except Africa. Am I the only viewer on this continent? Surely not.

[@AlexHibbertOriginals]

I guess I assumed the time zone would be the same-ish as here, so didn't need specific attention for joining via zoom. Africans welcome!

[@VinceW187]

​@AlexHibbertOriginals you know what they say about assume

[@FarmerJolsagri]

Thank you for the talk you gave in my school today!! I really enjoyed it!

[@AlexHibbertOriginals]

You're welcome!

[@catgynt9148]

Congratulations on your acquisition of the Beelink AMD computer. I have a GTR7 series system... it is an incredible little unit. One suggestion, I have added a USB hub and a small USB fan to circulate cooling air. An external fan who’ll bu a beneficial addition to prolonged system life. Wishing you, Alan and your family a blessed week filled with gentle seasonally appropriate weather and restful evenings together. Peace brother

[@AlexHibbertOriginals]

Cheers, and yes in principle it's fine. That said, I'm having to return mine for a replacement as something inside is loose, and making a loud noise.

[@catgynt9148]

@@AlexHibbertOriginals Possibility vibration from the fan on top of the CPU. My forest action upon receiving my GTR7 was to open the back, reviewing the architecture, adding a 1TB SSD and buttoning the system up. If your replacement comes with a fingerprint reader, future login events will not require you to cover the camera lens while connecting. Wishing you a blessed week. I recognize the truss bridge in your background. In 2019 my spousal unit and I attended classes at St Andrews until trip was cut short by the plague (Covid 19). Peace from across the Atlantic “pond.”

[@tikunshana784]

To my understanding, with an AMD box, you are always only one broken fan away from a burnt out CPU. For a journey like this I would use a smarter box, even at twice or three times the cost.

[@PsRohrbaugh]

Very cool computer set-up! I have no idea what what your ashore plans are, but with the right antennas, you can send Wi-Fi a couple of miles. Could end up with a "live stream on the ice" or something.

[@AlexHibbertOriginals]

Cheers Paul. Yes indeed, thinking of various ways for live streams in more exotic places than boat yards.

[@PsRohrbaugh]

@@AlexHibbertOriginals indeed. You could have starlink on Alan, and have a high-power Wi-Fi adapter connected to a directional antenna pointed the way you're going. Whether on land or on ice, you can get signal from a surprising distance with consumer devices (and from a downright crazy distance, 15+ km) if you're willing to haul a second directional antenna with you. I know you plan to venture much farther from Alan, but there would still be something special about "live stream from the middle of an iceberg" or similar.

[@slickmouse]

I see Alan just about every day when I'm crossing the bridge

[@AlexHibbertOriginals]

He sees you too....

[@FloridaWinter]

10:52 my comment made it into the video, OH MY GOSH!!!! Thanks for the update Alex. P.S. my name is Alex too.

[@AlexHibbertOriginals]

Compliments to your parents' naming wisdom.

[@user-yl6fu1if9i]

Hey Alex love your videos. I've got a Seig metal mini mill and lathe, so if you ever need a bracket or something machined, free of charge, give me a shout. Based in Glasgow. Guy.

[@AlexHibbertOriginals]

Very kind!

[@MrMarkRoads]

The bottom of Alan's brain box is not flat... OCD moment.

[@ptonpc]

Yep, it almost distracted me from the blue angle grinder too.

[@SproutyPottedPlant]

And maybe there is space for 2 or 3 industrial grade 1L PCs when his brain is ready to grow!

[@MrMarkRoads]

I think all that cold weather and skiing in a straight line has damaged Alex. Let's keep an eye on him.@@ptonpc

[@ManxAndy]

Good evening Alex…..& Alan.👍👌🇮🇲

[@ptonpc]

Hope the events are a success.

[@AlexHibbertOriginals]

Cheers

[@155stw]

Whatever happens, don’t let Alan access chagpt!!!

[@chuckthomas8176]

Very nice . Sounds great .

[@stevenbenavente1229]

Good job

[@AlexHibbertOriginals]

Well thank you

[@gafrers]

Smart Alan 👍👍

[@lv_woodturner3899]

If you want a better locking washer than the awful spring washers, try Nord-Lock washers. They are available in the UK in 316 stainless. They may work in the water environment better than a nylok style. Likely a one-time use, but that may be what you need.

[@AlexHibbertOriginals]

Yep, a regular user of nord locks! Nyloc just for less critical jobs.

[@garyphillips7993]

Personally I’d be looking at mounting the screen on the ceiling with a hinged bracket so that it can be stowed away safely when not in use, & there’d be no cables dangling down to spoil the aesthetics 😉 Just behind Alan’s brain out of the way? Something playing a critical roll such as the brain should have a backup. I use a small USB RAID, not much bigger than a cigarette packet of old. It has 2 x 2.5 inch drives in a mirrored array. If the Brain fails - it’s backed up - effectively twice to the mirrored array. If a drive fails on the array, it’s still backed up to the other drive. Dead easy to setup, very cheap to buy. Just a couple of thoughts.

[@AlexHibbertOriginals]

That's exactly what I'm researching. It's not super simple though re: mounts, vibrations, locking mechanisms etc. Am on the job. On backup, nothing so critical on here that a daily backup to a USB stick can't solve.

[@garyphillips7993]

@@AlexHibbertOriginals Years ago servers had a console monitor that sat in a drawer & could pop up when needed. Google ‘Server Console Monitor’. It may give you some ideas for mounting etc, ok, so they popped up, but in reverse?

[@benderbender1233]

ALAN!!! ✌😁✌

[@dinger40]

Wouldn't the jack be hydraulic? Pneumatic jacks tend to be bouncy as air compresses😉Keep up the good work 👍 Do I get bonus points for spotting your deliberate mistake?

[@AlexHibbertOriginals]

Yes, yes it would be.... well spotted!

[@montwolfman]

"bouncy"?

[@dinger40]

@@montwolfman In comarison to hydraulic

[@davidrumbelow]

How about bonding a bottle opener to Alan if you are looking for stuff to add.

[@jabjab1010]

Alan becoming self aware?? First Statement “Orange??”

[@hjnebus]

Thank you for including an appropriate scale for viewers whose country has landed on the moon.

[@liverpool45879]

You can get wireless HDMI 😊

[@friedtomatoes4946]

I can actually answer why all of the opinions are different about connectors. Depending on the application some connectors work and some connectors don't. I'm suspecting that they're all correct in whatever they're using them for. It actually is quite a fascinating field and most people don't actually understand what connectors are used for what. Most people have one connector type fail and their application and another not and that's it that's all they think. Read my comments below for more explanation. Ironically the connection that you're using the crimp connection then covering it with heat shrink is probably the best and easiest solution for your application. Not only is it watertight and tarnish resistant it's also mechanically tough. Honestly good choice

[@friedtomatoes4946]

For example a wago connector does not like high humidity when using certain types of copper strand because the copper will tarnish and the connection will gain resistance. If you're going to be experiencing high humidity (like 90% on a hot day) it may not be a good connector. It may only last 3 or 4 years. I've been a huge advocate for not using those low temperature solder heat shrink joints. That's because in most of your applications they will not be able to handle the mechanical stress and the temperature stress. However they are wonderful inside a temperature controlled house for bonding things like speaker wire.

[@friedtomatoes4946]

Final reply I find it's best just to keep a good head on your shoulders. Think about it. There's only a few things that can cause a connector to fail tarnishing/rusting, fracturing, and heat. I have fixed Porsche speakers where the metal speaker wire goes through plastic. Because the water can get in but struggles to get out in that hole the wire rusts in the plastic but is fine everywhere else. You got to think about your connectors and that mindset what is it getting exposed to and what do you need to protect it from. Marine wire which has solder on it does not tarnish so if you're going to use a wago connector my recommend using marine wire because it will not tarnish in the wago connector. You can also take non-marine wire and just cover the tip in solder. When I work on cars my favorite method is to solder it cover it in Grease and then put heat shrink over it. That heat shrink compresses the grease and makes a very waterproof connection. I've had water intrusion on wires I did like that sit for years and be fine. It's also important to remember that low voltage is infinitely more sensitive to ohms changes than high voltage.

[@AlexHibbertOriginals]

Tons of good sense and tips there. Thank you.

[@friedtomatoes4946]

@@AlexHibbertOriginals no worries man, I'm sorry you've been getting so many confusing comments. I don't know if I added to that or helped. Also sorry for the lack of punctuation and weird grammar I had to write it on the way to work. I'm an AV technician who does part-time at a body shop. My focus is on low voltage and audio equipment so I use this stuff everyday. I just really want to see your project succeed I've been here since the beginning and it's one of my favorite :)

[@AlexHibbertOriginals]

Not at all chap. Your messages are super clear, and I took notes. Cheers.

[@joge3031]

The meetup idea sounds great - how about next spring at the Barents pub in Longyearbyen?

[@AlexHibbertOriginals]

The budget would need to be upped, based on the last bar bill I had there!

[@teeanahera8949]

Pneumatic jacks! 😂 Your idea with the ruler glued to the wall is terrific but not quite as terrific as annoying the inhabitants of Liberia, Myanmar and United States of America with their 19th century system of measurement. Good old USA still can’t quite give up England despite independence. The meet ups are a wonderful idea.

[@AlexHibbertOriginals]

I only count one, now two, people annoyed by a quip about measurement units. We use imperial in the UK plenty, but only for casual day to day, not serious measurements.

[@paweszczepanski6738]

Yet again... SPACESHIP ~!!!

[@montwolfman]

Correction: 5:34 you meant "hydraulic" is instead of "pneumatic" im sure....

[@AlexHibbertOriginals]

I do

[@JakEneAS]

Nice choices for power efficiency, on multiple counts. The number of folks I see throw a huge inverter in their off grid power system for some max 50W PC bothers me greatly. (I may be a bit obsessed with efficiency)

[@AlexHibbertOriginals]

Yeah, I also see a lot of DC to AC to DC systems for no real reason.

[@coolstorybrooooo7643]

Have you considered MOLLE carriers for wall mounted items?

[@AlexHibbertOriginals]

I've not. Probably a little too mil for Alan.

[@deeznutz-bn9sl]

Well if you like London UK then why not try London Ontario. Canada welcomes you!

[@AlexHibbertOriginals]

Noted!

[@jmwintenn]

hindsight and all that, not sure why you didnt put a shelf to store the monitor or a drop down arm mount on the ceiling. seemed to be enough space in your pc shelf to store the mouse and keyboard. might wanna hold'em down with some museum putty.

[@AlexHibbertOriginals]

Yes, investigating some VESA arms, and thinking more about at-sea layout vs in harbour.

[@ultimoketchup3299]

Why don't you get one of those magnetic fishtank cleaners for a wind screen wiper😂

[@Thelostgoldhunters]

Exactly what I thought !

[@DubaiDiver]

Hi Alex let me know if Dubai is of interest

[@AlexHibbertOriginals]

Honestly - not really! Sorry.

[@chris7015]

Can you provide a link to the nets?

[@AlexHibbertOriginals]

They're just basic ones from Amazon.

[@chocolatemonk]

Do you really want another battery or more for wireless input devices? Also more likely to interfere,to fail, and get lost. So exciting for everything coming together. I wish I was across the pond.

[@AlexHibbertOriginals]

Sorry, not sure I understand?

[@terrygreene1395]

What are the sleeping accommodations like there on Alan? hanging hammocks…..sleeping bags on the floor…..??

[@AlexHibbertOriginals]

At the moment a sleeping platform beside the racking.

[@johnheppell402]

Ah you prefer the revolutionary measurement system from 1799 rather than that used traditionally in Britain!

[@dadzilla007]

Metric and 19th Century... LMAO!

[@eliadelucchi5455]

hi, first of all great video! may I ask what software will you use for the internal camera?

[@AlexHibbertOriginals]

I'm just using the Windows apps at the moment, but will investigate multicamera handling/mixer software. Recommendations welcome.

[@eliadelucchi5455]

I tryed out ContaCam, but it eats away from the cpu power :/ but maybe... (thank you for documenting it)

[@Jimmy_Travis]

Bananas onboard 😬🍌🚫

[@AlexHibbertOriginals]

I've only just googled this. Fun reading.

[@Subgunman]

Do you have a source for the power supply used on Alan’s Brain? Trying to do a mobile PC as well.

[@AlexHibbertOriginals]

www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07KTZ1JLV/ref=pe_27063361_485629781_TE_item

[@sailingona]

Metric or nineteen century 😂😂

[@ysesq]

dumbness this episode - using a 12-24v adapter instead of thicker gauge wiring, buying a 19v mini pc instead of a 12v psu, putting mini pc in thermally insulated rectangle, not bonding the rectangle with fiberglass to the roof, using actively cooled electronics on a boat.

[@AlexHibbertOriginals]

Noooo. These aren't very good. Try better on the next episode.

[@ysesq]

@@AlexHibbertOriginals ok but didnt your active cooling already fail ? you know you could just ask me how to do it right and i would tell you in advance.

[@AlexHibbertOriginals]

No. The PC was malfunctioning out the box. I do certainly have people I'd turn to if I have questions. Oddly you don't make the list. Do stick around though and better luck on the next vid! Keep boosting my engagement and income :)

[@ysesq]

@@AlexHibbertOriginals ok. looks like you turn to really dumb people but sure. keep wasting money by doing everything several times over. keeps us entertained and boosts engagement i guess.

[@dieseltherapy59]

Metric and 19th century, ouch!

[@pmacgowan]

I think you should of used a raspberry pi 5 rather than a PC, too many things to go wrong with a PC, also no chance of being self aware with a pi ;-)

[@pepperspray7386]

Is it ironic if the metric system was invented for the "common man" but is now tied to the speed of light making it impossible for the "common man" to verify the meter?

[@ptonpc]

If it makes you feel better, the imperial system is 'calibrated' / aligned using the metric system.

[@philgray1023]

English education was 16 drams in an ounce, 16 ounces in a pound, 14 pounds in a stone, 8 stones in a hundred weight, depending if that is USA or UK hundred weight. A quart of course varies depending on whether it is a wet or dry quart and a gallon is 8 pints, depending on whether it was a USA gallon, in which case it is 6 and 2 thirds UK pints. This completely bonkers set of systems is countered in Metric countries. Here it is, everything is 10. Next subject nuclear physics. Anyone who has programmed computers recognises the advantages. Programs that calculate weights and measures and prices from non metric economies costs more than programs for metric data. So much so that we have to write routines that convert all data to metric, do the calculations, then convert back using rounding adjustment routines. The big regret is that there are 360 degrees in a circle and 24 hours in a day. Date arithmetic anyone?

[@Jehty_]

It was always impossible for the common man to verify any measurement exactly. How's the common men supposed to get a hold of a kings foot? Or see the yardstick? Or measure the ten-millionth of the distance from the equator to the North Pole? At least the speed of light can be independently be verified. It's not easy, but anyone around the world could do it independently.

[@hrofty]

As an IT professional, I would not use Windows in a situation where my life could depend on it. It's nice OS for work and gaming, but boy oh boy is home versions of Windows unreliable. Especially it's forced auto update system. Modern flavours of Linux such as Ubuntu are extremely easy to get into, can work years without reboot, and you can always dual boot it with windows in case you need to.

[@AlexHibbertOriginals]

Thanks, and noted! I'm vaguely familiar with those other OSs, but at home I'm Mac based, so won't to avoid having too many systems concurrently. I'd certainly not put all my eggs in this one basket though for critical tasks.

[@ysesq]

its fine to use windows. problem with linux is that most of the software he will need is not going to be available on linux. for example, printing out customs forms -- a lot of them are in newer word versions and dont translate well on openoffice. a lot of the charting software just has windows versions. getting data from nmea requires windows drivers. basically linux is a lot of hassle when windows server works very well instead. of course he should be using raid1 and e series non actively cooled server boards but i already put that in my dumbness list. you can kill off windows updates with a GPO and switch it to metered connection so its throttled. its fine on the boat. i run hyperv and linux in one of the VMs but base as windows server is convenient.

[@ThePaulv12]

Careful he doesn't become HALan. So long as he's on land all's good. Watch him when he gets into the water though. He might be faking that he's self aware...

[@dancarter482]

_WARNING_ Alan will become self aware on a suitably sinister sounding date in the future - your future self programmed me to travel back in time to do something about it - unfortunately I lost the instructions and discovered Guinness and snacks so am currently unable to complete my mission - sorrry!

[@user-ou6hx2hy7m]

Bananas should never, I repeat never be brought onto a boat. You are taking unnecessary risks here…

[@AlexHibbertOriginals]

I've only just googled this. Fun reading.

[@torjones1701]

"Metric and 19th Century" Yeah, sure, and you know there's two kinds of countries out there, Those that use Metric and those that have put men on the Moon. :) oh, right... The UK hasn't even put a man in space yet. If you're going to pick a fight, even one as silly and friendly as the Metric Vs Freedom Units fight, might not want to start it when you're quite so far behind, and frankly, getting farther behind every day. I love you Brits, Scotts, Welsh, and all, but you've been resting on your laurels way longer than is healthy. The last British invention that legit helped change the world was Frank Whittle's Jet Engine, and you did everything you could to kill it!

[@AlexHibbertOriginals]

The British widely use imperial here. Miles, feet in height, stone... And many of the Apollo computers used metric internally, and then converted to imperial for display readouts.

[@Jehty_]

You forgot a part. Let me fix it for you: Those that use metric and those that have put men on the moon *by using the metric system*

[@torjones1701]

@AlexHibbertOriginals and I do respect your priorities in keeping pints especially where beer is concerned. Didn't know about those Apollo instruments. Will certainly be looking into that! :)

[@joistein]

It would be good to have radar in the fog. 😎🥸