How OpenCPN and SignalK Replaced Our Expensive Navigation Software

We have recently ditched our expensive navigation software in favor of Signal K and OpenCPN, free alternatives. When planning passages, we can now plot the best course for the weather and current, transfer that course to multiple devices aboard Sabado, overlay radar, and customize our anchor watch alarm. Using Grafana and influxDB, we have also designed a page displayed on our nav desk monitor screen (and on mobile devices while away) that tracks our energy and water levels, refrigeration temperatures, propane and fuel tank levels, and more! The color-coded data and speech-enabled alarms have taken the mystery out of our boat: we can check everything on one screen, and there are no unidentified beeps!
An added bonus to this new system is that it is all free and open-source software, including the Linux operating system.
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[@thats-no-moon]

GREAT setup, I would love to see a couple of in-depth videos on this.

[@geezenslaw]

Agreed: no OEM names or parts list guide to purchase and setup a system on my own...

[@HollyandRay]

There is more info up on our Patreon. :)

[@thats-no-moon]

@@HollyandRay Haha, perfect timing, we just today bought a Rassy in perfect condition but with the original electronics etc. from the 80s :-) I will take a look at your Patreon when she's in our berth next month

[@HollyandRay]

Wow! That sounds like such an exciting project… We’ve got a couple of wiring diagrams and a document detailing our monitor setup on Patreon + some back and forth comments we hope you find helpful- plus, we’re happy to respond to private messages on there too! Congratulations on your new gal!⛵️

[@SailingNahoa]

Thanks for sharing! Super cool to see alternatives to the proprietary closed ecosystems.

[@HollyandRay]

Thank you, we have been so impressed!

[@gordonrjones]

Nice to see someone using linux...😀

[@HollyandRay]

😃

[@Lana_Warwick]

I know right, watch out for the ignorant W fans

[@CaptainJohn1972]

One more addition to request a deep dive. I have one B&G at the helmstation and another at the nav station. Be happy to rip out the navstation one and replace with your setup. Thank you for showing us the possibility!!

[@HollyandRay]

Thank you! We will work on putting something together. :)

[@angelomazzone7939]

Wow clearly a great system. Great information and as always learned a few things. The best system of all however is you. You make it all come together and even though there are always challenges they are dealt with quickly and efficiently. Thanks for sharing your adventures.

[@HollyandRay]

Thank you, Angelo! 💛

[@raydannemiller5086]

Great video! I’m a few years out but you really need to do a series on this setup!

[@HollyandRay]

Thank you! We’re working on it! :)

[@ottotimmons]

That was a great overview!

[@HollyandRay]

Thank you!

[@TrimaranSpirit]

Brilliant video thanks for sharing! love the OSS setup it’s hard to beat it and it’s clear that it’s the direction everything is heading towards. Hard for software companies to compete with a passionate OS community that knows what’s needed within the UI and UX. B&G and Simrad will soon be hardware only manufacturers making sensors that plug into these types of setups. We saw you guys in Vista Mar Panama I think?

[@HollyandRay]

Hey! Thanks for watching! Yeah, there are just so many great free options out there that are better than what's offered by B&G, Raymarine, etc. Between OpenCPN and qtVlm, we don't need any of the other offerings. Yes, thank you so much for bringing the block for our main halyard to us! 😀

[@iplparm]

This is great. Thanks for sharing.

[@HollyandRay]

Thanks for watching! :)

[@peterhagen7258]

I've had OpenCPN on my last 3 laptops. I use a Serial/USB connected GPS antenna (Several brands Under $100, including Garmin) which is smaller than a mouse. I used it as a backup/secondary chart plotter for several deliveries (US Coastal) .Since I can add more interfaces to the laptop, I can store the charts and tracks on a separate disk, thumbdrive, etc. (or NA-based disk) I can have all the data backed up and even use any other PC on-board. It also lets me do voyage planning anywhere I can have my laptop. You could also add a 2nd monitor and mount it remotely as a duplicate of the main screen to have the display in 2 places. P.S. all of the U.S. charts are free to download and the process to DL or update is pretty painless, but the post-DL process can take a little while (it's not instant) You can runi it on multiple platforms and transfer waypoints, routes or recorded tracks back & forth.

[@ekingrealtor]

RAY! you so smart. We just use the red sky at night, sailors delight and just go with that.

[@HollyandRay]

If it works, it works! 😉 Miss you lots.

[@bryanmyers9977]

I would like to see more on this. For instance what can it NOT do? Looks like you have radar displayed. How about anti collision sonar? Exterior camera feeds? More on the hardware too?

[@HollyandRay]

Working on putting together more details for you!

[@brendarobinson2538]

Well done :)

[@HollyandRay]

Thank you! :)

[@phildolling8348]

Really love what you have done. You have gone beyond what I have managed on my Lagoon. I only got the OpenCPN, Signal K, KIP and Grafana items working. I am very interested in how you linked to the B&G (and yes I agree, I also used OpenCPN to avoid spending $5,000 on another B&G display). I currently use RPi - do you think the NUC is more versatile? Thanks

[@HollyandRay]

Hey Phil, thanks! If all you want to do is view the B&G, that can easily be done with network streaming. However, if, like us, you wish also to control it, we’re using a Python script to accomplish that. With everything that we’re doing, for us to maintain a very responsive system, we needed to use the NUC. However, the RPi is great for collecting data!

[@phildolling8348]

@@HollyandRay I will definitely look into that as I would love to control the Zeus from the nav station. I may tap you up for more info if you don't mind, but it gives food for thought and a good winter project :)

[@wsturner88]

Thank you for sharing this, I have been playing around with open plotter on a Raspberry pi 4. Would love to know more about the hardware you are running, seems like your system is more responsive. Great Setup!

[@HollyandRay]

Thank you! We’re working on a detailed hardware list that will be posted on our Patreon soon. :)

[@trev0239]

Just boot openplotter from an SSD and it runs amazingly quick

[@gobbledegookydokey]

BBN Marine OS is more ahead and runs on pi4 and pi5

[@ThomasLarsen01]

Hi! Great video, very informative. I'm particularly interested in how you control the B&G chartplotter from your PC using the Python script. Could you share more detailed information about this, maybe a brief explanation or a link to where I can find the script? Also, it's really nice to see tech-savvy sailors on KZbin. More tech content is much appreciated! Thanks!

[@HollyandRay]

Hi Thomas! Thank you for your kind words! We love hearing from fellow techie sailors🤓 We’ve posted more info (and the script we used) on our Patreon, if you’re interested.

[@jamieburnett2261]

Can you go a little deeper on this subject in the comments or in your blog? Maybe sharing the hardware your using for the touchscreen and if you have a NAS, etc?

[@HollyandRay]

Sure! Might take us a bit to write everything out, but we’ll post about it when we get it up.

[@brentjs1979]

Very cool

[@HollyandRay]

Thank you! :)

[@SailingPennyLaneNL]

Nice setup, especially the flush mounted monitor! What monitor are you using?

[@HollyandRay]

It’s from Beetronics!

[@svmagnolia]

Great video! What dashboard are you using for wind, speed, depth, etc readouts on openCPN? Also, what Caribbean charts are you using with OpenCPN. I have NV charts for the Bahamas, which are very good, but am looking for charts for the area from DR to Grenada.

[@HollyandRay]

We’re using O-Charts for the Caribbean. The dash is set up using KIP.

[@svmagnolia]

@@HollyandRay Thanks!

[@HollyandRay]

@svmagnolia no problem! :)

[@ralph9987]

Looks gr8. Do you have a set by step guide for dummies that shows more details and apps uses and how you import nmea2k data and radar info? Thanks

[@HollyandRay]

We’ve posted two wiring diagrams and a deep dive document on our Patreon! Planning to post even more on there in 2024. :)

[@moonhand8311]

Very, very impressive indeed but, alas, you have to be a highly expert developer/ techie to do this. So, without any A to Z how-to, it's a pipe dream for 99 per cent of us. If you put this all together I'm sure you could make a living just selling it

[@andrewyork3869]

I am a developer always looking for intriguing things to work on. (I also just got passed on a job for not having enough UI/UX experience.) Could you elaborate on what makes this difficult to use?

[@Steve-qn8gn]

How’s it difficult?

[@ToddBryantsr]

This is awesome. I have a few questions -- which tablet are you using? I saw you swipe through multiple screens and it looks very cool. Also have you looked at the open-source project Chaos Genius? It is an anomoly detection project that can alert you when something goes out of spec. I think it would be cool to integrate in your setup.

[@HollyandRay]

Hey, Todd! Thanks. The monitor is from Beetronics, and we haven’t heard of Chaos Genius- we may need to look into it! :)

[@captainkenny6092]

Wonderful system, I’m personally more into commercial vessels. However, I’m curious how are you able to share the data over starlink to view remotely?

[@HollyandRay]

We have a VPN server onboard with Starlink that allows us to connect remotely!

[@mkolesnik]

Can u pls share more on the hardware, OS and software packages used for your navdesk dusplay? How did u integrate it with bg and radar? Links? Much appreciated appreciated. Thx!

[@HollyandRay]

We have put together some documents & wiring diagrams about this on our Patreon! :)

[@fredflintstone1428]

A great video about a great alternative to the big name systems. Does anybody know of a KZbinr who has installed a system from scratch? I'm currently completing a 40ft cat that has nothing installed yet, no depth sensors, tank sensors etc. Where does one start?

[@gordansket]

Could you please share what display have you used? The one attached to NUC. BTW, I'm building the same for our boat. Also, have you used any DC/DC converters to stabilize the 12V or are you using the "12V" directly from the batteries?

[@HollyandRay]

The monitor is from Beetronics, and yes- Victron! We are posting all details on our Patreon. :)

[@SailingNoRegrets]

Great video. I was looking at the B&G ZC2 unit control from our nav desk, how are you controlling your plotter from the touchscreen? Is this possible? I thought I was stuck with the clunky rotary wheel on the ZC2.

[@HollyandRay]

Thanks! :) We’re using a python script to control the B&G from the touchscreen, which is connected to the same network as the Zeus.

[@SailingNoRegrets]

@HollyandRay how on earth did you find or develop that? Can you please point me in the right direction. We're getting our new boat sorted and controlling the Zeus by touch not the ZC2 rotary dial would be much better. I've sent you a message through IG if that's better

[@HollyandRay]

Hehehe🤓 We messaged you back on IG!

[@spencerogden]

@@HollyandRay More info on the python script controlling B&G would be much appreciated!

[@HollyandRay]

@spencerogden its up on our Patreon!

[@bill2292]

What is the best tutorial you've found? I download the program and a ton of charts and can't seem to manipulate the charts very easily.

[@HollyandRay]

We found the online manual really helpful, but maybe we’ll work on putting together something more detailed for you guys!

[@davethemmp]

Pretty sweet system, I am working on this type of a system but my cpu is a Pi 5, I don’t have a generator or much Solar on my monohull so I have to conserve power and run the diesel to supplement my solar, any chance we can see a copy of your nav schematic?

[@HollyandRay]

Thank you! Sounds like a fun project you’ve got going there… we spent a lot of time and effort mapping out two wiring diagrams of our system, they’re both available on our Patreon if you’re interested! :)

[@Necrotic99]

Can you go more in-depth on the various sensors? like did it come with fuel and water levels or did you install them? if so how are you getting the signal and how do you do the processing?

[@HollyandRay]

We discuss the sensors we used in the Q&A video we posted after this. You can find it in our “Boat Tour + Gear + Tech” playlist!

[@Necrotic99]

@@HollyandRay Excellent thanks!

[@HollyandRay]

Of course! :)

[@westmc45]

Just found this page and am interested in setting this up on my Lagoon 380 I just bought, is there a way to contact you directly or do you have more videos on this. I subscribed to your channel too.

[@HollyandRay]

Hello! We have two wiring diagrams and some additional info up on our Patreon, and you’re welcome to message us there or on Instagram (@sv_sabado). :)

[@HopeOfJoe]

Thanks guys ‼️ Is it possible to point us to some deeper "how to" get an install information?? Links would be good. Thanks a bunch......again. 😊💕 See you next time.✨ 🌊 💨 ⛵️ 🏝️ 👙 🌞 ✨

[@HollyandRay]

We’ll work on putting something more detailed together. :)

[@markph0204]

What are you running opencpn on? Raspberry?

[@markph0204]

Answered after I left this -- Intel NUC with touch screen on 12V power; 24 TB storage (entertainment)

[@PiotrKundu]

What monitor are you using?

[@HollyandRay]

It’s by Beetronics!

[@PiotrKundu]

@@HollyandRay Oh, that's a Swedish company and their office is 500m from my apartment! Thank you so much.

[@HollyandRay]

@PiotrKundu Oh man, what a coincidence! When you go in tell them we LOVE their monitor!

[@cornelisvanderbent8569]

Seems wind direction is not low-pass filtered in software, showing every value on screen, making the UI unpleasant to look at and less meaningful. Are there options in OpenCPN to fix this?

[@HollyandRay]

Yes, you can apply dampening!

[@cornelisvanderbent8569]

@@HollyandRay That's good! Thanks for letting me know.

[@HollyandRay]

No problem! :)

[@jopojopo4238]

very cool functionality. Usability seems a nightmare though.

[@HollyandRay]

It’s been great for us!

[@davidweeks1997]

What? No Star Trek noises? Yet! I mean, why not? :-)

[@HollyandRay]

How did we not think of this… 😂

[@alxmnslv]

what touch monitor is that? is it waterproof?

[@HollyandRay]

It’s from beetronics, it’s not waterproof but there are options if you’re looking to install one at the helm.

[@alxmnslv]

@@HollyandRay thanks! They look fantastic, almost designed for a boat.

[@Lana_Warwick]

Thank you for this - I love that smarter brains than mine code opensource for us. Do you still need any B&G (or other) with that setup? Could you just have a laptop, maybe some kind of raspberry Pi setup, even controlling a cheap generic motor for auto pilot, etc? I mean, if you were starting out with nothing on the cheap, how would you set it up? What sends fridge, cooling, monitoring signals? Lighting protection? (I'm also🏴‍☠crew, background giggle). So many Q's. Could do a vlog series for dummies on this subject, diagrams, etc, cause u just confused 90+% of ur viewers @11:20 😕🤔🤣

[@HollyandRay]

Thank you! All great Qs… we’re hoping to put something more detailed together that could answer those for ya! :)

[@Lana_Warwick]

@@HollyandRay Great! I know from experience it can be hard to dumb noob ur brain back sometimes, especially for oldies (I do home IT repairs), but the simpler u make it, the less repeated Q's, frustration. Win them on how to save a buck, they'll tell all their oldie friends, subs & possibly patreon will blow-up.

[@Cacheola]

I'm interested in why you didn't go with Raspberry Pi

[@HollyandRay]

Because we use that computer for a lot more than just openCPN. :)

[@Cacheola]

@@HollyandRay Ah so. I'm setting up an RPi server. Prefer redundancy and a dedicated system with low power consumption. Good setup you've got and great video, cheers

[@Tb0n3]

On most of my machines that I use for gaming I run Arch. It's very poorly supported because there's no native build so it has to be built from source. Thanks to that, all the plugins have to be built from source too and many of them are outdated. I suppose the bleeding edge nature of arch isn't needed on a chart plotter like it is for games. I believe you said Debian. Does Debian seem to have all the features you need for both opencpn and media?

[@HollyandRay]

Hey, thanks for watching! Debian is very well supported but Ubuntu would probably be best. We had a couple issues with Ubuntu and our touchscreen but debian worked well. OpenCPN, while we do have it, isn't what we use now. We are now using qtVlm and find it much better for our use.

[@Tb0n3]

@@HollyandRay what was your reasoning for changing? It seems to me like opencpn isn't getting much development anymore. Maybe depreciated is that why? Open CPN seemed nice because it was very extensible is qtvlm just as versatile?

[@user-ht3ff3ub8u]

I really appreciate the game *WHITEDUMPS* you really helpin fr. You a real one, continue spreading the glitch sauce. Good human and mentor

[@TheAaronAndShara]

Do you have a link to the touchscreen that you are running at the NavDesk please? Thanks!

[@HollyandRay]

It’s the Beetronics 19 inch metal! They’ve raised the price since we purchased🙄

[@TheAaronAndShara]

@@HollyandRay Thank you so much!

[@HollyandRay]

@TheAaronAndShara no problem! Thanks for watching :)