Observations and insights from boating world and ashore

Updated 2024-12-13 ! When starting up a new project with Raspberry Pi I like to start up fresh and with a minimal OS.  Therefore i always use Raspberry Pi OS(ROS) Lite and then adding what I need .  Doing it right You don't have to use an external display, keybord and mouse, just a " ssh "  client. Flash to a SSD ? Check this post .

  Updated 2024-12-01 ! In my underfloor heating project, using Node-RED, I have to have one sensing thermometer per room/zone, seems to be 8 in total, so therefore it would be nice with a wireless battery sourced device with good resolution and frequent updates. During the test phase I used a Z-way device but the resolution was pretty bad. Another device mentioned is  the  Ruuvi tag  but since it's a bluetooth device the transmitting range could be better. After some googling I went for 433 MHz devices.

Updated 2024-11-14 ! In a former post I did some hacking/checking how our underfloor heating control system handled the valves, actuators, regulating the heat.  Now it was time to do some tests with Node-RED(NR), with a PID controller ,  and a Shelly 1 (S1) connected via WiFi and driving the actuator. The actuators are in my case controlled by 24 VAC and the S1 accepts 110 - 240 VAC, 24 - 60 VDC and 12 VDC. So in this case it was simple to just add a rectifier and a capacitor, to the 24 VAC, to get approx 36 VDC to source the S1.

Matter is a smart home standard currently being developed by a consortium of over two hundred companies, including big players such as   Apple ,   Google ,   Phillips ,   Amazon   and   Samsung . Many new devices have Matter implemented, from the beginning, but devices, such as most of Shelly devices don't. On the other hand many hubs can be upgraded to Matter support. For example an Apple TV. With a Matter bridge  you can solve the incompability. This post will use  Matter bridge plugin Manager and the Shelly plugin  but it could be other devices shown in the picture below.

Updated 2024-11-14 ! The installation of a CTC heat pump(HP), EcoAir 600 , and the indoor module, Eco Zenith i360 , was not optimal from the beginning, so to monitor it closely I checked how to retrieve data.  The newer CTC HP:s are always shipped with a MODBUS TCP interface, without any additional hardware, which solved the issue. MODBUS was new to me but after some reading and checking I found that there is a NodeRed node which solves the interface dialog.

In my project to get data from the Swegon Casa HRV, FTX, i needed a new solution to distribute the MODBUS data from the CASA. The thing is that I have a Raspberry Pi(RPi) that is the central HUB for everything going on in our house, but away from the CASA, and the data is there  vizualized in a NodeRed dashboard. Since the CASA RTU is serial, using   Waveshare USB to RS 485 ,   and I didn't want to install a new long cabel to the central RPi I used another RPi which is near the CASA.

Updated 2024-11-09 I have been using Shelly devices for quite some time both on our boat , off grid, and also as HomeKit (HK) accessories via Homebridge (HB) .  I was really amazed when I found that some smart guys have created a software package that replaces the stock, official, Shelly firmware with the  "Shelly-HomeKit" package which emulates a "native"  Apple HomeKit accessory. It's very nice done, really simple, and the flashing of the software is done over the air (OTA) with your ordinary WEB-browser.

Updated 2024-11-06 ! Node-Red (NR) is  Flow-based programming for the Internet of Things This post isn't made as a complete install guide, there are several, just some links to the best information I have found. The best thing is that even if you don't are a skilled programmer, but like logic flows, you can make really advanced things. It's pre-installed on some Raspberry Pi(RPi) distributions. Running  Node-Red with  multiple instances  ?

Fresh air at home is very important ! For more than 15 years ago, at a major renovation of our house, we installed an HRV or in Swedish  FTX system . Since then there have been nice updates for FTX equipment so when one of the fans was a little noicy and when the motor for the rotor died it was time to do an upgrade instead of repairing the old one. So we purchased an  CASA R7 Genius (R7). For me its important to get as much data as possible, to optimize energy consumption in our house, so despite that the the R7 have a nice app we also added a SEM interface to get the data, via MODBUS , that is available.

Updated 2024-10-25 I found this amazing application,   AIS-catcher , just scrolling around on Youtube and  it includes "all" you need for an AIS receiver staying ashore or installed on a boat. It is compatible with a wide range of Software Defined Radios (SDRs). These include RTL-SDR dongles (such as the ShipXplorer AIS dongle and RTL SDR Blog v4), AirSpy (Mini/R2/HF+), HackRF, SDRPlay, SoapySDR, and file/network input (ZMQ/RTL-TCP/SpyServer). 

Updated 2024-08-30 !  !! Another SW solution is available for RPi 5 here !  using the same HW. Thanks to Thomas, (the guy with the nice marine interface board ) ,  it's now possible  to decode, one way, the SeaTalk1(ST1) sentences in a pretty simple way. You just  use OpenPlotter(OP) and/or SignalK(SK) and an  Optocoupler . The thing that made it, is that Thomas   has released a "how to" and  Python source code , that will read the data from a GPIO pin on the Raspberry Pi, (RPi), and format it so the standard parser in SignalK can translate it to SignalK delta format. It is then  available as NMEA 0183. It's even possible to send the data in to a NMEA 2000 network, with a proper hardware interface.

Updated 2024-08-15 ! Do You use a floor heating system from LK Systems ? We had a problem that in some rooms, despite that the thermostat worked, the temperature was too high. To check if it was the valve, or something else, I just took away the actuator and forced the valve to be closed. Cable ties did the work. The valve was OK so what was the problem ? Building your own floor heating controller,   PID controller ? 

Updated 2024-07-08 To get information from the NMEA 2000(N2K) network, to the RPi, I have been using  Actisense NGT-1 , for a long time,  and later also the  Yacht Devices YDWG 02  but now it was time for a Raspberry Pi(RPi) CAN hat(CH) from Waveshare(WS). WS have 3 different models but I picked the 2 channel isolated one . It's recommended to use an isolated one which also is demanded for those interfaces which can be approved by the N2K group.

Updated 2024-07-01 ! I like the Raspberry Pi(RPi), with Raspberry Pi OS Lite (no Desktop is included), headless operation, and then adding the software You need. Until now I haven't had a use case where I needed a Desktop but now was time.  Why don't use the Raspberry Pi OS with Desktop ?? In that package there is a lot of software I don't need and I really want to optimize the RPi. I think that the less software You install the happier RPi will be... 😉

Updated 2024-06-30 ! OpenPlotter(OP), a Boat Navigation application, is really a nice and simple installation of OpenPlotter (OP) OpenCPN (OC) SignalK (SK)  and other supporting applications for Your boat. An overall information about the OP package is found  here   and you can watch the OP v4 progress  here .

Updated 2024-06-06 ! After having tested several methods creating a bootable USB SSD, or other USB drive, for Raspberry Pi(RPi) 3 4 and 5, I finished with this simple method Create the setup you want on a ordinary SD card(Or use existing) Make a bootable backup/clone of the SD card saving it to the USB SSD Remove the SD card and boot from the USB SSD Having a RPi 4, 5 ? Use this post on how to write the OS direct to the SSD.  

Updated 2024-06-05 ! Yes, it's really true ! Thats the maximum time it takes to write the Raspberry Pi(RPi) OS to a bootable USB SSD and maybe read this post ? If you have a RPi 4, 5 and a USB SSD or  other USB drive , that works as a boot media, just use  the RPi imager which can write the image direct to  the USB  storage. Having an older RPi ? Use this post instead. If you already have a SD card with working applications and you want to "transfer",  copy/clone,  them to a bootable SSD use this post .

Im using NodeRed together with  Speedtest by Ookla  but just the other day it wasn't showing the right data so it was time for "Bredbandskollen", the command line version. Bredbandskollen has always been a reliable source when testing internet speed.  I'm using their WEB-site and the iPhone app and it have always worked very well. This post will show how to plot data in a graph according to the picture.

Just the other day the backlight for our classic Raymarine E 120, Navigator(MFD), stopped working. It's from 2006 so I'm not surprised that things happen. You may wonder why we keep it instead of buying a new one but the thing is that we have 2 installed together with a well functioning radar so buying new stuff will be a hefty price tag. After some Googling I found out that the backlight is produced by a CCFL , a type of neon light, and can give up after some years. The Googling also gave some tips how to change to a LED backlight. The picture above is showing a test with a short LED light strip to verify the solution, with dimming working, and checking the health of the MFD.

Updated 2024-05-03 ! In Signal K (SK) there are 2 applications, in SK appstore, that can handle charts Freeboard SK (FSK) Tuktuk Chart Plotter (TT) FSK, preinstalled, uses the OpenSeaMap charts(OSC)  when you are online.  If you want to use offline charts or other chart resources you have to install " @signalk/charts-plugin "(CP)

In search of the optimal solution on how to interface our IVT Heat pump,   first try here , I stumbled over   a nice integration   for Home Assistant(HA). A first quick setup is shown at the right. The first obstacle was that it was HA which I knew about but never used.  So it was "back too school" and doing  a blog post  about a HA Core install.

If you are running the IVT Anywhere or the  Bosch Easy remote  app you probably also can  retrieve its data with for example NodeRed.  With the nice application  Bosch XMPP you can set up an integration with the cloud service supplied by your vendor.

Updated 2024-03-01 ! OpenPlotter(OP), a Boat Navigation application, is really a nice and simple installation of OpenPlotter (OP) OpenCPN (OC) SignalK (SK)  and other supporting applications for Your boat. An overall information about the OP package is found here . Install guide for the new stable OP, version 4, is found here .

Updated 2024-02-20 ! A very nice way to fix a backup is to make a copy, bootable, of the actual SD card You are using on the Raspberry Pi(RPi). This will be done even when the RPi is up and running ! This application can also be used to make a bootable SSD or USB drive !! You clone from the command line so You don't need the standard GUI, Pixel, and the " SD card copier "  function. It is also possible to set up a a scheduled job, cronjob explained later, which for example makes a clone every night at 1 o'clock.

Updated 2024-02-08 GRIB is a data format , used for meteorology, to store historical and forecast weather data.  The use case for me was analyzing forecast data, from GRIB files, so an early warning could be rised before a high water level or coming storm appears. This could then be used at our weather site . There are several applications , also ones that visualizes the data, but this post will handle how to extract data from files using command line. Forecast without GRIB files ? Check this API for Europe.

I have used the TP-link Deco M9 for quite a while and it have worked very well. Since almost 2 years I have used mobile broadband as a source for the Mesh network, at home, via a   Nokia Fastmile (NF) with no direct flaws. Getting a very nice offer, half the monthly cost, for mobile Internet from our mobile phone  operator it was time to test something new. Since I probably will have to return the Nokia receiver quitting the old supplier I had to test the new provider with some other equipment. Running the Teltonika RUT 240 (TR) in our yacht, in the summertime, it was available for testing.

Updated 2024-01-20 !! OK with Bookworm !! This post covers the setup for a AIS, dual channel , receiver for Raspberry Pi(RPi) with systemd autostart. I'm using the RTL-SDR dongle V3 with almost zero temperature drift or the even better  NooElec NESDR Nano 3 AIS posts with charts/maps OpenSeaMap and dispatcher   OpenStreetMap and dispatcher Improve receiving range? Calibrate ! Instructions in this post The best AIS application ?  is found here  !

Updated 2024-01-07 ! OK with Bookworm & PHP 8.2 ! As a part of one of my project,  the ultimate Weather site ? Weather34 , I needed a WEB-host with PHP. I started up with a fresh Raspberry OS Lite SD Card  with Samba installed . Log on, with ssh/terminal to the RaspberryPi(RPi),  in this case hostname "pws01",  and update the OS with sudo apt update sudo apt full-upgrade -y sudo apt clean go on and install the Apache server with sudo apt install apache2

Updated 2024-01-05 OK with Bookworm ! If You want that the Raspberry Pi(RPi), shall appear in MS File Explorer or Mac Finder, as a File server, the easiest way is to install Samba. This also makes it much easier if You want to edit files on the RPi with editors from Your MS/Apple device. Or maybe moving files from/to the RPi.