Larry wrote:
Matt Colie wrote in news:A8%Ig.1676$Wf3.379
@newsfe02.lga:


I just put almost that on an owners new boat.
http://www.tacktick.com/
It's all BT and solarpowered (except the depth sounder needs a

battery).

It doesn't quite have the functionality you looking for, but may with
the next firmware upgrade.
Matt Colie




Lionheart is wifi-powered, herself. The serial port on a Noland
multiplexer goes to a Webfoot serial-to-ethernet interface:
http://www.i****chdogs.com/DataSheets/WF111803.pdf
It's fully DHCP addressable and gets its IP from a Netgear wireless
router's Ethernet port. Up to 256 wifi devices can connect to it, like
The Cap'n running in the nav laptop through the "virtual serial port"
software that came with the Webfoot. This handles the problem of serial
interface only on The Cap'n's archaic interface. With the Wifi laptop,
you can get data off the boat even up in the parking lot of the marina,
half a mile away.

One day I happened to have the laptop in my haulings and stopped by the
marina office to discuss an electrical problem due to salt rot in the
pedestal box. "Which slip is your boat in?", they asked me. I couldn't
remember the number, so whipped out the laptop and brought it out of
hibernation as I knew the system on the boat was running when I left.
Booted the Cap'n and clicked FIND SHIP zoomed in tight and said, "Right
HERE on J-dock, as you can see by the live display from our network.", as
the marina people noticed the boat moving slightly on her GPS string and
the depth changing slightly because the tide happened to be ripping out.

I think we could sail it from the beach or dingy quite a ways away, sorta
"remote control". With this in mind, I WEP protected the router so some
smartassed competitor in a race couldn't take control...not good...(c;

With the wifi link, it all integrates quite nicely to the old NMEA
network, just like it were on a wired serial cable. It's totally
transparent to The Cap'n and the users, who do nothing but turn it on.
Great fun laying on a beanbag with the computer on your lap, beer in one
hand, clicking a new waypoint and calling back to the slaves in the
cockpit, "COMING ABOUT!" as the big wheel spins over by the B&G Pilot
tugging on her rudder post bellcrank.

Look on their faces when it worked the first time?......PRICELESS.

Larry
Third Mate - Bilge Pumps and Electronics


I think you may want to go a little farther than depending on WEP for
protecting your network... Netstumbler requires about 1 minute's worth
of traffic to break a WEP key.

bob