Hello Meinert,

Thank you for your proposal Meinert. I have also been visiting
your homepage. Very interesting and inspiring! By reading many of
the 'letters' in this and other news groups, I have seen your
many relevant comments. Being an 'electronic amateur', I'm not
sure, I fully understand your input in this case. Sorry for that.
Maybe a little clarification from my side can help, as I find
myself 'fighting with incompatible solutions' so to speak ...

On the actual RayMarine Seatalk-system, that is totally
integrated, I do have a
"PC-SeaTalk-NMEA Interface Box Product Number: E85001:
Interface adapter used to connect PCs running RayTech
software to the Raymarine SeaTalk data network. Can also be used
to connect NMEA 0183 devices and computers running NMEA 0183
compatible navigation software to the SeaTalk network."

The above text is taken directly from
http://www.raymarine.com/raymarine/P...duc t_id=2976

Unfortunately, I have not been succesful in establishing
any kind of meaningful communication between that interface and
my notebook applications DLSK and Maptech Navigator Lite ... I'm
still trying to figure out, what the problem is: The serial
cable? The serial to USB cable? The serial port on the PC, The
E85001 box? Right COM port? Conflict? or ... or ...

Back to my problem: Among other things, I have a
Scandinavian navigation system -DLSK - in case you read some
Danish - here is a link:
http://www.kms.dk/C1256BBB0028D4B5/(AllDocsByDocId)/3C9CB235258BF63CC1256BDB002B4EC6?open&page=detleve ndeskort2&omr=KORT_FRITIDSSEJLADS
it is not compatible with anything else. (I am afraid, that this
link is a bit too long or what?).

The DLSK-system consists of 3 CD's with some two hundred
sea maps covering the waters around Denmark, Southern Norway, and
Western Sweden, harbours, and differenet themes. I used to work
with this system in combinantion with my old Garmin GPS on my
former boat. That did cost me a notebook - unfortunately -
because the PC did not like the 'salt taste of Kattegat' ... but
it worked ... until ... That program does not run on a PDA. As I
would like to keep my new notebook 'down under' protected from
the wawes of Kattegat and Skagerak, I'm trying to figure out how
to use my PDA (that does not have blue tooth, but a little
RoyalTek GPS unit) as a screen 'reflecting' the monitor of the
notebook, that runs the DLSK application/maps. It is in no way my
intention to try to integrate this system with the Raymarine
Seatalk System - except, maybe, for the use of the GPS, as I
would like to use the Ray GPS on the notebook two - via the above
mentioned interface: Seatalk --- NMEA.

If it was not for the DKK, £ or $, I think I would buy the
RayMarine package ... but as I think I have most of the
components for establishing a 'cockpit-chartplotter-solution', I
think that will be, well ... my short term solution. (My
'captain' supports this view point very strongly). As she is
saying: We have always been able to mange with all the paper maps
.... and ... isn't she right?

In short - that was my reason for asking Bruce for some
more information about his solution with a combination of a
notebook (in the drawer) running the navigations package and the
PPC in the cockpit - 'controlling' the notebook with some
software called vnc, something, by the way, I don't know anything
about. But his statemenst made me curious. I have also tried to
address this question to some it-related newsgroups ... so far
without a useful answer ...

Do you think your NMEA multiplexer could play an active
role in my situation? Or are we talking on different subjects? If
so, I do apologise. As to the Maptech application, that can be
run on a PDA/PPC (I don't know the real difference between these
two terms): As my PPC has its own GPS unit, I don't think I would
need any multiplexor in that case - right? And the PPC unit can
not read the C-Map charts that are used in the Raymarine chart
plotter ... do you know whether the RC530 could output some
useful information to the PDA/PPC?

Again sorry for my language. There are so many words I know
in Danish ... and I'm a little confuse to be honest - so I'm
trying to make myself understandable - hope you are tolerant and
flexible ... Best regards



--
Flemming Torp
'Even the worst day sailing is better than the best day working'
....

"Meindert Sprang" skrev i en
meddelelse ...
Hej Flemming,

Could one of our NMEA multiplexers be of any use? We have a
version that
translates Seatalk into NMEA and broadcasts the NMEA data over
Bluetooth to
a PDA running standard navigation software.
Take a look at www.shipmodul.com and select MiniPlex-41BT or
MiniPlex-42BT
from the Products page.

Meindert

"Flemming Torp" fletop(kanelbolle)2rp.d(anmar)k wrote in
message
. ..
Hello Bruce,

Tried to use your mailing address - no success ... sorry!

In the newsgroup aus.sport.sailing - 12-02-2005, I read with
great interest about your set up in your boat ... It is a
solution, I'm very much after.

Just recently, I bought a 'new' sailboat - 15 years old...
It is equipped with rather new Raymarine instruments - ST60
series - 230 VHF, RC 530 Chart Plotter, and 4000 tiller
Autopilot - all elements are connected in a SeaTalk net ...
The instruments are visible from the cockpit, but the VHF
and the chartplotter, are mounted ind the cabin. As I do not
want to make physical changes to this set up, and as I do
have a notebook and a PPC with a GPS (a little RoyalTek RGM
2000-thing), I'm looking for a cheap solution to my
'cockpit-chartplotter-problem' ...

I find the prices of the Raymarine hsb2 interface plus their
RNS navigations software far too stiff for my budget, and as
I already do have some sea maps from Maptech and some nordic
electronic maps = versions, that are not compatible with
anything else in the world - (called 'the living seamap' =
DLSK - but they cover all of Denmark, Southern and Western
Sweden and Southern part of Norway) ... I'm pretty eager to
use, what I have ...

I have - therefore and for the time being - reduced my level
of ambition from a totally 'Raymarine' integrated system
based on C-Map charts and RNS 5.0 - to a more modest level:
Run my notebook with the maps/applications I have (Navigator
Lite from Maptech and DLSK) - 'hook up' a USB-GPS to the PC,
and somehow 'connect' the PPC to my notebook PC (Win XP) so
I can keep my notebook 'down under' but with access from/or
'controlled by' my PPC.

I don't have bluetooth, so I will have to accept cables - or
what? ... at least in the first implementation I'm afraid
...

As I'm not at all competent within this field of 'system
integration', I would very much appreciate, if you would
accept to give me a little more detailed information about
how I should go about, if I want to implement the solution,
you have outlined in your 'letter' to the newsgroup.

I do not intend to integrate the system with the RayMarine
system. So my problem is 'only' to establish a
'cockpit-chartplotter-function' i.e. the right connection
between the notebook PC and the PPC running windows ...
Microsoft Pocket PC vers. 3.0.11171.

As I'm very 'intrigued' by the wireless solution, I'm
curious as to what it takes to implement that set up in my
case ... I have been at the vnc homepage, which I find very
interesting, but hard to understand ... my age and my weak
background within this field - unfortunately ... If you will
help me, I will be happy - thank you!

Being a Dane, I have problems finding the correct words
etc., but I do hope my mail is understandable.

Best regards


--
Flemming Torp
'Even the worst day sailing is better than the best day
working'
...