Agreed, I have a RP3 B+ running HA on board as “Boat Assistant”. Using a Nabu Casa subscription as an inbetween. So I can put on/off my heating system, run my webcam from my bedroom, switch on/off the cabin lights, etc. This i only a start!! IMG_20201018_225638|666x500
Is this fun or so?
The coming season I will have a RPi 4 8G with a Pican-M Hat running the navigational part with OpenPlotter, OpenCPN. In the center the Signal-K server. Jigsawing
The AIS transponder data, GPS data and other will all be handled by the NMEA 2000-Signal K connection. The RPi 4 and the housing comes from Freva: See the shop
The same Raspberry Pi will be the center of Internet. I have a Pepwave BR1 MK2 router with dual sim (KPN unlimited data and T-mobile idem), a MicroTik Groove A 52 ac for wifi connections in harbours and as a backup my good old Huawei ES885SLs-93a with a Vodafone sim card. Redundancy!
I’m still learning. I hope to get the Pepwave doing port forwarding to OpenVPN on the RPi.
I like the philosophy here. I left some old, but still working, gear alone on its own NMEA 0183 network when I added newer NMEA 2000 stuff. But I also took the opportunity to cross-connect some where it would be helpful. You can never have too much information, or too many ways to access it, at the helm. As long as you remember that looking out the window is more important than all of it.
I think some folks forget this with their home HA setups. Manual control should always be available. As for letting HA override, I might want to be able to shut off some things remotely, but I like the idea of having others that can’t be.
I’m starting to feel that an AIS transceiver is not really a luxury any more if you’re doing any kind of cruising on coastal waters or rivers. They aren’t cheap, but that’s true of so many much less critical boating-related products.
An autopilot is a huge benefit in some waters, not so much in others. But again, the effort to hobble together a DIY autopilot, along with the reliability hit you take, leaves very little justification for the cost differential. Even if you can save a bit with open-source software, you still have a lot of hardware to install.
The HA setup will be on power at all times, but I’m also installing Axon AX-520 for each battery. These are each operated by a dual throw momentary switch, which means that I can easily attach relays to each side, meaning that as long as I can make Home Assistant only momentarily activate the relay, I will be able to turn on/off battery banks remotely, or even automate it based on other conditions (turning on battery or lights when I’m near the boat f.ex.)
I don’t want to mess too much with it though. Lets say the GPS stops working and Home Assistant thinks my phone and the boat are at two different locations, and then automatically switch off the battery banks while being underway…
Weighing convenience and reliability suddenly matters a lot when you’re moving 5 tons at 30 knots.
Very good point. Most boating gear, including chartplotters and AIS, appear grossly overpriced. But when you look at it from a life safety perspective, sometimes you can justify buying reliable, purpose-built hardware.
I’m not familiar with the dual throw momentary switch setup you mention. I understand what a double-throw switch is, and what a momentary switch is, but I don’t get how that would help you swap battery banks remotely. You mention a relay, but of course that would be another power drain, one way or the other. I’ve run boats with battery isolators which separate the banks when the voltage drops below charging voltage, but that doesn’t sound like what you’re after.
These days, solar panels are cheap enough that you should never worry about batteries going flat because of a few electronics left on to monitor the boat. You didn’t mention solar, so I figured I’d throw that in.
To me, the approach should be KISS. Proven, simple, reliable, mechanical components for key functions like bilge pumps and electrical systems. Off-the-shelf components for safety and navigation systems. And have a ball playing with DIY solutions for monitoring, remote control, etc.
AX-520 has a solid state relay/switch, it only needs a tiny amount of power to enable/disable, which is where the momentary switch comes in. It basically means that you can turn on the main breakers from the dash in your boat (or anywhere else you place the buttons).
The relays would be controlled by Home Assistant, only on/off 1-2 seconds, using no power. In other words, they are just mimicking the momentary switches.
The AX-520 uses no power while switched on or off, only a few mA for the actual switching.
Yeah, I had no idea and found it by accident. I wouldn’t call it a perfect premium product, but considering a motorized BEP switch is $350, I paid in total $250 for 2x AX-520 + 1x AX-521 (DVSR) including shipping and taxes. And that included three switches and hardware.
Bit offtopic, but I really consider an autopilot essential equipment for any kind of serious sailing. Especially if you often sail alone or with very reduced crew. The hardware side, that is. Software integration with WP following, remote heading control and such is a bonus, but not really that useful especially with sail boats. I do have it hardwired to the anemometer though over NMEA. The important part really being able to simply hit that button and being able to leave the tiller or wheel in seconds, if needed.
For really long trips, like crossing the Atlantic or similar, I’m a big fan of low tech windvane steering. No power use, no software crashes A bit finicky to set up, but once it runs you’re good, as long as the wind direction doesn’t change too much.
About AIS, definitely super important for safety. To be perfectly honest though, I often switch off TX when just doing some coastal cruising. I don’t like random (or not so random) people being able to follow my every step on Marinetraffic or Vesselfinder or similar. I always leave RX on though.
And for some ontopic stuff: I ended up removing HA from the boat. I only run Signal-K now (installed over OpenPlotter on a Pi), basically as a glorified NMEA multiplexer and onboard Wifi AP because I’m too cheap for a MiniPlex. It works nicely, although Signal-K has a learning curve too. The Pi also runs OpenCPN, but that’s mostly for toying around and as a backup.
Hi DIYglenn.,
I have a similar setup on my boat … openplotter running on a RPi interfaced via N2K and NMEA0183 to my (Furuno) navigaqtion system.
I am keen to also get HA running on the boat … and my question is: Can I run this on the same RPi which is ruynning openplotter, or do I need a separate RPi?
I already have another RPi running the Victron VenusOS for my power management.
A bit finicky to set up, but once it runs you’re good, as long as the wind direction doesn’t change too much.