Aboard Lionheart, I recently decided it was crazy to have the Dell
Latitude running The Cap'n bolted to the serial cable at the chart
table. I want to take it up in the cockpit during my watch in the
night so I can operate the Cap'n without leaving my helm/watch duties.

Ok, so I can easily put a second parallel cable up in the cockpit near
the helm. Our helm on the Amel Sharki is on the forward bulkhead
right over the Noland Multiplexer's cabinet location. But cables
laying out in the weather (shudder)....there's gotta be a better way!

I found it.....a virtual serial port in the computer connected to its
802.11b wireless modem in the PCMCIA port of the Dell Latitude,
connected through a DHCP enabled Netgear wireless router to the serial
port on the NMEA multiplexer. Oh, oh, wait....there's no LAN port on
the NMEA multiplexers....a minor setback. But wait! Here's one now!

http://www.stayonline.com/serial_to_ethernet/3311.asp

This little yellow box is a serial port to network adapter. It acts
just like the Ethernet card in your desktop computer. A router
assigns it a LAN IP address via DHCP protocol and the little box
packets up the serial port I/O data for transmission to anyone
connecting to it. The LAN is from a Netgear MR814 router that has 4
ethernet LAN ports and an 802.11b wireless router in it. The yellow
box and router are mounted up behind the helm, right over the top of
the NMEA multiplexer. Cables are short!

Ok, the NMEA network is on the air, protected from the prying eyes of
that damned sloop we can't stop from passing us by 128-bit encryption
and WEP passwords. (No sense giving your competitor control of your
helm, eh?)..(c; Now, how do I get The Cap'n to think it's connected
to the serial port?? Use "virtual serial port" software, of course!

The WebFoot came with a CD that had "serial port redirector software",
nothing but a driver, to install into the notebook. The notebook only
had COM1 in it so I told this driver to use COM2. Tell the Cap'n
software to connect to COM2 serial port and it doesn't know any better
than it's talking to this virtual serial port software, which handles
the TCP/IP connection to the little yellow box. All for $149.

Hmm...ok, how's it work.

Well, anywhere on the boat, you simply set the notebook down and you
have full control with The Cap'n just as if you were connected
directly to the multiplexer's serial port. In our system, the GPS
data comes through the Raymarine RL70CRC Plus radar/chartplotter
display from the Raystar 120 SeaTalk WAAS-GPS. I don't see any
changes in the operation, at all, just because it's all going through
the router/wireless/redirected serial link. I can sit in the cockpit,
on the bow, even in the head, if you like, and have total control....

I left it all running at the dock to see how far it would go. The
wireless link started getting intermittent about 2 docks away, but
that may be because Ashley Marina has a master station and TWO
repeaters on 802.11b that provides internet service to all the slips
for free to its customers. I might be seeing some interference in
this RF environment......

Hee hee.....The "remotely controlled 41' ketch"......someone bring me
my beach chair. I'll sail it around the island while we're
ashore....(c;

He who dies with the MOST toys WINS!

Hmm....I COULD put that wireless repeater on top of the mainmast......

Hmm....I also might be able to leave it running, connect it also up to
the marina's WiFi link and read the wind/depth/etc. instruments from
the house via the internet......Gotta play with that!


Larry W4CSC

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