Electronics

As for the electronics - some are allowed by the class rules, like a simple GPS etc. I've started assembling a prototype navigation and monitoring system out of:

• A microcontroller (atmega328P, for now in an arduino pro mini package, maybe i'll go for a standalone 328PB for the additional UART pins, not sure).
• An ESP32 board for an optional wifi interface - a colleague insists I drop the 328 in favour of the MC on this board, not sure about that...
• An absolute orientation sensor (Bosch BNO055, a bit pricey, but looks to be worth the price), that includes a compass and a heel sensor, so more things will be possible like heel corrections etc. Maybe even accelerometer data could be used to estimate the stresses on the hull...
• A NEO-6M GPS module, cheap, but should do the job. Thanks to the price (few bucks) I may include 2 or more for redundancy.
• Some simple low power LCD display for displaying the basics: a 20x4 text display should do. Problem is that would be the only component that needs a 5V power supply (the rest is 3.3v), so maybe even some logic level shifters would be necessary - all that eats power... maybe i'll find a 3.3v display. Or use one of the many well known workarounds...
• Some EEPROM for logging with some power hungry fallback like an SD card reader.
• I don't exclude the possibility of integrating a raspberry pi like solution for a chart plotter and a fancy human user interface. That however would be optional, depending on available power.
• Possibility to hook up an anemometer, maybe some other sensors, definitely water, air and hull temperature.
• Not sure how I feel about trying to integrate an NMEA bus for future upgrades, seems like overkill power consumption wise, probably will stick to I2C, UART and some analogue inputs.

Power source will be a (small) lead acid battery and a small solar panel to keep everything topped up.

I want to keep everything modular and low power, so i'm not sure about the power supplies yet, probably a buck converter for everything but the GPS module which might require a clean power source like an LDO regulator. We will see. In the end I want the basics of the navigation system to be able to operate on a 9v battery for a significant amount of time if need be.

In the picture below some of basic components i'm playing with:

All of the above is well supported software wise, so that is quite easy. After the physical layout and firmware are kinda ready i'm either gonna solder everything on a perforated prototyping board or order a proper PCB if I feel like making a PCB design.

Also not sure about the housing for all of this: plastic or wood, convenience or style.

Tot de volgende keer!