Hi @neilleonard1764, there are some pros and cons. The calypso windmeter has no rotating parts and is completely self-contained + if you take the wireless one, you don't need a cable. On the other hand, it's not that cheap and if you don't want to buy the extra piece of hardware (bluetooth receiver with NMEA support) you need to tinker yourself a solution. It took me some time to figure out a DIY solution, but currently I'm satisfied and until now, I didn't had any problems (1 year of use). Another pro, if you need to take down your mast once a year or more, the risk of breaking things is a bit less. I've put a link into the description of the parts, I was using.
@@8bitsailing Great, thank you! I'll have a similar setup to you. I'm curious, why do you need the Wifi router? Aren't you able to setup RPi4 as an access point?
@@neilleonard1764 Awesome! I think it's a quite solid and cheap alternative to the big commercial ones. I've already used my setup for apprx. 600 nautical miles without any issues. About the Router: At first I was using the PI as an Accesspoint. Due to short range I was using a USB Wifi dongle, but it turned out, that to much power was drained through USB. This led to problems with my other USB peripherals and power outtakes of the PI. Since it's quite anoying if the network breaks down I was looking for something more reliable. The router which I'm using is quite nice, because the PI is now Connected via Ethernet + I've a board wifi, which is super stable. In addition, the router supports the option to connect to another Wifi (e.g. in the Port) and acts as a Internet Gateway so that you have an active internet connection in your boards Wifi.
Thanks for this. I'm exploring a similar setup. How have you found the Calypso Windmeter? Would you recommend it?
Hi @neilleonard1764,
there are some pros and cons. The calypso windmeter has no rotating parts and is completely self-contained + if you take the wireless one, you don't need a cable. On the other hand, it's not that cheap and if you don't want to buy the extra piece of hardware (bluetooth receiver with NMEA support) you need to tinker yourself a solution.
It took me some time to figure out a DIY solution, but currently I'm satisfied and until now, I didn't had any problems (1 year of use).
Another pro, if you need to take down your mast once a year or more, the risk of breaking things is a bit less.
I've put a link into the description of the parts, I was using.
@@8bitsailing Great, thank you!
I'll have a similar setup to you. I'm curious, why do you need the Wifi router? Aren't you able to setup RPi4 as an access point?
@@neilleonard1764 Awesome! I think it's a quite solid and cheap alternative to the big commercial ones. I've already used my setup for apprx. 600 nautical miles without any issues.
About the Router:
At first I was using the PI as an Accesspoint. Due to short range I was using a USB Wifi dongle, but it turned out, that to much power was drained through USB. This led to problems with my other USB peripherals and power outtakes of the PI.
Since it's quite anoying if the network breaks down I was looking for something more reliable. The router which I'm using is quite nice, because the PI is now Connected via Ethernet + I've a board wifi, which is super stable. In addition, the router supports the option to connect to another Wifi (e.g. in the Port) and acts as a Internet Gateway so that you have an active internet connection in your boards Wifi.