Some time ago I was in a discussion with Opps and others about using a computer to drive all the instrumentation on a boat. I picked up a used 30' tritoon last week (still have to go get it) on the cheap that is in decent condition except the furniture so I will be replacing all of it including the helm station. The helm is generic and I have to install all the guages, etc. so I think its a perfect opportunity to go with the computer system and a flat panel display designed for use in sunlight.
So far I plan to have two flat panel (touch) displays at the helm, one for engine/boat management and the other for navigation, water depth, fish finder, etc. The PC I have set up to use is an older Quad Core Intel based machine with 12 Gig of RAM and a terabyte hard drive all in a water tight enclosure.
Obviously this PC can handle a lot more than just these two monitors so I have installed two video cards (ATI) that are dual display so I can attach a total of 4 hires monitors. I stuck a BlueRay drive in it that will handle BlueRay, DVDs, and CDs. It also has 4 USB ports available for things like memory sticks, cameras, etc. I went with a 200 Gig SSD (solid state device) hard drive for the operating system in order to provide fast bootup. (Boot up takes less than 10 seconds from a cold reboot.) There is also a thumb print reader I plan to use instead of an ignition switch and user ID. Finally, a voltage invertor with a small battery backup (and power filter) that should run the system for 15 minutes or so should the boats main battery go dead.
So, that leaves me with what to do next or what to include in the system. One thought is using an older 1024 x 768 hi lumes projector I have for watching video/TV. (I have a nice portable "pull down" type of screen I can mount fairly easily.) I know it will be a hit at the local "party cove" with all my family and friends that are sports nuts.
So here is what I need, ideas on what other features would be of interest. If the sky is the limit, what other electronics would you want on a boat? What new ideas would you like you have not seen before or what overly expensive things that can be done on the existing PC to reduce costs.
Things I am kicking around:
3-G Cell Phone Adapter for Phone and Internet access
Self aligning satelitte dish for TV.
Things I am doing with engine/boat management:
Replace the standard guages across the board and display them on screen.
More monitoring systems than usual including;
Fuel flow
Exhaust Temps.
Oil Temp
Voltage and Amperage draw
Detonation dectection
Lower End Temperature
History of all engine readouts (Stored every 10 - 15 secs to hard drive.)
Use the thumb print reader to set operating limits. (Set max. speed)
Open to any and all ideas!
So far I plan to have two flat panel (touch) displays at the helm, one for engine/boat management and the other for navigation, water depth, fish finder, etc. The PC I have set up to use is an older Quad Core Intel based machine with 12 Gig of RAM and a terabyte hard drive all in a water tight enclosure.
Obviously this PC can handle a lot more than just these two monitors so I have installed two video cards (ATI) that are dual display so I can attach a total of 4 hires monitors. I stuck a BlueRay drive in it that will handle BlueRay, DVDs, and CDs. It also has 4 USB ports available for things like memory sticks, cameras, etc. I went with a 200 Gig SSD (solid state device) hard drive for the operating system in order to provide fast bootup. (Boot up takes less than 10 seconds from a cold reboot.) There is also a thumb print reader I plan to use instead of an ignition switch and user ID. Finally, a voltage invertor with a small battery backup (and power filter) that should run the system for 15 minutes or so should the boats main battery go dead.
So, that leaves me with what to do next or what to include in the system. One thought is using an older 1024 x 768 hi lumes projector I have for watching video/TV. (I have a nice portable "pull down" type of screen I can mount fairly easily.) I know it will be a hit at the local "party cove" with all my family and friends that are sports nuts.
So here is what I need, ideas on what other features would be of interest. If the sky is the limit, what other electronics would you want on a boat? What new ideas would you like you have not seen before or what overly expensive things that can be done on the existing PC to reduce costs.
Things I am kicking around:
3-G Cell Phone Adapter for Phone and Internet access
Self aligning satelitte dish for TV.
Things I am doing with engine/boat management:
Replace the standard guages across the board and display them on screen.
More monitoring systems than usual including;
Fuel flow
Exhaust Temps.
Oil Temp
Voltage and Amperage draw
Detonation dectection
Lower End Temperature
History of all engine readouts (Stored every 10 - 15 secs to hard drive.)
Use the thumb print reader to set operating limits. (Set max. speed)
Open to any and all ideas!
)
