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Old 02-08-2020, 02:21 PM   #1
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Nav Computer Monitor

Our boat came with an old Furuno MFD, the charts are crap but the radar is nice, so I installed a Nuk running Nobeltec for charting. The Nuk is fine running on either AC or DC. I would like to find a good monitor to use with it that can run on 12VDC. Anyone have some experience with a product they would recommend?
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Old 02-08-2020, 02:31 PM   #2
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I have a Planar Helium PCT2235 Touch Screen 22" monitor that I love, connected to a NUC as well, running TimeZero at my salon helm. It works in bright sun, with sunglasses on, and has very accurate touch, which I like so I don't have to search for the mouse.

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However, it is not DC powered, and definitely not good for outdoors. I looked at many different options, and the quality of the screen or touch interface suffered if you go to the marine-grade outdoor stuff, or choose one that runs off of DC power. I did find some that were close, but the price tag was in the $2000-3000 range, which I think is insane to spend the money on, considering an MFD is a similar cost, and you're really not getting anything special.....
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Old 02-08-2020, 03:00 PM   #3
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That Planar unit looks nice. I currently use a standard 22” home computer monitor that cost less than $100. Works fine and with a wireless mouse, everything does what I want it to. The screen is located too far from the helm to make touchscreen something useful.
I am mostly looking to switch to something DC, long story but the short version is that it would be the simplest short term fix. I know dedicated marine monitors are stupid expensive and was just wondering if there is a cost effective solution. I currently run through a cheap inverter on the dash, just looking for other options.
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Old 02-08-2020, 03:21 PM   #4
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I am mostly looking to switch to something DC, long story but the short version is that it would be the simplest short term fix. I know dedicated marine monitors are stupid expensive and was just wondering if there is a cost effective solution. I currently run through a cheap inverter on the dash, just looking for other options.
Gotcha. For DC monitors, I usually look at car or industrial displays. I've used several from Logic Supply (now Onlogic) and they seem to have a few, although their site seems harder to navigate now:

https://www.onlogic.com/computers/co...rial-displays/

On the AC side, I've installed a dedicated, small Victron inverter for my salon, independent from my existing larger Victron setup, which is dedicated to running my NUC, USB hub, and Planar monitor. This opened up a ton of other options in terms of the monitor, and it ensures that the NUC is running off of it's original power supply. While it adds a bit more expense and takes up some space, I like the fact that I can use more off the shelf stuff, as I know in 2-3 years there will be better monitor and PC tech that I might want to swap out. If I spent $700 on a DC monitor, I might not do that for 5+ years...

I've been pondering whether running the NUC off of a 12v battery bank has caused some of my issues, which is why I decided to run the current one off of an inverter + it's factory supply. One of mine died after about 6 months, and Intel blamed the lower voltage, although I am not 100% sure I believe them since the circuitry inside can handle it. I've had 2 die in the last 3 years, both on boats. I use NUCs at work, and we have over 400 deployed with only two failures, so .... Who knows....
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Old 02-09-2020, 09:33 AM   #5
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What is a NUC?
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Old 02-09-2020, 10:02 AM   #6
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What is a NUC?

It's a small, low power consumption PC.
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Old 02-09-2020, 10:36 AM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ventana View Post
Our boat came with an old Furuno MFD, the charts are crap but the radar is nice, so I installed a Nuk running Nobeltec for charting.

Charts are crap? Something other than latest NOAA raster and vector charts, or the optional C-Map or Navionics vector options?

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Old 02-09-2020, 10:55 AM   #8
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If your using 12 v DC for power you need a regulated power supply. Maybe the NUC isn't well regulated ?? The power fluctuations from starting and charging are the problem.
Before the age of tablets and auto head units with screens I fooled around with running a PC in a car. Almost every thing in a computer runs off 12v or 5.5 v. The power supply just converts 120 ac to 12 volt dc. Found a regulated power supply that plugged into the 24 pin socket on the motherboard that the PC power supply plugged into. Of course it was 12 v only then.
No idea if anything like that is available now.
For the monitor look for one with a 'brick' in the power cord. Used to be you could find one where the 'brick' was a transformer that reduced the voltage to 12 v DC.
Like I said ancient history. Now a smartphone or tablet will do most of what you want.
And finding one view able in daylight will be a challenge.
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Old 02-09-2020, 12:08 PM   #9
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Charts are crap? Something other than latest NOAA raster and vector charts, or the optional C-Map or Navionics vector options?

-Chris
The charts that came with the Furuno are old Cmap, it is an old pre-TZ unit.
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Old 02-09-2020, 12:14 PM   #10
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And finding one view able in daylight will be a challenge.
Doesn’t seem to be as big an issue for us. The wheelhouse window placement might be part of it, but I suspect our location has a lot to do with having good screen readability. Maybe in bright sunlight it will be a problem, but that hasn’t been an issue yet, we’ve only had the computer running for a year.
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Old 02-09-2020, 01:24 PM   #11
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Maybe look at 12v TV instead?
Works as a monitor plus it does other stuff.

Surely US has something similar?

https://www.kogan.com/au/buy/kogan-2...xoCHe8QAvD_BwE
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Old 02-09-2020, 03:28 PM   #12
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Maybe look at 12v TV instead?
Works as a monitor plus it does other stuff.

Surely US has something similar?

https://www.kogan.com/au/buy/kogan-2...xoCHe8QAvD_BwE
Thanks. Not sure why it didn’t occur to me. Amazon shows a bunch of options, possibly even a few they will ship here. I had waterproof, marine grade monitors in my head, but in the wheelhouse I can go with household products and that provides a lot of options.
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Old 02-09-2020, 05:01 PM   #13
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The charts that came with the Furuno are old Cmap, it is an old pre-TZ unit.
Last I checked, those were still update-able. Have you talked to Furuno about it?

As for the monitor, a small inverter and regular monitor will be cheaper than a pure 12v one (unless the unit is inherently 12 volt with a brick attached). Where will this monitor be? Pilothouse? Flying bridge?
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Old 02-09-2020, 05:05 PM   #14
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As long as the monitor takes some kind of DC voltage in, you could use a voltage regulator to convert 12 volts to whatever it needs to avoid an inverter and then going through the power adapter.
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Old 02-09-2020, 05:11 PM   #15
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We installed regular office monitors in the pilothouse with a dedicated small Victron inverter, good quality Eizo units - works just fine, at a small fraction of the cost of dedicated marine monitors.
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Old 02-09-2020, 05:59 PM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ventana View Post
Our boat came with an old Furuno MFD, the charts are crap but the radar is nice, so I installed a Nuk running Nobeltec for charting. The Nuk is fine running on either AC or DC. I would like to find a good monitor to use with it that can run on 12VDC. Anyone have some experience with a product they would recommend?
Following along with this. I am about to pull the trigger on a NUC type PC for NWD, along with a monitor, for the lower helm. I am also looking at building a suitable weatherproof cabinet for a flybridge monitor to run off the same NUC. I already have a 12" portable monitor that only requires a USB and mini HMDI to run, no other power source needed, its just not weatherproof.

My tentative thoughts are to mount the monitor on a RAM mount; they have a selection of mounts that will work with VESA 100x100.

I've located a suitable NUC (not an intel but another manufacturer mini computer) and found a couple monitors on amazon that might fit the bill, both of which have speakers. I just haven't picked the size yet.

The NUCalike i found and monitors all run off 12 v (from an included adapter) so wiring them into the boat's house system should be a snap, native computing with no need for the inverter to run.

I really like the touch screen idea though, and might go back to the drawing board to see if there is a similar model that can run on 12v.

Here is what I've found for monitors that interest me.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B077SRKKHQ...v_ov_lig_dp_it

That's the 27 in version, you can search further for the 24 in version. Like I said, one of my criteria is to have the speakers built in, so I can get sound without having to buy/install separate speakers. Def going back to double check for touch screen monitors first though.

Richard on Dauntless (a KK) uses two monitors for his cabin, he's a member here on TF. He's posted a series of videos on youtube that show his monitors. in this video, he mentions that he uses Samsung 24 inch monitors. They look like they are working quite well for him. Part of what is prompting me to research more into an installed computer instead of the laptop on the chart table... My helm is not conducive to twin monitors, and I have to mount it closer to the windshields because of my companionway, so I'm thinking about the larger size (27 in).
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Old 02-09-2020, 07:27 PM   #17
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My tentative thoughts are to mount the monitor on a RAM mount; they have a selection of mounts that will work with VESA 100x100.
These are terrific; the standard matte screen 300 nit 19" Acer we had on the flying bridge was mounted on one. If on the odd occasion the sun was at the wrong angle, you could easily adjust it. When finished for the day, it folded down flat into covered cabinet.

This picture has it at about half mast, you could raise it up and point it right square at the helm.

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Old 02-09-2020, 07:40 PM   #18
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What is a NUC?

It’s made by Intel “Next Unit Computing”

Steve: I’ve been running my NUC just fine for 2 years with no problems. Mind you all I’m operating on it is the NEMO Gateway with CE. Is their any chance your voltage dropped below 12 volts whilst running it? That might be an issue.

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Old 02-09-2020, 09:23 PM   #19
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I have been fooling around with a Raspberry Pi running Open CPN via HDMI to a standard monitor. Kind of the same thing.
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Old 02-09-2020, 11:10 PM   #20
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I have been fooling around with a Raspberry Pi running Open CPN via HDMI to a standard monitor. Kind of the same thing.
Not really.
Raspberry pi is not much more than a mid range mobile phone or tablet computing power.

NUC and devices like them can be considerably more powerful.

We run a Lenovo Thinkcentre Tiny I got on eBay for a couple of hundred bucks
Intel i7
8gb ram
250gb SSD
Etc



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