From a4580e2225c49b0efc660c8844b447e1f8231499 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Brandon Keepers Date: Sat, 30 Aug 2025 10:33:18 -0400 Subject: [PATCH] Redirect installation to server documentation --- redirects.json | 3 +- src/pages/installation.md | 187 -------------------------------------- 2 files changed, 2 insertions(+), 188 deletions(-) delete mode 100644 src/pages/installation.md diff --git a/redirects.json b/redirects.json index 8f2d0925..c9bc8350 100644 --- a/redirects.json +++ b/redirects.json @@ -25,5 +25,6 @@ "applications_solutions.html": "/solutions/", "solutions.html": "/solutions/", "installation.html": "/installation/", - "overview.html": "/overview/" + "overview.html": "/overview/", + "/installation/": "https://demo.signalk.org/documentation/Installation.html" } diff --git a/src/pages/installation.md b/src/pages/installation.md deleted file mode 100644 index fb74d9e2..00000000 --- a/src/pages/installation.md +++ /dev/null @@ -1,187 +0,0 @@ ---- -title: Installation -layout: ../layouts/MarkdownLayout.astro -installation: active -sidebar: installation-sb.html -description: 'Follow these instructions to get started with Signal K. Please don’t hesitate to ask the community for - help if you run in to trouble.' ---- - -## [Getting Started with Signal K](#) - -In this section we will look at different ways you can install and use Signal K on your boat. There are already a -number of hardware platforms and devices being used, and more are bound to follow, but we will concentrate on three -recommended starter packs that we will refer to as; Basic, Advanced and Expert. - -## ["Basic" Starter Pack](#) - -For boat owners that want to use Signal K with the minimum of effort, then the Basic Starter Pack gives you a simple -way to install Signal K on your boat and start using the free apps and services that are available. The pack consists -of a “Smart” Gateway that converts your existing NMEA data in to Signal K and installation just consists of wiring the -gateway to your NMEA0183 and/or NMEA2000 networks and plugging the gateway in to a wireless router. - -
- -
Basic Starter Pack
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- -The most popular “smart gateway” is Digital Yacht’s -iKommunicate Gateway which has three NMEA 0183 and one NMEA 2000 -interfaces. It comes with some built-in Signal K web apps to get you started or you can copy other apps on to its 8GB -SD card. - -As your experience and confidence in Signal K grows, you can simply add a Signal K server to iKommunicate to make one -of the advanced or expert packs (see below). - -## ["Advanced" Starter Pack](#) - -For more technical minded boat owners that want to use the logging and cloud features of Signal K or who want to get -involved in the “cutting edge” Signal K developments, then one of the two Advanced packs below would be the best -starting point. For a larger, more powerful Signal K system, but where stability and reliability are key, then adding a -Signal K server to an iKommunicate is the way to go. - -
- -
Advanced Starter Pack 1
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- -If you enjoy getting your hands dirty and want to experiment with the “cutting edge” features then a Signal K server -with raw NMEA data coming from USB adaptors and gateways would be the best solution, as shown in the diagram below. - -
- -
Advanced Starter Pack 2
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- -## ["Expert" Starter Pack](#) - -For developers and seriously technical installations, then a larger network with multiple Signal K servers, Signal K -sensors, etc. is possible and will become more common in the future as more people discover Signal K and the new -functionality and benefits it can bring. - -
- -
Expert Starter Pack
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- -## [Installing your Signal K server](#) - -A Signal K server, is basically a webserver with the ability to read marine data and create web pages and web apps that -uses this data. As a result, nearly any computer can be used as the hardware for a Signal K server, although a certain -level of performance is required to avoid slow loading of web pages, etc. If you have an old laptop, then this would -make a good initial test platform, although for permanent use on a yacht, a more power efficient hardware like a -Raspberry Pi might be a better choice. - -If you do decide to use a laptop (or desktop), then you should have no problem running all Signal K software on -Windows, OS X or Linux, with Linux being the most tested and used operating system for Signal K. - -Currently the most cost effective, powerful and best supported hardware platform for a Signal K server is the Raspberry -Pi. Any Raspberry Pi (even the very first model) can be used but for best performance we recommend the latest RPi 3 model B+ or the new RPi 4 model B. - -
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Raspberry Pi 4 Model B
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- -With starter kits that include everything you need for around $50 USD, you can understand why they are so popular. -There are a number of models, but the Raspberry Pi3 or Pi4 models are probably the best to go for as they include a Wi-Fi adaptor that can turn it in to a mini-wireless router, allowing you to serve up web pages to your mobile devices with no -additional equipment. It runs from a 5v DC Micro USB plug (same as Android phones/tablets/Kindles), so you will need -one of these USB cables plugged in to a 12v to USB type charging point on your boat to power it. - -The Signal K server reference design is written in NodeJS and is referred to as the "Node Server", which dates back to when there was a second reference design written in Java. Unfortunately, the "Java Server" is no longer maintained and all development efforts are being focused on the "Node Server". - -The "Node Server" is maintained on GitHub and -a detailed “Getting Started” guide is also available - Signal K Node.js on Raspberry Pi - -## [Interfacing to Other Devices](#) - -Most equipment on boats use NMEA 0183, NMEA 2000 or proprietary interfaces to communicate with each other. A lot of -work has been done within the Signal K community to convert these different data formats in to Signal K. One option is -to use an iKommunicate Gateway to convert NMEA to Signal K, but -if you want to use the raw data to access proprietary sentences, PGNs, etc. then the following are recommended; - -### NMEA 0183 - -There are a number of NMEA to USB adaptors around from -Actisense, -Digital Yacht and -Shipmodule, which allow -bi-directional transfer of the NMEA 0183 Serial data (electrically similar to RS-422) and convert it in to a USB -virtual COM Port when plugged in to the Signal K server. - -In Linux the virtual COM Port will be seen as a device called `/dev/ttyUSB0` (the number could be different if there -are multiple USB-to-serial adapters connected). Linux assigns these device names automatically when the device is -connected, so it could change. If you want to ensure that the device always has the same name, you will need to write a -UDEV rule to specify an alias. See [creating UDEV rules](udev.html) for details. - -To verify that you have a working connection, you can use picocom or another terminal emulator to see if you are -receiving data. The default baud rate for standard NMEA 0183 is 4800, whilst AIS and multiplexers use NMEA 0183(HS) at the "High Speed" 38400 baud rate. - -``` -$ picocom -b 4800 /dev/ttyUSB0 -``` - -You should see NMEA 0183 sentences scrolling off the screen. To exit picocom press `Ctrl-a` followed by `Ctrl-x`. - -### NMEA 2000 Instruments - -For NMEA 2000, there are less options. A quick search on Google will return a number of NMEA2000 to USB gateways, but -the interface device is just one half of the solution. The other equally important part is the software that can read -the data from the gateway and then convert it in to a format that the Signal K server understands. This software called -CANboat is a suite of tools that can read and write -NMEA 2000 data and convert it in to Signal K. - -Currently, CANboat supports the following NMEA 2000 to USB Gateways: - -- - iKonvert USB from Digital Yacht (NMEA Certified) - -- - NGT-1-USB from Actisense (NMEA Certified) - -- - YDNU-02 by Yacht Devices - - -and any CAN Interface that supports "SocketCAN" such as the -CANable board. - -Alternatively if you want to have a wireless NMEA 2000 gateway, CANboat supports these products: - -- - NavLink 2 from Digital Yacht (NMEA Certified) - -- - SeaSmart by Chetco (NMEA Certified) - -- - GoFree Wifi-1 by Simrad - -- - YDGW-02 by Yacht Devices - - -Or wired Ethernet version: - -- - YDEN-02 by Yacht Devices - - -CANBoat has recently been ported to JavaScript and is now part of the Signal K Node Server build, so no additional -installation of CANBoat is required. - -### Proprietary Interfaces - -There are a number of proprietary interfaces in the marine industry and by their nature, they tend to be pretty -“closed” formats, that the manufacturers who create them, keep confidential. With Signal K being an open source data -format, we are keen to support as many interface formats as possible and are working hard to encourage manufacturers to -open up their proprietary formats. - -The most common proprietary format in the marine industry is arguably SeaTalk™ which was developed by Autohelm in the -1990s and trade mark is now owned by Raymarine Limited. SeaTalk uses the same 4800 baud rate as NMEA 0183 but allowed -bi-directional serial data transfer across the network down one data wire. - -Even though Raymarine no longer make a SeaTalk 1 interface, there are a number of 3rd party solutions that either -convert to NMEA 0183, which both of the Signal K servers can read, or convert to a raw $STALK format that allows more -control and access to the SeaTalk data. One such interface that handles both types of SeaTalk conversions is the -ST-NMEA interface from Digital Yacht.