using vesper 6000 as a wifi gateway/hub

[magna 6882]

Hello
I has a vesper xb600 ais and it claims to be a wireless gateway. I also have a airmar 220 weather station and the watchmate app on my phone. It reads like i can use the wifi gateway to look at the airmar. Has anyone played with this stuff?

 

[boomerang]

Hello
I has a vesper xb600 ais and it claims to be a wireless gateway. I also have a airmar 220 weather station and the watchmate app on my phone. It reads like i can use the wifi gateway to look at the airmar. Has anyone played with this stuff?

I don't think the 6000 has wifi built in, does it? It has an internal GPS antenna but no wifi IIRC. The 8000 does which is the reason we bought it. Our 8000 has performed flawlessly and we use the wifi for position on an ipad running a navigation program and for the anchor app on my iphone.

 

[Frosty]

I don't think the 6000 has wifi built in, does it?

I was shopping Vesper last year and that is my understanding as well, i.e. that the 8000 has the wi-fi but not the 6000. I really like the anchor alarm to phone idea, so had settled on the 8000 (have not purchased yet though).

 

[DDW]

As has been said, the 8000 has wifi, and it will forward all the nmea 0183 or N2K data to the wifi hot spot if configured correctly. That will make most or perhaps all of your weather data available to any client for the wifi.

 

[magna 6882]

I will have to double check. My build sheet says 6000 but i am able to see the vesper and use watch mate and the ais plotter on my phone. If i use the airmar app and i check vesper as the hub it wont connect .

 

[Flatswing]

I agree u probably have the 8000. You May need to connect the usb link to a pc temporarily to make any WiFi changes.

 

[firehoser75]

Contact Vesper tech support. They have been good. The 6000 definitely does not have WiFi. This from their website regarding the 6000:
NMEA 2000 Gateway

Translates NMEA 2000 instrument data (heading, wind, depth, speed, log, temperature) and routes it over USB and NMEA 0183.
All NMEA 2000 navigation data is combined with GPS and AIS data and sent to computers via USB. Display and use this data in your navigation applications on Windows and Mac navigation software.
Simply plug the XB-6000 into your NMEA 2000 network and your integration is done. Or connect it to the NMEA 0183 input on your chart plotter. And if you have a mixed network you can even use the XB-6000 to integrate the two by connecting your XB-6000 to your NMEA 2000 navigation instruments and a NMEA 0183 chart plotter. The XB-6000 makes your new NMEA 2000 instruments appear on the chart plotter!
I have the 8000 and it does have WiFi.

 

[Ftbinc]

Two thumbs up one the Vesper 8000 unit I put one in because it was both Nmea 0183 and 2000 compatible, acts as a 183 - 2000 bridge and a wifi hotspot that relays the NMEA data to wifi connected ipad/phone and computers. (it's also a great AIS unit) It interfaces nicely with iNavx and with Aqua Maps.

 

[magna 6882]

Ok .I went to the boat today and i do have an 8000. Nice since the build sheet said 6000 so they must have upgraded during construction. I can see the vesper on wireless and see the settings and the plotter.
When i load the Onsite WX app and go to settings it shows the vesper adapter and i have it checked. The ip listed 192.168.15.1 is the same as on the vesper but it shows using port 39150, TCP protacal and nmea 0183
This is getting a little out of my wheel house but i am thinking i need to do something with these settings.
Ultimately i would like to have a dedicated ipad showing the weather data.
I think i have all the pieces just need help with the network knowledge

 

[Ftbinc]

Hi. I think I can help a little here

It sounds like you have IPv4 address set to 192.168.15.1 on The vesper (that is the vesper’s address. Your onsite WX APP should have a different address (That should start with 182.168.15.nnn)as its unique IP address and in the NMEA 183 conf/setup the it should have a place to enter the vesper’s address (192.168.15.1) the protocol needs to match the sending protocol in the vesper device. TCP should work on both. You also need know what port the vesper is using to send out the NMEA data (the port identifies the packs of data containing the 183 data. This port needs to be set on the vesper device as well as the OnSite WX device and they need to match. The default for the vesper is 39150

If all this is correct, you should start receiving data. If you are not and you are sure you have the settings correct, check to see if you have a link button on the WX DEVICE. (I am not familiar with the device). Sometimes you need to manually turn on the listening mode (you do on iNavX). Also check to see if you have any testing connection function on the WX DEvice see if you can verify the connection. Then see if you have a Ping function on the WX DeVice (if you put in the address of the vesper it should let you know how long it took for the Ping to round trip to the vesper device. (If it comes back the address is unreachable it will means the WX device can not find the vesper device on the network ). The vesper in the WatchMate app I believe has a ping function as well. Put in the up address of the WX device and see if it finds the the WX device)

You are welcome to call me tomorrow and I can try to talk you through it (I’m in Chicago and will be unavailable from 1300-14:15. My number is two,two,four, 688-2027.

Paul

 

[Ftbinc]

Let me know your progress
Paul

 

[magna 6882]

The onsite WX app is just a software app on my phone so it would not have an IP address but i assume the airmar 220 weather station does but i would think that would be managed by the vesper unit. The wifi does work on the vesper since i can use the watchmate app.

It would appear the weather app (onsite) has been thought out since it claims to be setup for the vesper 8000 and has the settings pre-installed and they seem correct.I think i am missing something likely overlooked on my end.

 

[Ftbinc]

How do you have the airmar220 connected to your vesper unit? Physically connected? The documentation says it comes with NMEA 2000 std. and NMEA 183 as an option. Are you connecting via 2000 connectors and bus cable or via 183 twisted pair?

I downloaded the app. Have you tried using the data monitor? It should show you the raw data being received. This would be helpful to know if you are getting data and if so what data.

Call me if you want. I think I can help

 

[magna 6882]

Hi Paul
The weather station is connected via nmea 2000 and works fine with the garmin 8612s. I did talk to vesper today and found a very knowledgeable fellow. It sounds like even though the intent of nmea was to create a standard some manufactures are trying to still hold on to some propitiatory data to force clients to stay within there product line. Airmar sent me a note saying the vesper access point has not been tested and do not know if it will work. On the app it looks like vesper is listed but it dosnt allow setting for nmea 2000. I replied to airmar asking why the vesper equipment is listed on the app but not included within his list. Vesper recommended looking at some other software interfaces that might be better. That is what i know so far. Not a big deal. Just something to play with while its raining and windy here.

Rod

 

[Ftbinc]

Sorry to hear. They may be hope still. I take it you do not have the 183 option on your airmar unit. your phone app does not support nmea 2000

The vesper does convert 2000 to 183. How is the airmar connected to the vesper? 2000 or 183? You also need to use your computer to configure what sentences are output and accepted on the vesper unit. Even if you are connected via 2000 yo should still be able to broadcast 183 data if it is available. It is probably with the effort.

Paul

 

[magna 6882]

Thanks for the followup Paul. When the airmar was installed we had a choice of cables and chose to go with nmea 2000. One thing i noticed was on the app under display settings there is a choice to select 2000 or 183 or both. The app was checked 183. i checked 2000. I am at home so cant see if that would make a difference.The adapter section does not show the option. I would expect to be able to set the adapter in the settings to 2000 but dont see it. I might go down tomorrow and see if i can log in with the laptop.

 

[Ftbinc]

The vesper needs a computer to access all the set up options. It is a little cumbersome on initial setup, but keeps the app on iPads really clean and easy to use.
If your Mdf, airmar and vesper are all on the same
Nmea 2000 bus (wired together) then there is a decent chance that the vesper will translate the 2000 information to 0183 sentences and broadcast them over WiFi.

 

[magna 6882]

thanks for the help.i went down today and spent a little time. I connected to the vesper and found several settings and adjustments .it appears the data can be sent 183 to the app. I had a my laptop so i checked for conectivity with the airmar app on the computer. It looks for 183 and 2000 but also wants baud rates on the devices and port numbers.
I am finding i am spending to much time right now on this problem.we are taking it out sunday for 5 days and have time to sit and play without being rushed.If i feel i am getting some If i find i am getting somewhere i will give you a call.

thanks
rod

 

[Frosty]

I know just slightly more than nothing about the Vesper and NMEA 0183, but was wondering if you had looked for matching baud rate on anything that was 0183. The Vesper, as I understood it, can be set for different baud rates.

(Reason I was looking into it is I was considering an ICOM 400BB black box/Command mic type VHF radio, and that radio only has NMEA 0183 and I think wanted a 4,800 baud rate. Then I also had an engine gauge that wanted NMEA 0183 at 4,800 bauds (for MPG). When I talked to an electronics shop they said the Vesper would only output the higher baud rate (forget what it is exactly, but something totally different such as 34,000 bauds) because the higher rate is what AIS expects.

Well that didn't agree with some forum reading I had done (Cruisers Forum, IIRC), so I contacted Vesper and found out that indeed, the Vesper can be set for different baud rates (so it would have worked for what I wanted).

With COVID scuttling my boating plans for this summer, I decided to wait on the whole thing so this is all theoretical, and I don't really understand what you are doing, so this is only "FWIW."

 

[magna 6882]

Your right in that it gets very complicated. I hooked up the laptop and indeed the vesper has several different baud rates for both in and out and it also converts the nmea 2000 to 0183 .I find it daunting since i found it difficult to determine what anything was wanting. With ais,gps,3 8612s 2 radios,auto pilot,stereo,cameras and engine data and likely more streaming data via 2000 i would expect an app to just take that data but not so. I am hesitant to start changing stuff until necessary. all i was wanting to do was see the wind speed and direction on the app but i think i can do that via active captain.

 

[Ftbinc]

I was very surprised when I installed the vesper unit that it could function as a bridge between 2000 and 183, as a WiFi access point, router, and a class B AIS transceiver. I actually found it 3 years ago when I was looking for a 183-2000 bridge - a google search turned it up. I had a hard time believing I was going to be able to have a GPS, Ais, WiFi access point, and a nmea bridge all in one box. It saved me several 100 dollars with no integration, wiring or power issues.

If you were closer (I wasn’t flat on my back with a slipped and very painful disk ). I would have come out to help in person. Good luck. Just call if you think I can help. One other tip-pay attention to the units you use when you put in the bot dimensions and antenna location. I think it is in meters regardless of what you tell it. Initially it was telling everyone I was 36 meters long...

Cheers
-p