Furuno NavNet on boat WiFi network

[easyvictor]

Hi all. I have a boat with a Furuno NavNet3D system on it. For those not familiar, it's an ethernet based proprietary protocol (but the chartplotter can interface with older NMEA 0183/2000 sensors). The idea is that you can connect multiple displays, radar, and PCs to this ethernet network and they all talk.

I wanted to wire this NavNet3D protocol into my boat's WiFi network, so that my laptop on the network could display all this data wherever I am on the boat. According to Furuno, this isn't supported, you need to hard wire in your PC directly to the chartplotter. Being somewhat computer savvy, I knew it should be possible, because ethernet packets are ethernet packets. It shouldn't matter if it's over wireless or wired connections. I set out to do this, and I did, fairly easily. This post is mostly an "FYI" for those with similar installations and want the same capability I did.

I found the beginnings of a discussion on this topic over at Furuno Forums:
Furuno USA Community • View topic - NN3D & Internet
It showed that other people did have wifi working with their NN3D systems. But in those cases, the wifi router was only used as an "dumb" access point, essentially just putting the NN3D network into WiFi. The extra wrinkle that I wanted to solve was getting the NN3D protocol to work on an existing boat network that included a router and internet access (via a Wifi booster). The problem here is that on this existing setup, similar to a home WiFi network, the WiFi router acts as a router and as a DHCP server, giving out IP addresses to everyone that connects--and the NN3D chartplotter ALSO acts as a DHCP server, because it expects devices to be connected directly to it, and they need an IP address assigned. And you simply can't have two DHCP servers on one network.

My solution was the following:
- Leave the regular home router as the network's router and DHCP server
- Connect the NN3D network to this router
- Turn OFF the DCHP server on the NN3D chartplotter (Master: OFF)
- Set the IP subnet of the router to match the NN3D (172.31.X.X)

This way, all my devices are on the regular boat network, with internet access (assuming my booster is connected to the marina wifi, etc), and they are also able to see all the NN3D data including radar overlays, via TZ Navigator software for PC. Perfection!

If you don't care about wiring this into an existing wifi network, and just want NavNet over Wifi, you simply configure the router as an access point (NOT a router) and connect it to the NN3D ethernet wire. Then if you connect your PC to that wifi signal, you will also have NN3D data.

See the linked thread for more technical details or feel free to ask any questions here. I was getting too technical for Furuno so they locked my thread.

 

[twistedtree]

Once you have Navnet on your boat network and wifi, then what? Have you found apps that can crack the Navnet ethernet data to display it? Or does it end up being the same UDP encapsulation of 0183 as everyone else does?

 

[easyvictor]

Why do this?

Once you have Navnet on your boat network and wifi, then what? Have you found apps that can crack the Navnet ethernet data to display it? Or does it end up being the same UDP encapsulation of 0183 as everyone else does?

TimeZero makes PC software to view and control the system. It's called TZ Navigator (previously known as MaxSea). My boat came with the MaxSea CDs and so the previous owner had it set up in the hardwired configuration to a laptop. I updated to TZ Nav and then got it on the wifi network.

The software is good and the interface is more powerful than the MFD in the cockpit, especially when it comes to planning routes. For example you can download weather forecasts and overlay on the PC software, planning long passages, then sync the route to the cockpit display when finished. You can also view and control the radar and have much more granular control of the data and overlays on the PC software.

I have it loaded onto a laptop in the nav station as well as on a cheap Windows tablet for more portable use around the boat.

 

[easyvictor]

UDP stream format

Or does it end up being the same UDP encapsulation of 0183 as everyone else does?

This is a good question. I haven't checked to see if the UDP encapsulation is standard. I separately have another device which reads NMEA 0183/2000 buses on the boat and rebroadcasts the data over UDP for that purpose, so I've got that covered. But now I will check...

 

[zigzag930]

Has anyone tried using OpenCPN to read and/or display the information from the Furuno network (via wifi)?

I do this on my Garmin network and OpenCPN even has a plugin that displays the Garmin Radar on my MacBook Pro and Notebook PC's

Since I also have a Furuno network, it would be very cool if the Furuno stuff would also work with OpenCPN.

 

[easyvictor]

Has anyone tried using OpenCPN to read and/or display the information from the Furuno network (via wifi)?

I do this on my Garmin network and OpenCPN even has a plugin that displays the Garmin Radar on my MacBook Pro and Notebook PC's

Since I also have a Furuno network, it would be very cool if the Furuno stuff would also work with OpenCPN.

The short answer is yes, sort of. Most of my Furuno instruments were connected via NMEA2000, which is an open CAN bus. That included all basic data like speeds, locations, wind, depth, etc. I used an open source NMEA2000 to 0183 converter to translate it into the text type messages that OpenCPN and other plotters use. The more complex data like the radar imagery are transferred over Furuno's proprietary ethernet protocol. And indeed unlike my other instruments, it was connected via an ethernet cable. I did not try to crack those messages, although I was able to see those packets on my network.

 

[Arthurc]

Out of curiosity why mix the personal network and navnet? The Furuno and TZ folks have seen some odd behavior on navnet even when using certain switches, ungrounded cables, etc. I am not sure I’d want my Apple TV, streaming music, network video cameras, etc all on the same ip and physical switch space as my critical navigation gear.
I’d need to go look at my setup again but I believe that you can setup a tzt to do wifi to your internet network and hardwire to navnet and it will output navnet onto the internet network so TZ and the TZ iboat iPad app work without being on the navnet network.
I’d have to confirm as it’s been several months since I played with TZ iboat and my TZ Pro computer is hardwired.

 

[ranger58sb]

I have a TZT3 system now. And the three Furuno apps that will access the Furuno WiFi net. Haven't yet figured out a reason for using the apps...

Haven't tried connection our ship's laptop to the Furuno WiFi net; I guess if that's possible it might be useful. For something.

OTOH, our version of TZ is really old, so even if we connect the laptop that might not give TZ any access to data.

-Chris

 

[Arthurc]

Ahh sorry I meant connect your tzt3 to your non-navnet wifi/router via the tzt3 wifi interface, then navnet via the rj45 to a tplink switch or similar (that was the one recommended by one of them).

When you say apps do you mean iPad apps?

 

[ranger58sb]

When you say apps do you mean iPad apps?

If you're responding to my post, ours are installed on Android tablets. I expect they make iPad version too, though...

-Chris

 

[Arthurc]

If you're responding to my post, ours are installed on Android tablets. I expect they make iPad version too, though...

-Chris

Ahh do you mean the companion apps that let you semi control or view the tzt? My understanding is those don’t use navnet and directly communicate with the tzt over ip, can do so over either interface. I played with them a few years ago and never found a use for them either so forgot about them. They may have improved.

I was thinking about Time Zero iBoat which could be iOS only, it’s a semi functional Time Zero, it has some cool features like integration to TZ Cloud for shared routes with your PC. I think it uses a TZT as a n2k gateway similar to how TimeZero Pro can use a TZT rather than an NGT-1 but like the Furuno apps I don’t think it cares which interface in the TZT it’s using.

Navnet is a bit confusing as they have turned it into a brand as well, it certainly simplifies things having it all on one network and I would just be thoughtful about having true navnet stuff like Radar, FA AIS systems or DFF Sounders on the same network that has other heavy usage and additional failure points such as the router.

AC