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Communications

VHF

The vessel has two VHF devices: * Icom M510 fixed installation DSC-VHF radio * Icom M49D handheld DSC-VHF

The Icom M510 has a command mic located in the cockpit. In normal operations the speaker on the radio unit is turned off.

Vessel callsign: DH8613 Vessel MMSI: 211692440

HF

The vessel has an Icom IC-718 HF / SSB radio for long-distance communications.

Port-side backstay is set up as an end-fed antenna with isolators and an AH-4 antenna tuner. KISS-SSB is used as the ground plane.

Computer control of the radio is enabled by a SignaLink USB sound card.

Email over HF radio

  • Check local rules for amateur radio usage (maritime mobile uses German rules, coastal uses local rules. DARC has a convenient list of CEPT visiting rules)
  • Turn the HF SSB circuit on
  • Turn the radio on
  • Connect the USB hub on the navigation table to the MacBook Air
  • Connect the USB hub to power
  • Ensure that MacBook Air can see the USB AUDIO CODEC sound interface
    • If not, push the KVM remore button to switch USB from the Raspberry Pi to the MacBook
  • Start rig control interface with rigctld -m 3013 -r /dev/cu.PL2303G-USBtoUART11130 -t 4532 -s 4800 -vvv
    • Note: the USB device path changes occasionally
  • Start pat interface with pat http
  • Start CrossOver and launch Vara HF (and/or Ardop)
  • Open pat at http://localhost:8080 and establish connection with the Ready button
    • Ensure that the radio actually transmits. You should hear clicking. If not, ensure TX knob is set to high on the SignaLink sound card. More debug options on SignaLink website.

Note that pat can be used also over telnet when regular internet connectivity is available.

Position reporting

Winlink position reports made in pat will also update vessel position on the Lille Ø website. If updates include text, it will end up in the blog stream.

The position reports made by Lille Ø can be found in https://cms.winlink.org:444/maps/PositionReports.aspx?callsign=DO7HB&title=Position%20Reports%20for%20DO7HB.

Weather data

Weather information can be requested from Saildocs in GRIB format that will work in applications like LuckGrib.

For example, to get a coarse ECMWF GRIB for the Panama area, mail query@saildocs.com with the message body:

send ecmwf:8N,12N,70W,90W|2,2|24,48,72|WIND,PRMSL,WAVES

Blog posts

It is possible to publish blog posts via Winlink email. Write the blog post in Obsidian as normal and sync via Syncthing. Then open the Signal K Offshore Blogging app.

Select the post you want to publish and Encode. The generated Winlink segment contains a cryptographically signed version of the post that can be copied to an email and sent to our blogging address.

WiFi

The boat has two networks:

  • Lille Ø, a 5GHz network for computers and other regular consumers
  • Lille Oe, a 2.4GHz network for Internet-of-Things devices

Both of these networks are served by the RUTX11 on-board router.

The RUTX11 also provides the boat's primary Internet uplink via LTE. The device has two SIM slots, one for our German SIM and another for a local data SIM when traveling.

Administrative interface for the router can be found in https://192.168.2.1/.

Restarting WiFi

If the RUTX11 needs to be restarted for whatever reason, all Shelly devices onboard will also need a restart. These are in the Automatic Lights circuit, plus the two Shellies in the Computer circuit. The latter can be switched on and off using the bright blue power toggle under the RUTX11.

The Starlink Mini antenna is mounted on the solar arch with a NOA bracket. The combined power and ethernet cable runs through the lazarette and starboard storage locker.

There is a 12V-to-24V DC-DC converter powering the Starlink inside the electrical cabinet. Starlink is powered using its own circuit.

In a sea state it may take up to 30 minutes for the dishy to acquire an internet connection. Starlink consumes about 20W of power.

Our RUTX11 is configured to use Starlink for uplink when available, and to use the two LTE SIMs as fallback.

Ocean data

We use a Personal Maritime plan with the Starlink, giving unlimited Internet in coastal areas worldwide.

For offshore use, we need to enable the metered Ocean Data feature. This is done in the Account -> Subscription -> Data Usage screen of the Starlink app.

Ocean Data is paid by the Gb, and devices ought to have data saving enabled to conserve budget.

There is a second Starlink Mini device in its original packaging in the technical compartment, stored together with a power cable that works from the 12V cigarette lighter socket. This device should be able to get online for 1h after initial start-up to make it possible to enable a plan for it.

Meshtastic

The boat carries multiple Meshtastic devices for local telemetry and communications:

  • Boat node lilo (ID 2996810856, public key NWHDXQEnCam7k5/Uqrg5N4upcD7XzypdG7qYVZyFu2s=)
  • Crew node bgie (ID 3796358305, public key XxcXCCopZB00zqDIu/cvhCRJtzRmgQV27YUvPtcbpHw=)
  • Crew node ihmi (ID 2683209950, public key li23KVwMGyoYaLP5ciiFa3aoAF6C0IoYS23q7fb76jU=)
  • Dinghy tracker isos (public key J1ZQycwWt/qxEe/0NKSOn2tetp8cDfQh/9T3FGhJVjw=)

The boat node is connected to signalk-meshtastic and transmits vessel telemetry periodically.

Inreach

Lille Ø is equipped with a Garmin Inreach Mini 2. This device can be used for satellite text messaging, as well as sharing the vessel location when offshore.

Blogging with InReach

  • Write blog post in Obsidian as normal and let Syncthing synchronize it to the server
  • Open the Signal K Offshore Blogging app
  • Choose the date to publish
  • Select to publish with or without images
  • Copy each message to InReach app and send to our blogging address
  • Once all chunks have arrived and the post published, there will be a confirmation message from the server

When the boat has broadband internet next time the post will get automatically updated with the normal high-res pictures, track, and logbook metadata.

Weather data via InReach

  • Open the Signal K Offshore Blogging app
  • Select the GRIB parameters you want to query
  • Copy the generated Saildocs query to the InReach app and send to our blogging address
  • Once response chunks arrive, they can be copy pasted to the interface in the Offshore Blogging app
  • When all chunks have arrived, press the Reassemble button
  • The resulting GRIB can be downloaded to any computer or explored in the Signal K Weather Map