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Mercury "Black Box" in Engine with wifi and iPhone App

kaydano

kaydano

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I saw this on the Mercury website last night, but info seems to be scarce... They are advertising an app that can read real time engine info through wifi connection to an iPhone??? The app is a captain's log book, but it takes info from the engine to add to the log automatically, like hours, max speed etc. Don't have time to find the link at the moment. If someone wants to to do that, or I'll find it tonight.
 
There would have to be some sort of WiFi network on the boat to get engine data to the phone app. It's not clear if VesselView or MercMonitor will be providing this. I know my MercMonitor doesn't have it now, but my Garmin 547xs does have WiFi and talks to my iPhone, so maybe there is hope for that connection. Interesting, something to study over the long winter...
 
The marina I am at provides "wifi " for their customers in the building and  your slip through an extender  they also  provide. 

Not sure if it would work with 3G or 4G .
 
The engine itself doesn't have wifi though, so there needs to be a Smartcraft to NMEA2000 WiFi gateway installed somewhere to source the engine's data. The new VesselView might do this, though I don't know for sure. My MercMonitor correctly translates the engine data to NMEA2000 for my Garmin to use, but doesn't put it out on WiFi that I know of.
 
I'm jealous of your knowledge Tom!! Electronics and I are like Derrick to 2 year old boats. We just don't have that "spark"
 
You can get scanners on your automobile/truck that plugs into the OBDII system.  I was thinking they communicated with your phone by WIFI, and produce a "live feed".  That means you can read it as your engine's running.  Other scanners will give you a reading at one second in time.

It seems logical that the marine industry would eventually piggyback on the technology of the auto scanner companies.  After all, they're all using the same technology.
 
jsfb6pts said:
I have had the app since I ordered my boat .

You can also manually enter information .

https://shipslog.mercurymarine.com/
Click to expand...
That is the app I ran across.

But I don't see where it explains what you need to do or install on the motor to make it work.  That's my question.  I'm hoping nothing.  If you think about it, the motor only would need a small radio transmitter like ones in cell phones made 10 years ago that are a dime a dozen.  Okay, 12 cents per dozen.  But seriously, it can't cost much to build the transmitter into a motor.  It would make dealer maintenance and repairs much simpler too.  A dealer could download motor data without having to "un-cowl" and hook up a scanner.

Anyway, if this was already built into my motor, it would justify me getting an iPad (or mini) dedicated to the boat.  Plus, the iPad would double as a GPS, MP3 player, bartender guide, fishing guide, video camera, still camera, and wakeboard.  Okay, maybe not a wakeboard, but you get the picture.  It would do everything but drive the boat.  And I'd have an iPad to use at home all winter.
 
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The Merc dealer can do that today with the laptop plugin for the diagnostic connector on the engine that ONLY they have access to, as in completely proprietary. It works with the Mercury Smartcraft CAN bus. Unfortunately, the costly gateway I mentioned is the only way to get that data out. Yamaha's uses NMEA2000 (open standard) natively so you just need a relatively inexpensive connector/harness and a device that will read those diagnostic sentences from it. Neither one is wireless.
 
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