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Pitufino
the next-generation navdata gateway!

Pitufino sends GPS, AIS and instrument data from your boat's nav devices to your favourite chart-plotter apps, and...

...comes with sophisticated apps that run in your browser (these don't even need to be installed).

The Sailing Instruments app includes an auto-pilot controller and shows all data relevant for sailing, including waypoint data, laylines, AIS targets, long-term averages and logbook (here in night colors).

The Multi Display app lets you create your fully customized instrument view, including engine dashboards and tank displays, or...

...for instance a dedicated auto-pilot remote control.

The Anchor Watch app is a dedicated instrument view for times at anchor, including an anchor alarm and a rotation counter.

Pitufino's alarm system also integrates NMEA2000 alarms sent from Raymarine and Navico (Simrad, B&G, ...) devices and allows to confirm them in the apps.

Pitufino serving data to OpenCPN and Sailing Instruments side by side. Here the pilot has just been switched to NAV mode to steer to OpenCPN's active waypoint.

With Pitufino you don't need any other NMEA converters any more.

Pitufino
a real alternative to expensive chart plotters!

Modern chart plotters now typically provide a Wi-Fi connection to feed their accompanying screen-mirroring apps on mobile devices. Such an app lets you handle your plotter and view your instrument data remotely. If you want to add such a convenience to your boat without spending several thousand bucks on a new plotter, a Pitufino gateway is the ideal alternative.

Gateways are little blackboxes that are connected to your navigation instruments and send nav data to a local Wi-Fi network. With a gateway you can use the chart-plotter software of your choice on a laptop or tablet PC, popular ones are MaxSea/TimeZero, OpenCPN, Navionics, iSailor, iNavX or Weather4D among many others. Of course one can run such an app on a tablet or phone without a gateway by using the built-in GPS of the mobile device, however you won't see other ships' positions (AIS targets) nor your depth, compass or wind data.

Pitufino not only relays the nav data but additionally provides its own: it computes ground-referenced true wind (which incorporates leeway/drift), sends wind and course data with optional damping (for more stable readings in a rough sea), computes magnetic variation from its built-in magnetic model (always up-to-date) and takes over the calculation of waypoint data (such as the cross-track error which your pilot needs in waypoint mode) when your plotter app cannot provide this data fast enough (due to network glitches, delays or app hangs) or the app goes offline (you can even switch off your mobile device during legs without navigational hazards and still get updated waypoint data!) or when your app cannot send data to the network at all (e.g. Navionics Boating).

The Pitufino gateway comes with its own sophisticated apps to display instrument data in real time. Those apps don't even need to be installed or downloaded, they are served on the local network and simply run in your browser. The Sailing Instruments app for example shows all data relevant while sailing and is packed with features ideal for passage makers: long-term averages that properly indicate a wind shift, automatic hourly logbook with statistics, AIS targets, waypoint data, alarms (Pitufino has even a built-in buzzer), estimated tack/jibe course, night colors and more.

A feature unique to Pitufino is that it allows you to remote-control a wide range of popular autopilots. Adjust your course or switch from wind vane to compass mode from your phone! Not even the screen-mirroring apps of new plotters have this feature. Furthermore, Pitufino adds a hold-COG (no-drift) mode to all supported pilots in which the course is continuously adjusted for a varying leeway/drift.

Pitufino wasn't developed in an office far away from the sea, but onboard the S/Y Pitufa while cruising. Therefore many ideas for features were born and incorporated during long passages and the development continually goes on, also including the feedback and wishes of other Pitufino users.


Available now:

Pitufino ST with integrated Seatalk module

Connect Pitufino directly (without a Seatalk-to-SeatalkNG converter) to old Seatalk devices and control your old Raymarine/Autohelm pilot! Plus, you can connect an external alarm siren or strobe light.

The Seatalk module is also available separately if you want to upgrade your Pitufino V1.0 or V1.1.

Visit our new online shop.

Where to get Pitufino?

Visit our online shop to order.

Our distributor for France: Synapse Navigation

Demo devices can be tested at
Marine Mörth (Graz, Austria),
Synapse Navigation (Les Sables d’Olonne, France),
Tahiti Yacht Accessoire (Marina Taina, Tahiti)
and at The Yacht Shop in Fiji.

Learn more about Pitufino

Pitufino's data routing and filtering (relevant for streaming NMEA0183 data over Wi-Fi and for conversions between NMEA0183 and NMEA2000):

Apps can send nav data (e.g. waypoint data from your chart-plotter software) back to your nav devices. It's even possible to use your phone as a GPS source for the entire navigation network (for instance in an emergency):

NMEA2000 device list and source selection:

NMEA2000 settings:

Settings for an NMEA0183 port (example for a connected AIS):

Some apps expect non-standard transducer IDs. You can change them so your app gets the data:

Our cumbersome pre-existing solution aboard Pitufa that needed 4 additional devices:

...and the new set-up using a Pitufino:

Do you already have a Wi-Wi network on your boat? Simply connect Pitufino to your existing network:

Which autopilots does Pitufino support?

The current firmware supports Raymarine's SeatalkNG/NMEA2000 pilots like Evolution EV-1/2 (note, EV-1 is included in system packs like EV-100/200/300/400) or the older SPX 10/30/Solenoid (when directly connected to SeatalkNG) as well as NMEA2000 pilots from Navico/Simrad/B&G like NAC-3/NAC-2, AC42 or H5000. Since firmware V1.5.0 also Garmin's Reactor NMEA2000 pilots are supported.

Pitufinos with the Seatalk module can control older Raymarine/Autohelm pilots like the SmartPilot S series (and X series that is used together with a Seatalk control unit like ST6000). We are working on support for others.

Pitufino adds a hold-COG (no-drift) mode to all supported pilots. In this mode Pitufino adjusts the pilot heading to compensate for varying drift/leeway.

User and Installation Manual

The manual can be downloaded as a pdf file.

Installation Manual for the SeaTalk Module

Download pdf file.

Planned features for upcoming firmware versions

Pitufino is under active development to include new features and to extend its range of applications even wider. On our to-do list are

To receive notifications about new features and firmware versions, follow Pitufino on

Latest Firmware: V1.5.14

Download the latest version here. Note: Please double-check your settings after the update (particularly NMEA0183 input sentence translations, baud rates, AIS conversion, NMEA0183 output settings, TCP server).

Download this older release V1.4.5 if you need the Actisense NGT-1 server (for calibration/configuration of Actisense sensors).

Changes since V1.5.13:

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Changes since V1.3.9:

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Changes since V1.3.7:

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Changes since V1.3.2:

Reviews

Ben Stein (panbo.com) summarizes:

Products developed by active cruisers grab my attention. In my experience, products created onboard solve needs and fix issues directly experienced by the creator. Pitufino is no exception. There is no shortage of NMEA 2000 to WiFi gateways in the marketplace. There are also quite a few NMEA 0183 gateways. But few of them are nearly as ambitious, flexible, or offer as many features as the Pitufino gateway.

Read the whole review at panbo.com.

Bruce Balan wrote in the cruisers forum:

I've been using the Pitufino Nav Data Gateway/N2K/0183/Wifi multiplexer for 2 years now and totally love this product. It is highly configurable and the browser-based instrument apps are awesome. It was designed by a full-time cruiser and you know it right away as it just makes sense.

One thing that is cool is it provides another remote to my autopilot. It costs less than the B&G Bluetooth remote but does so much more. One of my favorite features are the running 24HR and 1min/10min/1 hr logs for COG, SOG, TWS, TWD, etc. Makes it really easy to see changing weather and course trends.

Tom (planet-ocean.org) commented on panbo.com:

Very reliable, low power consumption and a ton of useful features. We had a different NMEA-WiFi gateway before and switched to Pitufino about three years ago. It’s running 24/7, we use it on our main Nav Laptop and on android phones for anchor alarm and backup. The main chart plotter gets hardly turned on anymore. After two pacific crossings and full time cruising in between I can only say that I’m highly satisfied with that clever little device. The software support is great with countless solutions to real world problems. New features and updates are provided regularly. The hardware seems solid and reliable.

Videos

Happy Pitufino users on Sailing NV:

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