Free Routing Software. qtVlm

[oxygen77]

Originally Posted by hwecken

Hi oxygen77
is there someone working on reading files in GRIB2 format.
For the north an baltic sea there is a very good source of current files in grib2 format
ftp://ftp.bsh.de/Stroemungsvorhersagen/
Or do anyone know a tool to konvert grib2 to grib1 format ?
Hartmut

I've started some test on this subject, but nothing usable for now. It will be available in a future version for sure.

For conversion the only tool I know is a cmd line tool available on NOAA website, can be build on unix probably on windows too (using cygwin?)

[rgleason]

Hartmut, there is a tool to convert grib files, I do not know if it will go in reverse.

Look at this thread http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...rts-96792.html

Post #15 http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...ml#post1146854 Its called wgrib2.

I've started reading the instructions to convert prevailing gribs COGOW (Prevailing Ocean Winds » Pitufa.at.) to grib2 I am starting to realize that these can be loaded into Goggle Earth and could possibly use GEO2Kap to convert to Kap files. However you could not do Grib routing with them then which would be the idea behind Pilot Gribs

[maitai]

For those interested, qtVlm3.4-beta3 is out. It should fix the crash in real boat mode, and some other things...

windows 64bits:
http://www.virtual-winds.com/maitai/...eta3_win64.zip

windows 32bits:
http://www.virtual-winds.com/maitai/...eta3_win32.zip

[fastm]

Hello,

the beta3 solved the crash problem (win xp home 32 bit) , but I've seen a strange meteo fax distortion when the left side of the fax is going out of the screen by a zoom and/or a pan (see attached screenshots before and after a zoom/pan).

Ciao,

Stefano

[maitai]

Fax images are not intented to be zoomed over too much. They are more or less only suited only for the area they cover. These images do not contain polynomials that would help to fit something flat on a round earth

So I don't think this is a bug in the beta, can you try with the last stable release 3.3.5?

[fastm]

Originally Posted by maitai

Fax images are not intented to be zoomed over too much. They are more or less only suited only for the area they cover. These images do not contain polynomials that would help to fit something flat on a round earth

So I don't think this is a bug in the beta, can you try with the last stable release 3.3.5?

Hello,

I tested with the 3.3.5 and the problem is not there (I changed the file to .png to load it): see attachment n.1.

With 3.4.0-beta3 the problem isn't due to zoom but to the left side of fax going too far left: see attachment n.2 where I just pan the screen to the right.

Ciao,

Stefano

[maitai]

Yes you are perfectly right, there is (was) a problem. Thanks for spotting this.

I hope I have fixed it, you can try beta3c, same links as before.

BTW there was a potential similar problem with kap files, so it's good to test this part a bit too

[maitai]

@Stefano (fastm): we are very close from releasing 3.4.0... Can you please confirm that the bug you spotted with wheather-faxes is fixed in beta3c?

[fastm]

Hello,

I confirm that in the beta3c the problem with weather-fax is solved.

I also tryied to load and use some kap file and I had a partial success:
- the kap file from SHOM cannot be loaded (you can only see a shade instead of the chart) but they load ok in OpenCpn for instance
- other kap from NOAA opens correctly and are always well displayed in case of zoom/pan.

With 3.4.0 beta I didn't find how to visualize again the dashboard if you closed it (with previous version was by right-clicking in the title bar, if I remember well): how is it possible to do it, with real boat mode?

Ciao,

Stefano

[maitai]

Good to know that wheather-fax pb is solved.

For the kap files: Some kaps files have some data inside (polynomials) and we are able to show them. Some other don't have that and we are not (yet) able to calculate them by ourselves like ocpn does. It's in the box but for a later version. So some kap files are displayable in qtVlm, and some others no.

Concerning the last point, I think you just found a good one... I'll investigate further but it seems we forgot to put the menu to get the dashboard back if it has been closed lol

That's what betas are for, thanks again for helping us

[Taarnskov]

The qtvlm is a marvelous tool for weather routing and weather prediction. I have started to use it 8 month ago and plan to use it much more as soon as the sailing season starts. Weather forecasting and planning is one of the vital factors for safe sailing both in coastal waters and longer passages.

It would be very useful to have built in a tool to find the optimum weather window for a safe passage. A scenario that comes to my mind is when waiting in Falmouth for a passage to La Coruna in Spain and a row of weather system comes across he northern Atlantic. When is the optimum time to start?

Qtvlm could run through the route calculation a number of times with 2, 4, or 6 hour intervals. Qtvlm could calculate as long as there are gribdata available. The data could be present in a schematic form as the below shown. Different colors could show which is the fastest, the shortest og the ones which have wind and wave data that are above the limit set in the programme

Lars

[maitai]

Yes it'a a nice idea. Of course it's gonna be a bit time consuming to generate all these data...

We'll put that on the todo/idea list

[rgleason]

The weather window idea is a nice idea, Maxsea has something like this, and it approaches it a little differently, by doing routing with limits on wave height and wind I think, so the route is actually planned with those limits. I think you have to pick the weather window aspect by doing multiple runs.

A combination of these two might result in fewer runs.
1. Weather windows runs as proposed.
2. Routes optimized with limits on wave ht and wind speed (can partly be done by editing the polar too, ...as happens naturally when sail is reduced in heavy winds!) I imagine such a feature would change the polar and run routes too.

[maitai]

for those who want to help beta3g is out, probably one of the last one

One new feature concern touch-screen management so feedback is welcomed there...

[rgleason]

qtVlm English Wiki, download and install instructions
QtVlm/en - VlmWiki

But don't know where the beta3g is located, sourceforge? ---Ah link is above I believe.

http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...ml#post1153264
Post #243 - Does not say "beta-3g" so not sure.