OpenCPN

[melis.cpn]

Hi bdbcat;
Thanks a lot for detailed answer on S-57, SENC & ENC. As a reference to my readings on the net regarding to S-57, there are some viewing standards related to that S-57 and S-52 is the the one with a standard, so does opencpn follow the S-52 standard or is there another standard that openCPN follows?

Thanks a lot again;
Regards,
Melis

[bdbcat]

Thanks for the question....

Opencpn substantially follows the international S-52 standard for display of S-57 ENC.

S-52 is a fairly dynamic target, with relatively frequent changes. Also, the most current actual standard specification document must be purchased with real $$$, so is unavailable to the opencpn project so far. I believe that S-52 Version 3.3 is the most current.

A further complication involves comformance testing. In order to be used as a replacement for paper charts on a commercial vessel, the ECDIS, in this case opencpn, must be tested by a third party for compliance with the IMO standards. We have no plans for seeking certification of opencpn. It is intended for private, non-commercial use only.

All that being said, opencpn self-asserts compliance with version 3.2 of the IMO S-52 Presentation library.

Again, thanks for your interest.

Dave

[melis.cpn]

Thanks a lot for your reply Dave

[gonefishing]

Hi all,

I am always concerned with open source software in case the developers get bored, fall out or lack funding to continue with the project.

No disrespect to the coders but it just concerns me. Looks like a good thing I must say.

[Amgine]

Yah, I hate it when companies stop producing my favourite software, or get bought and the new company refuses to support it. And hardware producers are the worst... I can't tell you how many perfectly good printers/scanners we've gone through because we updated our operating system or computer hardware, and the old drivers for the printer/scanner isn't available for the new OS.

oh, wait, you were talking about Open Source.

[Beausoleil]

Originally Posted by gonefishing

Hi all,

I am always concerned with open source software in case the developers get bored, fall out or lack funding to continue with the project.

No disrespect to the coders but it just concerns me. Looks like a good thing I must say.

If the original developer(s) of proprietary software get bored, face some kind of illness, divorce or other life-altering event, then the software application dies on the vine. But with Open Source, you get the source code. If you have a programming background, you can modify it as needed. If you don't, and yet you really like the software, you can try to drum up community support around it, or you can hire someone to make the modifications/bug fixes you need.

Heck, even vBulletin - on which you're reading/posting right now - is built on PHP - an open source system. Apache web server that runs about 60% of the web? Open source. Red Hat, Suse, Ubuntu Linux? Open source. MySQL and PostgrSQL database back ends? Open source. Apple's OSX? Built on top of open source. bind - the software that implements DNS on the Internet - heck, it makes the entire Internet possible. Yeah, it's open source.

Microsoft just tries to make it look like the whole world is Microsoft software. Peel back the covers and you see a whole other world...

[dacust]

Originally Posted by Beausoleil

If the original developer(s) of proprietary software get bored, face some kind of illness, divorce or other life-altering event, then the software application dies on the vine. But with Open Source, you get the source code.

You left out the point that if the original developer looses interest, etc, the package dies, but with open source, ALL the developers have to give up. All it takes is just one person left wanting to keep it going. And they don't have to be making a profit to do it. They just have to WANT it to keep working.

That's one of the cool things about open source, all the developers are working on it because they really WANT to. None of them are doing it because it was assigned to them. They are working on something they have personal interest in. No couch potatoes working on marine navigation programs. You can bet every single one of them are boaters.

-dan

[melis.cpn]

Hi there;
I have a problem when using opencpn. When I try to load an S57 map (a file with the .000 extension) the program doesnt open it, and write "Dummy" to the right uper part of the program, the part where normally map names occur. What may cause the problem?
On the other hand I want to note that; I can open some other S-57 sample files.

Thanks a lot in adcance
Regard,
Melis

[bdbcat]

All...

OpenCPN Version 1.2.6 has been released.

This is a maintenance and feature update release, containing some S57 ENC symbology improvements, greater compliance with IHO S52 standards, and various enhancements and bug fixes. Especially interesting are the DUSK and NIGHT display modes, for which user feedback is highly desired.....

The Mac port is coming along, and I can direct interested parties to our Mac developer and download sites. More testers needed here, too.

Feature requests are being entertained, as well. Stay in touch.

Question: Does anybody still care about CMap/93 chart support? There are a number of (bootleg?) copies for CM93 floating about. Wondering if we should try to support this data type...

Dave

p.s. Regarding the posted OpenSource concerens: I'm alive, well, and definitely not bored. I'm a full-time cruiser, and use opencpn every day.

We've got a long list of features to add from here, including GRIB support, Google Earth interfacing, and some NavNet-like stuff that seems useful. I see a long and evolving life for opencpn.

[joberlin]

Greetings,


I think this message is directed bdbcat but I'll gladly accept help from anyone.


I'm trying to do what I believe everyone here is trying to do, which is to use free NOAA charts and free navigation software on my PC with a GPS to navigate. It seems straight forward but I'm stuck and not sure where I went wrong. Here's where I'm at in the process.

I downloaded NOAA ENCs from Office of Coast Survey - Home - Nautical Charts.

I chose the "All available ENCs, Download size is 372.83 MB" zip file option. That seemed to work fine and I believe all the data is now on my drive.

I also downloaded SeaClear II and installed it. However, SeaClear II can't use the above files. I believe that's where OpenCPN comes into the process.

So, I went to SourceForge.net to get OpenCPN and downloaded three files: OpenCPN_126_Setup.exe, opencpn_1.2.6-2_i386.deb, and opencpn-1.2.6.tar.bz2.tar. The problem with this step is that I don't know what to do with these files. My Vista PC won't open or run any of them.



So, what do I do now? How do I actually get OpenCPN running on my PC?



Many thanks,
John

[bdbcat]

Dear John...

Hi, I'm Dave (bdbcat), the author of OpenCPN.

Sorry you are having problems. I'll try to help.

What you want to do is run OpenCPN_126_Setup.exe from your desktop, or from your download folder.

opencpn_1.2.6-2_i386.deb, and opencpn-1.2.6.tar.bz2.tar are for Linux systems. You won't be needing them.

You may be having problems with Vista, as many are. OpenCPN is not well tested with Vista so far. I would appreciate hearing about your success or failure. If failure, maybe a screen shot of any Windows error message would help us to resolve this problem.

Thanks
Dave

[joberlin]

That's about what I expected to hear. My problem now is that my Vista PC (not sure if that means all Vista machines) won't open/run OpenCPN_126_Setup.exe. I get an error message saying that the file is "not a valid Win32 application." Any suggestions?

On a different issue, I found an web site with something called "OpenCPNfrontend." What is that? Is it yours? How does it fit into the picture? OpenCPN GPSd FrontEnd

Thanks

[joberlin]

Dave, I downloaded the .exe file again and opened it as administrator and have now installed it. The problem may have been a corrupted download the first time. I'm working now to figure out how to use the application.

Thanks

[bdbcat]

Dear Joberlin...

Glad you got it installed OK. Good luck.

OpenCPN Front End is a separate , independently developed VBasic application for Windows only. It cooperates with opencpn to allow a type of "console" display window to be used simultaneously with opencpn. It takes advantage of the GPSD interface of both programs. On this console one may display things like boat speed, course, heading, etc.

It is a nice addition to opencpn, but not strictly necessary for normal operation and navigation. I'd start without it, learn the basics, and maybe add it later.

We plan to add a similar console display natively to OpenCPN in the next release version if users request it.

Dave

[Whimsical]

Originally Posted by bdbcat

Question: Does anybody still care about CMap/93 chart support? There are a number of (bootleg?) copies for CM93 floating about. Wondering if we should try to support this data type...

Availability of free charts outside the NOAA range is nonexistant so I would think anyone traveling outside of those areas would be most interested, I know I am.
Are the NZ charts compatable with opencpn.

Mike