Feature Requests

[cruisingdog]

Originally Posted by RhythmDoctor

I am not endorsing any manufacturer. I am just showing that the sort of device that you're looking for is out there. Do some searching of your own.

Frankly I think the best answer to this issue is simply to run OpenCPN on a touchscreen tablet or laptop. Then you have the MOB icon button on screen all the time, and all you need to do is tap it on the screen with your finger.

Understood. I wasn't criticizing you personally. I was just shocked at how much a company would gouge its customers for.

I agree with whomever said that using BT or wireless is not a good idea for MOB. However it might be good-enough. Saying that this is the reason why GPS units sell (because they have MOB and Anchor Alarms built in and those units are extensively tested for bugs, which can't be said of a PC OS).

[seandepagnier]

These are feature requests I'm thinking about implementing but would like to know if they would be useful:

1) A server which provides historic grib files for anytime in the last 30 years downloaded automatically by the grib plugin and useful for all sorts of weather routing analysis.

2) A new format of grib data which takes a grib file (version 1 or 2) and redistributes the data into a format much more efficiently compressed. This means the grib plugin can read this format. I can provide tools to convert this format to and from regular grib format. This means a typical grib file with wind data would be less than 50% in size with the same data (lets face it, grib just isn't designed very clever) which would be useful for ssb and satellite transmissions.

[rgleason]

Oh I like this idea, Sean. Maybe it would be a standard? Will we still have climatology? I hope so. Would grib_pi run grib2 files and your new compressed version of 30yr climatology wind files? You propose a server to serve up these compressed files? Sailors will love it. Very ambitious I think, but you've accomplished things like this before! Best Rick. If i can help i will.

[seandepagnier]

Originally Posted by rgleason

Oh I like this idea, Sean. Maybe it would be a standard? Will we still have climatology? I hope so. Would grib_pi run grib2 files and your new compressed version of 30yr climatology wind files? You propose a server to serve up these compressed files? Sailors will love it. Very ambitious I think, but you've accomplished things like this before! Best Rick. If i can help i will.

No, proposing to store the data in grib files in a different way which is not noticeable to the user but offers far superior compression. Consider for example separating magnitude and direction into separate grids so that run length compression actually works there. Further you can already use half the bits (we really don't care about 10.01 knots vs 10 knots) and with more clever tricks can just use the difference from the previous time slice to further reduce bits. There are more tricks as well. It would no longer be grib format, but we could easily convert between the two.

The climatology plugin already does this for its data so there is no change for that.

[hellosailor]

It would be very slick and convenient to have the historical data readily available, with better display options and more compact form. Would you be able to keep that current and updated easily, though?


I suspect that in the years since the GRIB format was designed, computers have gotten somewhat more powerful and programmers may have options that weren't feasible all that time ago. Like a $50 smartphone that has more power than an IBM360 mainframe had back then.(G)

[Distant_Shaws]

Originally Posted by boat_alexandra

No, proposing to store the data in grib files in a different way which is not noticeable to the user but offers far superior compression. Consider for example separating magnitude and direction into separate grids so that run length compression actually works there. Further you can already use half the bits (we really don't care about 10.01 knots vs 10 knots) and with more clever tricks can just use the difference from the previous time slice to further reduce bits. There are more tricks as well. It would no longer be grib format, but we could easily convert between the two.

The climatology plugin already does this for its data so there is no change for that.

Sean

I was playing with your weather routing software a little while age around my location and wondered haw much the climatology plugin used currents in routing as at my location there is quite a high current down our coast. Considering your current location you may be sailing down our coast at some time not too far away.

Would love to meet if you do come our way.

[seandepagnier]

Originally Posted by Distant_Shaws

Sean

I was playing with your weather routing software a little while age around my location and wondered haw much the climatology plugin used currents in routing as at my location there is quite a high current down our coast. Considering your current location you may be sailing down our coast at some time not too far away.

Would love to meet if you do come our way.

The plugin can use currents from grib, and also climatology does have this current, but unfortunately the accuracy is very bad closer than 20 miles to land. Some day I hope to find more accurate current data. At the moment I found swell data so I am trying to implement a wave atlas and eventually integrate this into weather routing. Also, this current I believe varies from day to day more than expected so the average of many years is not really very accurate as some days it is much stronger than others.

I am headed to richards bay in probably one or two months.

[seandepagnier]

Originally Posted by hellosailor

It would be very slick and convenient to have the historical data readily available, with better display options and more compact form. Would you be able to keep that current and updated easily, though?

Its a bunch of work, but it's possible to download gribs to cover the entire world with GFS model. This would be done automatically, then just a simple program or script is needed to break out the areas requested.

The server also offers historic grib files for the last 30 years, so it wouldn't be a problem.

I suspect that in the years since the GRIB format was designed, computers have gotten somewhat more powerful and programmers may have options that weren't feasible all that time ago. Like a $50 smartphone that has more power than an IBM360 mainframe had back then.(G)

Really, this isn't the issue as I can see it. From what I can tell grib format was invented by scientists, not by sailors, so they didn't consider the possibility to minimize the file size while still providing the useful bits.

Consider a more recent development "cloud computing" which to me is a complete joke when your internet connection is 5kb/s on a good day. The people coming out with these new developments have the fastest computers and reliable connections so they don't really understand the pain of sending one email taking more than an hour.

Also consider kap format charts. This is a funny one because if I simply use lzma compression I reduce the size to less than half what it was, and in theory these charts are already compressed... Finally, consider imagery charts from google earth. These can be stored in jpeg format instead of kap and have better quality images at 10% of the file size, yet everyone is forced to convert them to the simplistic kap format to use.

[Distant_Shaws]

Originally Posted by boat_alexandra

The plugin can use currents from grib, and also climatology does have this current, but unfortunately the accuracy is very bad closer than 20 miles to land. Some day I hope to find more accurate current data. At the moment I found swell data so I am trying to the implement a wave atlas and eventually integrate this into weather routing. Also, this current I believe varies from day to day more than expected so the average of many years is not really very accurate as some days it is much stronger than others.

I am headed to richards bay in probably one or two months.

Thks for the info. There are a number of sailors ,friends of mine, along the SA coast who know the area quit well.

I do get to Richards Bay quite often as I am a member of ZLYC and have a mooring at the club as well as in Durban. IF you can give me am ETA closer to the date I can see If I could get up to RB while you are there if that OK with you

[rgleason]

At the moment I found swell data so I am trying to implement a wave atlas and eventually integrate this into weather routing.

Sean do you anticipate this going to be put into climatology and accessible to Weather_routing? Or is it going to be incorporated directly into weather_routing?

The plugin can use currents from grib, and also climatology does have this current, but unfortunately the accuracy is very bad closer than 20 miles to land. Some day I hope to find more accurate current data. ....Also, this current I believe varies from day to day more than expected so the average of many years is not really very accurate as some days it is much stronger than others.

Sean, there might be improvements of real-time data from GOES satellites.

From http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...ch-104418.html
Is this the source for waves that you referred to?
USGODAE Data Catalog - Summary View
SWH - FNMOC Sea Wave Height from Satellite Altimeters
WW3 - FNMOC Wave Watch III
WW3 Central America - FNMOC Wave Watch III
WW3 Mediterranean - FNMOC Wave Watch III

Shipping Routes Maritime Routes and Strategic Passages
Maritime Piracy https://icc-ccs.org/

[Saqqara]

I would like to see more styling options in the Appearance tab of the instruments plugin.

Perhaps changing text and background colors, changing ship image and compass rose. Maybe adding large and small variants of the text only instruments.

As there are multiple night modes, this presents additional complexity. But it would be nice to be able to use white text on black backgrounds by preference during the day, maybe red/orange text on black (or vice versa) at night.

One could go hog wild with themes and skins... I'm just aiming for a bold modern appearance, something less Windows 95. Look through a marine catalog at newer commercial instruments from B&G, Raymarine et al to see what I mean.

[Roel Smidt]

OA 4.1.909 - Status bar text/background

The status bar with SOG & COG has black text on grey background. Looks good and is easy on the eyes but I found it hard to read in bright daylight conditions (on my small "dinghy with a lid" I use my smartphone in the cockpit). The easiest solution would be to stop sailing on sunny days , the other might be to use another text/background combination (maybe green text on a black background, just as in the navigate-console?).

Roel

[rooiedirk]

Grib: Grib download request.
Currently the (email) request possibilities are hard coded and only two sources. (saildocs & zyGrib)
Would be nice to have the download/email settings in a seperated config file, to make it possible to add more sources. Including direct downloads from www or ftp.
As an example, we have here in europe several higher resolution sources available.
Værdata i GRIB-format - yr.no (Norway 10km)
GRIB-files HARMONIE-model (the Netherlands 2.5 km)
Around the world there must be much more, and most of them only interresting for local users.
If done a local user could adjust the config file and from then on, use his local service.

[rgleason]

Rooiedirk
There is a similar request in tracker a tab on the opencpn.org website. However your details should be added. Please register and find the request under pi-grib project dropdown. Then add a comment and link to your post. Or copy and paste. Thankyou.

Also vote for it.

[rgleason]

Roel Smidt you should make a new feature request in "opencpn feature request" project dropdown. Register make a new task and then vote for it.