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Old 18-10-2009, 15:07   #46
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The number of linux users around is quite impressive considering the supposed niche quality of the operating system.. It would be great to get a Mac compiler/tester on board. From what I've heard, they seem to be rather pleased with their MacENC though..
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Old 19-10-2009, 08:51   #47
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Question Annotating charts

Sorry if my rudimentary search skills missed an already posted question and answer...

Is there a way to "draw a line" on the NOAA RNCs to use for reference when plotting ship's position? In this example, NMFS and the State F&W office have created a set of lat/lon waypoints and called them the "40 fathom line" which is then referenced in fishing regulations (ie: fishing for pacific halibut inside the 40-fathom line is permitted beginning ....)

I can input the series of waypoints as given, but how do I then connect them and visually display the "line" on all charts when it's in view according to zoom and scale?

I do assume we're talking about creating a "route" and displaying the route whether it's active or not (not in my example.)

Possible?
Thanks in advance...

-Case
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Old 19-10-2009, 10:25   #48
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Yes, you can draw your 40-fathom line with a route.

It is easy to create a route in OpenCPN.
To get started click the blue button with a "?" on. Click "Help" in the pop up window and a web page with instructions will open in your browser. Scroll down a bit to find instructions about creating routes.

Or, just start experimenting by clicking the green Route Button......
Just move the cursor and left-click. Right-click on the route to find a menu with things to do with your route.

Thomas
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Old 20-10-2009, 16:23   #49
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...and a potentially obtuse follow-up

Okay. Routes are easy to create, alter and delete. The "line" I'm attempting to draw gets rather tedious zooming around and positioning each waypoint. I endured the first 85 waypoints, however, and have a great start displayed now.

I've also discovered how to export the route as a GPX file, and I can edit the waypoints with 4 decimal place precision in GPSutility. It's actually much faster to enter the waypoints there, then re-save the GPX file...

Here comes the potentially obtuse question: how do I load the GPX file back into OpenCPN???

TIA!
-Case

PS: For the upcoming fishing season, it's going to be necessary to plot waypoints when given a lat/lon pair... is there (or could it be easily added) a feature to "go to coordinates"? Perhaps a "waypoint entry" dialog box instead of scrolling and zooming on the charts watching the cursor coords?
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Old 21-10-2009, 12:20   #50
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I agree with Cancancan. Here is my opinion on waypoint/route editing.

Waypoint editing is very useful.
In Swedish coastal areas, there are numerous different routes from A to B. Sometimes it is nice to start the day by making a few routes and compare them regarding distance and predicted sailing time. This is much easier if there is a dialogue box area to work between point and click input and numerical waypoint input and a save/load feature.
There are also waypoint lists, anchoring buoys’, racing schedules with rounding marks, shops restaurants, mechanics and all other sorts who give location by "waypoint data". All easy to set using a waypoint editor.

I started my navigation about ten years ago with Fugawi 2.x who I think is still unbeaten regarding waypoint editing simplicity. Either point and click to make waypoints or point and click to feed them into a rout. Or click and drag a waypoint in a route while the data in the route/waypoint list is automatically changed. All this can be done while actively navigating.
If you decide to tack under sails, just click to add a waypoint or drag the one you were sailing to earlier in the direction of your own ships COG indicator to see if your will pass the next marker or cut across a shallow or not on the new course. We use this to communicate navigation information from the navigator to the helmsman and check were you will end up on a new course after tacking and when to tack next time
.
Both in Seaclear and Tsunami this can not be done without exiting navigation mode, edit the route and then reload it and activate the route again. Really messy if sailing at night in bad visibility. (And yes, we play it safe having paper charts and are ready to swap from electronic to old fashion navigation if needed, but while using electronic navigation it should be safe and dead simple to use.)

I know Dave wants OpenCPN to be simple and uncluttered but I think it can be done while incorporating an efficient route/waypoint editing facility.

I think this is more important than an internal chart calibration facility, this is on its way outside of OpenCPN.

/Jonas

...this comment should have been in the Feature Requests instead, sorry...
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Old 21-10-2009, 17:37   #51
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jonasaberg.....

Thanks for the comments.

In Version 1.3.4, you can currently drag a waypoint in an active or inactive route. You can insert/delete waypoints in an inactive or active route. You can edit waypoints in Routepoint Properties dialog in an active or inactive route.

What you can't do (yet) is to edit the Routepoints in the RouteProperties dialog. This is just a static list now. I can see the real usefulness of this, and its on the list of Feature enhancements.

Meanwhile, I often drag waypoints, insert new waypoints, etc. while following a route by autopilot. I have even steered (with very slow feedback) by dragging the current active Routepoint around a big open bay. Fun

Thanks again
Dave
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Old 21-10-2009, 17:58   #52
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For those who live and die by rpm-based linux distros, some of you may have fallen (I know two of us now - me and an earlier poster) for the dreaded wxWidgets / glibc conflict bug on compiling from source on 1.3.4.

I can't find who did an rpm of 1.3.2 for Linux, but thank you. It's your fault I'm here now.

Anyway, I'm not waiting for someone else to release an rpm of 1.3.4 I'm attempting to rebuild the conflicting packages to get round this bug in wxWidgets and hope someday to go on to be the package maintainer for rpms of openCPN. IF anyone with any more linux nous than me (not hard ) wants a shot at the title, feel free. I'm on page #2 of the packaging tutorial. (But I've fixed the conflict ) I'll happily be your 1st mate.
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Old 22-10-2009, 09:11   #53
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Quote:
Here comes the potentially obtuse question: how do I load the GPX file back into OpenCPN???
I suppose that you have used the route "export" facility to save a route as a gpx file.
To load it again you first have to go to "wrench" --> Etc and tick the box "Show GPX Icons". This will give you two new buttons, "GPX in" and "GPX out". "GPX out", gives you new way to export routes.
To import it use "GPX in" to load your saved file.

Quote:
.. is there (or could it be easily added) a feature to "go to coordinates"?
Just create a way point near where you want it. Then right click and go to the properties pop-up. Enter the lat & long where you want the way point and it will move to the desired location.

Thomas
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Old 23-10-2009, 16:27   #54
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Okay, that's the "obtuse" part I was missing... I couldn't find the GPXin command anywhere... got it now that it's shown on the toolbar.

Now a new (but still related) problem... I've created the route with 83 waypoints in OpenCPN, used GPXout to export the route to file, edited the coordinates of some of the waypoints using GPSutility, and re-saved as a GPX file. Now, I can use GPXin to re-import the waypoints, but they're not listed as a route anymore, just 83 separate waypoints - and without a "description" (ie: dot, wreck, marker, etc.) of any sort... just the waypoint number on the chart. I find it quite difficult to click on as there's nothing graphically to target with the mouse. I also can't find a way to add the 83 waypoints into a new route. Do I need to create a route (perhaps with the beginning and ending waypoints) before OpenCPN will give an option to add an existing waypoint to the route?

Thanks again for all the help walking me through this. I'm relatively new to Windows-based plotting software, and so far OpenCPN blows SeaClear out of the water...

-Case


Quote:
Originally Posted by cagney View Post
CanCanCase

I suppose that you have used the route "export" facility to save a route as a gpx file.
To load it again you first have to go to "wrench" --> Etc and tick the box "Show GPX Icons". This will give you two new buttons, "GPX in" and "GPX out". "GPX out", gives you new way to export routes.
To import it use "GPX in" to load your saved file.

Just create a way point near where you want it. Then right click and go to the properties pop-up. Enter the lat & long where you want the way point and it will move to the desired location.

Thomas
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Old 23-10-2009, 17:11   #55
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Case,

I tried GPSutility and it changed the GPX file format.

You can edit the waypoints in OpenCPN by right clicking on the waypoint then selecting from the menu "Mark/WP properities".

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Old 23-10-2009, 19:29   #56
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CanCanCase...

Your procedure should work. Dunno whats going on...

If you will send me a copy of your modified GPX file, I'll take a look at it.

Dave
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Old 24-10-2009, 09:30   #57
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GPSutility did indeed "alter" the file... apparently the first 10 waypoints are "connected" as a route, but the subsequent 70+ are not. Seems it's a GPSutility problem, not an OpenCPN problem (actually, I think they're limiting the free version of GPSutility to 10 points in a route... gotta pay for the upgrade if you want the program to not mess up your GPX file!)

Upon further review, I like not having any dot or marker... just the route line from waypoint to waypoint is what I'm really trying to draw... now I've just got to re-enter the route and make sure to use OpenCPN to edit the fine-grained coords of each waypoint.

I was going to attach the GPX file, but it seems this vB installation won't take that sort of file as an attachment....

Moving on to yet another "feature request" from the newbies here...
When sport fishing, it's often desirable to instantly mark current location when a fish strikes. Typically, the "MOB" button is used. Is there a way to make the MOB button in OpenCPN appear on the toolbar (a toolbox setting similar to GPXin/out would work great) so that anyone near the laptop can immediately see where to click when everyone yells, "fish on!" (I'd hate to be out on deck and have to explain to my computer illiterate father how to "right click on the thing shaped like a boat and select MOB from the contextual menu that pops up..."

Heck, if we're custom-coding feature requests, and while I'm dreaming (cause if you're going to dream, dream BIG, right? ) Maybe the icon placed on the chart could be configurable... ie: I might make the MOB icon a fish, while my SCUBA friends in Florida might make it a wreck or life-ring...

Insert more gratuitous praise here... OpenCPN blows SeaClear away as far as utility and ease of use, and it does nearly everything I was about to pay $500+ for Nobeltec or MaxSea for...! Thanks again.

-Case
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Old 24-10-2009, 10:44   #58
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[QUOTE]Moving on to yet another "feature request" from the newbies here...
When sport fishing, it's often desirable to instantly mark current location when a fish strikes. Typically, the "MOB" button is used. Is there a way to make the MOB button in OpenCPN appear on the toolbar (a toolbox setting similar to GPXin/out would work great) so that anyone near the laptop can immediately see where to click when everyone yells, "fish on!" (I'd hate to be out on deck and have to explain to my computer illiterate father how to "right click on the thing shaped like a boat and select MOB from the contextual menu that pops up..."

Heck, if we're custom-coding feature requests, and while I'm dreaming (cause if you're going to dream, dream BIG, right? ) Maybe the icon placed on the chart could be configurable... ie: I might make the MOB icon a fish, while my SCUBA friends in Florida might make it a wreck or life-ring...


The MOB can also be set by using a Hot Key sequence: Ctrl+spacebar (both at the same time). There is a complete list of Hot Key's in the Help file.
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Old 01-11-2009, 15:22   #59
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In this thread, someone says that SeaClear was the first navigation package they found that will work with "Outside of US" operating systems. I think they mean an OS set up with the date formatted to DDMMYYYY inteaed of YYMMDD, and numbers with a comma for the decimal point.

So, does that make sense, and if so, does OpenCPN handle this OK?

Anybody that knows the answer, feel free to post it in the other thread as well as this one.

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Old 01-11-2009, 15:44   #60
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There was a problem with "." vs "," that "Fulup" suggested a patch for in the monster thread. Dave was quick to accept this into the code.
Never heard of a problem with the date format, not sure were that would apply to OCPN. I'm sure that if there was a problem we would know about it with the present worldwide user base.

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