How Are BSBs Created?

[Jammer Six]

How are raster charts created?

NOAA has released PDFs of virtually all American charts. I'm using a graphics program and a 13x19 printer to make my own chart books.

To take it one step further, is it possible to take these graphics and create a BSB out of them, that I could load in OpenCPN?

[bcn]

Why do you want to do this?

You have already all the charts in electronic format either as S57 vector charts or as RNCs (raster) for download at the NOAA site?

Hubert

[Jammer Six]

Yes, I have all the charts.

There are a number of reasons I'd want to do it, one of which is the ability to update charts promptly.

Do you know how BSBs are created?

[seandepagnier]

I know how to create raster charts.

The weather fax plugin can convert images into kap files.

[sailorF54]

GE2KAP does it fairly easily, provided they are not at too small a scale, as only two opposite corners are used.
DownloadÂ*
Otherwise you have to enter a lot of coordinates in command line apps, a real pain in the ...
Anyway, have a look at the wiki...It's there...
Chart Conversion | Official OpenCPN Homepage

[Jammer Six]

Thank you!

Geez, what a nightmare...

[colemj]

I don't really understand your reasoning. NOAA makes available for download all US charts in both raster and vector formats for free. They update them weekly.

How often do you need to update your electronic charts that you are willing to download pdf files, convert them to proper tiff format with a graphics program using resolution and color depth constraints, georeference them using a different program, create header information and form it into files using another program, and put all of this altogether into a KAP format with yet another program? Doing this takes 10-20 minutes per chart.

Since NOAA only issues mariner updates weekly - the same frequency as they update their electronic charts - I assume it is your own updates you wish to apply daily?

Mark

[nohal]

Jammer...
What exactly is a nightmare? The process is kind of trivial

imgkap XXX.kap XXXheader.txt XXX.png

paint whatever you want on XXX.png

imgkap XXX.png XXXheader.txt MyBetterXXX.kap

Pavel

[Jammer Six]

I should have specified "on a Mac".

An .exe doesn't run on a Mac.

In the very worst case, I could use a command line in Terminal, but it's been ten years since I had to do that.

[Cavalier]

Originally Posted by Jammer Six

I should have specified "on a Mac".





An .exe doesn't run on a Mac.





In the very worst case, I could use a command line in Terminal, but it's been ten years since I had to do that.

Why don't you dual-boot your mac, or run a virtual machine (PC) on it? Gives a lot of possibilities...

[nohal]

Jammer...
All you need then is imgkap built for a Mac (Get it from https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B3X...it?usp=sharing - It works on the machine where I just built it (OS X 10.8.5), no idea if on any Mac out there).
Save it somewhere reasonable (your home dir - the one where you are when you start the Terminal - is a good option) make it executable using

chmod +x imgkap

and use the steps I posted above.
And sorry, I only have access to a Mac over a remote secure shell session, so can't tell you how to do it using the GUI clicking there.

Pavel

[Stu Jackson]

BSB? Boy Scout Babes?

Boy, talk about making something easy really hard...

[Jammer Six]

Well, I got it built, I think.

But I don't see how to use it. Running those commands on the command line makes it generate an error when I replace it with the name of an image.

[nohal]

Jammer...
Which of the commands (post exactly the one you run) and what does the error say (exactly, copy-paste it here)?
Help me help you a bit harder, please...

Pavel

[Jammer Six]

Okay, I will, and I appreciate the help.