OpenCPN Version 4.0 Released

[goingplaces]

Thanks RhythmDoctor, I appreciate you trying to help. I read every post in you very helpful thread ''Windows 8 Tablets for OpenCPN''. You info and advise is what I'm going by.

Of course I have downloaded ''Petrsimon's GeolocationTCP'' and I followed you instructions. The GeolocationTCP is showing a fix but only every half minute or so. I was not connected to a cellular net and I was in the cockpit. It might be some obvious detail which I'm overlooking here or the HP Stream 8 just doesn't work properly with OpenCPN.

After reading Captain Neil's remarks on this issue I gave up trying. See following link: www.amazon.com/gp/forum/cd/discussion.html/ref=cm_cd_NOREF?ie=UTF8&asin=B00NSHLUFQ&cdForum=Fx 30ELUS1X9OIML&cdPage=1&cdThread=Tx2EFJKU87ESP17 I contacted HP, asking them if they could fix the problem with the driver yet. The reply was that it has got nothing to do with the driver and that I should contact OpenCPN.

By the way; I had some questions to you about the Switch 10 a while ago. I have decided to go for a Miix 2 instead and as a backup a Stream 8, so I still could use OpenCPN in case something goes wrong with the Miix 2. (not suggested by you but it got mentioned in some post as a cheap alternative to the Miix 2) I'll wait for now with getting a low energy computer for general use, seems to be a big change ahead with new models of stick computers.

[nohal]

goingplaces...
- That coment on Amazon is not exactly correct - Geolocation TCP exists exactly to bridge that gap and generate NMEA sentences from the Windows Location API events.

- That you see update of a position just once every half a minute is normal - Windows Location API works this way (It could be changed by HP in their drivers, but you have already talked to their support so you can probably imagine how probable it is to happen).

- If you want the position every second and not to have to fiddle with stuff, get a decent external GPS with good drivers, like the latest generation of Globalsat BU-353

Pavel

[RhythmDoctor]

Originally Posted by goingplaces

...Of course I have downloaded ''Petrsimon's GeolocationTCP'' and I followed you instructions. The GeolocationTCP is showing a fix but only every half minute or so. I was not connected to a cellular net and I was in the cockpit. It might be some obvious detail which I'm overlooking here or the HP Stream 8 just doesn't work properly with OpenCPN.

After reading Captain Neil's remarks on this issue I gave up trying. See following link: www.amazon.com/gp/forum/cd/discussion.html/ref=cm_cd_NOREF?ie=UTF8&asin=B00NSHLUFQ&cdForum=Fx 30ELUS1X9OIML&cdPage=1&cdThread=Tx2EFJKU87ESP17 I contacted HP, asking them if they could fix the problem with the driver yet. The reply was that it has got nothing to do with the driver and that I should contact OpenCPN.

By the way; I had some questions to you about the Switch 10 a while ago. I have decided to go for a Miix 2 instead and as a backup a Stream 8, so I still could use OpenCPN in case something goes wrong with the Miix 2. (not suggested by you but it got mentioned in some post as a cheap alternative to the Miix 2) I'll wait for now with getting a low energy computer for general use, seems to be a big change ahead with new models of stick computers.

If you are only getting updated fixed every 30 seconds, it sounds like the tablet is getting its location from a WiFi signal and not from the GPS chip. Try setting the tablet down without holding it and leave it for about 10 minutes. (Make sure to adjust power settings so that it does not go to sleep.) It can take that long to get the initial fix from the GPS.

You are not going to get HP or anyone else to replace the Broadcom drivers. They will not admit that there is anything wrong with them. And in a technical sense, they aren't. The design spec is a different API for Modern/Metro apps, and doesn't support NMEA streams. You need a program that translates the Modern API to NMEA. If GeolocationTCP doesn't work, there are others (but you may have to pay).

Another thing to try is the Sensors app from the Windows app store. It's free, and it runs on the Modern/Metro side, so it should get a fix that updates every second with the Broadcom driver. If not, then the problem is with your GPS chip and not with the software.

[kegendron]

Hi:

I just installed this version and I can not get my charts to show the lettering.

This means the names of towns and ports.

Any advice?

I am using a mac that I just had wiped cleaned and installed with 10.8.5.

Thanks

[bcn]

The text button (A+) from the tool bar?

[ptulp]

Originally Posted by kegendron

Hi:

I just installed this version and I can not get my charts to show the lettering.

This means the names of towns and ports.

Any advice?

I am using a mac that I just had wiped cleaned and installed with 10.8.5.

Thanks

Assuming that you are using ENC charts, is on the Vector Charts Display page the "Important Text Only" checked?

[CarCode]

Originally Posted by kegendron

I am using a mac that I just had wiped cleaned and installed with 10.8.5.

Any reason to install a 3 years old OS and not the actual OS version 10.10?

Gerhard

[CarinaPDX]

Originally Posted by CarCode

Any reason to install a 3 years old OS and not the actual OS version 10.10?

Of course there is. Generally speaking Apple is forcing obsolescence by not supporting hardware older than about 5 years with the latest OS; either buy a new computer or live with an unsupported OS. The current developer tools (Xcode) is available as a package which does not include support for building binaries for older OSes; it is a simple matter to download the appropriate SDK to enable building for older OSes, and since 10.6.8 does support 64 bit Quartz applications on Intel it would be easy to do but most developers can't be bothered (including OCPN).

I can't speak for kegendron, but for my Mac the last supported system is Lion (10.7.x) which is a turkey (a bit like Vista) so I am staying with Snow Leopard (10.6.8) which is a bit like XP (a reliable workhorse). I did try to build OCPN and posted the results on one of the threads but got no response for my request for help. I do need to revisit that and make certain that the older configs were removed and that there is nothing else on my end that is causing a problem, but it really would be helpful to have a dev build with the SDK given how easy it is.

Greg

[goingplaces]

Originally Posted by nohal

goingplaces...
- That coment on Amazon is not exactly correct - Geolocation TCP exists exactly to bridge that gap and generate NMEA sentences from the Windows Location API events.

- That you see update of a position just once every half a minute is normal - Windows Location API works this way (It could be changed by HP in their drivers, but you have already talked to their support so you can probably imagine how probable it is to happen).

- If you want the position every second and not to have to fiddle with stuff, get a decent external GPS with good drivers, like the latest generation of Globalsat BU-353

Pavel

Nohal....
….I agree with you Pavel, HP wouldn't be interested in adjusting the driver only to keep a few sailors happy. You suggestion of using an external GPS would be the best solution I guess.


RhythmDoctor....
....I'm nowhere near a WiFi, so I've got to rule out that I picked up some signals this way and the cellular net connection was turned off. The tablet was sitting flat in the cockpit for more than an hour with the sleep function turned off.


Bottom line is I bought the wrong tablet, not suitable for use with OpenCPN with the internal GPS . The Miix 2 which I have ordered about the same time as the HP is still not here yet but I hope it will be easier to set up.


I thank you both for you help!
Cheers.

[RhythmDoctor]

Originally Posted by goingplaces

Nohal....
….I agree with you Pavel, HP wouldn't be interested in adjusting the driver only to keep a few sailors happy. You suggestion of using an external GPS would be the best solution I guess.


RhythmDoctor....
....I'm nowhere near a WiFi, so I've got to rule out that I picked up some signals this way and the cellular net connection was turned off. The tablet was sitting flat in the cockpit for more than an hour with the sleep function turned off.


Bottom line is I bought the wrong tablet, not suitable for use with OpenCPN with the internal GPS . The Miix 2 which I have ordered about the same time as the HP is still not here yet but I hope it will be easier to set up.


I thank you both for you help!
Cheers.

What did the Sensors app show? That should tell you if your GPS chip is getting a fix.

It is well known that the Geolocation DNSS driver is designed to work with Modern/Metro apps only, and needs auxiliary software to work with all legacy Windows GPS software. It may be too much trouble for you to get it to work, but I'm not convinced about the "not suitable" part.

The comment about HP not being concerned about a few sailors is a little too narrow. There is a whole bunch of non-Modern Windows programs out there that can benefit from GPS access, and there are multiple options that address this deficiency.

I'm heading out for a couple days of sailing on someone else's boat with my Miix2, so I will get more experience with the internal GPS.

[goingplaces]

Originally Posted by RhythmDoctor

What did the Sensors app show? That should tell you if your GPS chip is getting a fix.

It is well known that the Geolocation DNSS driver is designed to work with Modern/Metro apps only, and needs auxiliary software to work with all legacy Windows GPS software. It may be too much trouble for you to get it to work, but I'm not convinced about the "not suitable" part.

The comment about HP not being concerned about a few sailors is a little too narrow. There is a whole bunch of non-Modern Windows programs out there that can benefit from GPS access, and there are multiple options that address this deficiency.

I'm heading out for a couple days of sailing on someone else's boat with my Miix2, so I will get more experience with the internal GPS.

If there is more non-modern Windows programs out there that could benefit from GPS access and not only OpenCPN than perhaps HP will do something about the drivers sooner or later. It would be nice to get the tablet working on OpenCPN without an external GPS.


About the Sensor app; I actually did try to download it but when I should have agreed on automatically sending data like camera roll and existing and new documents to ''the cloud'' I backed off. I can't see what that's got to do with downloading this app.


Anyway, if I anderstand you right this app will only tell me if the built-in GPS is getting a fix. If the tablet is not connected to WiFi or a cellular net and the GeolocationTCP shows a position every half a minute then I assume it is getting a fix.


I'm looking forward to read you comments on you experience over the weekend with the internal GPS on the Miix 2 and how it works with OpenCPN.

[RhythmDoctor]

Originally Posted by goingplaces

If there is more non-modern Windows programs out there that could benefit from GPS access and not only OpenCPN than perhaps HP will do something about the drivers sooner or later. It would be nice to get the tablet working on OpenCPN without an external GPS.

HP is not going to rewrite the drivers. Those are Broadcom's responsibility. I could speculate on the reasons that Broadcom did it the way that they did, but I won't.

Originally Posted by goingplaces

About the Sensor app; I actually did try to download it but when I should have agreed on automatically sending data like camera roll and existing and new documents to ''the cloud'' I backed off. I can't see what that's got to do with downloading this app.

I don't recall needing to do this. There were some "options" like this when I set up my account for the Windows App store account, but I was able to disable them. I had similar options when setting up Google's Play Store account for my Android devices.

Originally Posted by goingplaces

Anyway, if I anderstand you right this app will only tell me if the built-in GPS is getting a fix. If the tablet is not connected to WiFi or a cellular net and the GeolocationTCP shows a position every half a minute then I assume it is getting a fix.

You do not need to be "connected to" WiFi. My understanding is that if there are any WiFi SSIDs present, the device may be able to get a fix. Only way to prevent it is airplane mode. I might be wrong, but this is what I've heard.

What I do know is that if your GPS chip has a fix, you'll get an update once a second. Once or twice a minute is a sure sign that your approximate position is coming from a database of SSIDs and/or MAC addresses of known routers. I believe that employees of Google and other data suppliers actually drive around neighborhoods collecting SSIDs (often at the same time they're photographing for Street View).

Originally Posted by goingplaces

I'm looking forward to read you comments on you experience over the weekend with the internal GPS on the Miix 2 and how it works with OpenCPN.

On my own boat I have GPS and AIS transmitting by Bluetooth, so I don't use the Miix2 8" internal GPS. But this weekend I was on someone else's boat, so I ran GeolocationTCP. It ran flawlessly, within the parameters that I have mentioned before:

• It took several minutes to establish a fix. During that time I had to leave the tablet sitting in the cockpit face up to ensure maximum signal from the GPS satellites.
• When I held it in my hand, I had to be very careful not to let my hand touch the metallic strip at the bottom (where the GPS antenna appears to be located). If I did that, I would immediately lose my fix. If I wanted to hold the device in portrait mode, I had to hold it upside down, with the antenna at the top of the device (Windows button logo at the top), and my hands at the bottom aside the selfie camera.

I have mentioned these things in other threads, and it was no different this time. These little quirks were well worth it to be able to use the internal GPS instead of hanging a dongle off of the microUSB port, or worrying about keeping a Bluetooth GPS charged up.

[goingplaces]

RhythmDoctor...

I didn't need to agree on storing my data in 'the cloud' when registering with Windows Store but while actually trying to download the app on the tablet. (it was required, not optional) Interestingly enough I tried downloading it on my Windows 8.0 laptop and there I didn't have to agree on that.

I don't doubt that what you say is correct about why the internal GPS is not getting a proper fix. I simply don't know enough about it. What is obvious to you takes me ages to work out, I can't go any further on that for now.

My Miix 2 will arrive end of this week. I will let you know should I encounter problems again but after reading you post I have good reasons to believe that the internal GPS will work alright. It certainly would make things a lot simpler.

Thanks for you help!

[dpons]

I can't set the language to Spanish.

Sorry if this is common knowledge, I did search the issue here, but I didn't find any mention to it. I compiled OpenCPn from git, version 4.0.0 dated Jan 8, running on Debian Jessie amd64.

The po and mo files do exists in the src directory, yet the user interface menu (Tools->User Interface -> Language) shows only English.

The locale is es_UY, but changing it does not seem to have any effect.

Thanks for any help

[nohal]

dpons...
the opencpn .mo files have to be installed, that they are in your source/tree build directory means nothing.
Once you install opencpn using "make install", all you should need is to make sure that your system has the locale probably enabled, have a look at /etc/locale.gen, if needed, uncomment the line saying

es_UY.UTF-8 UTF-8

and run

sudo locale-gen

After that, "Espanol (Uruguay)" should be available in the Toolbox.

There is also no need to build from source on Jessie, you can use the Ubuntu packages as described on the download page.

Pavel