How many use OpenCPN?

[bobofthenorth]

Originally Posted by weavis

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For those that use the program, either the stable version or the latest beta, can you tell us, as a user, the experience that you have with it, whether its easy to use or useful or as good as it appears to be?

We have used O as our primary navigation system for 4 years now. I have tried others and we have a Garmin MFD 14" on board but it is the backup - O is superior IMO.

R.J.(Bob) Evans
www.travellingwithgeorge.blogspot.com

[PjotrC]

A complete nav setup and its track 2010-2014. Still going, and no plans to change.

No paper charts, the backup is OpenCPN, too. Latest stable version underway and often a custom 2.5 for planning.

The cabling spaghetti may look untidy, but it works very well... much better than on another posh boat, where I had to unscrew tons of mahogany panelling to add/change/check a connection or device...

Originally Posted by MarkJ

I hope the group keeps working on OpenCpn but in 2015 they go for a bloody long sail with it, without wearing their geek tshirt, then come back and keep improving the program for sailors, not just for programmers using some wierd platform no one has heard of.

True, the exciting development may be leaving behind simple cruisers with their modest needs. It is no longer just-what-you-need-right-out-of-the-box as it remarkably was the case some years ago... A pity indeed, but one can hardly blame the developers for pursuing what seems interesting now and maybe needed for future... Let's hope the by-sailors-for-sailors flavor can be somehow strengthened.

[Kalinka1]

have been using as primary for years. Used to use Nobeltec now don't even have that in the computer.Still have some paper because I like them. Also use a tablet (navionics) and wife's Ipad. Still managed to hit a rock! Navigator problem!! Not the programs

[Dockhead]

Weavis, welcome to the many-splendored joys of OpenCPN. A truly great program, with a few rough edges, but some magnificent functionality which you can't find anywhere else like, for example, a totally superior implementation of AIS.

It's so good and so interesting that it creates a risk of distracting you from sailing

I do not use it for primary navigation -- for that I have two B&G networked plotters and up to the day updated Navionics charts (using Freshest Data). I also use paper (in places like the Baltic, it is impossible to navigate without paper).

But OpenCPN is my favorite secondary/planning system, and I would not hesitate to use it for primary navigation if I didn't have the plotters. One great bonus is that I have it on my work laptop, so always with me. So possible to think about and plan trips when away from the boat.

Kudos to all of the developers! I'm looking forward to getting my teeth into the new release.

[weavis]

Originally Posted by Dockhead

Weavis, welcome to the many-splendored joys of OpenCPN. A truly great program, with a few rough edges, but some magnificent functionality which you can't find anywhere else like, for example, a totally superior implementation of AIS.

It's so good and so interesting that it creates a risk of distracting you from sailing

I do not use it for primary navigation -- for that I have two B&G networked plotters and up to the day updated Navionics charts (using Freshest Data). I also use paper (in places like the Baltic, it is impossible to navigate without paper).

But OpenCPN is my favorite secondary/planning system, and I would not hesitate to use it for primary navigation if I didn't have the plotters. One great bonus is that I have it on my work laptop, so always with me. So possible to think about and plan trips when away from the boat.

Kudos to all of the developers! I'm looking forward to getting my teeth into the new release.

Hi D.H.

It was boatman61 who turned me on to it early last year. I have a gps puck and played with on the boat for a while, however since have got windows 8 on a new laptop for the boat and the puck does not work with win 8

However, that said, I found it really accurate in the Bristol Channel, I now have the new version but no puck so one is ordered.

If you experienced types like it then I think I made the right choice.

[colemj]

Originally Posted by weavis

However, that said, I found it really accurate in the Bristol Channel, I now have the new version but no puck so one is ordered.

OCPN is a charting program, not a chart, and it does not come with preloaded charts. Any accuracy/inaccuracy found would need to be contributed to the charts being used with it.

Mark

[weavis]

Originally Posted by colemj

OCPN is a charting program, not a chart, and it does not come with preloaded charts. Any accuracy/inaccuracy found would need to be contributed to the charts being used with it.

Mark

I have all the cm93s

[chuckr]

in our 8 years out, we have raymarine as our primary chartplotter but use opencpn as a backup. we had it originally on our laptop but we had the primary system fail we found the laptop to clumbersome to keep at the helm so got a dell tablet and it fits our need incredibly well. so well in fact that i will probably get another one when we visit the usa this winter.

we also use it for planning and to see where we have been so we can share with the family and friends.

we have a puck gps for the laptop and a bluetooth solar powered gps for the laptop.

and as above we have cm93 charts.

[Paul L]

I use OpenCpn as a backup with CM93 charts and with Google Earth KAP files. I liked it better in the early days when it was a simple program that did exactly the basics that you needed for navigation. The newer versions have a lot more features, but are slow on my Win7 ITX machine with a lot of pauses when responding (using 4.0). Features like multiple displays and colors for different types of AIS targets I find distracting from the central purpose of navigating. I still keep it on an old laptop with CM93 in my oven as a backup. I also use it when I want to turn the computer on and check something quick, as it loads charts much faster than my other choices.

Clearly, for the price, you can't beat it. A ton of work has been put into this program on a volunteer basis.

[travellerw]

I thought I would post this here as this is the thread that inspired me to make this app... I hope it helps someone adopt this fantastic program.

I was reading this thread recently and was horrified when I seen a couple users post that they don't use OpenCPN because its too complicated to get charts. They said it was confusing to create the folder, download the charts, extract the charts, then configure OpenCPN. Yes there is a plugin for this, but people mentioned they wanted a standalone app (plugin was too hard to install).

So without further adue, I present the OpenCPN USCG Chart Setup tool (not affiliated with OpenCPN development).



Its a simple one page interface that does the work for you. The only thing you must do is go to the OpenCPN charts tab and click the "Scan Charts and Update Database" checkbox.

WARNING - This version downloads ALL THE CHARTS for the USA. These downloads are big and take OpenCPN a long time to add to the database. The up side, you should only have to do this once.

Here is the link to the executable. Super small download!
https://www.campgen.com/ChartDownload.exe

[transmitterdan]

Why do you need an app?

http://www.charts.noaa.gov/ENCs/All_ENCs.zip

http://www.charts.noaa.gov/RNCs/All_RNCs.zip

[travellerw]

Originally Posted by transmitterdan

Why do you need an app?

http://www.charts.noaa.gov/ENCs/All_ENCs.zip

http://www.charts.noaa.gov/RNCs/All_RNCs.zip

If you read my post, its not the downloading that is the problem. Its the downloading, creating a folder, extracting, and then configuring OpenCPN.

I think, in today's world of Apps, people expect a one step deal. This achieves that, and only took me an hour or two to knock together. Its not really an app, but an NSIS script.

[transmitterdan]

OpenCPN will have a chart loader soon that doesn't crush the NOAA servers downloading these huge files. Stay tuned...

[travellerw]

I updated my tool from yesterday. You can now download by States..

I would still encourage people to look at the Chart Update plugin once they are comfortable with OpenCPN.





The download link is the same. Its still super small to download.
https://www.campgen.com/ChartDownload.exe

[Andrew B.]

IMHO the creators of Open cpn have totally forgot the user friendly part of the
programing. It may be fine for computer geeks, and those that use PC's on a daily basis, but I have wasted countless
hours just attempting to get the GE plug-in to work properly. Got it to work the first time only.
Can't get the spit screen to work even with bribes since that first time !
And forget downloading charts from NOAA. and making them work .

I have created websites, used Photoshop, and illustrator at a pro level, programmed in basic,
and learned to love Pascal, but open cpn is beyond my capacity to use.

A wonderful collection of tools I feel sure, but the help section and manual is like a foreign language to me.
A little info on what the various abbreviations mean, a
check list for other programs we might want, or need. Maybe a little more
info on what to do with the four folders you get in a noaa chart download.
How does one combine them into one to do a "Add directory"
that I assume must happen for the chart to work ? etc. etc. etc.

Easy peasy stuff for what I believe is less that %5 of CF users,
but a very steep learning curve for most of us I venture to opine.
And I have attempted to use the Manual, and help sections.

Open cpn for dummies would sell well I believe ...

I feel sure that just a few "First do this, then go here and do this, right
click that folder, drag the contents into a new folder, etc, etc, and I
would be off and running, and maybe some others too...

Sending someone to another site to get this or that, then not give the
info on what it does, and how to use it for the needed particular chore
is frustrating to say the least.

Sorry if this sounds like a rant. It is not my intention...I just want to
use open cpn ! And IMHO it shouldn't be so difficult to use if your target audience is indeed "sailors".

And as a aside getting on the open cpn site has been impossible today !