Navionics on OpenCPN

[GRIT]

Hey, that's great. I'll check that out.

Cheers.
Paul.

[bcn]

The Canadian oeSENC charts for OpenCPN are online at o-charts:


http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...pn-218550.html

[bbalan]

Hi Paul,
Thanks for your initiative on this. I just sent an email. In my opinion, OpenCPN is the best charting app out there and I wish we could have access to more worldwide inexpensive charts. But, knowing Navionics, I'm not holding my breath!
Cheers,
Bruce
s/v Migration

[bcn]

Bruce...

which regions you are missing in special from OCPN?

We have been talking to Navionics on behalf of OCPN and they did send us the Chartworld S-63 Navionics way, which is neither very economical nor very easy to use under OpenCPN due to the myriads of cells the sets are composed by.

The other fact that does not make things easier most probably is that Navionics is Garmin since last year.

Hubert

[bbalan]

Hi Hubert,
It's the 'economical' part that is important! We use Mexico and the South Pacific Navionics on the tablet for backup. Use CM93 plus various other sources on OCPN. I've been making lots of mbtile charts using SASPlanet and Sat2Chart. They are awesome. SASP does have Navionics but of course they become mbtiles using that process.


We are just upping anchor and leaving internet land so I'll be offline for several weeks.
Thanks,
Bruce

[GRIT]

Originally Posted by bbalan

Hi Paul,
Thanks for your initiative on this. I just sent an email. In my opinion, OpenCPN is the best charting app out there and I wish we could have access to more worldwide inexpensive charts. But, knowing Navionics, I'm not holding my breath!
Cheers,
Bruce
s/v Migration

Thanks Bruce, I appreciate your help.

I don't see a downside, for navionics, to get their charts out there to more users/clients. But, they obviously think there's a downside.

Here's hoping we can get more folks to send letters.


Cheers.
Paul.

[Me1982]

I fully support that request, and would be more than happy to help.
In the region of the world I sail in (eastern Mediterranean) I was not able to find any legal charts for OpenCPN and am forced to use expensive chart plotters or Navionics.

Even if there are other chart sources available, I fail to understand the resistence of the community to adding another chart plugin for charts from a respectible source.

Regards,
Amit

[bcn]

Nobody from OpenCPN is resisting to add chart sources or accept plug-ins. But somebody has to implement them.
We have been talking to Navionics and will do again, but we see very little interest from Garmin/Navionics to support OpenCPN.

Regarding Eastern Med: Greece and Turkey (Med) will be getting available very soon for OpenCPN. In this case as licensed raster charts.
Greece/Turkey will be covered by Imray charts - the same ones used in the Imray Cruising guides.

Hubert

[supermarin]

Bumping this one - any news regarding Navionics or C-MAP charts compatibility?
I'm aware that some areas are unsafe with Navionics, but Mediterranean is charted insanely well, especially with all the charter boats uploading cove depths all the time.


Currently using:
- Imray raster on OpenCPN
- C-MAP on TimeZero on iPad
- Navionics on iPad

O-charts ENC vector charts are close to useless for Croatia.

[bbalan]

For those who would like mbTiles based on Navionics charts to use in OpenCPN, you can find the ones I've made (along with satellite imagery MBTiles) at The Chart Locker.


Mexico, French Polynesia, Fiji, Cook Islands, Tonga, and others.


Cheers,
Bruce
s/v Migration

[Jon Hacking]

Originally Posted by GRIT

... I am looking for LEGAL charts, to use on OpenCPN. I want to be legal in every respect. -- Paul.

Paul, as has been hinted at earlier, there's a completely legal (but somewhat time consuming) way to get Navionics charts into OpenCPN right now, by using SAS Planet to make mbTiles. Not only can you get 2 flavors of Navionics charts, but you can also get 5 flavors of CMap.

Even better, SAS gives you free access to satellite imagery like ArcGIS (awesome, & usually quite $$), Bing (Microsoft), Nokia, Google Earth, Yandex, MapBox, Maxar, OSM, and a host of others.

Making high-quality mbTiles takes time & internet bandwidth, but all the tools (SAS Planet & Sat2Chart) & the data are free for now. I'll be publishing a How-To page in a few days for those interested.

For those who just want to download them, please respect the time & effort that folks have put into making these high-quality charts, & make a donation. Bruce's Chart Locker covers much of the eastern Pacific. We provide downloadable KAPs of almost all of SE Asia, & we'll be providing our mbTiles for downloading as soon as we can get some bandwidth.

So the tools are available now, without needing an OpenCPN plugin, & they're all free.

[GRIT]

Thanks for that information Jon. I've never heard of that before. I'll do my research, and look forward to your future post on your website.

I'm happy to make donations for useful, crowdsourced information of all kinds. And charts most of all!

Thanks again.
Paul.

[OZwingle]

Paul, I suggest a slight shift in perspective. While more and more charts are becoming available for OpenCPN, and more countries are releasing their charts to the public for free (e.g. NZ, USA, and Canada) -- it will be awhile before easily accessible, free or not, charts for the whole globe will be available from one source, if ever. Furthermore, charts are being updated constantly. Acquiring a global set at the beginning ensures that it will be out-of-date in a few months, so you'll be updating along the way anyhow. That said, S63 charts, even with all their fingerprints and cell licenses, are promising.
Follow John Hacking's lead and advice. He has done stellar work in explaining how to use satellite imagery with charts OCPN.

The Shift: Embrace sourcing, installing, updating, and reviewing charts throughout the duration of your voyage. Plan your routes, fly over them at very low altitudes (zoom level) to highlight reefs, FAD's, and seamounts that might negatively effect your passage. Plan your coastal routes and take your own satellite images (mb tiles), ensure they synch with the charts. Note the differences! This is all part of modern navigation and piloting. This modern route planning. We don't take star sights at nautical twilight much any more. Treat the exercise of charts, satellite images, and route planning as modern prudent navigation.

[GRIT]

Thanks for your post OZwingle.

I've been in touch with Jon, regards just this sort of thing. He's been kind enough to guide me through making mb tiles, and downloading the programs to get that done.

Thanks for reminding me, I'm a little behind in my communications with Jon.

Cheers.
Paul.

[belizesailor]

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