Active Routing

[yachtvalhalla]

I have recently used the active routing feature and find it very helpful, especially in being able to switch between the leg and route information.

I do not fancy the 'highway' display of the boat's track and would like to remove that from the active route display to gain more chart display area. Can this be done now? If not then I will make it a feature request.

Screen shot is for clarification.

TIA, Terry

[barnakiel]

I never use the highway mode for anything. Who does?

Perhaps there is a new mode that would be nice to have? We seem to be so stuck with the old ways to represent data that we hardly ever think forward and grab the full benefit of new technologies!

b.

[JesperWe]

Terry, very valid point and I totally agree. Can't understand what people use it for
I shall see what I can do about it...

[pa36651]

I 'solve' the hiway issue by placing a SOG dashboard above it.

[wdkester]

Originally Posted by JesperWe

Terry, very valid point and I totally agree. Can't understand what people use it for
I shall see what I can do about it...

JesperWe,

I don't use the "hiway" on Opencpn but I do use it sometimes on a Garmin 76. Especially when I don't have Opencpn in the cockpit.

If you decide to mess with the active route window you might make it float.

[yachtvalhalla]

Originally Posted by pa36651

I 'solve' the hiway issue by placing a SOG dashboard above it.

Now why didn't I think of that as a workaround?

Tks, Terry

[plefneski]

I have often wondered why this information is not part of the dashboard. Then you could choose which information to display, adjust font and size, and it would all be in on look and feel.

[JesperWe]

FYI, the next beta will have the ability to hide the highway. It also moves the Leg/Route button into the context menu, so we are not wasting space with a permanently displayed button.

[tom_BigSpeedy]

Originally Posted by wdkester

I don't use the "hiway" on Opencpn but I do use it sometimes on a Garmin 76. Especially when I don't have Opencpn in the cockpit.

Hi there,

for me the highway's useless too. Actually I thought about programming an dynamic arrow, pointing to the next waypoint. Like the Garmin handhelds have (I'm using a Garmin 152 in the cockpit with this arrow almost 100% of my sailing time).

For those who have never seen this : It's a rotating arrow, if it points straigt upwards, you're heading directly to the next wp, if it points e.g. 45° left, your next wp is 45° on the port side, and so on.
BUT : and that would be the big difference to Garmin's pointer :
I'd include drift ! This would avoid the usual doglegs (is that the correct term in english ?)

This would be very easy by calculating the drift between HDG and COG and adding it to the pointer.

Have you ever sailed a narrow waterway/channel with current from one side ?
Thar pointer wouldn't point always to the end of the channel (or whereever your next wp is, but maybe 10° to port side (if you have 10° of drift to starboard) ...

Actually I didn't start working on it yet, as there were discussions about putting everything into a separate plugin, or simply integrate it in dashboard...

Comments appreciated.


Thomas

BTW: I think, those values shown in the routing window need more damping.

[JesperWe]

Originally Posted by tom_BigSpeedy

Actually I didn't start working on it yet, as there were discussions about putting everything into a separate plugin, or simply integrate it in dashboard...

This kind of indicator makes a lot more sense.
Like the Nexus Steer Pilot I have among my helm instruments.
Integrating it in the Dashboard would be the way to go, I think.

[hoolie]

Agreed. Though I don't think you need any extra drift processing as the "Garmin arrow" effectively takes that into account.
When the arrow is dead ahead, then your current COG will take you straight to the waypoint.

[tom_BigSpeedy]

Originally Posted by hoolie

Agreed. Though I don't think you need any extra drift processing as the "Garmin arrow" effectively takes that into account.
When the arrow is dead ahead, then your current COG will take you straight to the waypoint.

Hoolie,

no it doesn't (at least not my GPS 152), as it doesn't have the ships heading, only COG.
That's what I meant with "dogleg" ...
See the attached drawing :
You're a pos 1 and sail to "wp". The GPS points directly to wp.
Without current, you go the perfect straight red line.

But as soon as you have current, you will drift, leaving the ideal red line, moving on the green dotted line.
On any position 2, 3 or 4, the GPS still points to wp, but you're sailing inadvertedly a longer way than needed.

So :
Taking current into account, the "arrow" will point somewhere besides
wp (orange dashed line) !
This will keep you on the desired perfect straight track (red dotted
line).

PS : "Dogleg" is in german language "Hundskurve" :
If your dog is on the oppisite side of the river, jumps into the water and swims towards you, he fill follow exactly the "dogleg curve" (positions 1...4), as he always look at you...


Thomas

[wdkester]

Highway presentations make you aware of drift and urge you to stay in the middle of the highway which is the original point to point course. Whether deviation from coutse is drift or steering error, you are able to steer a reasonably straight course between points. No dogleg.

[tom_BigSpeedy]

Yes, I know, but if you have a long leg and you have to go off course by some distance -- with the highway-display -- you're normally outside of that "road", as it references the startpoint (at least on my 152 and the Garmin handheld I have).
Of course you can adjust the highway width, etc. But in real cases, how often do you do that ?
In such a case, I find the "arrow" much easier, it still points to the next wp, based on my current position.
But that's my personal opinion, of course.

You can also set a long COG indicator in O and sail a course that it points to the wp, that's what I currently do, when I have to take care of drift and shallow waters aside ...

What I'm missing on the Garmin is, that it does not include the drift ...
All I wanted to explain is, that if we do an "arrow" instrument, it does make sense to calculate the drift ...

Thomas

[tom_BigSpeedy]

Another remark :
If you're on a sailing vessel, and you have to tack upwind towards your next waypoint, the highway display (in general) is ridiculous.
This is probably completely different on a motor vessel, where you can keep a straight line towards your waypoint...

Thomas