Charts

[cagney]

Gypsy23

Thank you for your effort. This is clearly a bug, that needs some clarification. Please enter this as a bug in the tracker/Flyspray.

Thomas

[HappySeagull]

From Dacust Above...."So, now I'll just recap what I said at the very beginning. tif2bsb requires a palette type tif. But Imagemagick convert, when converting from a RGB type image to a tif, will create a RGB type tif. When converting from a palette type image, it will create a palette type tif. So, for it to work for us, we will have to create the tif from a palette type image. Well, when converting from any image to a gif, since gif is only a palette type image, convert will create a palette type gif.

So, now you know. From a jpg, we have to convert to gif first, and then convert that to a tif so we get a palette type tif. "

Aha!That's really very clever,Dacust!
-a gif MUST be a palette-
It's really a trick command to imagemagik -palette in,palette out!

[dacust]

Originally Posted by HappySeagull

From Dacust Above...."So, now I'll just recap what I said at the very beginning. tif2bsb requires a palette type tif. But Imagemagick convert, when converting from a RGB type image to a tif, will create a RGB type tif. When converting from a palette type image, it will create a palette type tif. So, for it to work for us, we will have to create the tif from a palette type image. Well, when converting from any image to a gif, since gif is only a palette type image, convert will create a palette type gif.

So, now you know. From a jpg, we have to convert to gif first, and then convert that to a tif so we get a palette type tif. "

Aha!That's really very clever,Dacust!
-a gif MUST be a palette-
It's really a trick command to imagemagik -palette in,palette out!

Yep. So, as someone pointed above, it's a limitation of ImageMagick that makes it necessary. Not that there is an inherent need to do it. Other tools can do it in one step.

-dan

[sailias]

Greets

Was wondering, since the BSB pluggin will not work on linux (and macs for that matter) and the latest CM93 charts are encrypted as well, was wondering how linux users can get updated charts other then coastal NOAA charts which are US charts only. I dont mind paying for charts but the issue is they are not supported in OCPN. So its really a linux specific question as windows is not on the horizon.

[idpnd]

Originally Posted by sailias

Was wondering, since the BSB pluggin will not work on linux (and macs for that matter) and the latest CM93 charts are encrypted as well, was wondering how linux users can get updated charts other then coastal NOAA charts which are US charts only. I dont mind paying for charts but the issue is they are not supported in OCPN. So its really a linux specific question as windows is not on the horizon.

If you really want (to pay for) up to date charts (newer than the CM93 you have) on linux (macs), I understand polarview has S-63 support..

[sailias]

The issue with the project is that there is no upgrade path for linux users when it comes to charts. You are stuck with dated data. I wish it were not the case as I used OpenCPN last year and loved it. But for crusing foreign ports, you need accurate maps.

When you look at the cost of S-63 charts, its cheaper to go with a Standard Horizon 190 get a 40 dollar coupon and get the needed chart which in my case is W73 Great Lakes to Bahamas, 179-40 and the silly dongle for 199 so you can run your ECS on your putter.

You can run windows on linux in emulation which will give you access to BSB4 charts...but I need to review the quality and costs of these charts. I like free, but when it comes to navigation, there needs to be a balance point between safety and costs. My current set of CM93's show very little data for Bahamas where navigation skills are critical. Wish there was a total linux solution as its far more stable and reliable but I dont see a cost effective one.

Tested PolarNavy's PolarView and its very very good...but we are back to dealing with very expensive updated charts again and they cannot support Jeppsons CM93 without high royalty payments.

I dont really see a solution here other then going commercial which is against every grain in me body..

/ch

[Viking Sailor]

ch,

Everybody likes up to date charts! However, for the most part, coastlines don't change that much as compared to port facilities and lights. So, small boat sailors can use old charts to find their way around, Google Earth see what the port looks like, and the coastal pilot books for light and buoy info. And, of course, all good navigators are always skeptical of the info provided by charts and books.

[sailias]

Along the eastern seaboard I would agree except for a couple of places like NJ coast that shoals on a monthly basis and a few other places.

However, Im planning on head down the ICW to Marathon, then Cuba and then probably the Bahama's. So detailed charts are a good thing. Getting grounded in the ICW is a non issue and not a concern, heck I grounded in the Chesapeake twice... BoatUS came to my assistance once with a line fouled around the prop, it was winter otherwise I would have taken the plunge. Best 100 bucks I ever spend. Heck Im not proud...

Cuban charts are not available electronically as far as I know, and the explorer charts for the Bahamas are available only electronically via suppliers of mainstream charts. I would hate to enter those waters without detailed and updated charts. both paper and electronic where available. The older CM93 set that I have is not very detailed at all for these areas. Not enough to sail by any ways.

While I understand all the technical issues and royalty issues its just frustrating to not be able to do all of this on a linux box without running windows in emulation mode. Its either that or go commercial.

For my cruising area CMAP is the best and most affordable as it has the latest release of explorer charts for the Bahamas integrated.

C-MAP MAX & MAX/PC Coverage | Light Marine | Jeppesen

$140 from Jeppson...possibly cheaper from other sources. Now add the cost of paper charts for the region which you need any ways.


/ch

[thatboatguy]

I'm in the Bahamas cruising now. One thing I'm doing to get us through until I have a better solution is to use GeoGarage and wavy line charts online to create GPX files for routes of places I want to go. I then import them into OpenCPN and go. Works so long as I keep having good internet. I'm actually much better equipped in the internet department than the electronic charting department.

I have, somewhere, electronic charts for Cuba but they are horribly old... and at home in Maryland. Keep track of us on our blog and when you see we are back in Maryland this spring hit me for them.

George

Sailmarquesa.com is our blog.

[idpnd]

Originally Posted by sailias

get the needed chart which in my case is W73 Great Lakes to Bahamas, 179-40 and the silly dongle for 199 so you can run your ECS on your putter.

Am I missing something here? Isn't 95% of the route covered by free NOAA charts?

[sailias]

Originally Posted by idpnd

Am I missing something here? Isn't 95% of the route covered by free NOAA charts?

The majority of the route in terms of distance yes, but not in terms of time spend. Most of the time will be spend outside US continental waters which are not covered by NOAA, and the Bahama NOAA charts are very dated. Lets say I decide to head over to the Rio Dulce to spend the winter for example. The ICW is just the highway to less travelled waters where most of my time will be spend. In all these areas it would be nice to have updated charts. THen again if you read noonsite, the latest release charts by Jeppson CMAP for Bellize are off by a mile or two. So nothing is perfect, its all a compromise as is most of sailing, cruising and owning a boat. Last point....havent been down that way before either...

/ch

[Surveyor]

Concerning the jpg to gif and gif to tif issue; I got tired of typing the commands for each individual image's double conversion so I knuckled down and learned a thing or two about Imagemagick.

I wanted to write a batch command that would convert all jpgs to gifs in a subdirectory AND have it name the resulting file the same as the original except the extension of course. The following works perfectly:

FOR /R %%a IN (*.jpg) DO convert -colors 127 %%a "%%~dna.gif"
pause

Save that string as a .bat file and copy it to the directory where your jpgs are and double click it. All of the jpgs in that directory will be converted to gifs named exactly the same as the jpgs. The "spaces" do have to be removed from the file names first though.

Its easily modified to convert any format to another such as gif to tif.

Thought I would share this because it is a real breakthrough for me and could possibly help someone else. Used with HappySeagull's Map2Kap script makes converting Oziexplorer maps a breeze! BTW, thanks for that Happy!

[dacust]

Originally Posted by Surveyor

Concerning the jpg to gif and gif to tif issue; I got tired of typing the commands for each individual image's double conversion so I knuckled down and learned a thing or two about Imagemagick.

I wanted to write a batch command that would convert all jpgs to gifs in a subdirectory AND have it name the resulting file the same as the original except the extension of course. The following works perfectly:

FOR /R %%a IN (*.jpg) DO convert -colors 127 %%a "%%~dna.gif"
pause

Save that string as a .bat file and copy it to the directory where your jpgs are and double click it. All of the jpgs in that directory will be converted to gifs named exactly the same as the jpgs. The "spaces" do have to be removed from the file names first though.

Its easily modified to convert any format to another such as gif to tif.

Thought I would share this because it is a real breakthrough for me and could possibly help someone else. Used with HappySeagull's Map2Kap script makes converting Oziexplorer maps a breeze! BTW, thanks for that Happy!

You can make it do both conversions at the same time and clean up after itself.

BTW: The /R makes it do it recursively. That is, it looks in the current directory and then in all sub directories, so just make sure that is really what you want.

This should convert the jpg to a gif, then the gif to a tif then delete the gif. It will also display the names of the files as they process.

WARNING: I just copied and modified this. I have NOT tested it. So, first time you use it, copy 2-3 jpgs to a directory along with the script and try it.

for %%I IN (*.jpg) DO (
    echo converting %%~nI.jpg to %%~nI.tif
    convert -colors 127 %%I "%%~nI.gif" 
    convert -colors 127 %%~nI.gif "%%~nI.tif" 
    del %%~nI.gif
)
pause

-dan

EDIT: PS I would have tested but I am on a computer that doesn't have ImageMagick on it...

[Surveyor]

Originally Posted by dacust

EDIT: PS I would have tested but I am on a computer that doesn't have ImageMagick on it...

Works like a charm!

Thanks!

[sinbad7]

Have a look at this..

Check out this great site for nautical charts:
Nautical Charts Online