Feature Requests

[fgd3]

Originally Posted by stormalong

Fabbian, From the documentation I had the impression that export removes the route from OPENCPN Is that right?

No, exporting routes does not affect the routes currently loaded into OpenCPN. Create your first route, export it, modify it any way you like, export the second (modified) route. Delete the modified route to clear your chart. Now when you need route 1 just import it. When you are done with it delete it (optional, but if you don't the chart gets really cluttered) and import route 2.


Fabbian

[fgd3]

Originally Posted by rgleason

Fabbian, do you agree that the contents of this discussion, in some condensed form, need to be in the section on Routes?

I believe the ideas in this discussion are already in the manual. Look under "OpenCPN User Manual/TOOLBAR Buttons/Create Route" and read the "Route Concepts" section all the way through the end of "Route Handling Techniques".


Also under "OpenCPN User Manual/TOOLBAR Buttons/Route & Mark Manager" read the section on "Export & Import GPX Files".


Fabbian

[rgleason]

Originally Posted by fgd3

I believe the ideas in this discussion are already in the manual. Look under "OpenCPN User Manual/TOOLBAR Buttons/Create Route" and read the "Route Concepts" section all the way through the end of "Route Handling Techniques".


Also under "OpenCPN User Manual/TOOLBAR Buttons/Route & Mark Manager" read the section on "Export & Import GPX Files".


Fabbian

Thanks, I don't remember everything and have probably forgotten everything I knew at least once and learned it again, it is a process.

[rgleason]

Originally Posted by fgd3

I believe the ideas in this discussion are already in the manual. Look under "OpenCPN User Manual/TOOLBAR Buttons/Create Route" and read the "Route Concepts" section all the way through the end of "Route Handling Techniques".


Also under "OpenCPN User Manual/TOOLBAR Buttons/Route & Mark Manager" read the section on "Export & Import GPX Files".


Fabbian

Thanks, I don't remember everything and have probably forgotten everything at least once and learned it again.


But when you write so detailed and well about a topic, that is already covered, I think it is not.

[fgd3]

I understand. It took me some time to find the sections in the manual, but it turned out to be easier than rewriting them.


Fabbian

[H29.5Upgrade]

Hello. I love the program, I'm using 5.0 I have a request. I use a Dell 7212 tablet with keyboard (Windows 10). At home, with the keyboard attached I use "ALT" & "+/-" to zoom in or out. On the boat I can't use the keyboard... When I use the "+" or "-" menu buttons the zoom factor changes too much. Can you add a "zoom control variable" in the settings menu ? Or just a switch to mimic the "ALT" key when pressing "+/-" ? Thank you, John

[mgrouch]

Hello,
It seems opencpn becomes unusable
after I start ‘measure the distance’.
It keeps adding new points everywhere
on the screen where I touch.
My touch screen on raspberry pi 4
with Buster Raspbian and OpenCPN 5
doesn’t support emulation of double click via touch nor two finger zoom. As a result I can’t exit ‘distance measure’ mode. I can’t delete waypoints etc. Maybe long mouse over should pop up
small hint screen with on touch could bring same menu as on double click.
I tried various settings to get around that in version 5.0.0 and there seems to be no way.

Thanks,
—MG

[Baikal]

https://www.theqexperience.com/
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpP...Tppk5yu9HirArA
Interesting bauble
For inspiration!

[Dsanduril]

Originally Posted by mgrouch

Hello,
It seems opencpn becomes unusable
after I start ‘measure the distance’.
It keeps adding new points everywhere
on the screen where I touch.
My touch screen on raspberry pi 4
with Buster Raspbian and OpenCPN 5
doesn’t support emulation of double click via touch nor two finger zoom. As a result I can’t exit ‘distance measure’ mode. I can’t delete waypoints etc. Maybe long mouse over should pop up
small hint screen with on touch could bring same menu as on double click.
I tried various settings to get around that in version 5.0.0 and there seems to be no way.

Thanks,
—MG

I’ve seen a couple of reports (but have not yet tried myself) of successful OpenCPN on Pi two-finger support using TwoFing

[Antipole]

OpenCPN has the ability to upload selected waypoints and routes with the 'Send to GPS' button. This is limited to sending to Garmin or Furuno systems connected via a serial port.

Please can we have the ability to send over the LAN via the outbound data connections as WPL and RTE NMEA0183 sentences?

Rational: These days many users have secondary devices which are WiFi interfaced rather than hard wired. For example iOS and Android devices run apps such as iNavX or Navionics Boaters. We use an iPad at the wheel station (no other plotter) and I use an iPhone in my bunk to check on proceedings. These devices need to receive the route prepared in OpenCPN by the navigator.

Even better would be the option to send the active route repeatedly at, say, 30 second intervals in case a one-off transmission was missed and in order to ensure that the helmsman is following the same route as the navigator! MacENC did this and it worked brilliantly.

OpenCPN already sends the GoTo waypoint over the network as its support for autopilots. This additional ability would allow the secondary devices to access the whole route, including ETA etc.

I previously raised this in the main thread here but had zero response. I hope in this thread it will be considered - thank you for all your good work.

[Hakan]

Antipole..
I'm not arguing about your suggestion or the need of it.
But meanwhile you may consider my method to achieve something similar. For the pad at the helm I use a VNC viewer to see the same screen as on the nav board. Also zooming and sweep/mouse actions are rather accommodative. And by this method it's no doubts about the actuality of what's shown.

[Antipole]

Originally Posted by Hakan

Antipole..
I'm not arguing about your suggestion or the need of it.
But meanwhile you may consider my method to achieve something similar. For the pad at the helm I use a VNC viewer to see the same screen as on the nav board. Also zooming and sweep/mouse actions are rather accommodative. And by this method it's no doubts about the actuality of what's shown.

Thanks for the suggestion but no thank you for your solution! Using a separate app on the iPad (iNavX) gives me a superior 'at the helm' touch screen display and more importantly redundancy. If the Mac running OpenCPN crashes, freezes or runs out of power, or if the WiFi connection were lost, iNavX just carries on with the iPad using its own GPS receiver and battery. This is essential redundancy, especially as I no longer shadow the computer on paper charts. I have had to fall back onto the iPad continuing on its own twice and would not want to lose this redundancy. I have also had the iPad shut down (usually overheating in its waterproof case in direct sun) and being able to continue on an iPhone was essential.

[transmitterdan]

Antipole,

I agree with you that sending routes is a nice idea. The following isn’t meant to change your mind.

Users of iPads and Androids should also consider what is available today in the OpenCPN space. A pair of $99 Raspberry Pi 4 units (case, heat sinks and power supply) can offer great redundancy and power savings. A Pi can run off ships power as it is a DC powered computer. A Pi can be accessed via VNC and the iPad works quite well as a VNC viewer. For way less $ and power then a PC one can have a pair of redundant high powered networked MFD devices that can be viewed on any HDMI display, iPads, droids and just about any other smart device with VNC or RDP clients.

Not only can Pis share a route with one another they can share the entire OpenCPN database (routes, waypoints, layers, etc) with a simple shell script running on a timer (watch command).

There has been a huge shift in the last couple years increasing what’s possible these days.

[transmitterdan]

OpenCPN on iPad using VNC to Raspberry Pi 4

[Hakan]

Redundancy is of course essential. No doubts. On my tablet, although Android, OCPN is running all the time using it's own GPS. To shift between VNC and O is just one press away.

https://www.realvnc.com/en/connect/download/viewer/ios/