Hi all, Jon from VentureFarther (VF). VF is not a forum but a site built for sailors with features that I wanted but were unavailable elsewhere. VentureFarther allows you to "track" other VF users, an
email is sent out when a report is issued. Nothing really new here. Now here is the twist (an there is more to come). VF also allows you to upload
NMEA recordings. I have posted on other threads that
depth information is pulled out of the recording to share this in
satellite charts. A while back I thought "why toss away all the other info in the recording?". So, VF will also create a position report for you and
all of the AIS targets that are registered in VF. Sort of like a pretty AIS tracking site. I do this by asking you to enter your MMSI number in your profile. So if there is a MMSI match in VF from the
NMEA file a report is automatically created for them.
Now one thing I still have on my many page todo list is a
single page to display all the boats you are tracking (not difficult and I will get to it, just trying to get some other features nailed before I do that).
Why did I do this? I personally dislike the position reporting that shows you going over land. Although this does not solve it 100% (or even 50%) it could potentially reduce it by having more reports that the user did not actually have to do.
I guess the drawback is you would need an
internet connection vs a direct
OpenCPN implementation. The direct OpenCPN way would limit you though to only AIS reports you receive. From my experience most boats with a class B transponder only average about 5 miles transmit. With web based anyone (or the member) that does a report you know, no matter how far away.
As always, I am open to feedback and suggestions on how to make this
service even better. As a side benefit, if you post reports on VF you earn credits for getting
satellite charts and ebooks.