OpenCPN General

[fgd3]

How do the results compare if you use just one GPS?


Fabbian

[glywn380]

Thank you for the reply, but do you think just that one sentence from the 6 will suffice? I will try it next time I am afloat.

[glywn380]

To fgd3, having organised the multiplexer to take the signals from the disparate systems on my set-up and prioritise them, I have moved from PC to Mac and now cannot access the multiplex settings (PC only software compatible). Without physically unbolting wires, it is difficult to stop both GPSs' supplying their data into the stream without also loosing other important input.

[rgleason]

glywn, while "locked down" if bored, you can read the manual.
https://opencpn.org/wiki/dokuwiki/do...he_connections


Notice "priority"?

[Freedom45]

Running OpenCPN route with output set on connection page.
PC connected to Shipmodul miniplex 3en.
I can see bearing to, cross track info on nmea2k instruments.
Any way to get time and distance to Waypoint and destination waypoint to display?
I tried putting ZTG in the Out sentence feature, no luck.

Thanks
Chuck

[rgleason]

Originally Posted by Freedom45

Running OpenCPN route with output set on connection page.
PC connected to Shipmodul miniplex 3en.
I can see bearing to, cross track info on nmea2k instruments.
Any way to get time and distance to Waypoint and destination waypoint to display?
I tried putting ZTG in the Out sentence feature, no luck.

Thanks
Chuck

What does this mean? Screenshot please.

"Running OpenCPN route with output set on connection page."


Use Active route console? Search the manual?

"time and distance to Waypoint and destination waypoint to display?"

[Freedom45]

While having an active route on OpenCpn I want to know if there is away to transmit time and distance to destination waypoint onto the network.
NMEA 0183 sentence for this info ZTG OR ?
OpenCpn only transmits RMB,RMC,APB,XTE onto network.
I have multiplexer to convert 0183 to 2000 and display info on external instruments.

[arnolddemaa]

Originally Posted by Freedom45

While having an active route on OpenCpn I want to know if there is away to transmit time and distance to destination waypoint onto the network.
NMEA 0183 sentence for this info ZTG OR ?
OpenCpn only transmits RMB,RMC,APB,XTE onto network.
I have multiplexer to convert 0183 to 2000 and display info on external instruments.

As far as I know, The Marathon converter is the only one that can calculate ETA (nmea2000) from opencpn data
see https://www.maretron.com/support/man...B100UM_1.7.pdf

[arnolddemaa]

At this time, the ECRMC line is only broadcast if a route is active in opencpn. However, ECRMC provides GPS data and no route data. ECRMC does provide the magnetic variation (from the WMM 1.1 plugin). And I would like to use these for the correct representation of my instruments. My question is therefore whether it is possible to always send ECRMC even if the route is NOT active.
This is because my connected GPS does not transmit magnetic variation

Regards,
Arnold

[transmitterdan]

Originally Posted by arnolddemaa

At this time, the ECRMC line is only broadcast if a route is active in opencpn. However, ECRMC provides GPS data and no route data. ECRMC does provide the magnetic variation (from the WMM 1.1 plugin). And I would like to use these for the correct representation of my instruments. My question is therefore whether it is possible to always send ECRMC even if the route is NOT active.
This is because my connected GPS does not transmit magnetic variation

Regards,
Arnold

The short answer is no.

OpenCPN only sends out its own NMEA messages (device code EC) when a route is running. If no route is active then it simply copies it’s input stream to the output stream as configured in the connections setup.

[Hakan]

Arnold..
T-dan is of course correct but if the plugin "NMEA converter" could do the job and produce a new xxRMC to transmit to other instrument may be an interesting training?

[jfhspike]

A while back (2? 3? years) I installed OpenCPN on my tablet, and got to really like it. It had an interface that looked like this:


I've used it again more recently, and that large-icons-with-clearly-recognizable-things has been replaced by something smaller and more cryptic (to me). Did I mistakenly change some setting, or is this a new and improved interface that I'll just have to suck it up and get used to? [I know how to turn on/off the NMEA debugging output...it's the large brightly colored icons I'm talking about.]

[Hakan]

jfhspike...
Old time memories are coming back when I see your shot. Now a days we think the navigation chart area is more important than option menus.
In user interface you can control the size of the canvas menus to your choice. Options->User interface->"User interface scale factor"

[jfhspike]

Originally Posted by Hakan

jfhspike...
Old time memories are coming back when I see your shot. Now a days we think the navigation chart area is more important than option menus.
In user interface you can control the size of the canvas menus to your choice. Options->User interface->"User interface scale factor"

I agree about what's important; I just kinda liked to be able to grab that "rough part" on the right to pull out the tools and then easily click on the one I cared about while still having my other hand on the wheel ... and doing it all in a nasty chop. Big interface elements help in those conditions. I'll play with the scale-factor and see how things work out.

[Tugwit]

Originally Posted by Freedom45

While having an active route on OpenCpn I want to know if there is away to transmit time and distance to destination waypoint onto the network.
NMEA 0183 sentence for this info ZTG OR ?
OpenCpn only transmits RMB,RMC,APB,XTE onto network.
I have multiplexer to convert 0183 to 2000 and display info on external instruments.

I have a Zeus2 MFD that does contain time and distance to destination WPT as it generates PGN 129284 (Nav data) when a route is activate (on the Zeus). So it is certainly possible to populate these fields.

But as you observe, an active route in OCPN does not produce this data-- the NMEA 0183 ZTG sentence is not currently generated by OCPN when following an active route, and the sentences that are generated do not contain the needed data.

But even if OCPN generated ZTG, it would have to be used by a converter that translates NMEA 0183 into NMEA 2000. I have an Actisense NGW for this purpose, and while the NGW is an admirable and comprehensive product in many ways, it does not currently translate ZTG (in current version 2.660).

Actisense has steadily improved the NGW's translation capacity over the years, and the NGW is in continuing development by Actisense, so it is possible that at some future time ZTG might be supported. At which point, the OCPN developer community might be persuaded to include ZTG in autopilot output.

As it happens, I also have a Maretron USB100 on my network. An earlier reply to your post (Arnolddemaa) suggested that the USB100 "...is the only one that can calculate ETA...". The USB100 does not, in fact, populate those fields (7 and 8 in PGN 129824) because the USB100 doesn't support 0183 sentences (e.g.ZTG) that provide that data. As you see in the translation datagram there are no arrows pointing to those fields.