OpenCPN on Lenovo TAB-M10 - need help

[sv_pelagia]

Originally Posted by CassidyNZ

I’ve heard it said that OCPN can be quite buggy. I’m solving problems as I go along but now I have one that has me cornered.

With the program running, I have text so dense on the page that it blots out everything else. That in itself is not the problem. I’m sure there are settings to fix this.

The problem is that when I open the Settings menu to try to adjust the text size/density/extent, the menu opens but the part of the menu that lets you press OK or Escape or whatever to close the menu is not on the screen - the menu block is too big.

Effectively that’s it. The only way I can get out of the menu is to totally power-down the device - switch it completely off. If I exit OCPN, it simply starts back on the open menu page. On restarting everything appears and works normal as long as the Settings menu is not opened. But the text still overwhelms the charting and cannot be reset/adjusted.

Any ideas? Anyone?

I do not find Android OPCPN "buggy".

Idea to see settings: I find the "OK" tab on OPCPN Settings disappear in Landscape mode. So, turn tablet to change to portrait orientation (note: tablet's settings need to have orientation switch turned on)

Are you finding text too dense using vector charts? Try changing Chart Panel Options to display only Base data (lower right corner, 3 horizontal lines, then select Display Category). If that works, you can work with what you want additionally displayed.

I find no issue with "All" displayed on my Samsung tablet as well as my phone.

[CassidyNZ]

Originally Posted by sv_pelagia

I do not find Android OPCPN "buggy".

Idea to see settings: I find the "OK" tab on OPCPN Settings disappear in Landscape mode. So, turn tablet to change to portrait orientation (note: tablet's settings need to have orientation switch turned on).

Oh if it were just that easy. Images below show where the OK button is on landscape and what happens to it in portrait. No real difference - still unavailable. But thanks for the tip. Perhaps this is a Lenovo thing, not an OCPN thing?

But even if turning the tablet 90 degrees worked, you don’t see the need to do that as “buggy”?

[sv_pelagia]

Try changing screen size within OpenCPN
Settings
Display
Advanced (at bottom)

Perhaps email Dave (see email on Google Play) or PM bdbcat on this forum

Never been an issue for me on 2 Samsung tabs and to Moto phones.

[CassidyNZ]

Originally Posted by sv_pelagia

Try changing screen size within OpenCPN
Settings
Display
Advanced (at bottom)

Perhaps email Dave (see email on Google Play) or PM bdbcat on this forum

Never been an issue for me on 2 Samsung tabs and to Moto phones.

Thanks for that tip, I’ll store that and maybe use it in future.

For now, I uninstalled the OCPN app and reloaded it and the problem appears gone for now. What worries me is that I now know that I can’t depend on the stability of the software as it is because the next time it goes feral I may not have an internet connection to fix it.

And one doesn’t know what one doesn’t know. How many other areas of the software can go feral without notice.

At least with Navionics the software is stable and can be depended on, at least it’s been that way for me and in hindsight, the money paid for a subscription is probably worth it. And it runs on any device

At this time I’ll continue to use OCPN on the boat to get longer term view but if it continues to fail it’s going in the bin. My grandson can hold his breath for new device to replace his older one.

Thanks again for your help.

[rgleason]

Cassidy, you've persisted this far, through 19 posts. I share your concern about stability of software on the high seas, however OpenCPN has been tested and used by many for that purpose. Very rarely there is a minor problem found with a release and fixed with a quick update, but generally if you stay with the normal releases your software will perform as expected... of course because it is Open Source and free, there are certain disclaimers.

However I ask, do you think Navionics doesn't have disclaimers, and how far do you think you would get with them in a lawsuit?

I am sorry, but the implications that you make about 'stability' are not really real for the release versions. The bugs/problems you see in much of the Cruiser Forum is development and work on plugins or user feature requests with the implication that it is something doesn't work. The advantage of Open Source is that users have a chance become involved in the community and team and to contribute and improve the software. The advantage of the Cruiser Forum is that you can see the software development is active and you can participate because it is Open Source.

We hope you will stick with this unique community.

Incidentally, I would not be at all surprised if OpenCPN didn't run on more OS than Navionics, if that is any measure of software!

[CassidyNZ]

Originally Posted by rgleason

Cassidy, you've persisted this far, through 19 posts. I share your concern about stability of software on the high seas, however OpenCPN has been tested and used by many for that purpose. Very rarely there is a minor problem found with a release and fixed with a quick update, but generally if you stay with the normal releases your software will perform as expected... of course because it is Open Source and free, there are certain disclaimers.

However I ask, do you think Navionics doesn't have disclaimers and how far do you think you would get with them in a lawsuit?

I’m not concerned at all about law suits, litigation isn’t a hobby for me. I’ve used Navionics for a few years, found it to be pretty stable as opposed to my thus-far short experience with OCPN which has been quite challenging.

Being the same as many retired cruisers (stingy), I look to save money wherever possible and with 15 bucks one-off as opposed to an annual Navionics subscription of (I don’t know) $50-odd, it seemed OCPN could be such a saving but in hindsight, with cost of a new tablet and the apparent instability, maybe it was a silly decision.

The fact that there is a dedicated forum here on CF as well as a “member’s” forum on the net which, BTW, after several attempts I still haven’t been able to get membership to, implies that there are on-going glitches in OCPN. Posting on a forum requiring membership is one thing, I’m always a bit leery of a forum that you can only actually see the contents of once you’ve become a “member”. Especially when the subject of the forum is “free” open-source software.

Now that the software is working again, life is good and as I’m not embarking on any passages outside of my local knowledge for a while, I’ll continue testing OCPN to see whether your opinion that “it will perform as expected” is correct.

Thanks for input.

[bdbcat]

CassidyNZ...
What is your user name when you tried joining the Android Forum? We can check the logs, and get you enabled manually if necessary.


Thanks
Dave

[CassidyNZ]

Originally Posted by bdbcat

CassidyNZ...
What is your user name when you tried joining the Android Forum? We can check the logs, and get you enabled manually if necessary.


Thanks
Dave

Hi Dave

User name is Morgan44

Never got the requisite email to confirm my registration, was able to log in but no more than that.

Thanks

[bdbcat]

CassidyNZ..
You are now approved for the Forum as "Morgan44". The confirmation email was sent to: andr.........gs@gmail.com


Let me know if you have trouble logging on.


Thanks
Dave

[rgleason]

Originally Posted by CassidyNZ

Being the same as many retired cruisers (stingy), I look to save money wherever possible and with 15 bucks one-off.. maybe it was a silly decision.

I don't think you'll regret it, eventually. years ago I purchased an ASUS android tablet for my 100 year old Dad who still liked to use computers. He died and I cleaned it up and added OpenCPN Android and it still works like a charm.

.. Android “member’s” forum on the net which, BTW, after several attempts I still haven’t been able to get membership to, implies that there are on-going glitches in OCPN. Posting on a forum requiring membership is one thing, I’m always a bit leery of a forum that you can only actually see the contents of once you’ve become a “member”. Especially when the subject of the forum is “free” open-source software.

I kind of agree, but there were some early issues with the genuine Android version versus another unsupported version, and this was done to prevent "poaching" so to speak and to get the focus of users on the correct version! Just use CF to drop bdbcat Private Message request(click on the bdbcat icon) for access to that forum where questions about the operation of the Android version (which is enough different) are fielded. I will say the Android version does take some getting used to because of the interface and smaller screens, so that dedicated forum is very useful for searches and question directed at the Android version.
Later: Bdbcat beat us to that!

Now that the software is working again, life is good and as I’m not embarking on any passages outside of my local knowledge for a while, I’ll continue testing OCPN to see whether your opinion that “it will perform as expected” is correct.
Thanks for input.

I hope you find stability and become confident. Merry Christmas.

[CassidyNZ]

Originally Posted by bdbcat

CassidyNZ..
You are now approved for the Forum as "Morgan44". The confirmation email was sent to: andr.........gs@gmail.com


Let me know if you have trouble logging on.


Thanks
Dave

Thanks Dave, managed to login, no time to examine, will return later.

FYI, the email you sent never arrived in my inbox. I checked my CP on the forum and the email address listed is correct, not sure why emails are not getting through to me.

[pinguino]

Originally Posted by CassidyNZ

Posting on a forum requiring membership is one thing, I’m always a bit leery of a forum that you can only actually see the contents of once you’ve become a “member”. Especially when the subject of the forum is “free” open-source software.

Here I think it is worth making a nuance. It is true that opencpn is open software. But regarding the Android version, in my opinion, this is not as accurate as it seems.

The usual thing when someone is with an open source project is that we have, not only the code itself but also a reasonably clear instructions to build it. This is totally true in the case of opencpn for Linux -system that I know- but I think that it is not completely fulfilled in the case of opencpn for Android.

I have tried in many occasions to build my own opencpn apk using the available code and the instructions provided. They have not worked. At some point I have always found some obstacle, something wrong in the instructions or some error in the code that gives me the impression that only some very advanced programmer can discover and solve. Even I thought if it is not some kind of obfuscation introduced to make more difficult that anyone who does not have advanced knowledge or skills can avoid the error and achieve build its own opencpn apk for Android.

The fact that opencpn for Android is the only monetized version of opencpn does not help either. But what really makes me feel that opencpn for Android is not as open as it promises is the fact that the support forum is totally closed and exclusive for paying users. It's like denying support to any other user who has managed to compile their own opencpn apk for Android. This does not happen for the rest of opencpn versions where support is totally free and open.

Of course, it is also true that I don't know any other user that has successfully built his own apk following the available instructions.

Don't get me wrong. I believe that those who do the work deserve their money and that's right. But open, what it is said open... I don't feel it this way in the case of the version of android. If it was this way, those that we don't use the ecosystem of Google to install applications -I use F-droid instead- we would have the possibility of to build our own apk and of, that if it is given the case and there are problems with the apk or with their build process, to be able to request support to the developers. This is simply not the case today.

It is not something trivial. I participate giving support in a forum in Spanish where they talk about marine electronics and especially openplotter and opencpn.

Very often many people ask questions about problems they have with the Android version of opencpn. When I tell them that we can not help them because we can not even investigate in the support forums of the Android version most are disappointed. We directed them to the official support forum -in English- since they are the ones who pay are the ones who can access and usually that's where it all ends since for most the language is too big an obstacle. Many do not understand and are a little disappointed. Also, since we don't have our own apk to experiment with we are totally blind trying to give support in Spanish. That's why I don't see the term "open" applied well in the case of opencpn for android.

[bdbcat]

pinguino...


Thanks for the observations. I take your points.

I agree that the documentation to build the Android apk is presently incomplete, and in fact wrong in some details. It is certainly not up to the common expectations for a GPL licensed program. There has been a "background task" to improve this documentation underway for some time. Unfortunately, it has had a much lower priority than improvements or bug fixes to the higher volume platforms like linux and Windows. And we are always resource-bound when it comes to developer efforts.


Yes, building the apk for Android is fiendishly complex. All the more so since the Android ecosystem is very fragmented. The google APIs change (incompatibly) at each version, and devices from different OEMs, though ostensibly running the same version of Android, behave in critically different ways for many necessary functions. (c.f. this thread). Further, it becomes increasingly difficult to maintain backward compatibility to A4.4, which is our goal. As a result, effective development requires that I maintain a stable of (now) 17 different Android devices, testing each tweak on all before release. Not complaining. That is simply the state of play required to deploy a credible Android app today.



But take heart. Thanks to the jump-start help from another developer, the improved documentation for Android build has made much progress, though still a WIP. You may like to inspect the current state by looking in the github branch "sysroot", and reading the file "README_ANDROID.mb." This documentation effort will continue, albeit in fits and starts, until we reach a point where an apk can be reasonably built from a bare metal linux machine.


Regarding the dedicated Forum:
Please know that there is no direct linkage between purchase of the app, and Forum membership credentials. Even if we wanted to do that (we don't), it is not possible. The identity of Playstore purchasers is strictly unavailable to the app's authors and store listing owners. All interaction between buyers and developers is by anonymous token only.


To be clear:

1 Anyone who wants to join the Forum may do so. All it takes is a valid email address and (relatively) clean ip address. Maybe you should join...
2 Questions about unsupported OpenCPN Android versions will not be entertained, since we have no means of fixing any bugs on older versions that are not signed by org.opencp.opencpn.


Thanks for your input
Dave

[pinguino]

Thank you for responding. It would be great if you could finally compile the opencpn apk as you do with the other versions. Any progress is welcome.

On the subject of forum registration... I remember that several years ago I tried but for some reason I could not succeed. I had the impression that it was not possible to do it unless one had previously purchased the application from the play store. I guess I was wrong. Maybe the fact that membership is required to view the forum caused me that impression.

It might not be a bad idea to open it since it would also be easier to find answers that would appear in the Internet search engines.

[bdbcat]

CassidyNZ...
Don't know if you are still around, but...


Is the problem with OpenCPN/Android settings "OK" and "Cancel" buttons unavailable on Lenovo M10 still present for you?


Thanks
Dave