OpenCPN SIMRAD/LOWRANCE Radar Overlay PlugIn

[merrimac]

Originally Posted by Neptune's Gear

The radar switch icon never goes green now, stays yellow when on, and red, of course when off.

It will only go green when a spoke is received, so that computes.

Originally Posted by Neptune's Gear

Still works if I go back to the old .dll (but not under 1nm)...

Interesting. I'll contact you directly with some more questions.

[rgleason]

Neptune Gear post:
http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...ml#post1668298

Matt did you get this resolved? I found the way to revert back, see here.
Let me know what date you want to try if you still need old version. Or look through the commits and give me the code...I can try compiling that.

http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...ml#post1672327

Sorry, I was distracted by my 99 yr old Dad, and busy and could not find my notes.

[merrimac]

I'm still working with Matt on this. We've bisected his problem to one particular commit, in particular https://github.com/canboat/BR24radar...b736398f46c2bc

but a first test version with some extra safeguards that should have caught the problem did not fix it.

Have you got the same issue (no data on screen whatsoever?) -- I can't remember.

[merrimac]

A new beta release 0.41108 has been posted.

This reverts some changes made in the last two weeks as not all of those were having a positive effect on the radar image. It also fine-tunes how we display the image.

For slow systems there is a "Downsample" advanced setting that allows you to reduce the number of graphical blobs drawn, lowering the amount of CPU used. It is not needed on modern hardware with decent OpenGL cards, but it might help those stuck with (shudder) Intel 945, 950 or similar nasty hardware. Downsample value 2 should be nearly identical with 1, and 1 may even disappear in the future. Values 4 and 8 are suggested other values to try.

If you can't get any picture, as Matt has been seeing, there is a new "Emulator" radar display option on the Preferences window. If you choose this you should see a blacked out chart window with a "binary counter" or "checkerboard" pattern on the screen, even without a radar present. This pattern is also very useful to check out how "Downsample" blurs the image.

And last but not least, I have released an initial binary version for Mac OS X. This will only work with 3.3.2302 as it uses wxWidgets 3.0 libraries.

Go and get it here:
Source: https://github.com/canboat/BR24radar_pi
Binaries: opencpn-navico-radar-plugin.github.io

[rgleason]

Merrimac:

I'm still working with Matt on this. We've bisected his problem to one particular commit, in particular https://github.com/canboat/BR24radar...b736398f46c2bc

but a first test version with some extra safeguards that should have caught the problem did not fix it.
Have you got the same issue (no data on screen whatsoever?) -- I can't remember.

I was just trying to help Matt [Neptune's Gear]. I don't have a Simrad Radar yet. - I just downloaded and compiled gradar, before seeing these two messages from Merrimac. If you need someone to revert back to a prior date / commit let me know. I think I could manage it, but it sounds like you have that under control now.

[merrimac]

Guys (no gals here I think? Pity...)

I'm glad to announce the final beta for the Navico Broadband plugin. I've put in a lot of hours to polish the code, especially for OS X and Linux.

There is now a special "you're not set up right" page on the radar control which will show up when the setup doesn't fulfil all requirements for radar overlay, like this:



Furthermore the plugin "hunts" for the radar scanner by looking at all the Ethernet devices in turn. This is especially useful if you use a laptop or tablet that uses an USB ethernet device that can be hot plugged. It also removes the requirement on Linux and OS X that you needed to tell it what device IP address it should use.

I've also started a new documentation page on the new Beta Documentation Wiki at Navico Broadband Radar Plugin.

And finally, the internal "emulator" and "verbose logging" debugging features are now documented (somewhat) at Navico Broadband Radar Debugging.

The version number is now 0.97, in anticipation of the 1.0 release. That will hopefully come this week, as I am winterizing the boat this weekend and so will lose easy access to the radar.

Binary releases are now available for Windows, Mac, Linux x86 and Linux x86_64 at opencpn-navico-radar-plugin.github.io.

Let me know what you think!

[rgleason]

The br24radar.dll downloaded results in Norton 360 removing it instantly because of reputation and putting it into quaranteen
"WS.Reputation.1 - Removal"

This is a bit infuriating. How many simply override what Norton has done to the dll?

[NahanniV]

Tried the new plugin in emulator mode on my FitPC2 and could not get any display, just ship on a black background.

Same results under XP and Linux.

Perhaps the OpenGL implementation is not sufficient ?

Log file:

________

22:09:20: 2014-11-12
22:09:20: ------- Starting OpenCPN -------
22:09:20: Version 3.3.2302 Build 2014-11-02
22:09:20: wxWidgets version: wxWidgets 2.8.12
22:09:20: MemoryStatus: mem_total: 1014 mb, mem_initial: 10 mb
22:09:20: SData_Locn is C:\Program Files\OpenCPN\
22:09:20: Using existing Config_File: C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\opencpn\opencpn.ini
22:09:20: Styles loading from C:\Program Files\OpenCPN\uidata\styles.xml
22:09:20: No styles found at: C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\opencpn\
22:09:20: No styles found at: C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\opencpn\.opencpn\
22:09:20: Setting Viewpoint Lat/Lon 43.1973, -79.5749
22:09:20: Setting Ownship Lat/Lon 43.1975, -79.5749
22:09:20: Loading navobjects from navobj.xml
22:09:20: Done loading navobjects
22:09:20: System default Language: en_US
10:09:20 PM: looking for catalog 'wxstd' in path 'C:\Program Files\OpenCPN\share/locale\en_US.WINDOWS-1252\LC_MESSAGES;C:\Program Files\OpenCPN\share/locale\;C:\Program Files\OpenCPN\share/locale\en_US.WINDOWS-1252;C:\Program Files\OpenCPN\en_US.WINDOWS-1252;C:\Program Files\OpenCPN\share/locale\en_US\LC_MESSAGES;C:\Program Files\OpenCPN\share/locale\;C:\Program Files\OpenCPN\share/locale\en_US;C:\Program Files\OpenCPN\en_US;C:\Program Files\OpenCPN\share/locale\en\LC_MESSAGES;C:\Program Files\OpenCPN\share/locale\;C:\Program Files\OpenCPN\share/locale\en;C:\Program Files\OpenCPN\en'.
10:09:20 PM: catalog file for domain 'wxstd' not found.
10:09:20 PM: looking for catalog 'wxmsw' in path 'C:\Program Files\OpenCPN\share/locale\en_US.WINDOWS-1252\LC_MESSAGES;C:\Program Files\OpenCPN\share/locale\;C:\Program Files\OpenCPN\share/locale\en_US.WINDOWS-1252;C:\Program Files\OpenCPN\en_US.WINDOWS-1252;C:\Program Files\OpenCPN\share/locale\en_US\LC_MESSAGES;C:\Program Files\OpenCPN\share/locale\;C:\Program Files\OpenCPN\share/locale\en_US;C:\Program Files\OpenCPN\en_US;C:\Program Files\OpenCPN\share/locale\en\LC_MESSAGES;C:\Program Files\OpenCPN\share/locale\;C:\Program Files\OpenCPN\share/locale\en;C:\Program Files\OpenCPN\en'.
10:09:20 PM: catalog file for domain 'wxmsw' not found.
10:09:20 PM: Opencpn language set to: en_US
10:09:20 PM: looking for catalog 'opencpn' in path 'C:\Program Files\OpenCPN\share/locale\en_US.WINDOWS-1252\LC_MESSAGES;C:\Program Files\OpenCPN\share/locale\;C:\Program Files\OpenCPN\share/locale\en_US.WINDOWS-1252;C:\Program Files\OpenCPN\en_US.WINDOWS-1252;C:\Program Files\OpenCPN\share/locale\en_US\LC_MESSAGES;C:\Program Files\OpenCPN\share/locale\;C:\Program Files\OpenCPN\share/locale\en_US;C:\Program Files\OpenCPN\en_US;C:\Program Files\OpenCPN\share/locale\en\LC_MESSAGES;C:\Program Files\OpenCPN\share/locale\;C:\Program Files\OpenCPN\share/locale\en;C:\Program Files\OpenCPN\en'.
10:09:20 PM: catalog file for domain 'opencpn' not found.
10:09:22 PM: ChartSymbols loaded from C:\Program Files\OpenCPN\s57data\chartsymbols.xml
10:09:23 PM: Using s57data in C:\Program Files\OpenCPN\s57data
10:09:23 PM: Setting Viewpoint Lat/Lon 43.1973, -79.5749
10:09:23 PM: Setting Ownship Lat/Lon 43.1975, -79.5749
10:09:23 PM: Opening NMEA Datastream TCP:192.168.15.1:39150
10:09:23 PM: Creating glChartCanvas
10:09:23 PM: PlugInManager searching for PlugIns in location C:\Program Files\OpenCPN\plugins
10:09:23 PM: PlugInManager: Loading PlugIn: C:\Program Files\OpenCPN\plugins\br24radar_pi.dll
10:09:23 PM: C:\Program Files\OpenCPN\plugins\br24radar_pi.dll
API Version detected: 108
PlugIn Version detected: 97
10:09:23 PM: BR24radar_pi: logging verbosity = 2
10:09:23 PM: BR24radar_pi: Listening for reports
10:09:23 PM: Warning: unable to use NPOT texture for chart symbols
10:09:24 PM: OpenGL-> Renderer String: Gallium 0.1, Poulsbo on EMGD
10:09:24 PM: OpenGL-> Texture rectangle format: de1
10:09:24 PM: OpenGL-> Using Vertexbuffer Objects
10:09:24 PM: OpenGL-> Using Framebuffer Objects
10:09:24 PM: OpenGL-> FBO Stencil buffer unavailable
10:09:24 PM: OpenGL-> Using Depth buffer clipping
10:09:24 PM: OpenGL-> Not Using compression
10:09:24 PM: OpenGL-> Minimum cartographic line width: 1.0
10:09:24 PM: OpenGL-> Minimum symbol line width: 1.0
10:09:24 PM: ChartDB Cache policy: Application target is 507 MBytes
10:09:24 PM: Loading chart db version: V018
10:09:24 PM: Chartdb: Chart directory list follows
10:09:24 PM: Chart directory #0: C:\Charts\Google Charts
10:09:24 PM: Chart directory #1: C:\Charts\Americal charts
10:09:24 PM: GPS Watchdog Timeout is: 6 sec.
10:09:24 PM: Initializing Chart C:\Charts\Americal charts\BSB_ROOT\14810\14810_1.KAP
10:09:24 PM: BR24radar_pi: -1491043305 emulating 329 spokes at range 1638 with 0 spots
10:09:24 PM: Initializing Chart C:\Charts\Americal charts\BSB_ROOT\14800\14800_1.KAP
10:09:25 PM: BR24radar_pi: -1491042305 emulating 329 spokes at range 1638 with 0 spots
10:09:26 PM: BR24radar_pi: -1491041305 emulating 329 spokes at range 1638 with 0 spots
10:09:27 PM: BR24radar_pi: received packets 3/0 spokes 4914/0/0, 0 0 1 1
10:09:27 PM: BR24radar_pi: Automatic scale changed from 0 to 22224 meters
10:09:27 PM: BR24radar_pi: -1491040305 emulating 329 spokes at range 1638 with 22224 spots
10:09:28 PM: BR24radar_pi: received packets 1/0 spokes 1638/0/0, 0 0 1 1
10:09:28 PM: BR24radar_pi: -1491039493 drawn 329 skipped 0 spokes with 2048 blobs maxAge=0
10:09:28 PM: BR24radar_pi: -1491039305 emulating 329 spokes at range 1638 with 22224 spots
10:09:29 PM: BR24radar_pi: received packets 1/0 spokes 1638/0/0, 0 0 1 1
10:09:29 PM: BR24radar_pi: -1491038509 drawn 329 skipped 0 spokes with 2048 blobs maxAge=0
10:09:29 PM: BR24radar_pi: -1491038305 emulating 329 spokes at range 1638 with 22224 spots
10:09:29 PM: BR24radar_pi: Master mode on
10:09:29 PM: BR24radar_pi: command 2 bytes: A0 C1
10:09:29 PM: BR24radar_pi: command 3 bytes: 00 C1 01
10:09:29 PM: BR24radar_pi: command 3 bytes: 01 C1 01
10:09:29 PM: BR24radar_pi: SetRangeMeters: 22224 meters

10:09:29 PM: BR24radar_pi: command 6 bytes: 03 C1 B1 EC 01 00
10:09:29 PM: BR24radar_pi: Gain: Auto
10:09:29 PM: BR24radar_pi: command 11 bytes: 06 C1 00 00 00 00 01 00 00 00 A1
10:09:29 PM: BR24radar_pi: Rain: 50
10:09:29 PM: BR24radar_pi: command 11 bytes: 06 C1 04 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 28
10:09:29 PM: BR24radar_pi: Sea: Auto
10:09:29 PM: BR24radar_pi: command 11 bytes: 06 C1 02 00 00 00 01 00 00 00 D3
10:09:29 PM: BR24radar_pi: Rejection: 0
10:09:29 PM: BR24radar_pi: command 3 bytes: 08 C1 00
10:09:29 PM: BR24radar_pi: Target separation: 0
10:09:29 PM: BR24radar_pi: command 3 bytes: 22 C1 00
10:09:29 PM: BR24radar_pi: Noise rejection: 0
10:09:29 PM: BR24radar_pi: command 3 bytes: 21 C1 00
10:09:29 PM: BR24radar_pi: Target boost: 0
10:09:29 PM: BR24radar_pi: command 3 bytes: 0A C1 00
10:09:29 PM: BR24radar_pi: Scan speed: 0
10:09:29 PM: BR24radar_pi: command 3 bytes: 0F C1 00
10:09:29 PM: BR24radar_pi: Dynamic button width = 165
10:09:30 PM: BR24radar_pi: Rejection: 0
10:09:30 PM: BR24radar_pi: command 3 bytes: 08 C1 00
10:09:30 PM: BR24radar_pi: Rejection: 0
10:09:30 PM: BR24radar_pi: command 3 bytes: 08 C1 00
10:09:30 PM: BR24radar_pi: Target boost: 0
10:09:30 PM: BR24radar_pi: command 3 bytes: 0A C1 00
10:09:30 PM: BR24radar_pi: Target boost: 0
10:09:30 PM: BR24radar_pi: command 3 bytes: 0A C1 00
10:09:30 PM: BR24radar_pi: Noise rejection: 0
10:09:30 PM: BR24radar_pi: command 3 bytes: 21 C1 00
10:09:30 PM: BR24radar_pi: Noise rejection: 0
10:09:30 PM: BR24radar_pi: command 3 bytes: 21 C1 00
10:09:30 PM: BR24radar_pi: Target separation: 0
10:09:30 PM: BR24radar_pi: command 3 bytes: 22 C1 00
10:09:30 PM: BR24radar_pi: Target separation: 0
10:09:30 PM: BR24radar_pi: command 3 bytes: 22 C1 00
10:09:30 PM: BR24radar_pi: Scan speed: 0
10:09:30 PM: BR24radar_pi: command 3 bytes: 0F C1 00
10:09:30 PM: BR24radar_pi: Scan speed: 0
10:09:30 PM: BR24radar_pi: command 3 bytes: 0F C1 00
10:09:30 PM: BR24radar_pi: Gain: Auto
10:09:30 PM: BR24radar_pi: command 11 bytes: 06 C1 00 00 00 00 01 00 00 00 A1
10:09:30 PM: BR24radar_pi: Sea: Auto
10:09:30 PM: BR24radar_pi: command 11 bytes: 06 C1 02 00 00 00 01 00 00 00 D3
10:09:30 PM: BR24radar_pi: Rain: 50
10:09:30 PM: BR24radar_pi: command 11 bytes: 06 C1 04 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 28
10:09:30 PM: BR24radar_pi: Range label '8 NM' auto=1 unit=0 max=15 new=-1 val=11
10:09:30 PM: BR24radar_pi: command 2 bytes: A0 C1
10:09:30 PM: BR24radar_pi: SetRangeMeters: 22224 meters

10:09:30 PM: BR24radar_pi: command 6 bytes: 03 C1 B1 EC 01 00
10:09:30 PM: BR24radar_pi: Gain: Auto
10:09:30 PM: BR24radar_pi: command 11 bytes: 06 C1 00 00 00 00 01 00 00 00 A1
10:09:30 PM: BR24radar_pi: Rain: 50
10:09:30 PM: BR24radar_pi: command 11 bytes: 06 C1 04 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 28
10:09:30 PM: BR24radar_pi: Sea: Auto
10:09:30 PM: BR24radar_pi: command 11 bytes: 06 C1 02 00 00 00 01 00 00 00 D3
10:09:30 PM: BR24radar_pi: Rejection: 0
10:09:30 PM: BR24radar_pi: command 3 bytes: 08 C1 00
10:09:30 PM: BR24radar_pi: Target separation: 0
10:09:30 PM: BR24radar_pi: command 3 bytes: 22 C1 00
10:09:30 PM: BR24radar_pi: Noise rejection: 0
10:09:30 PM: BR24radar_pi: command 3 bytes: 21 C1 00
10:09:30 PM: BR24radar_pi: Target boost: 0
10:09:30 PM: BR24radar_pi: command 3 bytes: 0A C1 00
10:09:30 PM: BR24radar_pi: Scan speed: 0
10:09:30 PM: BR24radar_pi: command 3 bytes: 0F C1 00
10:09:30 PM: BR24radar_pi: received packets 1/0 spokes 1638/0/0, 0 0 1 1
10:09:30 PM: BR24radar_pi: -1491037321 drawn 329 skipped 0 spokes with 2048 blobs maxAge=0
10:09:30 PM: BR24radar_pi: -1491037305 emulating 329 spokes at range 1638 with 22224 spots
10:09:30 PM: BR24radar_pi: -1491037259 drawn 329 skipped 0 spokes with 2048 blobs maxAge=0
10:09:31 PM: BR24radar_pi: -1491036305 emulating 329 spokes at range 1638 with 22224 spots
10:09:31 PM: BR24radar_pi: received packets 2/0 spokes 3276/0/0, 0 0 1 1
10:09:31 PM: BR24radar_pi: -1491036259 drawn 329 skipped 0 spokes with 2048 blobs maxAge=0
10:09:32 PM: BR24radar_pi: -1491035305 emulating 329 spokes at range 1638 with 22224 spots
10:09:32 PM: BR24radar_pi: received packets 1/0 spokes 1638/0/0, 0 0 1 1
10:09:32 PM: BR24radar_pi: -1491035274 drawn 329 skipped 0 spokes with 2048 blobs maxAge=0
10:09:32 PM: BR24radar_pi: -1491035196 drawn 329 skipped 0 spokes with 2048 blobs maxAge=0
10:09:33 PM: BR24radar_pi: -1491034305 emulating 329 spokes at range 1638 with 22224 spots
10:09:33 PM: BR24radar_pi: received packets 1/0 spokes 1638/0/0, 0 0 1 1
10:09:33 PM: BR24radar_pi: -1491034274 drawn 329 skipped 0 spokes with 2048 blobs maxAge=0
10:09:34 PM: BR24radar_pi: received packets 1/0 spokes 660/0/0, 0 0 1 1
10:09:34 PM: BR24radar_pi: -1491033290 emulating 329 spokes at range 1638 with 22224 spots
10:09:34 PM: BR24radar_pi: -1491033259 drawn 329 skipped 0 spokes with 2048 blobs maxAge=0
10:09:35 PM: BR24radar_pi: command 2 bytes: A0 C1
10:09:35 PM: BR24radar_pi: received packets 0/0 spokes 667/0/0, 0 0 1 1
10:09:35 PM: BR24radar_pi: -1491032259 drawn 329 skipped 0 spokes with 2048 blobs maxAge=0
10:09:35 PM: BR24radar_pi: -1491032243 emulating 329 spokes at range 1638 with 22224 spots
10:09:36 PM: BR24radar_pi: received packets 1/0 spokes 1638/0/0, 0 0 1 1
10:09:36 PM: BR24radar_pi: -1491031259 drawn 329 skipped 0 spokes with 2048 blobs maxAge=0
10:09:36 PM: BR24radar_pi: -1491031227 emulating 329 spokes at range 1638 with 22224 spots
10:09:37 PM: BR24radar_pi: received packets 1/0 spokes 1638/0/0, 0 0 1 1
10:09:37 PM: BR24radar_pi: -1491030259 drawn 329 skipped 0 spokes with 2048 blobs maxAge=0
10:09:37 PM: BR24radar_pi: -1491030212 emulating 329 spokes at range 1638 with 22224 spots
10:09:38 PM: BR24radar_pi: received packets 1/0 spokes 1638/0/0, 0 0 1 1
10:09:38 PM: BR24radar_pi: -1491029259 drawn 329 skipped 0 spokes with 2048 blobs maxAge=0
10:09:38 PM: BR24radar_pi: -1491029212 emulating 329 spokes at range 1638 with 22224 spots
10:09:39 PM: BR24radar_pi: received packets 1/0 spokes 1638/0/0, 0 0 1 1
10:09:39 PM: BR24radar_pi: -1491028259 drawn 329 skipped 0 spokes with 2048 blobs maxAge=0
10:09:39 PM: BR24radar_pi: -1491028196 emulating 329 spokes at range 1638 with 22224 spots
10:09:40 PM: BR24radar_pi: command 2 bytes: A0 C1
10:09:40 PM: BR24radar_pi: received packets 1/0 spokes 1638/0/0, 0 0 1 1
10:09:40 PM: BR24radar_pi: -1491027259 drawn 329 skipped 0 spokes with 2048 blobs maxAge=0
10:09:40 PM: BR24radar_pi: -1491027196 emulating 329 spokes at range 1638 with 22224 spots
10:09:41 PM: BR24radar_pi: received packets 1/0 spokes 1638/0/0, 0 0 1 1
10:09:41 PM: BR24radar_pi: -1491026259 drawn 329 skipped 0 spokes with 2048 blobs maxAge=0
10:09:41 PM: BR24radar_pi: -1491026180 emulating 329 spokes at range 1638 with 22224 spots
10:09:42 PM: BR24radar_pi: received packets 1/0 spokes 1638/0/0, 0 0 1 1
10:09:42 PM: BR24radar_pi: -1491025259 drawn 329 skipped 0 spokes with 2048 blobs maxAge=0
10:09:42 PM: BR24radar_pi: -1491025180 emulating 329 spokes at range 1638 with 22224 spots
10:09:43 PM: BR24radar_pi: received packets 1/0 spokes 1638/0/0, 0 0 1 1
10:09:43 PM: BR24radar_pi: -1491024274 drawn 329 skipped 0 spokes with 2048 blobs maxAge=0
10:09:43 PM: BR24radar_pi: -1491024180 emulating 329 spokes at range 1638 with 22224 spots
10:09:44 PM: BR24radar_pi: -1491023680 drawn 329 skipped 0 spokes with 2048 blobs maxAge=0
10:09:44 PM: BR24radar_pi: received packets 1/0 spokes 1638/0/0, 0 0 1 1
10:09:44 PM: BR24radar_pi: -1491023274 drawn 329 skipped 0 spokes with 2048 blobs maxAge=0
10:09:44 PM: BR24radar_pi: -1491023180 emulating 329 spokes at range 1638 with 22224 spots
10:09:45 PM: BR24radar_pi: command 2 bytes: A0 C1
10:09:45 PM: BR24radar_pi: received packets 1/0 spokes 1638/0/0, 0 0 1 1
10:09:45 PM: BR24radar_pi: -1491022259 drawn 329 skipped 0 spokes with 2048 blobs maxAge=0
10:09:45 PM: BR24radar_pi: -1491022180 emulating 329 spokes at range 1638 with 22224 spots
10:09:46 PM: BR24radar_pi: received packets 1/0 spokes 1638/0/0, 0 0 1 1
10:09:46 PM: BR24radar_pi: -1491021259 drawn 329 skipped 0 spokes with 2048 blobs maxAge=0
10:09:46 PM: BR24radar_pi: -1491021180 emulating 329 spokes at range 1638 with 22224 spots
10:09:47 PM: BR24radar_pi: -1491020180 emulating 329 spokes at range 1638 with 22224 spots

[Hakan]

Originally Posted by NahanniV

Tried the new plugin in emulator mode on my FitPC2 and could not get any display, just ship on a black background.

Same results under XP and Linux.

Perhaps the OpenGL implementation is not sufficient ?

NahanniV......
I can't judge the OpenGl logs but there are not much differences from mine where the Emulator is working.

You may try to increase the Downsample for a test.
Since you not seems to have neither position nor heading and therefore can't reach the radar menu you've to do it in opencpn.ini.
Below [PlugIns/BR24Radar] find:
Downsample=2
and change that value to for instance 6.
Håkan

[merrimac]

NahanniV,

What value do you have for Scan Age? There is no safeguard yet against silly values. Next version will only allow values from 4 to ~ 12.

If you have 0, it won't show anything.

[merrimac]

The FitPC2 uses US15W, which has a GMA500, which is a PowerVR graphics core.

Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 500 (GMA 500) - NotebookCheck.net Tech

Pretty bad in terms of performance, but it does support OpenGL 2.0. So it should be good enough to show an image.

If Scan Age = 4 fixes it it would be interesting for us to see what CPU % you get with radar on / off, with the plugin version number (as the performance has been going up a bit.) Please report this for Downsample value 1, 2, 3 and 4.

[NahanniV]

Thanks Hakan and Merrimac,

Scan_age was set at zero by default.
Increasing it gave me an image.

The video drivers for the GMA500 are not great. OpenGL works, but makes little difference to the performance.

Using the RADAR emulator, with the latest plugin, and Scan_age set to 4:

Under XP:
Down_sample = 4 cpu_usage = 15%
Down_sample = 3 cpu_usage = 20%
Down_sample = 2 cpu_usage = 35%
Down_sample = 1 cpu_usage = 50%

Under Linux:
Down_sample = 4 cpu_usage = 45%
Down_sample = 3 cpu_usage = 50%
Down_sample = 2 cpu_usage = 65%
Down_sample = 1 cpu_usage = 80%

The FitPC2 is just adequate for running OpenCPN but the RADAR slows it down too much. I am thinking of getting a Banana Pi to try as a replacement.

Thanks for your great work,
JM.

[Hakan]

JM...
Nice to see it's working. But don't give up FitPC2 without test. My experience of the Emulator is that it takes considerable more force then the real radar use.
Håkan

[merrimac]

The emulator puts up an image where it draws about 50% of the possible area as "echo". Drawing echoes is expensive, so a normal picture (with maybe 10-15% echo) is going to be using a lot less CPU.

Glad to see that both users that didn't have a picture were having the same issue induced by our GUI not yet being complete (being able to set scan age to 0, or it even coming up that way by default).

[merrimac]

I'm happy to announce the first production release. Thanks to Håkan, Douwe and Matt who have been testing everything that I put out and some crucial help from Pavel with translations and packaging we're now far enough down the road to put 1.0 on the release.

This is the first release made using the new OpenCPN plugin packaging system that makes it much easier to install -- download the .exe/.rpm/.deb/.dmg and run it!

Get it here: opencpn-navico-radar-plugin.github.io