Radar plugin v5.0.0 released

[merrimac]

Hi Pizzazz,

If you are willing to do work, then I think this is indeed not that hard. What I can do is create a "raymarine" branch, and add rudimentary data for Ray digital radar to it. You can then fork the repository, and get it working / comment etc.

You will have to learn how to do github forking, sending pull requests, etc. as it is too hard to work with sending patches via email etc.


I suggest you start by opening a Github account, if you haven't done so already, and start following the developer instructions on how to build, and move this discussion to github.

[merrimac]

Oh, I hadn't checked https://github.com/opencpn-radar-pi/radar_pi/issues/79 but I see we were already communicating a bit there.

[sailcindy]

Success!
using the updated HD Garmon on Radar Plug-in v5.0.1.
The ARPA features make the radar on top of OpenCPN infinitely more usable than the old gradar plugin.

Thanks Merrimac and Dave!!

[merrimac]

Originally Posted by sailcindy

Success!
using the updated HD Garmon on Radar Plug-in v5.0.1.
The ARPA features make the radar on top of OpenCPN infinitely more usable than the old gradar plugin.

Thanks Merrimac and Dave!!

Thanks. Good to hear you like it.

Let me point out that the ARPA features are the brilliant brainchild of @DouweFokkema. It's nice that you can now enjoy this as well, us Navico users have been spoiled by this for 2 years :-)

[ejs]

Hello,


I have tested 5.0.0 on my Halo 3 system and it doesn't seem to initialize the connection properly. It gets stuck in the "radar initializing" window. Sometimes when I start the radar using the chart plotter, I can get Open CPN to display the radar correctly and all functions seem to work including stopping and starting but this is intermittent, working maybe 1/3rd of the time.


I have updated the firmware in the radar controller since I sent you the original wireshark recordings, I can't imagine that matters but it could.



Have a look, and if you want me to send more wireshark recordings, let me know what and where to send them.


Cheers, Eric

[merrimac]

Originally Posted by ejs

Have a look, and if you want me to send more wireshark recordings, let me know what and where to send them.
Cheers, Eric

Hi Eric, whilst developing the HALO24 support I found that it sends data on different multicast addresses again, and that these even change when it sees a different radar present.



I found a 'radar report' which the HALO24 and 4G produce which I thought the HALO3 would produce as well. This uses a new way of finding radars which should have been more reliable, but apparently alas not.


I created https://github.com/opencpn-radar-pi/radar_pi/issues/107 for this issue, could you please upload the pcap (wireshark) files there? The files that I would like are detailed in the Github issue.

[merrimac]

Originally Posted by Baikal

Wishes
- Maximize radar window to full screen without top bar
- Synchronization of the cursor on the chart and the radar window
- The radar settings menu should be part of the radar window ie. open in the radar window. Also the menu should be on top of all windows now it is always under the radar window.
- Docking the radar window with a chart

Hi Baikal, we're working on re-enabling docking. We're adding explicit buttons to dock and undock, getting away from the finicky mouse operations required to dock. It does mean we choose where the docking location is. We've chosen the right hand side for now.


We know that the current menu with buttons is not ideal, but moving it into the OpenGL display pane means so much work that we're hesitant to commit to it. The problem is we'd need an overlay over the PPI display, or make room for it by making the PPI display smaller. And then we still run into trouble if the radar window is too low to have room for all the buttons. And then we need to produce some other menu for the chart overlay if you don't have any PPI windows. Aarrrrrggg!

[HugoGr]

Hi,

I'm trying to get an older 3G navico radar to work with OpenCPN 5.0 and this new radar plugin.

Everything is wired up via an ethernet router, the radar works fine with my B&G zeus 2 plotter. When Ic onnect my laptop to the network the OpenCPN also finds the radar on the network, this is visible in the initial radar pop-up. once connected this pop up disappears and than the radar menu and radar window do not open. I can click the button in the menu bar but no radar display nor radar menu will open.

I'm working on a Macbook pro with Mojave OS installed. In the firewall OpenCPN has permission to use all incoming connections.

Does anyone know what I'm doing wrong?

Kind regards,
Hugo

[Hakan]

Originally Posted by HugoGr

Hi,

I'm trying to get an older 3G navico radar to work with OpenCPN 5.0 and this new radar plugin.
........
Does anyone know what I'm doing wrong?

Kind regards,
Hugo

Hugo..
First try:

1. Open right click pop up menu in OCPN. See if there's a radar Control item to click. See my first shot (Maybe "Control Navico BR24" in your case)
2. The old 3G, firmware before Oct 2014, use code for a BR24 type. Would be detected automatically but to be sure set radar type to BR24 in radar_pi preferences. Second shot

Håkan

[ejs]

Not sure if github notifies you, but I have uploaded the wireshark files. Let me know if you need more.


Thanks for looking into this, Eric

[merrimac]

There is a new test version for the plugin available (for macOS and MS Windows).


It addresses the following:



- We now have explicit dock/undock button in the menu. This fixes the "hard to dock/undock" issue.
- Radar selection dialog is now opened automatically when you first install the plugin.
- The chart cursor is shown on the PPI window as a 2nd cursor.
- Improved HALO detection code.


As to the latter, the pcap files uploaded by Eric suggested that his router takes a little bit of time to process any multicast membership requests. We now become part of the multicast group, wait for a second and only then ask the radar to advertise its location. This seems to work great for my 4G, hopefully it works for Eric as well.


Next job: fix the build-from-source instructions, update the documentation.



@Baikal and @ejs can you please test this release:

https://github.com/opencpn-radar-pi/...g/v5.0.2-beta1

[Baikal]

Thanks for the update!

Docking PPI works fine!
For the synchronization of the cursor a special thank you!

It remains to put in order the menu!
Now as it is all in a heap!
The main adjustments of the radar parameters should be displayed directly on the PPI. I will sketch a layout on the weekend.
Maybe something like to use the new chart configuration menu under the radar options?
In the right-click menu, ask the command to turn off the radar overlay.

[merrimac]

Originally Posted by Baikal

Thanks for the update!

Docking PPI works fine!
For the synchronization of the cursor a special thank you!

It remains to put in order the menu!
Now as it is all in a heap!
The main adjustments of the radar parameters should be displayed directly on the PPI. I will sketch a layout on the weekend.
Maybe something like to use the new chart configuration menu under the radar options?
In the right-click menu, ask the command to turn off the radar overlay.

Sorry but I sometimes have a hard time understanding you fully.


- Gain, Sea and Rain are already shown directly on the PPI window.
- I don't understand what the "new chart configuration menu under the radar options" is.
- Right click menu to hide overlay -> mmmm (a) doesn't work well with touch screens (b) there is already quite a lot on it -- personally I don't think this is an improvement. -- If you click the radar icon in the main taskbar all radar windows disappear (which is a great "show me just the chart, quickly" function). If you don't have PPI windows this is equivalent to what you are asking for.

[nmccubbin]

Thank you for your work
Any possibility you will write a plug-in for Furuno DRS4D-NXT and related radars scanners? Ours already runs with our Win 10 PC, without a dedicated display or Furuno chart plotter but needs the TimeZero navigation software.
We would rather be using OpenCPN to navigate, and do so some of the time, but our radar sticks us with Nobeltec TimeZero

[Hakan]

Originally Posted by nmccubbin

Thank you for your work
Any possibility you will write a plug-in for Furuno DRS4D-NXT and related radars scanners? Ours already runs with our Win 10 PC, without a dedicated display or Furuno chart plotter but needs the TimeZero navigation software.
We would rather be using OpenCPN to navigate, and do so some of the time, but our radar sticks us with Nobeltec TimeZero

What I know we've not heard about this radar type before so there is nothing prepared at all.

Reading back in different threads you'll learn that what's needed for this is:

1. Someone who has the specific radar scanner and some MFD to control it, like TimeZero in your case.
2. Use a program to collect the network data traffic while you do all possible commands from the MFD. Wireshark is a good program for Windows. You save and name one file for the radar start up procedure , one file for change range, one for change gain .. and so on. This is what we can call reverse engineering. That's the initial work for all OpenCPN radar plugins.
3. If you can code a program radar_pi is so to say prepared for a work like this. All display and menus are prepared. What's needed for each radar type are the commands collection and someone to program.
   Or if you can upload all Wireshark files to radar_pi Github and hope for assistance from the programmers for the plugin.

This text is not meant to scare or anything like that. It's about to describe the work method that has been developed during some years by voluntary work from dedicated, skilled and generous people.

You're more than welcome to participate if you like.

Håkan