Radar plugin v5.0.0 released

[CK Shearwater]

Hi,


I've got my new Garmin 18 xHD radome working in OpenCPN master mode with radar plugin V5.1.4 largely due to the great information I got on this forum so thanks to all for that.


Now I want to supply fluxgate heading information to OpenCPN as well. My fluxgate compass is a Raymarine unit attached to a RM Type 100 course computer that runs the electronic auto pilot (an ST6000+ unit). Can anyone point me in the right direction for getting that data into OpenCPN?


Thanks again,


Lee

[Hakan]

Lee.
The 100/300 course computer use to have NMEA ports In/out. Connect the out port to a Serial to USB converter (unless you don't have a serial port on the PC) and connect it to the OCPN PC.

[CK Shearwater]

Thanks, Hakan, for the quick reply. Yes, I see NMEA in and out on the course computer. Two wires -- a plus and a minus -- for each direction. I don't however have a serial port on my OCPN computer. It's a laptop. I've connected a gps antenna and an SDR radio reciever to it via a powered USB 2.0 hub.


Do you know if I can adapt the NMEA connection from the course computer to USB and run it into the hub?



Cheers!

[Hakan]

Yes but you need a "serial to USB converter" in between.
One example here but there are plenty of these:
https://digitalyacht.co.uk/product/usb-nmea-adaptor/
Also often equipped with a DB9 connector that can be cut of in your case. (Pin 5 is COMMON(-)

[CK Shearwater]

Okay. That's very clear. I know how to proceed now. Thanks again Hakan!

[CK Shearwater]

I've run into a little problem. I closed both the radar display window and the menu window using the "x" boxes in the upper right hand corners and now can't get them back. When I run the plugin I see the initial window showing the connection i.p. but no working windows.

When i was first trying to configure this radar I had a similar problem but was able to get the windows to open by selecting both Garmin radar types -- xHD and HD (my radar is xHD -- but this time that doesn't seem to be working. Can anyone help me get the radar windows back?

Cheers.

[Hakan]

CK Shearwater..
Try the OCPN right click menu. "Control Garmin.."
In radar menu "Windows" click to show PPI if you want that.

And use only the radar type you actually have.

[CK Shearwater]

Okay. A little more information:

1. Selecting any of the Navico radar types or the emulator reliably opens the radar and menu windows.

2. Selecting just the Garmin xHD type -- that's the radar I have connected -- never opens either window.

3. Under some circumstances, though I'm not clear yet which, toggling the Garmin HD type and/or relaunching OCPN will eventually open the xHD windows. But once they're open I have to close them to use the chartplotter since they don't seem to be able to pop behind and then it's a struggle to get them back.

Thanks in advance for any help with this.

[CK Shearwater]

Okay Hakan. Thanks. That solves it. I didn't know about the OCPN right click menu. I also find now that the radar icon properly turns the windows on and off which is great.

Until a minute ago I was using 5.1.4 but when I uninstalled that in order to do a reinstall in case that helped, I saw that 5.2 was there and that's the version I'm using now. A little confusingly 5.2 prompts me to "update" to 5.1.4. Should I be using 5.2 or 5.1.4?

[Hakan]

CK..
Good you found the menu.
I can understand you perplexity about the version disorder as it seems.
Short:
The managed 5.1.4 is newer than the so called 5.2 version. Pls use 5.1.4.
More:
When you used the uninstall tool in Options->Plugins you actually uninstalled the managed version and the still existing unmanaged version was used instead.
The old plugin was installed by a downloaded setup file. These plugins are stored in another file location than used by the "new" pluginmanager for managed plugins. Both can very well exist in the file system but at plugin initialization the managed plugins are prioritized.
Now is the pluginmanager not very good at interpreting the plugin's version for the unmanaged plugins so the "5.2" designation is not correct. Confusing but that's how it is.

[JoHo]

Hi,
I intend to buy a new radar and of course use it with OpenCPN. Two devices are in question:
Simrad HALO-4 Pulse Compression Radar or Garmin GMR 1224xHD2.

From both devices there are newer types, than stated in the documentation of radar_pi. Garmin xHD became xHD2 and Simrad has an update at the interface RI11 now RI12.
Regarding the xHD2 I found a thread where there were small problems and understood that they are fixed. Also does anyone have experience with the Simrad interface RI12?


Thanks in advance

[CK Shearwater]

Thanks once again Hakan both for the quick, accurate advise and the excellent plugin. I've switched to 5.1.4 and all is well.

[Kapu]

Originally Posted by Douwe Fokkema

Could you try this again. But first modify the (on Windows) opencpn.ini file such that VerboseLog=13. After that run the system as you did before. Then send me the opencpn.log file, you can rename is to opencpn.txt so that this forum will accept it. In case you are on Unix, the configuration file is called opencpn.config.


Douwe Fokkema

Hi Douwe,
Now radar window with Raymarine E120 device opens OK. When I click start scanner button the radar starts rotating but then OpenCPN immediately closes down. However, now the radar keeps rotating and it stops only when I turn off power. I copied again opencpn.log file as .pdf if you still have time to look at it.
Kind regards

[Plover]

I'm having trouble with the radar plug-in on a Netbook running on Windows 7. I have everything set up and running on a Windows 10 laptop with the Beta version of the Radar Plug-in. I have the Accelerated Graphics button checked on the Netbook and everything else seems to be the same. Is the processor on the Netbook too slow to run the graphics? Or is the plug-in not compatible with Windows 7? I have a Navico Halo Radar that works well on the Windows 10 laptop with radar Plug-in.

Thanks,
Chris

[Douwe Fokkema]

Originally Posted by Plover

I'm having trouble with the radar plug-in on a Netbook running on Windows 7. I have everything set up and running on a Windows 10 laptop with the Beta version of the Radar Plug-in. I have the Accelerated Graphics button checked on the Netbook and everything else seems to be the same. Is the processor on the Netbook too slow to run the graphics? Or is the plug-in not compatible with Windows 7? I have a Navico Halo Radar that works well on the Windows 10 laptop with radar Plug-in.
Thanks,
Chris

Could you tell a bit more about the "troubles", what is happening, is OpenCPN running, is the radar plugin showing something, and could you get us a log file.
Douwe Fokkema