Radar plugin v5.0.0 released

[ejs]

Hello,
Yes, the new sea clutter button works as expected, I'm in harbor where there is no sea clutter but it seems to have the right behavior. I like that the old place to adjust +/- adds to the auto setting. The "old" place to adjust the sea clutter auto state still reverts to "Harbour" after a few seconds, but I'm assuming you will delete that eventually in favor of the new way. It doesn't hurt anything it is just confusing if you don't know. You also added control of the blue lights, unless I missed it before, not the finest feature of the HALO, but control is now complete.

Thanks loads, Eric
formerly svScoots
Now svAwildian currently lying Korcula, Croatia

[merrimac]

Originally Posted by ejs

Hello,
Yes, the new sea clutter button works as expected, I'm in harbor where there is no sea clutter but it seems to have the right behavior. I like that the old place to adjust +/- adds to the auto setting. The "old" place to adjust the sea clutter auto state still reverts to "Harbour" after a few seconds, but I'm assuming you will delete that eventually in favor of the new way. It doesn't hurt anything it is just confusing if you don't know.

Hi Eric,

Sorry but I'm not sure I get what you are saying.

Here is how it is supposed to behave on HALO now:

• There is a HALO only "Mode" button, this rotates between "Custom", "Harbour", "Offshore", "Weather" and "Bird". On lesser HALO models not all of these modes may work (and we are interested to know which models don't do which modes!!) In modes other than Custom, many of the "Advanced" buttons are inaccessible (which is just as well as the radar will ignore them).
• There should be a new button "Sea State" just below "Sea State" that rotates between "Calm", "Moderate" and "Rough" on the Adjust menu. This is new.
• Normal edit pages for stuff that allows Auto, like "Gain", have +10, +1, <value>, -1, -10, Auto. If you press one of the adjustment buttons you automatically go out of Auto mode. If you press Auto you go back to Auto. This hasn't changed except for ...
• The Sea Clutter > button now has an "Auto" button that toggles the auto state. This is necessary as the Auto mode in HALO can be finely adjusted. So there are actually 202 possible states: Sea Clutter manual 0..100 and Sea Clutter Auto-50 via Auto (=Auto+0) to Auto+50. There are no "types" of auto any more like on 3G/4G (which have 2 auto modes: harbour + offshore). When you go from manual to Auto, you always start off in Auto without adjustment (+0).

If it doesn't work as above, let me know, but be very specific in your description -- and perhaps the Github issue is more suited to that. In that case also let us know what firmware you are using for your HALO24 (which I think you have?)

You also added control of the blue lights, unless I missed it before, not the finest feature of the HALO,

Yes, yes, my arm was twisted. I hope someone buys me a few beers someday for this. It looks pretty daft on a sailboat but maybe someone with underwater lights likes it. Actually I have seen full-on "blue lagoon" sailing super yachts in the Caribbean with blue LEDs lighting up the entire mast

but control is now complete.

Correct. In fact, until these recent fixes a number of controls must have been broken especially in setups with a MFD present as the plugin missed some reports from the radar on its settings (a status report was changed to be 1 byte longer in a firmware update, causing the code to ignore the report.)

[merrimac]

Also, a further fix was made to make Sea Clutter work again on 3G and 4G, this is commit SHA 095a178.

[vdkeybus]

In the beginning of this thread (in 2019), it is shown how 4 radars operate concurrently.

I have 2 radars (approx. 2006, same protocol) and it seems that the radar plugin is broadcasting to both of them, but clearly thinks it is only one unit. The return from both units is also considered as coming from one unit, which makes for a very, um, esoteric PPI.



So how do I configure the radar plugin to support both of them as two units ? I do not seem to find a place to enter an IP or host name.



I have a DHCP server that can ensure both units have fixed IPs.


Thanks

[merrimac]

I updated reply #662 to explain the new Mode button.

[merrimac]

Originally Posted by vdkeybus

In the beginning of this thread (in 2019), it is shown how 4 radars operate concurrently.

I have 2 radars (approx. 2006, same protocol) and it seems that the radar plugin is broadcasting to both of them, but clearly thinks it is only one unit. The return from both units is also considered as coming from one unit, which makes for a very, um, esoteric PPI.



So how do I configure the radar plugin to support both of them as two units ? I do not seem to find a place to enter an IP or host name.



I have a DHCP server that can ensure both units have fixed IPs.


Thanks

Sorry, that is not supported (yet). The 4 radars have to be different types. I would even doubt that 2 Navico radars work as we do some auto-detection to fix setups where people select the wrong radar (yes, this happens!)

At the moment multi-radar support for 4 max is really just a gimmick so we can reliably test dual range in 4G/HALO plus the emulator. It's an array that we had make more than 1, 4 seemed reasonable.

This is the first request to add this, so I wouldn't get your hopes up.

Out of curiosity, what setup do you have, what radars are these?

Maybe we can easily fix it so we make it such that the plugin reliably picks just one of them, so you can use 1 with OpenCPN and the other with your MFD(s).

[ejs]

Hello,
Sorry I must have gotten confused between the using and the writing. Both the "sea state" panel and the sea clutter "auto" button work exactly as described.

for completeness I have a HALO 24 firmware Sep 9 2021 19:53:32 182
Thanks again, Eric

[merrimac]

Calling HALO20 users!

Would you mind helping with establishing just how different a HALO20 is from a HALO20+/24?

We'd like you to go through these steps: https://github.com/opencpn-radar-pi/radar_pi/issues/203

You can send me an PM here or update the GitHub issue.

[Franziska]

Guys, I noticed a little issue with the settings labeling in the radar Plug-in, latest version, windows 10.
When you switch through the nighttime illumination modes in OpenCPN 5.6.2, most of the labels in the settings switch to "noise rejection". See attached.

[Hakan]

Franziska..
"nighttime illumination"? Is that the same as Change color scheme - F5 or the fifth tool in the toolbar?
If so I can't reproduce here. Now I don't have 4G but probably not related?

[Franziska]

Originally Posted by Hakan

Franziska..
"nighttime illumination"? Is that the same as Change color scheme - F5 or the fifth tool in the toolbar?
If so I can't reproduce here. Now I don't have 4G but probably not related?

Yes, change color scheme. In daylight all labels are correct. When I switch to one of the dimmed ones to better keep night vision, they are unfortunately messed up.

[Karanga]

I had exactly the same symptoms, with all menu options showing the same label. Fortunately I remembered the function of each button, and it retained the correct function even though the label was incorrect.

But this issue was approximately 2 years ago. Halo24 radar. Therefore likely v4.8 (not v5.6.2). And it had nothing to do with night colours. It seemed to occur at random, although more likely to occur after I had called up the menu several times already. It would persist until a restart of OpenCPN.

I tried to discuss with the developers, but because they couldn't reproduce the issue, it could not be addressed or resolved. I could try to find the correspondence.

I am now on a different boat, with a Garmin Fantom connected to Garmin MFD, so the issue doesn't exist for me.

[Karanga]

Originally Posted by Karanga

I had exactly the same symptoms, with all menu options showing the same label. Fortunately I remembered the function of each button, and it retained the correct function even though the label was incorrect.

But this issue was approximately 2 years ago. Halo24 radar. Therefore likely v4.8 (not v5.6.2). And it had nothing to do with night colours. It seemed to occur at random, although more likely to occur after I had called up the menu several times already. It would persist until a restart of OpenCPN.

I tried to discuss with the developers, but because they couldn't reproduce the issue, it could not be addressed or resolved. I could try to find the correspondence.

I am now on a different boat, with a Garmin Fantom connected to Garmin MFD, so the issue doesn't exist for me.

I have found my earlier post on this matter. It was in this same thread, on approximately 2nd or 3rd November 2020.
I don't find the forum app very user-friendly for posting attachments (or searching or linking refs) but I am trying to post a screenshot of my post.

[Franziska]

Originally Posted by Karanga

I have found my earlier post on this matter. It was in this same thread, on approximately 2nd or 3rd November 2020.
I don't find the forum app very user-friendly for posting attachments (or searching or linking refs) but I am trying to post a screenshot of my post. Attachment 260577

Thanks Karanga, for me it started once I switched to the less bright color layouts and then persisted even in daylight setting.

I had called the different menus up several times as well...

Maybe the developers can trace it back somehow.

[CK Shearwater]

Originally Posted by merrimac

It doesn't fix it, it "fixes" it -- aka a workaround.

Actually I think this proves it was the AUI settings causing the window to be hidden. I guess you can now undo the HD radar selection. Let us know if that works, if it does then we can tell anyone else to add the Emulator (the first radar in the list) and then remove it again, when this happens again.

And if it doesn't please still try the removal of the [AUI] section in the ini file, so that we know that fixes it.

I can report that unchecking the extraneous "GarminHD" radar type makes both the control windows go away. Turning it back on gets them back.

Re. the .ini file, I'm happy to make the experiment but I don't find it in Windows(C > Program Files (x86) > OpenCPN. Should I be looking somewhere else?

Needless to say, I'm not a programmer