Radar plugin v5.0.0 released

[Mattzilla]

Originally Posted by merrimac

Platform?

Windows 10 64bit

[S.V. Away]

Hello,


I just purchased a new Halo 20+. I'm doing a scanner only setup. This is my first attempt to connect radar to openCPN. I'm using a Lanovo Yoga 730-13 runnibg windows. I installed the latest version of openCPN v5.8.2 and Radar v5.5.0.



When I connect the radar cable to the computer I am using a USB-C to Ethernet adapter. According to windows the adapter is working correctly however it also says that there is on Ethernet cable attached. Is there some software configuration that needs to be done to get the system to recognize the radar scanner? Is there something in openCPN that I have to configure?


Thanks,


Tim


S.V. Away

[merrimac]

Have you just pushed the HALO ethernet jack into the Ethernet adapter?

If you open a command prompt and type "ipconfig" do you see the adapter and does it have a self assigned IPv4 address (like 192.168.something.something)?

Try it somewhere else, like someone else's boat or a home/office, anywhere there is a wired ethernet cable. Does it work there?

If it does work elsewhere, put a small Ethernet switch in-between. Any 100 mBit (which you may not even be able to get anymore) or Gigabit switch will do.

Another tip: for now, disable the firewall 100% until you get the thing working.

[merrimac]

And: no there is no config in OpenCPN to be done. Everything is handled transparently by the plugin. All it needs is an adapter with any

[merrimac]

.. ethernet address.

Sorry, typed Enter to soon.

Sent from the ocean, long live Starlink!

[S.V. Away]

Thanks for your quick response. I picked up a NETGEAR 5-Port Gigabit Ethernet Unmanaged Switch (GS105NA). 12 volt switch with metal case. I’ll give it a try.

[S.V. Away]

That did the trick. I'm up and running. Thanks again for your help.

[johnmwalsh]

Will this work with an older Furuno radar? Thank you

[Hakan]

No Furuno radars are yet supported by this plugin.

[Belliure 50]

Wondering if there has been any further Dev for Raymarine RD418HD radars?


Ive just acquired one that became available after its owner upgraded. Id love to get it working with OCPN....

[lucseawalker]

Time for me to replace our old Furuno radar.
I am looking to get a good radar with the wiring to connect to my onboard PC without getting the manufacturer display.

I see with pleasure than the latest open cpn radar plugin works with many radars I am not interested in older discontinued models but with new models but would like to get recommendations from anyone satisfied with his setup.

As you could guess, I am looking at a good quality radar that can be purchased without the factory display (since I will use my PC screen as display. And a radar that I can easily get the cable connecting the radome to my PC.

Any good recommendations are welcome

[Hakan]

Navico's radar scanners including Halo are well supported. It's sold with label's from Simrad, Lowrance and B&G. Since only the scanner itself, and no MFD, is needed I once bought a Navico as a "spare part" for a good price.
Reading the plugin manual is a way to be prepared. Not less the Navico hardware installation part.

[Franziska]

Hi, unfortunately the radar Plug-in labels are still garbled up when one changes to the different night time color schemes within OpenCPN.

They do not reset to their proper labels once returning to the daylight scheme.

Only remedy, close OpenCPN, restart it in daylight mode and restart the radar plug-in. Then the labels are correct again.

[Hakan]

Originally Posted by Franziska

Hi, unfortunately the radar Plug-in labels are still garbled up when one changes to the different night time color schemes within OpenCPN.

Garbled?? Could you provide a screen shot.
And just for a common test. Change to Shader: In radar plugin preferences switch "GPU drawing method": Vertex array/Shader.
Ref: description

[SoggyPaws]

Originally Posted by lucseawalker

I am looking at a good quality radar that can be purchased without the factory display (since I will use my PC screen as display. And a radar that I can easily get the cable connecting the radome to my PC.

Hi Luc, we have been studying the same issue. I specifically asked here (in another thread) about Raymarine, because there's a Raymarine dealer here in Malaysia that has stock and would deliver. I was ready to buy, the OpenCPN documentation on Github says its supported (sort of), but I wanted to make sure it worked. James Khoo got the Raymarine dealer to bring his Raymarine Quantum 2 Q24D radar to Pangkor so I could try it. We literally just plugged the radar connector into a network hub that my laptop was also connected to, and I played with it for an hour and I couldn't get it fully working--though it was communicating enough to give me the model number and serial number of the unit. I am not a networking expert and didn't have the tools and knowledge I needed to help debug the situation. I THINK I could get it working, maybe with some interaction with the plugin developers, once I figured out what THAT unit was exactly doing. Was hoping the Raymarine tech guy who was helping me would get interested, but he's too busy installing multi thousand dollar setups on big ships in Singapore.

The primary developers of the OpenCPN radar plugin are all using the Navico Halo 20+ radar (under brand names Simrad, Lowrance and B&G--it's all the same unit with a different sticker). So, it makes the most sense to look at those as your primary choice. They also got a slightly higher rating on Panbo's practical/technical test in Dec 2022. And, with the Navico, you can actually have 2 radar screens up in OpenCPN at once (most people use a "look out for small fishing boats" screen and a longer range screen. The Ray can't do this. Part 2 of Panbo's Evaluation

I have a friend who's been using the Halo 20+ for awhile now with only OpenCPN, and he's very happy with it. He gave us a demo and I was pretty impressed. But one of the things you can't do without a chartplotter/MFD is update the firmware in your radar. (gotta find a buddy with a long cable!)

We're on the verge of buying one, the only thing that's holding us up is the 50% markup here in Malaysia. (was quoted ~USD $3,200 by Marine Supplies Asia not including tax and delivery--they're $2,300 at Defender US). And maybe a little big to pack into a suitcase.

https://defender.com/en_us/radars

Sherry, s/v Soggy Paws
Pangkor Marina, Malaysia