Scanning Paper Charts for Use with OpenCPN

[djambalawa]

Hi folks I did a bit of a search here but couldn't see anything (a "boy look"? )

I'm sure its possible so would just like to get some pointers on scanning paper charts for use with OpenCPN...

I realise that there are issues like keeping them up to date, copyright etc but I am finding that for the remote area I live in my paper charts have some usable content where I only have greyed out non-surveyed areas on my CM93 charts.

My little garmin plotter (bluechart? i cant remember) seems to do better in these areas but I'd still like to see a bit more in OpenCPN...

[LeaseOnLife]

What area?

Is your area covered by the NGA charts?

NGA charts can be viewed here:
http://www.nauticalcharts.noaa.gov/m...ineViewer.html

An effort is going on to download all the NGA charts and make them available as complete images. Manual calibration work is needed to make them geo-referenced.

Here is the thread:
http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...rts-63396.html

[djambalawa]

Originally Posted by LeaseOnLife

What area?

Is your area covered by the NGA charts?

NGA charts can be viewed here:
NOAA's On-Line Chart Viewer

Ah thanks Lease -there might be some handy charts there for me. I'm basically after North Australia - pretty much from Broome to Cape York. I better check out that other thread you quoted to see about obtaining the images/charts.

[Talbot]

I seem to remember that the download of Seaclear plotting software also included a handy utility for stitching together a lot of small scans of a chart. Worth a check

[cagney]

Talbot is right. Try to use SeaClear to make a chart. This chart can easily be converted for use with OpenCPN.
I don't think the NGA charts will be detailed enough for you.

Thomas

[tonyappuk]

djambalawa
Before I switched to cm93 I scanned in a few charts but my book mark for a most useful site no longer works. It's url was http://216.218.220.254/eng/scanmap.html in case it comes alive again.
A few comments that may help.
You will need about 15 overlapping A4 scans on a domestic scanner to cover a standard paper chart. Don't use to high a colour depth. Stitch together in 3 horizontal rows of 5. Rotate 90 degrees and stitch together the three rows (now columns). The program I found most effective was Panorama Factory by Smoky City Design but I don't know if it is still available. Lots of others now for making panoramic photos but they are complicated to use.
Having produced a bmp/jpg you then have to convert to a kap file. Lots of info on here about that but it's not too much hassle once you've done one.Good luck.
Tony

[djambalawa]

Thanks guys I might give it a go then - as you say the NGA ones are pretty large scale...

Hey tony this seems to work - Scanning Maps

web.archive.org seems handy for stuff like this.

[tonyappuk]

Full marks for tracking that down but I am reminded why I found a better stitching program than the sugested Paint Shop Pro which I found very hard to use.
Tony

[bewitched]

I went through this learning curve a few months back and got lots of help here. Unfortunately I don't know how to link to other threads. If you do a search for JPEG in open cpn you should find the thread.

I went from zero to hero and managed to get about 200 scanned charts into kap files.

It takes a while and uses a number of different software programmes, but for me it was worth it.

[djambalawa]

Originally Posted by tonyappuk

Full marks for tracking that down but I am reminded why I found a better stitching program than the sugested Paint Shop Pro which I found very hard to use.
Tony

To be honest I'm pretty good with computer imaging anyway - I'm a keen photographer and actually like doing panoramic images - and I own PTGUI which is a good stitcher - as well as the latest photoshop. So I'll be fine scanning/stitching etc - its more the turning it into something that OpenCPN can use with coordinates and everything.

As you say there's plenty on these forums about turning them into raster charts so I'll do some homework.

[tonyappuk]

I found the photographic progs to make panoramas kept insisting on correcting for lens distortions which generally don't apply to flat bed scanners. The results were not good but if you are familiar with imaging techniques that hopefully will not be a problem. It would be nice to know how you get on.
Tony

[HappySeagull]

Originally Posted by bewitched

I went through this learning curve a few months back and got lots of help here. Unfortunately I don't know how to link to other threads. If you do a search for JPEG in open cpn you should find the thread.

I went from zero to hero and managed to get about 200 scanned charts into kap files.

It takes a while and uses a number of different software programmes, but for me it was worth it.

Here's the link:
http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...cpn-52454.html

Bewitched...not sure if it works the same for newer windowsOS or your browser,but you can just right-click any link and choose "copy link location" or the like of it? (the address is then saved in memory as text) ,then "paste" into a post .
added:
You can do this for a particulat post by rightclicking its number(top right of the post)

you can also just copy+paste the address of the page you are looking at from the address bar but it's not as elegant as the post number...

[HappySeagull]

I also went through and found the Path of Kap Enlightenment unfortunately,it's incredibly difficult to describe such a personal Vision of Rapture...I've tried several times!in several ways...Cagney,Dacust,and GPS-Marco were my especial gurus...so pay close attention especially to these!
It's still a cmd line thing.In windows,My best advice is to put all the tools and the image you work on in the same folder with a cmd shortcut...


Chart Conversion Manual | Official OpenCPN Homepage


http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...tml#post590638

also,if you have OziExplorer...
http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...tml#post617674
but use the newest version of map2kap-easy!

http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/f134/map2kap-oziexplorer-
to-opencpn-47828-7.html#post625591

and

http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...tml#post631243

Then there's imgkap that just needs two corner positions and not much else!

http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...tml#post686535

it's actually an update of Tiff2kap

http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...tml#post607739

my general take on all of these is to make your tiff outside,though all of these will do it for you in their way But it's faster outside,you have more control,you can batch convert a bunch of images and more comprehension of what the kap will be...it IS really a georeferenced tiff( I think) anyways...

If this seems Seagull-centric and bird-oriented,well,just go up or down around the birdbrain and you'll get what you want

finally,(Not!)there's an actual HUGE chartmaking-thread here

http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...rts-31346.html

and now...http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...rts-63396.html where the process is in a raging boil -it's like Devil's Kitchen

I'm done.