BSB4 plugin chs windows 8.1

[Courtship]

I am trying to use the Canadian CHS charts in Opencpn. They are new and are BSB4.
I have read the advice to install the plugin into C:\programfiles\ etc in the manual. (see below). I have read a ton of posts. I do not know how to do this. I have downloaded the plugin. I can not get the plugin into opencpn.

I am totally confused and am not a programmer. I find windows 8 to be very confusing and about ready to give up. I know you are going to ask me to supply a log, and I do not know how to do this.

Is there a simple approach?

For Windows place the downloaded "pluginxx.dll" in a "plugins" sub folder of your OpenCPN installation folder. A common location is C:\Program Files\OpenCPN\plugins.

[bcn]

Did you find the folder for the OpenCPN version X.X.xxx in your Win8 (version you are using - so that should be either the stable one 3.2.2 or the latest beta 3.3.1609) ?

There might be several Programmfiles folders under C:\ .
In my case Programmfiles (x86) is the correct one for example.
There the plug-in folder does already exist.
You did copy the Plug-in into this folder?
And you enabled the plug-in under settings/plug-in then?

Hubert

[Courtship]

Thank you for your advice. Feel better already.
I have followed your steps, up to and including opening the plug in. There I have the two standard plug ins. I have tried to move and to copy my download into this file. No luck. Usually I just grab and move files from one area to another.

Suggestions.

[bcn]

Please try now:

On settings/ charts (down the page)

and having added the directory where your BSB charts reside to "Loaded directories" - that is telling OpenCPN where it shall search for files

x Scan Charts...
X Force ....

Apply..

[Courtship]

Now have moved it into the folder and I am trying to enable. Will revert if I have problem.

Thanks

Doug

[Courtship]

Unable to enable. Have plugin in folder along with other plugins, but when I open the program it is not in the plugin section. Have read manual but am missing the connection.

Have restarted but no luck

[bcn]

Hmmm,

next would be a screenshot of the plug-in directory in order to be sure that we are talking about the same thing and your log file to see what OpenCPN says.

And yes - after copying a PI into the PI folder you have to restart O in order to discover the new added PI.

When you go to the Plug-in tab - is there the BSB PI grayed out or doesn't it appear at all?
If it is grayed out click on it - and it will show the enable / disable option.

Hubert

[Courtship]

The BSB4 plugin is not in the options plugin tab.

I have shutdown and restarted the program. No luck.

I think I will uninstall Opencpn 3.2.2 and then reinstall it. Then I will follow all the steps you provided. I have no idea if this will work but it will give a clean slate.

Do you think this is a good idea?

Doug

[bcn]

Vely stlange....

When you are copying the .dll ( the BSB PI) into the plug-in folder of OpenCPN 3.2.2 W8.1 should ask you to do this as the Administrator.

Have you seen this message?

Hubert

[Courtship]

Yes, that was the only way I could copy it..

[bcn]

And you are sure that there is just one OpenCPN 3.2.2 install and you copied the PlugIn into the right folder?

I tried it here in parallel - don't have BSB4 charts - and the PI does show up.
3.3.1609 in my case but this shouldn't matter.

[bobofthenorth]

Let me take a shot at this starting from the beginning:

- from your C:\ folder navigate your way into your programs folder (most likely named "C:\Program Files (x86)")

- from the program files folder navigate into your Open CPN folder, ideally OpenCPN 3.2.2 (don't mess with trying to use Beta versions until you get your charts working)

- from the OpenCPN folder, navigate into the plugins folder. Here's where it gets complicated if you have installed various versions of OpenCPN - you will have more than one OpenCPN folder and consequently more than one plugins folder. My advice if you're in that situation is to uninstall everything and start clean so that you only have one OpenCPN installation at least until you get this charts thing sorted out. Leave a window open to the plugins folder. If you don't want to go that route then repeat each step that follows for every plugins folder on your computer.

- now you need to navigate to wherever you downloaded the BSB4 plugin which will have "bsb4_win32_pi15_v12_pi.dll" for a name. Copy that dll file and paste it into the plugin folder from the previous step

- open the software (OpenCPN) and click on the wrench icon at the top of the screen. Click on the "Plugins" tab in the window that opens and highlight the BSB4 plugin. Click "enable". Close the various windows that you have opened, close OpenCPN and reopen the software.

- You're not even close to done yet

- Click on the wrench icon again. Click on the "Charts" tab.

- At this point I am going to assume you have installed the CHS charts as they recommended which will have placed the charts in "C:\Chartkit" If that's not true then you're on your own.

- Click on "Add Directory". Select "C:\Chartkit\Encryption". Click on OK.

- Click on "Add Directory" again. This time select "C:\Chartkit" and again click OK. At this point you should get a full database rebuild. If not, then select "force full database rebuild"

- Close everything and start OpenCPN again.

Let us know what you see at this point.

[Courtship]

Gentlemen, Many thanks.

I cleaned out all previous references to opencpn. Took a number of deletions and had to reopen file explorer a number of times to get them all.

Then downloaded a clean application. Followed the instructions you gave with a new download plugin. It came up immediately in the option plugin tab. Then did the chart process. At first just an overview and I went back and repeated the instructions you gave re chartkit encryption and then chartkit. Looking a lot better. The quilting is a bit awkward but that may be my problem.

I am using a portable gps here and the positioning is fine. I will take everything to the boat tomorrow and test it there.

Again many thanks as for a little while I was ready to throw in the towel.

Doug

[Courtship]

Bob, I went to your web site. Added it to my favourites. My take on CHS is that they are absolutely insane. The person I spoke to was amazingle calm and collected while I went through my rant. she must hear it every day. No one wants to carry their product. I had friends pick mine up in Victoria after shopping in Vancouver. What a sad chronicle. First NDI, now them. If it was not for the the Opencpn org. and their contributors I would have thrown the charts away and bought the Navionics. No more for me.

I have been cruising in the Gulf Islands lately. Cold and wet. Hope you get better weather.

[bobofthenorth]

My experience is that the plugin can be very particular about you specifically including the encryption subfolder in addition to the main charts folder. I'm not 100% sure that step is always necessary but I do believe it is prudent and I don't believe it causes any problems.

**** WARNING - RANT APPROACHING ********
[/rant on]
As a Canadian I have two very specific criticisms of DFO/CHS:
1) we should have access to this information by virtue of our citizenship - my taxes pay for this. The NOAA route is the correct way to deal with this.
2) we should also have access to tide/current harmonics - over time this is going to become a huge problem for those of us using electronic charting software

We're tied up in Port Hardy right now, rafted to a fishboat that I expect pays less than $500 annually for his moorage, likely significantly less. If my country could just get past the notion that being born a farmer or fisherman makes you somehow a special class of citizen we'd all be the better for it.

[/rant off]