Feature Requests

[Hakan]

Originally Posted by rgleason

Hakan if it doesnt work maybe we should put it in tracker? If you want i can enter it, but we should be sure and have some details. Maybe I should try to simulate?

Ahaa...misunderstanding.
The AIS MOB function in OCPN is very good. What i tried to emphasize in my answer was that O don't have a function to easily turn the alert off, only acknowledge for a while, and that's very good.
If then someone is sailing around with a activated AIS MOB without notice and don't answer SAR's repeatedly call, it's not a OCPN problem.
Cheers TGIF/ Håkan

[CarCode]

Originally Posted by rabbi

You are always clipped to your jacklines? always?
I confess I am not. E.g. on a nice sunny afternoon I am not tethered.
When going down in the sail locker or engine compartment I am not. When doing something on the cabin top I am not. The boat is 6m / 20ft wide and I don't want to run a spider web across.

Very strange argumentations. How many times you go overboard when you are in the engine compartment, in the sail locker or in the cabin?

Gerhard

[rabbi]

Originally Posted by CarCode

Very strange argumentations. How many times you go overboard when you are in the engine compartment, in the sail locker or in the cabin?

Gerhard

Read my post: when I'm working ON the cabin top I'm at risk (not IN the cabin). Also on the way to the engine compartment or sail locker which requires untethering (not when I'm inside).

[hoolie]

You are always clipped to your jacklines? always?

The UK skipper who drowned that I referred to above was on the foredeck in wet and windy conditions clipped to his jackline but nevertheless went overboard.

The MAIB report on the incident said that the usual arrangement of jacklines and tether do not ensure safety in all conditions. Obvious maybe, but an eye-opener for many yachtsmen that use this system. One of the yachting journals did some tests towing people behind a moving boat with a standard tether and life-jacket and found that in most cases the person would have drowned.

Safety netting would probably have saved him so it's worth thinking about if you sail in challenging conditions. As well as an alarm, of course!

[CarCode]

For sure the bluetooth radio waves of your alarm devices will pick you up out of the water and drop you back onto the boat...
Nice kidding here.

Gerhard

[transmitterdan]

Great news Gerhard, we can all stop practicing MOB drills.

Sarcasm aside, many boats are not rigged such that a clipped crew will never go over the side. That's why all commercially available tethers have a mechanism for releasing the crew end attachment (snap hook, knife, etc.). It is a good idea to carefully consider all possible tasks that have to be done away from the cockpit and rig the fall protection so there is no way crew can go over the side. But that may not always be possible on every boat.

But even on the best rigged boat "things happen". For example, if a boat rolls 360 degrees a crew member working on the deck is likely to separate from the boat. For sure, a MOB alarm/finder system should not be a substitute for any and all means of staying on board. If you go over the side in offshore conditions you are probably dead. But having an electronic way to find a MOB is not a bad thing.

My view is that people underestimate the difficulty in locating a MOB. So any system that merely alerts the crew to a MOB event is only about a 10% solution. To be effective the system has to provide a reasonable chance of locating the MOB in poor visibility. Because even on a clear flat calm day locating a MOB offshore is not easy.

[seandepagnier]

I think the old system of not rescuing MOB is also possible to consider because people really try harder not to fall overboard.

[rgleason]

I have been trying to understand the simplest form of bluetooth MOB alert and what is needed and found these links.
Man Overboard - Are AIS SARTS the Best MOB Devices? - gCaptain
The Physical Web iBeacon & Eddystone Physical Web Beacons • BKON
Purelink Tracking Beacons http://www.purelink.ca/en/products/p...ing-badges.php
Purelink Location Pack http://www.purelink.ca/en/products/p...ing-badges.php
Just to see how far it has developed.
Panbo 2012 AIS / DSC Tracking Devices

If someone could explain exactly how these work and what equipment is required, I would appreciate it.

[rabbi]

Originally Posted by CarCode

For sure the bluetooth radio waves of your alarm devices will pick you up out of the water and drop you back onto the boat...
Nice kidding here.

Gerhard

Nope. But the BT can alarm the off-watch crew who can then stop the boat and help you get back on the boat.
Instead of just waking up hours later to find your drowned body.

I think most folks -maybe except Gerhard- agree that any system that helps shorten MOB alarm times and / or helps locate the actual location of a MOB is a good thing. The BT beacon can help in some situations but of course not all.

This is a forum for a feature request and that request has been entered into the system. So I'm out.

[rabbi]

Originally Posted by rgleason

I have been trying to understand the simplest form of bluetooth MOB alert and what is needed and found these links.
Man Overboard - Are AIS SARTS the Best MOB Devices? - gCaptain
The Physical Web iBeacon & Eddystone Physical Web Beacons • BKON
Purelink Tracking Beacons http://www.purelink.ca/en/products/p...ing-badges.php
Purelink Location Pack http://www.purelink.ca/en/products/p...ing-badges.php
Just to see how far it has developed.
Panbo 2012 AIS / DSC Tracking Devices

If someone could explain exactly how these work and what equipment is required, I would appreciate it.

AIS MOB devices are palm sized beacons that after activation / immersion continously send out their GPS position via AIS. Range similar to VHF. To be alerted the boat needs an AIS receiver.
dSC MOB devices are palm sized devices that after activation / immersion repeatedly send out their GPS position via a DSC distress call. Range similar to VHF. The boat needs a DSC VHF to receive the alert.
Cost for Both AIS and DSC is in the hundreds per device. Both need some time after activation to get a GPS fix.

The BT tracking beacons are different. They are coin sized and continuously send out a Bluetooth 4.0 signal to indicate their presence. Maximum distance is maybe 20meter. These devices don't enjoy position information. The only thing you can identify is when they are gone. Cost for each device is starting at 3 euro with a battery life of a few months.
The computer can only record the position of the last contact with the beacon (which in our case is roughly the position where the MOB happened). The boat needs a suitable PC program or a smartphone app.
These can only help to alert the off watch and give an indication where the MOB happened. It can not give the current position of the person in the water.

[rgleason]

rabbi, Thank you for the description.

Did you enter Bluetooth MOB alert into the tracker yet?
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00 - Opencpn Feature Requests [drop down in upper left]


Please describe in detail what actions you would like. It will be helpful. The developers generally work from this list. It is a place where feature requests are not lost, generally. There will also be more specific comments and discussion on tracker about your proposal.
Thank you.

[rabbi]

It's in the tracker listed as request 1919

[wdkester]

I would like an easily readable POI.

Examples of POI data "Bridge opens on the hour", "Look for sandy spot to anchor", "Anchor here to snorkel reef to North", "Very narrow passage, follow track precisely","Uncharted rock".

By easily readable, I mean Rollover, much like Rollover is used in AIS targets. Multi-line messages (like AIS messages) would be nice.

I have tried to simply use a Mark; but the Mark screen covers the middle 2/3 of the screen, effectively blinding the navigator.

This could be activated by a check-box in the Mark dialog.

I realize that there is something going on in the Boundry PI (it might be called a Data Point); but I don't think they use Rollover.

[bcn]

Originally Posted by wdkester

I realize that there is something going on in the Boundry PI (it might be called a Data Point); but I don't think they use Rollover.

Can you table this in the Draw-PI thread so that it does not get lost here? It should be doable.
"text marks: text only visible at roll-over"
Will be funny for touch screens btw...

[Jon Hacking]

Originally Posted by wdkester

I would like an easily readable POI: "Bridge opens on the hour", "Look for sandy spot to anchor", "Anchor here to snorkel reef to North", "Very narrow passage, follow track precisely","Uncharted rock".

By easily readable, I mean Rollover, much like Rollover is used in AIS targets. Multi-line messages (like AIS messages) would be nice.

I have tried to simply use a Mark; but the Mark screen covers the middle 2/3 of the screen, effectively blinding the navigator.

For the short messages you show above, normal Marks should work fine. I mark my tracks up exactly as you mention all the time (& publish them for others). Put the info in the Title field (which is short, but long enough). That way I don't need to roll over it (or open the WP) to see the info.

I do like my WPs to stand out, so I make those Titles show up in Red. Go to Options, User Interface tab, & open the dropdown under Fonts. Select Marks, & then click the Choose Font... button. Here you can choose the font, size, bold/italic, & color.