Feature Requests

[Viking Sailor]

Originally Posted by tiljanssen

We use a laptop for navigation, sourced by a GPS mouse, but hooked up to the raymarine nmea/seatalk interface. I can send track info to the autopilot, through the interface, but as we do not have the (expensive) raymarine GPS in the system, we would like to echo the GPS data into the nmea port. This will give the VHF a reliable position (for possible distress calls).

I would like at least the current position, but it would be nice to be able to checkbox different nmea sentences that can be sent.

The Fugawi package did this, but I like OpenCpn better.

Welcome to CF.

You might be able to connect the GPS input to the PC directly (in parallel) to the input to the VHF radio. The output of the GPS should be able to drive at least three devices at the same time.

[mattj51864]

I recently started using OpenCPN 2.6 and so far I'm impressed with it. I did notice a few things that were lacking in the route manager and route properties I think would be useful.

First, it would be nice if the Route Manager showed the lengths of the routes like the Tracks tab does. That way I wouldn't have to click on each one to find its length.

Next, it would be nice if the Route Properties had a couple of extra columns: one for cumulative distance on the route and one for segment length in minutes.

Keep up the good work.

M@

[armido]

I have successfully installed Linux and OpenCPN on both my tablets, a Huawei Slim S7 and Motorola Xoom. It would be great if there were tool tips that displayed when a cursor is hovered over information along the bottom, particularly lat and long information. The tool tip should display the values in a readable font...

Thanks,
Armido

[HotRod]

I'm really not sure if this feature has been asked for before:
Telchart has a really neat feature, well two.. Living lights, blinking as it would be seen. And another Telchart feature, with a click of a button you extend the blank/white sector of a light for as long as it would reach.
The information for this is already in the CM93v2 charts, it's just to take advantage of this feature in OpenCPN.
The feature of blinking lights is also available in Olex and in a few other chartplotters.

[armido]

Hotrod,

Received a reply from you. But, what has it to do with my feature request? I am asking for tool tips - which in hindsight would not work. Moving cursor over lat & long information means you are taking the cursor away from the area you want to know lat/long info. Just need the capability to display lat/long info at bottom in a larger font...

Armido

[nohal]

Armido...
I suppose it has nothing to do with your feature request, it's just another one

Pavel

[armido]

Pavel,

My bad. Did not realize I'd be receiving all posts to this thread and not just replies to my own.

Armido

[HotRod]

Originally Posted by armido

Hotrod,

Received a reply from you. But, what has it to do with my feature request? I am asking for tool tips - which in hindsight would not work. Moving cursor over lat & long information means you are taking the cursor away from the area you want to know lat/long info. Just need the capability to display lat/long info at bottom in a larger font...

Armido

This was not intended as a reply to you armido.

All feature requests goes into this thread.
This was a new request.

[tiljanssen]

Originally Posted by Viking Sailor

Welcome to CF.

You might be able to connect the GPS input to the PC directly (in parallel) to the input to the VHF radio. The output of the GPS should be able to drive at least three devices at the same time.

I am not sure what you mean? The GPS is a usb device connected to the PC. How would I split that signal and convert it to NMEA?

I could use som com-splitter software on my laptop to direct one stream to opencpn and one to the port connected to the nmea/seatalk interface, but then I would loose the autopilot information.


Maybe there is also some software that would allow again a merge from the output of opencpn and the GPS data, but a solution in opencpn would be a lot easier, and I would expect it to be more reliable.

Til

[Viking Sailor]

Originally Posted by tiljanssen

We use a laptop for navigation, sourced by a GPS mouse, but hooked up to the raymarine nmea/seatalk interface. I can send track info to the autopilot, through the interface, but as we do not have the (expensive) raymarine GPS in the system, we would like to echo the GPS data into the nmea port. This will give the VHF a reliable position (for possible distress calls).

I would like at least the current position, but it would be nice to be able to checkbox different nmea sentences that can be sent.

The Fugawi package did this, but I like OpenCpn better.

Originally Posted by tiljanssen

I am not sure what you mean? The GPS is a usb device connected to the PC. How would I split that signal and convert it to NMEA?

I could use som com-splitter software on my laptop to direct one stream to opencpn and one to the port connected to the nmea/seatalk interface, but then I would loose the autopilot information.


Maybe there is also some software that would allow again a merge from the output of opencpn and the GPS data, but a solution in opencpn would be a lot easier, and I would expect it to be more reliable.

Til

Til,

I'm a bit confused! In your first post it reads like the GPS is connected to a Raymarine NMEA/SeaTalk interface box. In this case paralleling the GPS NMEA output connect to the NMEA input of the interface box with the VHF NMEA input should work.

Then in the second post you state that the GPS connects via USB. It also appears that your laptop has only one RS-232 port that is used to connect to the autopilot. Here you might be able to connect the GPS via a USB to RS-232 converter to the RS-232 input of the laptop used for the autopilot. OpenCPN can accept the GPS input on the same RS-232 port that is used to drive the autopilot. Again, you can parallel the GPS signal from the converter to both the laptop and the VHF radio.

[richardhc]

Thanks for 3.0 - Everything is working well and I love it.
I have seen several requests in this thread about making the Route Properties box editable - for example being able to delete or add a waypoint to a route or change the Lat/Long in the Route Properties box would be really helpful for me as I am converting from SeaClear to OpenCPN and trying to get several hundred routes converted, tweeked and imported. Also I would like to see the Lat and Lon are only shown to 0.001 minutes and not 0.1 minutes.

Outstanding program!

[DRYCLEAN]

Not sure if this has been brought up. for example the wind was coming from 220 degrees. My destination was at 219. Is there anything in the soft ware where I could enter the degree the wind is coming from and the software could compute my tacks . . . even display them on the chart

If it already does this where is it I didn't see it I have ver.3.0 used this last weekend with out fail
Thanks
Dave

[peter zeller]

first of all, many thanks for the very helpful tool opencpn!

The only thing I am missing is the option to start an "from ownship" instrument in the dashboard. (Angle between ship and cursor).
There was an expanded version of dashboard_pi.dll who had this feature integratet. I used it in opencpn 2.5.0. But unfortunately it das not work with the latest version 3.0.0 of opencpn.

Is there an oportunity to get this feature also for the latest version?

[Tracker]

Hi Dave, Is it possible to make a button, which makes it possible to equalize HDT to COG. Now if you have no gyro info remains the ship symbol to designate 000. Regards, Hans Ludwig.

[bdbcat]

Tracker....

I'm not sure I understand.

Which version of OpenCPN are you using?

Could we see a screen shot of the effect you see?
More info, please.

Thanks
Dave