GPS Interfacing

[himnher]

Originally Posted by tonyappuk

Hallo All

I have been lurking for some time and as a result have installed opencpn and found some cm93 charts. In winXP I have persuaded the charts to open eventually after the usual probs with unfamiliar software but no way can I persuade my GPS to talk to opencpn...

I see this is a post from 2010 and so I wonder why this has been thrown-up in my feed this week? I presume (and hope) you have long since solved this, but just in case...

Many years ago I was given a copy of 'C-Map4'. It's old, it has a Y2K bug in the log entries, but it has worldwide charts and the interface is beautifully simply. Numerous people have commented about he clarity of the UI and so long as I set the year as 1999, the log works fine. I even wrote a piece of code to convert the C-Map4 logs files into KML to display on Goole Maps and similar services.

I keep this copy of C-Map4 and other 'sailing pieces' ... the now-defunct ugrib.us app, SeaTTY for WeatherFAX reception etc. ... on a (very) old XP machine, kept for the purpose. C-Map4 will work on Win10, but regularly shuts down which isn't a whole lot of good, hence it's a case of keep using the old machine, rebuilding a newer laptop with WinXP, or move to OpenCPM on a current Win10 machine.

I have found OpenCPM immediately read my CM93 files. I am also able to use my ND-100 USB 'puck' GPS receiver ... although I'm sure there's a GPS receiver buried in my current laptop, just not accessible as NMEA.


Looking at the Tools > Options... > clicking on the GPS 'Data Connection', I can see speeds are possible up to 921.6K as well as NMEA 0183 and 2000. Maybe these options weren't available in the earlier version of OpenCPM you were struggling with?

The options panel and speed options are as below (now at least):



Note there's a helpful 'Show NMEA Debug Window' option, second option down which shows you the live stream from the GPS puck and replaces the 'MiniCDU' app I use on the old laptop to do the same job ... although it also shows satellite positions, something I can now get via the 'GPS Status' app on my phone.


My only issue is as I now check kit ready for a 3 week excursion next week, I can see OpenCPM is 'seeing' the NMEA input, but still showing the boat position as per the last place the plotter was used, not where it is now and the GPS is showing ... which is a little concerning! Maybe it wants some movement to recognise the new position, although I'd have expected 'the boat' the be placed where I and the GPS puck are sat right now

[himnher]

Originally Posted by himnher

My only issue is as I now check kit ready for a 3 week excursion next week, I can see OpenCPM is 'seeing' the NMEA input, but still showing the boat position as per the last place the plotter was used, not where it is now and the GPS is showing ... which is a little concerning! Maybe it wants some movement to recognise the new position, although I'd have expected 'the boat' the be placed where I and the GPS puck are sat right now

Issue resolved. Clearly where I'm sat has very good wall and ceiling aluminised insulation blankets, as walking outside and voila! I am apparently in the right location. Excellent ... a considerable relief