halo install on opencpn failing

[Hakan]

I'm using O 5.8 and the radar plugin onboard since "long". During the whole beta-period the last months. So it's not new.

[hoolie]

tcpbob:- As a casual observer (I don't have a radar that's compatible with the plugin) I think you should meticulously follow the connection and plug-in installation procedure detailed here and maybe you will be able to enjoy the benefits hundreds (thousands?) of satisfied Halo users have with this well proven software.

[tcpbob]

greetings Hakan, wholybee and hoolie

i was helping a mate with a job he had going today to pay back for his effort the day before in trying to get this thing on the road. after yesterday it was time to set it aside and consider.... but the one big thing that derailed the whole show was the incorrect plugin posted to the opencpn webite. it was presumed to be the most recent edition and it was not. though even so... it should have worked if it was set up properly?

i do not know for sure... at this point i would prefer to resort to an older version of everything!! as whollybee advises... thanks for your comment. i offered the possibility that the older architecture of my computer may have contributed to the failure of my 5.8 version of ocpen... or as a result that it was not mounted in the same file as the previous version. i had to get into my OS and delete the files in two different program folders to clear the mess up. i note that Terry of SVValhalla just posted something similar. if he is having a problem with his new climatology and asking, i don't feel to bad. he is the one who got me up and running years ago in the philippines.

and wholybee, thank you for your constructive post. i am sold on the older versions. i see no benefit in the newest stuff. as of now the radar is directly connected via ethernet. the idea is to make the most direct link possible and then tinker later. i do see a wifi signal that might be my radar... maybe... i am not sure what link lights you refer to and i do not know how to ping it. however, the radar is equiped with a light to indicate it's function or trouble and it is indicating "normal function". a slow blink. it seems to indicate the trouble is software. the wiring has been checked for open circuits and continuity. also it displays a popup that indicates the serial number and ip address of the unit.

Hoolie, i have read the literature until my eyes bleed and can not work it out. tomorrow is another day. also lined up a respected cruiser today to have a look at it. a reality check if nothing else as he is the guy that everyone goes to here. i swear when i do finally get this done i will post a webpage with easy to follow, point by point instruction.

anyway... time to rest after a busy day, thanks to all.

[Mattzilla]

FWIW, I have a Halo working with previous and current build 5.8.0
I did have to do a clean install to 5.8.0 - ie uninstall and clean up old directories, then install and re-setup everything as was crashing randomly - however this has been the case with all versions previous for me and my hardware/drivers (win 10)
I am using a normal etheret cable connected to my router, then tfrom that to the ethernet port on laptop. Detects and works fine with a 4 port router and have used with a 4 port switch, and standard ethernet DHCP settings.

[bdbcat]

tcpbob....
We are more than happy to help you bring up your radar on OCPN 5.8.0, as many have already done. It probably does not help much to try and get advice from random smart people. You need specific relevant advice about OpenCPN. Sometimes, computers is hard...


So, if you tell us where you are, what you have done, and be willing to follow the developer's instructions, point by point, then we will get you working.



Dave

[tcpbob]

hey Bobcat...i would very much appreciate your assistance!!!!!!!!!!!!

i have been through a lot of theories and attempts and the details of them get tangled in memory so please forgive sudden instances of brain damage.

the V5.8 crashed on me as others have reported so i reinstalled V5.6. and radar PI v5.0.

i am working with old thinkpads, X220's. i love the things but perhaps i am running into the upper limits of their capabilities? that contributed to my idea to go back to next older versions of ocpn and PI.

the radar is functional, the problem seems to be lack of opengl. i read somewhere that graphics accelerator my be beneficial but not required to make it work. but a popup says otherwise. i checked out opengl.org and looked like all about gaming. i could not see anything that applied to me.

also, if you have read other posts of mine. i take security for my machines very seriously. i do not let a nav machine touch the web, never. So any app i am short of i hope to find able to download on a less vulnerable machine and export physically, to nav machine.

that is where i am now.... keep in mind i am old enough that the first computer i heard of was a univac but i do have more modern experience... i am not used to needing help but happy to accept it.

cheers
bob

[nohal]

Bob...

Without OpenGL, no radar. If you are runnig OpenCPN with OpenGL OFF, that is an absolute no go for what you are trying to do.
You were repeatedly told NOT to use the obosolete version 5.0 of the plugin. The very developers of the plugin can probably be trusted in that, so try to do it.
I am running my production OpenCPN instance on a TP X201, so your two generations newer machine is sure not too old.
If I were you, I would simply help us resolve the problem you have with O5.8 (As you were explained by Dave in the other thread) as soon as possible and live happily ever after, that is the only way.

Pavel

[tcpbob]

greetings Pavel

"no opengl-no radar"...
that is the conclusion i have come to.

then where/how do i get the opengl?

it is good to know you have success with an even older machine so i can eliminate that issue. thank you!

cheers
bob

[nohal]

Toolbox -> Display ->Advanced - The "Use Accelerated Graphics (OpenGL)" checkbox must be ON.
Also make sure the drivers for your graphics card are up to date.
And post the logfile from the O5.8 run that fails, if it fails.

[wholybee]

There are a couple threads on here of numerous users with problems with 5.8. I do expect that these are edge cases an not necessarily representative of 5.8 for everyone. But still, 5.8 was released only 3 days ago, on the 13th. If a new user is having problems with a new install, are you really suggesting that the version that was the newest version 4 days ago is to old for you to support? I attempted to use 5.0, and was forced to back out of it. Then I tried 5.2.0, and finally, 5.2.4 worked. I skipped 5.6.0 for what I hope are obvious reasons but 5.6.2 has been great. I will be skipping 5.8.0 for the same reasons.

Since the OP IS having problems with getting his radar working, I have to suggest that he avoid 5.8 for now. Sure, upgrade to 5.8 next week or whenever, but it is always prudent to start with a known good configuration, and only 3 days after release, 5.8 is NOT a known good configuration except on the relatively few systems it was beta tested on.

I very much do appreciate the work and really look forward to using the new features(especially NMEA2000 and transferring routes between computers), so thank you very much for that. But please continue to support 5.6.2 as a stable version, and please don't push people to 5.8 quite yet if they don't want it. For many of us, this is a very critical piece of software, and it just isn't smart to upgrade to an x.0 version. Neither did I recommend upgrading to Lighthouse 4.0 when it was released.

Getting really far off topic here, but many companies that offer software (or even hardware) for critical applications have a LTS (long term support version) The LTS version might get security updates, but is otherwise considered current and up to date despite many newer releases. People using the LTS release would not be expected to upgrade until another version is validated as LTS. Example, Microsoft has Windows 10 LTSC, currently at 21H2, released November 2021. The most current version of Windows 10 is 22H2, released October of 2022. If you try to update the LTSC version, the update will actually fail, because it is the newest version. But even those on LTS as far back as 2015 still get support. Nvidia does something similar, with versions that are validated for manufactures of embedded systems, or corporate users that need version stability. They are sometimes years behind the latest featured version, but still supported for those on the LTS version. Adobe does the same thing with its editing software. Etc.

I don't expect OpenCPN to do any of that. Just that I hope you recognize the need in a critical application for some users to opt to stay with a proven stable version over the just released leading edge version.

Apologies for going off the rails there for a moment, I do thank you and appreciate your work. But I was a bit taken aback by the statement that the OP should not use 5.6.2 but only 5.8.

OK, back on topic:
tcpbob, hopefully enabling OpenGL will work. If not do the following for me. Click the start menu and type "winver" (without the quotes) and press enter. This will give more detailed information about what windows version you have. Next, open a command prompt and type "ipconfig /all" and press enter. Copy and paste the results here.

[nohal]

Warren...

Nobody tells him O5.8 is too old, exactly the contrary. Everybody tells him that version 5.0 of the radar plugin, from March 2019, 4 years old, is too old.

[bdbcat]

Warren...
I do appreciate your comments re upgrading. Your concerns are valid, your message heard.


And yet....
Without experienced, real users of O5.8.0, there is no possibility to get to O5.8.2.
My current bug list has something like:


1. Some trouble on Win10 with cm93, not reproducible locally. One users willing to help diagnose. Waiting test results.


As you can see, waiting for the elves to fix O580 depends on credible users to help. However, if they are told by an experienced user that they should wait until O582 to play, well, you see the problem. We call it deadlock.


Thought I would pass along my philosophy.


Dave

[tcpbob]

another frustrating day in paradise.
NOHAL; thanks for the tip on the settings to allow open/gl. that was useful.
on my use of V5.0 PI... the alternative has not worked for me. i was given a link to a tar.gz file of the current one. i opened that in linux and extracted the file, however, i can not get it to import into plugins in my windows machine. the file is Radar-5.5.4 msvc-10.0. 14393 no joy... would not import or go home on it's own by double clicking.

i do not know how to acquire a log file for a failed system yet but v5.8 did fail just as before. fell on it's face in a heartbeat but now i know it isn't due to the age of my machine. thanks... i would be happy to supply that data when i study how and gather it up.

it is v5.6.2 or nothing for my system it appears. and why is it that i hear all this about how navico radars have worked so well for all these years yet i get castigated for atetmpting to use older versions? i do not understand this contradiction.

WHOLYBEE... I agree with your opinion regarding new software. i do not understand why the push to the new. i do not mess with a thing that is working. i would have zero interest in this upgrade accept for the addition of the radar. Ocpn 4.8 is perfectly good for me otherwise. if and when i get this operation out of the way, it may be decades before i even consider "upgrading". i may need t go into therapy after this..!

OK, i was not able to copy/paste the data you wanted. i could select the text but as soon as I right clicked i lost the select. maybe tomorrow when i recover from today.. but.. the system data was easy, version 1803 (OS Build 17134.112)

so, that isn't all but details are missed in recall as the big ones dominate my rage! what i really want is a system set up that works, is known to work, and is stable.

why is that hard? but as Bobcat says... "sometimes computers is hard".

cheers All
bob

[wholybee]

Originally Posted by bdbcat

Warren...
I do appreciate your comments re upgrading. Your concerns are valid, your message heard.


And yet....
Without experienced, real users of O5.8.0, there is no possibility to get to O5.8.2.
My current bug list has something like:


1. Some trouble on Win10 with cm93, not reproducible locally. One users willing to help diagnose. Waiting test results.


As you can see, waiting for the elves to fix O580 depends on credible users to help. However, if they are told by an experienced user that they should wait until O582 to play, well, you see the problem. We call it deadlock.


Thought I would pass along my philosophy.


Dave

I do very much respect that. I work from the assumption that many users will be eager to upgrade and willing to upgrade early and help out. Not to sound too selfish, I myself would have installed the beta to help out, but my current "transitional" living situation leaves me with only my one laptop, and I don't want to risk the upgrade quite yet. If the only reported problems continue to be issues with CM93, I may upgrade in a week or two. I am just not comfortable until we get past the initial reports of how it goes.

Again, thank you. It is remarkable how many hours you and others volunteer to this project. I don't want my nit-picking to overshadow my acknowledging that.

[tcpbob]

Hi Dave

your last post came in while i was writing.

so what i can add to the 5.8 show is that i do run cm93 charts.

it has been made clear that my machine should not be so antiquated as to contribute to the fault.

my 5.8 fails immediately from launch. i have cleared the duplicate files from my programs files by add/remove or manual deletion.

i will be attempting to learn how to acquire an event log from the win10 machine to see if that helps you.

i will do anything i can to help. that's only fair.

also... i have another HD loaded with win7, might try that one to see.

cheers
bob