NMEA Instrument emulation (streaming)

[rgleason]

Ron & Petri,
Made a PR and Merged to catch up, downloaded the appveyor file and ran it. I have two screenshots.
I am still trying to understand how to use this tool with dashboard-tactics.


Ron wrote:

...intent.. two “modes” that each instrumented value / message operates with.

1. “Statically” for direct test and calibration of instrumented values. The number you dial on the set- point(s) for a given parameter is what is sent.
2. "Dynamically" where the software simulates what an automation equipped vessel would produce as a value dependent on the total data set of the sim.

I am aiming for the defaults to be so someone with a basic understanding can use the tool to check out OpenCPN.

I have used the tool in both modes (I think). I get the OpenCPN Nmea window up and can see the sentences being passed. I have seen basically GPS position sentences with some AIS. Position does not show.



I still do not see many of the other sentences being presented to Dashboard-Tactics, so I ask how do I do that?


Thanks Rick.

[RonSouthworth]

Originally Posted by rgleason

Ron & Petri,
Made a PR and Merged to catch up, downloaded the appveyor file and ran it. I have two screenshots.
I am still trying to understand how to use this tool with dashboard-tactics.


Ron wrote:




I have used the tool in both modes (I think). I get the OpenCPN Nmea window up and can see the sentences being passed. I have seen basically GPS position sentences with some AIS. Position does not show.



I still do not see many of the other sentences being presented to Dashboard-Tactics, so I ask how do I do that?


Thanks Rick.

Hi Rick

Yes it does appear on your setup that not all the messages are being sent even though they should be pre selected.

To get data messages to send ...

1. Presently the plugin has to be started.

2. When you start the plugin you have to wait on a slower machine for the grib data to load.

3. The auto button should then be pushed, and then the
4. grib button pushed.

If grib data is valid it should remain lit green for the messages to all start generating.

Looking at your data display not all messages are sending. As such could you please check the preferences tab.

This is where they are selected and de selected.

Try selecting the AIS message and then clicking ok. Note the preferences image image all message types but AIS messages that are presently implemented are lit by default as a setting in form builder.

See if the messages all send ok after that. If not go back into the preferences and deselect them and reselect them and press ok.

Note on the attached image AIS is not lit so it won’t transmit on default.

The AIS messaging is available however and you can select it.

The remaining message types that are lit in this image should all work for you.

To find the plugin preferences at the moment it is only available from the plugin selection configuration window.

Ive found even though the checkbox defaults are set and the code to write the config is all there the first time you load the config for a check box that is saved it sometimes has to be toggles...

I will check the initialisation and see if it is behaving as it should along with form builder settings for frame type.

Does your plugin window stay on front or go behind like it does for Petri ?

/Ron

[RonSouthworth]

Hi Rick,

I have updated the project document in the most recent push to the repo.

It is of course still a work in progress however, it has a basic how to operate incorporated near the intro.

I will gradually continue to backfill the message type data and that sort of stuff. I think the nuts n bolts are there now.

I did have a look at the dashboard tactic's plugin code a little bit this morning I will look for an older version of the code and hope to find more comments.

Big delays with sorting out a windows test environment here, evaluating if it is going to be quicker/cheaper to get a broken laptop fixed or to buy a VM license for one of my new mac's very close call....

Let me know if the how to in the doc file helps and how you are getting on with using it.

Pretty certain I have sorted Petri's On Top issue. Form Builder had set the frames to its idea of defaults at some stage when I was merging xml.


/Ron

[rgleason]

Ron Just a quick trial this morning, as we have to finish the boat and take it to the mooring.

In preferences I have checked the messages shown in your screenshot, and have tried some of the others but they don't stay checked. I am running a grib file.
I right click and pick a location for "Move Sim Here"

When I push Auto then it says to push start.
Then push Grib, and the grib is not seen... says there is no data.
In the Nmea debug window GPS messages etc start scrolling.
When I try to change values in the XDR tab nothing changes. Even when I stop and restart it. Are any of the tabs working? There appears to be a lot of the plugin that is planned but not working.
It would be helpful to have a complete list of what is not working, so I don't bother with it.
Thanks.

The original preference selections seem to be working and showing in the nmea window.


BTW clicking on the toolbar icon to bring the simulator menu back on top does not work, but clicking on the second opencpn icon in the taskbar two or three times seems to bring the sim menu back up on top. I could tab through open programs to bring it on top too.

[RonSouthworth]

Originally Posted by rgleason

Ron Just a quick trial this morning, as we have to finish the boat and take it to the mooring.

In preferences I have checked the messages shown in your screenshot, and have tried some of the others but they don't stay checked. I am running a grib file.

I right click and pick a location for "Move Sim Here"

When I push Auto then it says to push start.
Then push Grib, and the grib is not seen... says there is no data.
In the Nmea debug window GPS messages etc start scrolling.
When I try to change values in the XDR tab nothing changes. Even when I stop and restart it. Are any of the tabs working? There appears to be a lot of the plugin that is planned but not working.
It would be helpful to have a complete list of what is not working, so I don't bother with it.
Thanks.

The original preference selections seem to be working and showing in the nmea window.


BTW clicking on the toolbar icon to bring the simulator menu back on top does not work, but clicking on the second opencpn icon in the taskbar two or three times seems to bring the sim menu back up on top. I could tab through open programs to bring it on top too.

Thanks Rick have a good day on the water

I’ve updated the document on the project (odt file) i used the tactics doc as a template... have a look at that when you can

/Ron

[Canne]

Hi Rick,


If you get yourself an account on testquality.com (it links to your GitHub projects), tell me your user name and I'll invite to canne.testquality.com - I have there two detailed test uses (I am interested only in testing right now, sorry...) which you can follow and attempt to replace the existing NMEA generation with Ron's tool (after reading his doc). That is, if you have time: you need at least two hours. Hopefully the sailing is (was) good!
Cheers,
Petri

[rgleason]

Canne my user name is rgleason or my email, which I believe you have.

Somewhere in this thread, or perhaps in another active thread, I was reading about the need to send an alert that STW is nan or 0 or failed to the WatchDog plugin. I believe this could be done by adding to Jon Gough's OD_API for Ocpn_draw. I don't have access to the wiki right now which is driving me nuts, but the description of this API is in the Developer Manual, do a search for OD_API and then contact Jon about modifying it. The OD_API enables communication of boundaries and alerts between Ocpn_Draw, Weather_Routing and WatchDog.



Of course the other alternative is to add to the Opencpn Plugin API which might be considered more appropriate, I have not thought about this much however.


Wish I could provide the link to the Development Manual OD_api or is it OCPN_api?

[Canne]

Originally Posted by rgleason

Somewhere in this thread, or perhaps in another active thread, I was reading about the need to send an alert that STW is nan or 0 or failed to the WatchDog plugin.

Thanks Rick, but it is not the Watchdog plugin we're talking about there but to add one more timer watchdog in Dashboard. Watchdog is a widely used term in programming of a mechanism to avoid deadlocks and jams. There is already five of them in Dashboard. The context was therefore limited to dashboard_pi.cpp not to OpenCPN. See https://github.com/canne/dashboard_t...ment-508456614 for full description.

Best regards,

Petri

[rgleason]

Originally Posted by Canne

Thanks Rick, but it is not the Watchdog plugin we're talking about there but to add one more timer watchdog in Dashboard. Watchdog is a widely used term in programming of a mechanism to avoid deadlocks and jams. There is already five of them in Dashboard. The context was therefore limited to dashboard_pi.cpp not to OpenCPN. See https://github.com/canne/dashboard_t...ment-508456614 for full description.

Best regards,

Petri

Yes, understood, I thought your explanation was good. Also your responses re calculation, are very reasoned.

[RonSouthworth]

Originally Posted by rgleason

Yes, understood, I thought your explanation was good. Also your responses re calculation, are very reasoned.

Speaking of Draw it has been updated recently !

[rgleason]

Originally Posted by RonSouthworth

Speaking of Draw it has been updated recently !

Yes, Jon has been working on it, but we are having difficulty with access to the wiki documentation and I can't seem to browse to either the wiki or opencpn.org to help him with documentation formatting and screenshots.
I have no access, despite trying many things and I think the website has locked me out somehow.

[RonSouthworth]

Hi Rick In other news ...

Had a look at Sean's latest changes. He does some clever stuff!

Sorted it out enough to get it to compile on macOS to play.

Hopefully you will at least be able to compile it for you to have a play.

Did it very quickly, so the .gitignore won't have every case from my local repo removed yet...

more stable than previous version.

https://github.com/scadaperspective/autopilot_route_pi

[RonSouthworth]

Some progress on one front.

Completed updating the Stand Alone Vessel Sim today, and sorted out the java run time stuff for it as well. It now has the features in it I wanted it to have in its first release. Still so very glad I found the source for it. A long time to get around to changing what I wanted to. Spent a bit of time researching math methods for WGS84. Interesting trying to improve calculations by 1-2%.

Sadly it isn't available to open source Rick, I think the Simulator plugin however will be a much more flexible tool...

Tom can be proud of the set and drift calculations in the plugin.

Rick

Given the GUI is not ideal on windows for you but hopefully more useable until I can sort out a windows env I will press on and work on making things less confusing to use and start adding and modifying the "back end" code some.

I will update the .odt document and update it as things progress, hopefully that will make it easier for identifying what has changed for you.

Hope the time on the water has been good even with the problems with accessing the wiki.

/Ron

[RonSouthworth]

AutoPilot Route

[RonSouthworth]

Hi Rick,

Looking at the screen shots a bit more

I notice that the vessel has no speed along with missing many message types, that would indicate to me either you are in irons becalmed or the program is not using Grib data - therefore no wind instrument data.

The only message routines that should be "missing" with the Grib light lit any colour but green and no speed will be true wind and applied wind. I checked and I had changed making messages only reliant on the program being started not on Grib being valid and working. if the grb button is green you have no wind across your sails if it is green you should have some speed

So it looks like on your machine there, not all message types are selected as well so maybe you need to go to preferences and toggle the ones that are shown as active in the project document by toggle deselect them then press ok then go back into preferences again and re select them so that they are lit (green tick) then press ok.

I found the config state can get confused some times and doesn't read correctly on a fresh install or if new values are included into the save.

The wind values logic is that these messages become active if Grib data is valid and the button is active. if the Grib button is some other colour other than green when you press to go for sail. a Grib file reading issue should go red...

if the colour is orange or blue. Grib data is being exchanged however you maybe becalmed if not in irons. The first one got me one day !.
Only other thing may be a Grib read problem that is fixed in the present src not the release,....

I am working on documentation and tidying up comments and changing variable names so they make more sense to me for when I start "adding in code" from the stand alone program.

All the best

/Ron