NOAA RNCs ar going away.

[Portage_bay]

I have a complete set of NOAA raster charts from Feb 2022 in ZIP format. I downloaded them when I first caught wind of raster charts being sunsetted. It's HUGE. If you message me I'll provide a Dropbox link for you to download. When I get home in a couple of weeks I'll dig around and see if I have anything more current.

[sailingharry]

Originally Posted by CaptTom

Maybe one of the internet "wayback machines" would have them?

I've wondered the same thing. That list is shrinking fast. I figured I'd keep all the ones I have for future reference, but it would be nice to get the "final" edition of each.

It's an issue that has been bothering me for a bit now. My chart plotter, Furuno, has an awesome and unique feature -- they periodically (a few times a year) collect, process, and make available the latest ENC and RNC charts at no cost to the end user. Sure, no "value added" crap, but up-to-date charts without paying hundreds of dollars.


The problem is that the user has no insight into the data. 5 years ago, it was reasonable to assume that it was "all data, up to today." Today, we KNOW the RNC database is getting old. One approach is for Furuno to provide the last available version of every chart, so that you have the best available data. The other is to only provide the current charts -- so you aren't giving known out-of-date data. Both choices are bad (do you want clear but out of date data, or gaps in the data -- that aren't marked as "formerly high resolution, but now low resolution because the good stuff is gone). My best guess, from looking closely at the display, is they are keeping the obsolete data to provide the best available resolution. Which is good because my old (2012 or so) chart plotter is pretty awful at ENC display.

[rgleason]

This is no surprise, it has been noticed by NOAA for a very long time. ENC's are more flexible and digital.

[rslifkin]

Originally Posted by rgleason

This is no surprise, it has been noticed by NOAA for a very long time. ENC's are more flexible and digital.

ENCs have plenty of advantages. But they're often not presented as nicely, and therefore RNCs are often easier to read (especially when it comes to notes, place names, and other information on the charts). Personally, I think the RNC discontinuation was premature, as ENCs haven't quite reached the same level of readability. I do primarily use ENCs at this point (NOAA and Navionics), but I like having the RNCs around for occasional reference.

[rgleason]

No argument from this corner.

[rslifkin]

Along the lines of Portage_Bay's earlier comment, if anyone is interested in the RNCs I have, send me a PM. I put together a package of everything I have combined with some charts Portage_Bay had that weren't in my collection.

[CaptTom]

Thanks, @rslifkin! Got your catalog.

I also took a moment to check the archive.org "wayback machine". There are quite a few archived versions available. It would be very possible to start just before ENCs started being discontinued and hop forward through the archives to extract all the most recent files. Bit of a chore but it seems like something I could do a bit at a time. I may give it a shot.

Anyone recall when ENCs first started being deleted? That would be the starting point. If I can get this to work I'll put them up on a public server somewhere that search engines can find them, and post the link here.

[CaptTom]

UPDATE: I found a reference which said the discontinuation started in 2021. I'll start downloading from March 3 of that year, updating as I go forward in time. If I can get this to work I'll put them up on a public server somewhere that search engines can find them, and post the link here.

Another edit: I found a NOAA site where you can select and download historical charts. Unfortunately these are only in JPEG and some PDF formats, not the traditional ENCs.

[sailingharry]

This thread is a bit dated, but the topic is the same so I'd rather not start a new thread. I'm setting up OpenCPN on a new laptop. Surprise (not really), there are about zero RNC charts available for download from the catalog (truthfully, there are about 128 RNC nationwide still available).


Has anyone, anywhere, created a repository of the most recent version of charts? All of them? It is a one time effort that never changes (as there are no new versions!) and it would be horribly inefficient for every person to struggle through piecing together a collection. In fact, once done, it would be great if it were hosted concurrent with OpenCPN.


As a starting point, I have a full catalog of RNC by CG District for CG 01, 05, 07, and 08 from Feb 2021 (Atlantic and Gulf coasts) Wish I'd done the Lakes and the West Coast. If I dig, I *MAY* be able to find west coast stuff from earlier years.

[rslifkin]

Originally Posted by sailingharry

This thread is a bit dated, but the topic is the same so I'd rather not start a new thread. I'm setting up OpenCPN on a new laptop. Surprise (not really), there are about zero RNC charts available for download from the catalog (truthfully, there are about 128 RNC nationwide still available).


Has anyone, anywhere, created a repository of the most recent version of charts? All of them? It is a one time effort that never changes (as there are no new versions!) and it would be horribly inefficient for every person to struggle through piecing together a collection. In fact, once done, it would be great if it were hosted concurrent with OpenCPN.


As a starting point, I have a full catalog of RNC by CG District for CG 01, 05, 07, and 08 from Feb 2021 (Atlantic and Gulf coasts) Wish I'd done the Lakes and the West Coast. If I dig, I *MAY* be able to find west coast stuff from earlier years.

I've got a pretty good collection put together including all of the most recent updates as of 2 or 3 months ago. I don't think I have every single chart included, but I have at least the majority of them. If you'd like, PM me and I can help coordinate getting it updated with any additional charts you may have that I don't (and I'll pull in any additional updates that are available for RNCs that haven't been discontinued yet). I've already got it hosted online and can provide the link for it (I haven't wanted to post the link publicly at this point).

[CaptTom]

I made an effort a month or two ago to download all of them, including going back to the discontinued ones on the Wayback machine site.

I'm still trying to organize them. There's a LOT of data there. I hope eventually to have zip files by state and by CG region. Maybe other groupings if I can. It's a work in progress because they still update the few remaining charts occasionally.

Why? Two reasons. First, there's a lot of information on the old charts which never got digitized. And it seems like they should be preserved for historical reasons. Finally, I have an old app which only uses raster charts, and there are a couple of features I like in it. No longer useful for real-time navigation, but great for planning or just making quick route estimates.

[rslifkin]

The digital archive I've produced so far is all in 1 file. At this point I guess I'll put the link here. https://files.slifkin.net/NOAACharts/RNC_Catalog.zip

That's the collection I built from what I had and what Portage_Bay had.

If anyone has additional charts to contribute to that collection I'd be happy to include them and host the updated file.

[CaptTom]

Thanks @rslifkin!

When I get a chance I'll go through your .zip file and compare it to what I've got. This project has been sort of back-burner lately. My long-term goal is to collect all the most recent issues of each chart, then populate a database with information about each one, like chart #, name, state, region, etc. to make it possible to find the ones you want.

[rslifkin]

Originally Posted by CaptTom

Thanks @rslifkin!

When I get a chance I'll go through your .zip file and compare it to what I've got. This project has been sort of back-burner lately. My long-term goal is to collect all the most recent issues of each chart, then populate a database with information about each one, like chart #, name, state, region, etc. to make it possible to find the ones you want.

That sounds like a very useful project for anyone looking for specific charts without wanting to pull the whole collection into something like OpenCPN.

Also, I just updated the ZIP file in my link with the latest set of RNCs I have in OpenCPN. Only a handful of updates between 5/31 and today (8/15), but it only makes sense to keep it as current as possible until every last chart is discontinued.

[sailingharry]

rslifkin and CaptTom,
First, thanks for the effort. I've just started downloaded the Zip from rslifkin. Even if it isn't perfect, it's a huge bonus.
Second, as I mentioned up thread, I have a complete download from Feb 2021 for the east coast districts, by district. I don't think you need the -- it sounds like you have a solid base -- but I have them available to share if you want them.


Finally, this is the OpenCPN forum. Is there a way to make this repository seamlessly integrated into OpenCPN, sort of an additional chart catalog or something?