OpenCPN Version 5 Beta Release 4.99.1426

[AISEAG]

Originally Posted by Gilletarom

Hello Dave


About Zygrib :
Now, Zygrib is replaced by Xygrib. Should this have an impact on what the Grib plugin offers in its download offers?


Maybe you should ask Did-g what he knows about it.


Gilletarom.

Hello Dave & Gilletarom

This question is relevant for the Android version too.

Serge

[BlackSea]

Originally Posted by bdbcat

BlackSea...


Any particular reason you do not want to use texture compression and caching? It is much faster...


Thanks
Dave

Hi Dave,


for example: portable OpenCPN on USB drive. Or OpenCPN on RaspberryPi with SD Card. Build a TextureCache on such devices blocks any another activities of OpenCPN



Thx
BlackSea

[stelian]

Dave,

Originally Posted by bdbcat

On the hires Dell display...

The tide icons are designed to be 15 mm tall, as measured by ruler. Is this true for you? I agree, the default value looks a little large here....

Yes, they are 15 mm tall. It's quite big, but I can manage if the rest scales correctly, see below.

Originally Posted by bdbcat

This looks like oesenc. Correct? Please confirm that the buoys, lights, text, etc. do or do not scale with the "Chart object" slider in settings control.

Correct, it's oesenc (but cm93 behaves the same).

First of all the "Chart object" slider scales the tide icon immediately (on "Apply"), but not the other objects, they need a restart (this bug is oesenc specific, it works immediately on cm93).

After a restart, the buoys and lights and soundings get scaled. Text do not scale ever.

But even if they scale, the size is too small: with the slider at 0, the tide icon is 15 mm tall, the buoys and lights are about 2 mm. Setting the slider at 5 makes the tide icon be 30 mm and the buoys and lights be 4 mm. 4mm is for me the minimum size that should be allowed for those objects not the maximum...

On another PC with an external (standard not hires) screen, with the slider at 0, I measure about 4 or 5 mm for the buoys/lights, and with the slider at 5 it goes up to 10 mm (and I could argue that it could go even bigger...).

Hope this helps.

[stelian]

Dave,


I forgot: something else that doesn't scale well on my hires display is the GPS indicator in the top right corner. One could expect this would scale using the "GUI scale factor" slider, as do the left and bottom-right toolbars. But it does not, and it measures 7mm wide / 3mm tall. Still readable but barely.

[phiggins]

In previous versions of OpenCPN I was able to delete a chart file by changing a to chart group that did not have the directory that contained that chart. In V4.99 if I try to delete an mbtiles chart it won't let me, I have to terminate OpenCPN to delete it. I can still delete a kap chart.

See the attached, I am in the CM93 chart group that only has cm93 charts. The .kap and mbtiles charts are in directory that is not in the CM93 group. I tried to delete the mbtiles chart, it failed.

[AedanC]

Hi Dave et al,



In O4.99.1426 when I have two windows open with oesenc charts, if I select the left window and press L the light information in the other window toggles. The T and S keys work as expected.


When both windows are CM93 sometimes it works correctly and sometimes not, it does not appear to be predictable.


Windows 10 pro, v 1803. Let me know if you would like any further information.



Thanks for all the hard work, it's a huge improvement.


Aedan

[phiggins]

This problem I reported in my post #35 also causes an SasPlanet Sql error when you try to recreate the same chart using Export, see attachment. You have to terminate OpenCPN for it to complete.

[bdbcat]

Blacksea...


re:
"for example: portable OpenCPN on USB drive. Or OpenCPN on RaspberryPi with SD Card. Build a TextureCache on such devices blocks any another activities of OpenCPN
"


I don't understand. You must be referring to the option to "Rebuild Texture Cache". I agree, this takes a while, even on a fast machine.


But there really is no need to manually invoke a texture cache rebuild in normal operation. Texture cache is built automatically as new charts are encountered. The cache entries are built in background threads, as required. One should see little effect on the UI while the background threads are running.



Or maybe I miss the point?
Dave

[bdbcat]

phiggins...
re:
"This problem I reported in my post #35 also causes an SasPlanet Sql error when you try to recreate the same chart using Export, see attachment. You have to terminate OpenCPN for it to complete."


MBtiles charts are actually SQL databases. When O opens a chart, it stays open until O quits, or space is needed in the cache. So, even thought the chart is not visible on-screen, the chart file is still open internally. Thus the sql database is open, and cannot be deleted by any other process.


This is mainly a performance question. Opening and indexing a sql database is an expensive operation, so we find mbtiles perform much better without constantly opening and closing the database to fetch display tiles.


There is a workaround for your workflow. If you switch OpenGL mode OFF, the mbtiles chart will be released, and can be deleted or re-created as desired. Switch OpenGL back on to display it.


Dave

[bdbcat]

Gilletarom...
I have studied some of the MBTiles whose links you have provided. Thanks for the links.


Some points:
1. Some of these high zoom files are completely impractical for actual use, I think. The zoomLevel19 files are gigantic. For example, we see one file with all of Italy at zoom 19. Its size is 1.2 GigaByte. Handling a single SQL database of this size at runtime, with dynamic access, is not, in my opinion, very practical for OCPN.



2. I can find no viewer that will even open these large files for an inspection.


3. So I ask:
a. Where do these files come from?
b. Is there a simple viewer that works on the large files?
c. Is there any other navigation application that can use these files?
d. Do navigators actually use these tilesets?


4. The more moderate scale tilesets also have some small problems with display on OCPN. Probably could be corrected, but I still wonder: "What is the real point here?"


Thanks
Dave

[verkerkbr]

Originally Posted by bdbcat

Gilletarom...
I have studied some of the MBTiles whose links you have provided. Thanks for the links.


Some points:
1. Some of these high zoom files are completely impractical for actual use, I think. The zoomLevel19 files are gigantic. For example, we see one file with all of Italy at zoom 19. Its size is 1.2 GigaByte. Handling a single SQL database of this size at runtime, with dynamic access, is not, in my opinion, very practical for OCPN.



2. I can find no viewer that will even open these large files for an inspection.


3. So I ask:
a. Where do these files come from?
b. Is there a simple viewer that works on the large files?
c. Is there any other navigation application that can use these files?
d. Do navigators actually use these tilesets?


4. The more moderate scale tilesets also have some small problems with display on OCPN. Probably could be corrected, but I still wonder: "What is the real point here?"


Thanks
Dave

@Dave,

these charts look like of copies from Navionics charts.

But on these MBtiles files Ais objects and GPS works also.



This quite amazing.

[stelian]

Dave,


WRT the hires displays...


I tested your latest commit (ca126f0) and it does improve a bit the size of the tide icon: it is now 8mm tall with the scale slider at 0, 16mm tall with the slider at 5. No changes of course regarding the buoys, lights, soundings etc.



It becomes usable on my hires display if I set the slider at 5. But, I still think that what I see with the slider at 5 should be the behaviour with the slider at 0, and one could increase or decrease the scaling based on personal preferences.


And of course, the bugs regarding the scaling which requires a restart in order to be taken into account, and the size of the top right GPS indicator are still there.


Stelian.

[Gilletarom]

Dave,

Originally Posted by bdbcat

Gilletarom...
I have studied some of the MBTiles ...

Some points:
...

3. So I ask:
a. Where do these files come from?
b. Is there a simple viewer that works on the large files?
c. Is there any other navigation application that can use these files?
d. Do navigators actually use these tilesets?
...
Dave

3. So I ask:
at. Where do these files come from?
b. Is there a simple viewer that works on the large files?
c. Is there any other navigation application that can use these files?
d. Do navigators actually use these tilesets?

Hi Dave,

For each of the four questions you asked my answer is simple: "I do not know".

Two threads are to know on the french forum Hisse and Oh:
- https://www.hisse-et-oh.com/forums/h...beta-available
- https://www.hisse-et-oh.com/forums/e...#reply_2500022

The first opened by AISEAG, the second by me.

For French users OpenCPN, we also know another website, the sailboat Logos: Martine, Pierre et leur voilier Logos
In this last web site, there are many links that lead to the downloading of nautical charts. We find there :
- The CM93
- Various sources of maps resulting from the use of GE2KAP from SAS planet
- Raster charts from old SHOM charts.

It is in the threads of "Hisse et Oh" that users came to talk about the pack of nautical charts obtained thanks to the Logos website.

And since the display, with OpenCPN, does not work, these users say it clearly. This does not help OpenCPN.

It is difficult, when you do not know where the pack of nautical charts comes from, or who made them, to defend OpenCPN.

I personally think for a long time that many of these nautical charts are of poor quality. But, their use seems "fashionable".

So, sorry, I had to ask you about these packs of MBTiles charts.


Gilletarom.

[Gilletarom]

Hello Verkerkbr,

Originally Posted by verkerkbr

@Dave,

these charts look like of copies from Navionics charts.

But on these MBtiles files Ais objects and GPS works also.

This quite amazing.

You confuse the display of nautical charts and the display of data from GPS and AIS. These are two different layers of data. The nautical chart layer is displayed first and the AIS or GPS data layer comes over. The important thing at this level is the WGS 84 chart matching positioningt!

In my questioning, the real problem is:
- the quality of the nautical charts?
- the ability of OpenCPN to display them?

With regard to MBTiles charts, one of the problems is that there are no reliable standards for defining chart making. It's the "rat race" about it.

And clearly, it is difficult at the moment to know how to talk about it.

[yachtvalhalla]

Originally Posted by bdbcat

"What is the real point here?"
Thanks
Dave

Dave,

Paul Higgins is tweaking the GE2KAP program to make MBTiles easily and quickly. Almost ready to publish.

To answer your question. Simply, better resolution.

Background: I have over the years been making KAP charts using GE2KAP for satellite imagery to augment poor detail in cm93. (BTW only one of the uses of GE2KAP). Using the SAS Planet program as a source and having the choice between Goobld Earth, Bing, Here.com, and ESRI/ArcGis I've been able to make some good KAP charts to show reefs and shoals. I've focused on making KAP charts for the thousands of anchorages I've collected in SEAsia. Additionally, I've made continuous shoreline charts as well for the major islands in the Philippines, Indonesia, and Taiwan. The latter to permit looking for an anchorage when the daily run didn't go as planned to get to one of the known anchorages. As I've updated these anchorages, charts and other information I routinely send out updates to several hundred yachties. I call them 'Terry's Topics'. I also post to my website here.

This past week I've been testing Paul's new versions which I'm impressed with regarding the better resolution they provide.

The images show the difference between the KAP charts and the MBTiles at two of the same locations. I think the resolution is obvious.

So my answer is the real point is better resolution for safer navigation.

Thanks, Terry