Weather Routing

[rgleason]

Here is the link to the files needed to use Jon's compiled plugins
https://github.com/jongough/ocpn_dra...ses/tag/1.4.47

There is a VS2017-win10-extra.dlls.zip file

[Gilletarom]

Hello Sean, Stelian and Did-g,

I retrieved and installed the latest versions of Climatology, DR and WR that RGleason released yesterday and today.

I took an old GRIB file from Skyron and I set up my boundary lines drawn with DR (They were refined taking more into account the cartography).

I test the creation of a weather-route from Cherbourg-ouest to Cowes.

1 ° I observe what seems to me an anomaly in the construction of isochrones. Just southeast of the Isle of Wight, one of the isochrones (it's green) is zig-zagging. I find it weird ... Could it be that it causes difficulties in operation?

2 ° I observe that the weather-route stops without reaching the End-point which is right next to the Breawater of Cowes.
But WR says the route is over. I tried to export this virtual track to make it a real track available in the OpenCPN track manager.
In this case, OpenCPN (or WR?) Crash.

3 ° It is clearly abnormal that the route does not reach the End-point. True, the wind is contrary, but the current seems favorable. So, pulling the edges, we must be able to get there.

So, I propose an idea to develop. Rather than let WR go all the way, without changing the timestamp of the isochrones, would it be possible to give the user the possibility of:
- Select, manually, with the mouse, an isochron in the isochrones that precede the last isochron
- Choose a smaller value of the timestamp.
- Restart the construction of the weather-route without losing the beginning of the search.

Would this be possible?

Here joined, Boundary file, XML file, Screen-copy.
This : Grib link : DL.FREE.FR

[seandepagnier]

Originally Posted by Gilletarom

Hello Sean, Stelian and Did-g,

I retrieved and installed the latest versions of Climatology, DR and WR that RGleason released yesterday and today.

I took an old GRIB file from Skyron and I set up my boundary lines drawn with DR (They were refined taking more into account the cartography).

I test the creation of a weather-route from Cherbourg-ouest to Cowes.

1 ° I observe what seems to me an anomaly in the construction of isochrones. Just southeast of the Isle of Wight, one of the isochrones (it's green) is zig-zagging. I find it weird ... Could it be that it causes difficulties in operation?

It's normal, due to the algorithm. If you increase "Alternate routes thickness" In the display settings, and also check "alternates for all isochrons" it might be more understandable.

2 ° I observe that the weather-route stops without reaching the End-point which is right next to the Breawater of Cowes.
But WR says the route is over. I tried to export this virtual track to make it a real track available in the OpenCPN track manager.
In this case, OpenCPN (or WR?) Crash.

I think you reported this bug before. I will take a look.

3 ° It is clearly abnormal that the route does not reach the End-point. True, the wind is contrary, but the current seems favorable. So, pulling the edges, we must be able to get there.

If you reduce the time step, does the route reach the end point?

So, I propose an idea to develop. Rather than let WR go all the way, without changing the timestamp of the isochrones, would it be possible to give the user the possibility of:
- Select, manually, with the mouse, an isochron in the isochrones that precede the last isochron
- Choose a smaller value of the timestamp.
- Restart the construction of the weather-route without losing the beginning of the search.

Would this be possible?

It's possible, but takes some effort.

You can at least now, make a new weather route position and find the route in two computations.

Thanks for the feedback.

[Gilletarom]

hello Sean,

How to crash OpenCPN using DR and WR?

It's easy ....

I start looking for a weather-route and during this search, I decide to manually add a boundary. For that I click on the tool "Boundary" in the bar of icon of DR and I start to create a boundary. At the first point or the second point I create, OCPN Crash.

Ok, here in France, we said : "C'est tiré par le cheveux". "It's far-fetched (in English ?)" You have to be called Gilletarom to do this kind of test. But, it's a bug.

When searching for weather-route, any other action should be impossible, except zoom access more or less, and except the possibility of moving the chart area.

Gilletarom.

[Gilletarom]

hello Sean,

Three tests:
- I create a configuration,
- I place my boundary in a temporary layer of DR
- I display my boundary.

Then:
- I start the search, It ends well. I get a M1 roadway
- I hide the boundary in DR by closing the eye. I start the search. it ends well. But I get the same weather-route M1. So, it seems hidden or visible, it does not affect WR's research work
- I delete the boundary boundary layer in DR. I start the search. It ends well. but I get another route M3. This seems to me to confirm that WR takes boundary into account, whether visible or hidden.

I am not sure that this situation is ideal. This should make it easier for Alpha users to find out if WR ignored boundaries when they are hidden.

But, I leave the question open. This should depend on a point of view from other users.

Gilletarom.

[rgleason]

You can at least now, make a new weather route position and find the route in two computations.Thanks for the feedback.

Sean, I realize shortening time interval on the fly has many questions and programming. Where do you start from?
1. 5 or 10 isochrones from where it almost finished?
2 The start - heck no.
3. What about defining finished as within 1.5 time interval or isochrones from the end point?
4. Or even more perversely, just supply an alternative finish point in yellow that WR can achieve. And make the tracks and routes use the alternative.

Reminds me of Bert and I stories in Maine. Don't move a gd inch. You can't get there from here!

[kevinvh]

I am having trouble with OpenCPN for Mac (version 4.8.0) and Weather Routing. WR works fine and I have no troubles in computing and displaying the WR. However, OpenCPN crashes when I click the "Export" button. Am I doing something wrong?

[seandepagnier]

Originally Posted by kevinvh

I am having trouble with OpenCPN for Mac (version 4.8.0) and Weather Routing. WR works fine and I have no troubles in computing and displaying the WR. However, OpenCPN crashes when I click the "Export" button. Am I doing something wrong?

You are doing nothing wrong, however without a backtrace I don't know why it crashed.

A few people reported crashing on export, but I have yet to reproduce this.

[kevinvh]

Originally Posted by boat_alexandra

You are doing nothing wrong, however without a backtrace I don't know why it crashed.

A few people reported crashing on export, but I have yet to reproduce this.

Can I help - How do I produce a backtrace?

[nohal]

FWIW I can't reproduce the crash on macOS with the current master of both OpenCPN and the weather routing plugin...
If you are a little adventurous, you may download and try https://spideroak.com/storage/NZXWQY...498a36a60684ae
Be warned though, I haven't even tried if it works with the normal OpenCPN release. If it does not, let me know.
If it also crashes, a dialog should be displayed with a few buttons at the bottom, one of them being "Send Report...". If you click it, a window with a lot of text will be displayed. We want to see that text.

Pavel

[kevinvh]

Originally Posted by nohal

FWIW I can't reproduce the crash on macOS with the current master of both OpenCPN and the weather routing plugin...
If you are a little adventurous, you may download and try https://spideroak.com/storage/NZXWQY...498a36a60684ae
Be warned though, I haven't even tried if it works with the normal OpenCPN release. If it does not, let me know.
If it also crashes, a dialog should be displayed with a few buttons at the bottom, one of them being "Send Report...". If you click it, a window with a lot of text will be displayed. We want to see that text.

Pavel

Thanks Pavel - the new Weather Route Plugin fixed the issue. I now have a saved weather route.

[wholybee]

I just created some feature requests so am also posting here for discussion. For some background, I am in the Pacific Cup this year, and am trying very hard to not buy Expedition. I'm more of a cruiser/bucket list racer and not out to win, but still want to give it my best shot on a budget.

Proposed features:
Naming configurations: I posted the feature list a while back. I have created 5 or 6 variations of the same route. Mostly changing windspeed %, but tweaking other things as well. It is too hard to tell them apart in the config window, even when what I am tweaking is an option that can be displayed in a column.

Hide/minimize the configuration window: The configuration window takes up half the screen on my laptop. With the grib window also open, and maybe the cursor position window, not much is left to see the chart and route. One idea might be to have a small parent window, with a few buttons for the items in the View menu, as well as the main configuration window.

Disable to disable display of route to cursor: It is a valuable feature, but I spend more time scrubbing forward and back through gribs and panning around the route. At that time it is extra information I don't need, and extra CPU cycles. Either a checkbox in the settings dialog, or only display it when the cursor position dialog is open. I was able to disable the Iso Chron display by setting thickness to 0. If a cursor route thickness option was available it would do the same thing as well.

The last one might be impossible so I didn't add it to flyspray, but it would be really super useful for me. If there is a way to have different configurations use different gribs (same time period but different wx models) and play them back at the same time. As is stands, I can compute a route with different gribs, then export the route, then later display them at the same time as tracks in route and mark manager. Perhaps there is a way (or the feature can be added) to play back the exported tracks in route and mark manager?

[wholybee]

Originally Posted by rgleason

You can at least now, make a new weather route position and find the route in two computations.Thanks for the feedback.

Sean, I realize shortening time interval on the fly has many questions and programming. Where do you start from?
1. 5 or 10 isochrones from where it almost finished?
2 The start - heck no.
3. What about defining finished as within 1.5 time interval or isochrones from the end point?
4. Or even more perversely, just supply an alternative finish point in yellow that WR can achieve. And make the tracks and routes use the alternative.

Reminds me of Bert and I stories in Maine. Don't move a gd inch. You can't get there from here!

The way I would like to see the time interval change is like this:
1. Make a quick check to see about how close land is in the direction of the route. If it is getting close, reduce the time interval. If it isn't already close to land, the finish mark should be considered land for this purpose.
2. If land is far off, gradually increase the time interval to a max of 6 or 8 hours. The increase should be based on how much time as past since the start of the route, since data reliability will be reduced anyway, there isn't much sense in short intervals. The max should be 6 or 8 hours so long routes can compute quickly, and still maintain a morning/day/evening/night difference in weather.
3. On a polar failed error, reduce the interval. If that doesn't work, secondarily, try increasing the interval.

Perhaps something similar (however you decide to implement it) can be added as an experimental feature enabled by a checkbox?

[did-g]

Originally Posted by wholybee

I just created some feature requests so am also posting here for discussion. For some background, I am in the Pacific Cup this year, and am trying very hard to not buy Expedition. I'm more of a cruiser/bucket list racer and not out to win, but still want to give it my best shot on a budget.

Proposed features:

Disable to disable display of route to cursor: It is a valuable feature, but I spend more time scrubbing forward and back through gribs and panning around the route. At that time it is extra information I don't need, and extra CPU cycles. Either a checkbox in the settings dialog, or only display it when the cursor position dialog is open. I was able to disable the Iso Chron display by setting thickness to 0. If a cursor route thickness option was available it would do the same thing as well.

The last one might be impossible so I didn't add it to flyspray, but it would be really super useful for me. If there is a way to have different configurations use different gribs (same time period but different wx models) and play them back at the same time. As is stands, I can compute a route with different gribs, then export the route, then later display them at the same time as tracks in route and mark manager. Perhaps there is a way (or the feature can be added) to play back the exported tracks in route and mark manager?

Can't you do that with the eye (first column) in WR? Run a config, make it visible, select a different config, load different grib run and so on. If you replay a grib all configs move, if you select a not computed config, all eyed configs are visible without isochron, yellow route.

Isn't what you are looking for?

[wholybee]

Originally Posted by did-g

Can't you do that with the eye (first column) in WR? Run a config, make it visible, select a different config, load different grib run and so on. If you replay a grib all configs move, if you select a not computed config, all eyed configs are visible without isochron, yellow route.

Isn't what you are looking for?

So it is, thank you! I never noticed that first column was there. Perhaps an eye with a cross could be displayed like in the mark and routes window, or a column header could be added.

Also, I would still request some other way to not display the isochron, yellow route. Though I now know how to workaround it. I am typically "computing all", and would need to create an unused route specifically to select to turn them off.