WeatherFax ...

[HUR450502]

.... I would love to do it, if you could give me a hint, how???

BTW. - it is as usual, one always forgets details.... As mentioned above, I believe the problem was introduced AFTER I tried to calibrate a satellite image of the North Atlantic some non Mercator format - I tried, as far as I remember, a conical projection. For sure I made things wrong there and it may well be, that the plugin couldn't cope with all my attempts to get this thing calibrated (try and error principle .... ) and that I now carry the problem through the different versions of OpenCPN. So, I could as well attempt to erase all my routes and tracks (I believe I have GPX-backups) re-install the whole thing and start all over again. This may solve the problem as I am relatively sure everything worked fine before this satellite-image import attempt. However, if you want to find out what went wrong in the first place, I leave everything as it is and we try together to solve it (means of course - you solve it and I benefit from it ...... - but I would - of course - do the testing .... at least..... ) How does this sound to you?? First place I of course would install the latest version of the plugin, if I get the access to it, ok??

Best regards to you all and - even if this is a little problem, the plugin, as well as the installation method, using the install package are just GREAT!!!!

Uwe

[rgleason]

Uwe,
I would not redo your setup at this point.
What Opencpn version are you using?
What versionn of Weatherfax are you using?
I think I would try the one I am using now.
Get it off Opencpn Beta File thingie
File Thingie 2.5.7
Directory "3.2.2 PI Win" and weatherfax_pi-1.3-ov3.2.2-h-win32.exe

Then see if you get the same problem with tracks.

[HUR450502]

.... o.k., I will try to get registered into this and then get the suggested plugin.
As to you rother questions, I am using (now) OpenCPN 3.3.2316 and the Weatherfax version 1.3 as of July 24 - downloaded from the official plugin download site.
As I might come back to you anyway.... Can you just post here to me, how to enregister for the filethingie site?

Thanks again, and best regards,

Uwe

[rgleason]

It may be the same, but maybe not.
File Thingie 2.5.7 rguser rgpass

[HUR450502]

.... ok Rick, installed that version of the plugin, bu no joy.... Same result.

OK?? I will wait for your advice and leave my system as it is (except for restoring the "old tracks" from the backup xml files....

Best regards and thanks,

Uwe

[rgleason]

Dear Uwe, I will think about this and perhaps Sean will have a suggestion. Why would Weatherfax_pi change a track?

[HUR450502]

...... o.k. Rick, long time no contact. So, here is what I did: I de-installed OpenCPN and installed the latest version 3.3.2330, then I installed the weatherfax plugin and enabled it. The program always was "complaining", that there are no charts. ..... Then I imported a track from a GPX file. Then I calibrated (again) a .TIFF image PJAI10-01.TIF which I got from Saildocs. The calibaration points were Lat: 50° Long: -090° and Lat: 20° Long: 000°.
Everything showed up, as expected, overlaid on the "internal" chart of OpenCPN, as I did not specify any map directory and did not mport any map. (So this was a "real virgin" install - the de-installation process erased all directories including all my "old" tracks..... ).
So the map looked fine, the overlay was in place AND the track looked smooth , as it should be.
Then closed OpenCPN and re-opened it again. The first observation was (after ignoring the missing charts, etc.) that the program showed "overzoom" centered on some unknown location, I hadn't touched before. This appeared to be the "boat position", which OpenCPN had "created" from whatever (I did not have GPS connected nor configured anything). When "zooming out", I finally saw the map and the - now again - messed up track.......

Another observation was, that - even though everything had been de-installed and the old directories removed, that OpenCPN some way or another still hat remembered all the old paths, where the weathermaps are stored.

So, maybe, that, sometime during usage of the weatherfax plugin I had "created" this error and it is not in any of the files in the "All Users" application data directories or in the program directories, but somewhere else, where OpenCPN stores some data without erasing them during de-installaton (Registry??) .

So, does this give you any clue???

Best regards,

Uwe

[rgleason]

Hwe

(So this was a "real virgin" install - the de-installation process erased all directories including all my "old" tracks..... )

You can keep copies of your navobj.xml files those are your tracks etc there are backups. Look it up in manual. Sorry about that.

The track must be in Program Data directory.

More later.

Thanks.

[rgleason]

Later on Win7
C:\ProgramData\opencpn\plugins\weatherfax
For WinXP
would be different I believe. Find out where weatherfax is storing files.
Then inspect the files with your browser for the tracks maybe?
But wxfax does not save tracks. ...You're going to have to explain this a bit more, what is happening.

[HUR450502]

Dear Rick,

don't worry, I have backups. .... This is not my problem. My problem is, that these tracks are being messed up after using the calibration function of the weatherfax plugin - if this is not reproduceable on any of your systems, it must be a problem with my system and here I believe, that - if this is the case - OpenCPN "hides" somewhere some information, that is NOT removed, when uninstalling and therefore causing problems again, even when you uninstall and then re-install a newer version. Interesting is, that after restarting the program jumps to some random location "overzooming" etc. ...

If - as I said - this is not reproduceable on your system, and you have any idea how to "clean" every kind of "memory" OpenCPN has left on the system, I would do so, to start all over again. In addition, this may help to find out, WHAT may cause these funny problems, ok???

Thanks a lot - and, as you see - I am absolutely willing to invest time (and whatever is left of my brains) to get this problem identified and fixed, as it must have been introduced by some wrong handling, and this can happen to everybody out there - and they may not be as deep in the "computer sciences" as I (still) am ..... ok??

[rgleason]

Uwe, I am no expert on this stuff, but you are right

C:\Users\All Users\opencpn\plugins\weatherfax is where I have data for weatherfax
This information is also repeated in a "virtual' way with out duplication I believe, here
C:\ProgramData\opencpn\plugins\weatherfax
with the same 37 items.

I also notice that there is another older directory at these two locations
C:\Users\All Users\opencpn data
C:\ProgramData\opencpn data
These have old navobj, plugins of an earlier date etc.
I believe they can be erased.

What you strategy appears to be with regard this wayward track is to erase it from your system so it just goes away! Not a bad idea, why not just delete the bad track? [you must have tried this, but what happens?] Keep in mind there may be many identical tracks on top of each other too.

You said you had copies of the Navobj files, so why not just go the the route manage and delete everything there, tracks, routes, waypoints. The make sure the screen redraws and the track is not there. Then close and open and test to see if it comes back in normal use. Then try to recreate it using previous steps. You may discover that it is something else not related to wxfax? --I hope.

[seandepagnier]

Uwe,

Is the issue absolutely and easily reproducible for you?

Does the calibration data get correctly written to the UserCoordinateSets.xml file?

[HUR450502]

Hi Rick and Sean,

first Rick:

I have Windows 7 installed (32 bit version) so, the directory "all-users" etc. finally points to "programData" - which means, whatever you erase there is also gone in the other directory. No problem, and nothing "wrong" is left.

As to my "backups", these are .gpx files, I do not have any backups of my navobj files and all of them were erased, when I uninstalled OpenCPN.

So, please - do NOT worry about any "lost" data, I can re-create them or they are just gone, no problem at all. What I would like to do, is to fix this bl$$$y problem. ....

now Sean:

Yes I can reproduce this absolutely easily. It works (or does not work....) right from the first attempt.

Again, the "sequence of events... ":

Uninstalled OpenCPN,
manually uninstalled (using the uninstallers of those plugins, which used the .msi installation method) all plugins, which were installed via a windows install pack
then removed any directory, which was left due to not previously uninstalled plugins.
So - directory-wise ("programs", "ProgramData", "AllUsers/OpenCPN") there was no trace left of OpenCPN.

Then installed OpenCPN 3.3.2330 and started it.
OpenCPN asked for any maps to be added, this I ignored and got the default map displayed.
My very first observation was, that the "boat position", which always used to be on 0 latitude and 0 longitude on a "virgin" install, now was somewhere near long Island (you see the "yellow dot" there) - don't know what the reason is. ...
Then closed OpenCPN and installed the weatherfax plugin (.msi)
Started OpenCPN again, and activated the weatherfax plugin
Then I imported a track (one time around the North Atlantic, some 9000 miles) from a .gpx file.

Everything fine so far - you see a smooth track.

Then opened the weatherfax plugin, went to "Data" and opened a .TIF-file (previously downloaded from saildocs).
The calibration menu came up and I calibrated the first point on 50° Lat and - 090° Long, then the second point on 20° Lat and 000° Long.

Everything fine so far, you see the image overlaid on the map and the track - "wonderful"....

Then closed OpenCPN and started it again.

The first observation was, that the screen showed "overzoom" - zooming out for a while, you see the little "boatposition" icon appearing - somewhere around Long Island and then, when you finally are at a zoom level to see the whole North Atlantic, you see the messed up track. On the track it looks as if you only can display points which are in "full" degrees latitude and longitude, so a curve shows up like a stair....

All of this happend - I believe (sorry, but I played around with this so many times, that I do not remember exactly, but I am relatively sure) when I tried to "calibrate" a satellite image, which was some kind of spherical projection and I got a number of error messages from the plugin, as there were data missing. etc and the overlay looked quite a bit funny anyway. Thereafter - I think - I had these "distorted" tracks and this is not going away.....

Does this probably help??

If you want me to do anything to create data for you, just let me know, I am ready to do, whatever I can, ok???

Thank you all, for your support - and especially - or the great tool, I am using only OpenCPN since I learned to operate it properly. Very good user interface and excellent functionality.....

Best regards,

Uwe

[rgleason]

Ok Uwe
You can reproduce on a regular basis.
We have to be able to reproduce this on our machines, so you need to give us all files and steps to reproduce it.
Which version of weatherfax?
Can you attach the gpx file again?
Can you attach the "..opened a .TIF-file (previously downloaded from saildocs)"
and give me a step by step procedure to reproduce.
I will try to reproduce it without uninstallling 3.3.2330 and if I don't succeed, I will uninstall and reinstall clean and go through the steps.

[HUR450502]

..... ok, Rick,

second try now, as for some reason or another my input was "scrapped" .....

Step1 - "Cleaned" OpenCPN from my system - at least all I coud find.....
Step2 - Installed OpenCPN 3.3.2330 and started it:

Step3 - Shutdown OpenCPN and install "weatherfax_pi-1.3-ov3.2.2-h-win32.exe"
Step4 - Start OpenCPN and enable all Plugins (weatherfax, GRIB, Dashboard):

Step5 - Import track from "Atlantic-Circuit 2009-2010-Earth.gpx" :

Step6 - Shutdown OpenCPN and restart again and calibrate PJAI10-01.tif":

Step7 - Shutdown OpenCPN and restart:

Step8 - Zoomed out, to display full map and track:


Interesting is, that - even though I had completely uninstalled OpenCPN (no directories left) it somehow "remembered" the locations of the Fax-Image (PJAI10-01.tif) as well as the location of the .GPX file..... There "Must" be some other "memory", and this could still carry the problem with it.... What do you think??

As my previous post was erased (I believe due to the faked .avi file which I attached), I will - in a seperate post try to attach all the data - the .tif image , the .gpx track and the "AllUsers/OpenCPN" directory with all navobjects, logs, ini files as well as the plugin files..... OK???

Best regards, Uwe