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Board » Sailonline Yacht Club » Pilot Charts

Posted by
Tempest


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2009-06-16 17:44:17
2012-01-07 22:42:06 - Pilot Charts
Goodevening all

Upon surfing the web stumbled upon following. Don't know if this site has been mentioned before here if so i am sorry to have bothered you.

http://opencpn.org/ocpn/

http://opencpn.org/ocpn/downloadpilotcharts

This program can open pilot charts from NOAA which are also available on the website for downloading.
Furthermore it has various options for integrating these pilot charts into other programs.
Have just downloaded so I am still looking into all its possibilities.

Tempest

--- Last Edited by Tempest at 2012-01-08 09:04:49 ---
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Posted by
NZL_PaulR


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2008-07-22 12:21:30
2012-01-08 04:37:56 - Re: Pilot Charts
FYI: I have previously suggested downloading charts previously. For NZ CHART TIFF files are FREE and available from:
www.LINZ.govt.nz/hydro/charts
and having the option to display the "REAL" charts of the ocean we are sailing over would be far more interesting and educational.
(They have the latest Notices to Mariners corrections applied as issued as well!!)

If SoL pushed the educational aspect, other chart agencies (USA, European etc) could be happy to help "educational" useage.

In NZ there is a special fictional chart based on Wellington as a port but with lots of other "fictional" features, gathered from other real charts and merged. Coastguard use it for education and exam purposes.

USA: I have downloaded the chart from Pearl Harbour Honolulu (19629?), for free and imported it into my charting software as a test of my software feature. (www.memory-map.com)

Just like the Google Earth files, I would see the "Marine CHART(s)" downloading would only need to be done once for short races, but maybe 2 or 3 downloads for longer races like Leg 2 Cape Town to Ahdu Dhabi that cover quite different sea areas.

Some chart files could be used several times before a newer "version" had to be downloaded. E.g Baltic, English Channel, Hauraki Gulf, Sydney, Hobart etc.

So both ocean charts e.g. the Piloting Charts as above and the Large Scale Harbour charts would allow greater details to be shown as one zoomed in.

If one wanted more detail of an area, only then would one need to download that more detailed chart, so to minimise server loads.


--- Last Edited by NZL_PaulR at 2012-01-08 04:44:49 ---
If it breaks, it's not strong enough!
Posted by
Tempest


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2009-06-16 17:44:17
2012-01-08 09:12:37 - Re: Pilot Charts
Paul

That is exactly what this program does you can inport your position and display on the realmap.Plenty of options available.
Only thing you have to do is import your set of NZL charts.
Posted by
NZL_PaulR


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2012-01-08 10:53:39 - Re: Pilot Charts
Thanks Tempest. I accept all that. It is now up to the SoL masters to decide priorities for programming time and resources. (See other thread).

I know I hate looking at a black screen for night and white for day for all the seas we sail. Having the option of looking at the "REAL" marine charts is so much better than even the Google Earth Sea of blue.

Even if shaded for depths, I still wonder at the accuracy of such interpretation without the accuracy IRL we expect from a proper chart. I would not want to trust my life to such shading by an unknown source and quite possibly by non-sailor lowly paid artist of doubtful ability.

By contrast, studying real marine charts as we sail virtually, may prepare somebody somewhere with some knowledge that may save a life sometime. We may never know who, where or when, but if we never try, we already know we have failed.

Fair winds and smooth seas to all.
If it breaks, it's not strong enough!
Posted by
Tempest


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2012-01-08 11:22:41 - Re: Pilot Charts
Paul

I don't think you get my point. It is not up to SOL it is up to YOU to download the program, install the charts and sail against a charted background if that is what you want.

For program see link in previous post .
for converted NZL charts
See link on webpage

--- Last Edited by Tempest at 2012-01-08 20:10:33 ---
Posted by
NZL_PaulR


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2012-01-08 12:19:59 - Re: Pilot Charts
Ok I understand you better. I realise I can "write" down my SoL position and then "plot" that position by opening that charting program and see my manually plotted position on the charts that I have imported.

What I was wanting was the background within SoL, instead of Sol's background.

I do not know how to "automatically" have the chart appear in SoL or the Sol Data, (wind info, course predictor, other boats positions appear on the chart, other than manually plotting.

I read that your program can import / link into Google Earth.
Have you done this?
How accurate is the Calibration, especially with SLI's?
If it breaks, it's not strong enough!
Posted by
captjack1942


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2008-01-18 03:24:03
2012-01-08 20:00:28 - Re: Pilot Charts
This is good stuff tempest. The only link I've had to pilot charts downloads pdf files.

http://www.offshoreblue.com/index.php.

Follow the "marine Navigation" link to the Pilot Chart index.

It seems also that the long URL you posted broke the column in the chat. If there is no other way, one could use: http://www.shorturl.com/

:-)
Posted by
Tempest


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2012-01-09 19:13:14 - Re: Pilot Charts
Just a litle update .
It seems program is fine for viewing nav /pilot charts. Program loads vessels own position from GPS and keeps it updated and can import GPX files and has measuring , XTE and navigating tools etc.
Can load grib files on top of the pilot chart ( unfortunately not brainaids gribs as they seem to be compressed in some way )

True wind direction is not displayed correctly, apparent wind is fine.(known bug in ocpn)

Google earth can be used as a transparent overlay on OCPN with own ships position. This said without any further programming knowledge i think it might be possible to create a sol plugin but i leave that to better computerized people.

It is an opensource program in development so still a lot of things to be improved or inplemented and still a lot to discoverwhat it can.


--- Last Edited by Tempest at 2012-01-09 20:34:49 ---
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Posted by
NZL_PaulR


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Registered at
2008-07-22 12:21:30
2012-01-09 20:45:03 - Re: Pilot Charts
Great info & screen shot. Far more interesting and informative than the current SoL sea area plain colours of white or nighttime black.

Even reading the notes around the edges of the charts (on the land) is informative.

Thanks.

--- Last Edited by NZL_PaulR at 2012-01-09 20:45:48 ---
If it breaks, it's not strong enough!
Posted by
Tempest


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2009-06-16 17:44:17
2012-01-09 21:54:13 - Re: Pilot Charts
Paul

And this is only a pilot chart .
Have understood they are trying to proces 2700 outdated NOAA charts to make them ready for use in the program. Same has already been done with the NZ tiff files.
These NOAA charts are already viewable on the NGA site
Shorturl as instructed by jack

http://alturl.com/ei8wu

And a cruel picture of google overlay as i have only a pilotchart available.

--- Last Edited by Tempest at 2012-01-09 22:07:27 ---
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