v3.0 production release

Navico broadband radar plugin

The v3.0 release is now complete.

The following functional changes have been implemented compared to v2.1:

• Radar antenna offset relative to GPS can be set, for better overlay at a very short range.
• Revert range zooming to be "+" for longer range (zoom out) and "-" for shorter range (zoom in).
• PPI head up mode is stabilized by the compass when a compass is available.
• PPI course up mode is synchronized to OpenCPN course up mode and uses the same algorithm.
• AIS and ARPA targets are (optionally) shown on the PPI windows.
• Radar targets can be selected with the mouse and then added as a MARPA target.
• Guard zones can generate ARPA targets.

Note that for all releases we recommend using OpenCPN 4.8.2 which was released on Feb 7, 2018.

Downloads

See below for Microsoft Windows and macOS. Ubuntu downloads are available in the OpenCPN PPA at https://launchpad.net/~opencpn/+archive/ubuntu/opencpn .

v3.0-beta4 (v3.911)

This is the 4th beta release, and the only difference to the projected production version is that we are going to add some more translations for production, unless people report urgent bugs (which is what happened with the previous 'final beta', unfortunately.)

The following functional changes have been implemented compared to v2.1:

• Radar antenna offset relative to GPS can be set, for better overlay at very short range.
• Revert range zooming to be "+" for longer range (zoom out) and "-" for shorter range (zoom in).
• PPI head up mode is stabilized by the compass when a compass is available.
• PPI course up mode is synchronized to OpenCPN course up mode and uses the same algorithm.
• AIS and ARPA targets are (optionally) shown on the PPI windows.
• Radar targets can be selected with the mouse and then added as a MARPA target.
• Guard zones can generate ARPA targets.

v3.0 beta 3 (3.907)

This is the final beta release, and the only difference to the projected production version is that we are going to add some more translations for production.

The following functional changes have been implemented compared to v2.1:

• Radar antenna offset relative to GPS can be set, for better overlay at very short range.
• Revert range zooming to be "+" for longer range (zoom out) and "-" for shorter range (zoom in).
• PPI head up mode is stabilized by the compass when a compass is available.
• PPI course up mode is synchronized to OpenCPN course up mode and uses the same algorithm.
• AIS targets are shown on the PPI windows.
• Radar targets can be selected with the mouse and then added as a MARPA target.
• Guard zones can generate ARPA targets.

v3.0 beta 2 (v3.817)

The BR24 plugin team is happy to announce the second beta for the 3.0 release, hot on the heels of the OpenCPN 4.8.0 release. On Microsoft Windows it requires 4.8.0 -- older versions will not work.

The primary feature for this release is the capability to convert radar targets into MARPA (Mini Automatic Radar Plotting Aid) and ARPA (Automatic Radar Plotting Aid) targets which are then shown as OpenCPN AIS like targets both on the chart and on the PPI radar windows.

To make this function we had to add AIS targets to the PPI radar windows, a useful feature in itself.

The menu structure has been improved and stability increased, in particular on shutdown.

Compared to beta 1 we fixed an issue that caused a hang when hiding/showing the radar windows.

V3.0 beta1 (v3.816)

This release has been superceded by beta 2 - https://github.com/canboat/BR24radar_pi/releases/tag/v3.0-beta2

The BR24 plugin team is happy to announce the first beta for the 3.0 release, hot on the heels of the OpenCPN 4.8.0 release. On Microsoft Windows it requires 4.8.0 -- older versions will not work.

The primary feature for this release is the capability to convert radar targets into MARPA (Mini Automatic Radar Plotting Aid) and ARPA (Automatic Radar Plotting Aid) targets which are then shown as OpenCPN AIS like targets both on the chart and on the PPI radar windows.

To make this function we had to add AIS targets to the PPI radar windows, a useful feature in itself.

The menu structure has been improved and stability increased, in particular on shutdown.

Version 2.1

A small bug fix and minor functionality tweaks release.

The changes over 2.0 are:

• Terminology changes so that it uses as much as possible that of professional radars.
• Heading input priority has been fixed. A GPS compass providing only true heading is now handled correctly.
• Radar type (BR24/3G/4G) detection has been improved.
• Width of menu is now calculated correctly.
• Non-ASCII characters are now drawn correctly on PPI window (useful when using translations.)
• Radar startup and shutdown phases are shown quicker and correctly.
• Mono color mode has been removed. Multi color mode can choose all colors (3 strengths of radar echo, and a start and finish color for target trails.)
• The options dialog has been re-formatted.
• The options dialog is now accessible via Menu -> Advanced -> Preferences.
• A heading line, if available, is now drawn on the PPI window.
• Translations.
• Bug fixes.

Version 2.0

This is the initial release for v2 that is meant for the general public.

New since the last beta:

• New functionality: radar trails in both true and relative motion form. Very cool.
• Shutdown stability has been fixed. wxWidgets was messing up on Windows. Now we use our own mechanism to stop threads.
• Radar heading is now available with BR24 and 3G, not just 4G.
• Easy switch between overlay of radar A and B (4G) when not using any PPI radar windows.
• SVG icons.
• Friendly girl's voice announcing a guard alarm.
• Many smaller usability things.

v2.628 Beta 3

The third and possibly last Beta release. The number of loose ends is rapidly dwindling.

New features:

• The radar window has been finetuned.
• The control and menu location is now much more refined.
• The View sub menu has been introduced. This contains all view oriented items that are not controlled by the radar, like head up/north up, multi sweep filter, etc.
• Two EBLs and VRMs per radar.
• Target trails for 15/30/60/180s/indefinite.

v2.518-beta2

A number of fixes have been made, in particular to UI controls and VertexArray drawing.

See https://github.com/canboat/BR24radar_pi/issues?q=milestone%3Av2-beta2 for a complete list.

v2.515 Beta

The first public beta release for the v2 release.

Codewise almost everything has been rewritten. Most code lines are still there, but the entire class structure has been rewritten completely. The source code would now be much easier to use for someone trying to adapt it to a different radar (like a Furuno or Raymarine, if someone would be willing to start that task.) Also we use fewer threads as all multicast addresses per radar are now using the same thread.

This introduces one or two (4G only) extra radar windows that show radar data without a chart overlay. It replaces the fake radar only display that had several problems. Now you can have side-by-side chart and radar data, with optional radar overlay. The radar data without overlay doesn't require heading input.

The other major point for this release is that it includes a very nice drawing method based on OpenGL shaders. You can also use the older vertex method if the shader method doesn't work for you. The shader method should work well on modern low-CPU / high-GPU platforms such as ARM boards with OpenGL support.

Components that work very well for me are:

• Drawing of actual radar data in Shader
• Most controls
• Guard zones
• Timed idle

I'm still compiling a list of issues that I want to fix before production, they revolve mostly about finishing touches to:

• Opening of the radar control if radar windows are hidden.
• Testing of the multi-sweep function.
• There is a fluke somewhere in the Vertex drawer where the image is un-rotated by the heading for a second or so, but this passes quite quickly.
• The info dialog always contains the text that the radar is off, even when it is on. Some polishing needed in general.

Please test this release and report any issues on https://github.com/canboat/BR24radar_pi/issues

You can download binaries for OS X, Ubuntu 14.04 and Microsoft Windows from http://opencpn-navico-radar-plugin.github.io