Seaclear Charts

[Night Sailor]

I agree that it leaves little to the imagination. I read it carefully before downloading, and appreciated the simple, straightforward, clear, concise, non-lawyeresque language that is nevertheless a good CYA statement. The last sentence is a particularly good reminder, and should be in the use agreement for all electronic devices.... essentially, don't rely on them entirely .

[corkscrew]

Loading/Downloading Directions

1.) Go to this web site: http://ocsdata.ncd.noaa.gov/ChartServer ... p?type=BSB
2.) On the right, click the check box and select as many charts as you want
3.) Order (download the charts) May take a while as it combines all the charts into one download.
4.) Unzip the chart file to : c:\charts
5.) Start->Search->Files or Folders
6.) Select to Search for .kap files in c:\
7.) Once the seach is completed you have a list of all those .KAP files
8.) From the search window Select hold down Shift key and select all the files
9.) Right Click copy-then-paste to Program Files\Seasclear\Charts
10.) Repeat for bsb files

Note: this way prevents you from having to copy and paste out of each unzipped directory.

11.) Start ->Programs -> Sea Clear ->MapcalII
12.) Tool-> Autoload List ->Scan for New Charts


All your charts are loaded.

[HERNDON]

I received the BU-353 USB GPS from Amazon in 2 days (thanks Opie) last night. Set my laptop on my desk,
installed the CD software and pluged the GPS into the USB port and placed the puck on the window sill.
Its software told me which com port it was connected to and all the sateliites it found and their sig strength.
I configured SeaClear Com port and it recognized it . I yelled for the family to Come see Dad's new toy.
There was one problem. I have nautical charts installed and live 150 miles inland.

Here I am 12 hours later, the earth has rotated 180 degrees while speeding on its orbit around the sun.
Oh yeah...the dot has not moved yet and my son (smart college student) is looking over my shoulder
laughing at me. Ha ha ha!!!

Rob

[Hamin' X]

If you want more fun with your GPS, go to the USGS website and download the Topo map for your location. Then install the Adobe Acrobat Reader plugin and you will be able to track yourself on the topo map. Not a chartplotter by any means, but still a blast, especially if you like to drive in the back country.

~Rich

[Inquisitor]

Report of using Seaclear today...
We left Georgetown SC harbor at 9am today using Seaclear as our primary nav tool (paper as back up and a small old Garmin at the helm.) Into the Winyah Bay, we found 15 to 20 kts with chop and spray. Had to close the hatch and Seaclear was of no use without the admiral giving directions. Later in the morning, in backwaters of the ICW, I used it successfully from viewing it on the 16" laptop on the MacX table from my helm position. Conclusion: Seaclear is a nice addition to the nav toolkit on a large boat's chart table. But it is not practical on an open cockpit boat. Those of you wanting a giant color display that bought a $2500 Raymarine or Garmin, seems like you got a good deal. Until they make a waterproof laptop that can stand salt spray outside, those type of prices are the only helm choices for large displays, it seems......

Just catching up on this thread... thought I'd mention this product if someone had a mind toward using a laptop for this and other marine stuff. They do have a waterproof laptop. Its called a Panasonic Toughbook. Its what a lot of police cars use.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YClt8Pq_rjs

[Inquisitor]

Well Gents...

I down loaded and installed the program , downloaded and unzippped San Francisco and California Coastal maps.
Now I will start looking for the "USB Puck GPS Receiver". The program works great and only took minimal time
to install including the NOAA maps with the info furnished on this forum.

Any advice on which USB GPS puck to purchase?

Rob

Just a thought... I hate wires. I use a BlueTooth GPS unit. Here's the company I've bought a couple from. http://www.semsons.com/bluetgpsrec.html They have one now for $20 + $5 shipping. I have this one http://www.semsons.com/wigiwblgpsre.html at $60 mainly because it supports output at 10 Hz. The cheaper 1Hz models are all you really need for marine charting though. Most come with a suction cup thingy to hold a cell phone to the car's windshield.

I can connect to the GPS unit from my laptop or my Windows Mobile Cell Phone. I have loaded TomTom on my phone and just pop the antenna onto a velcro pad on my truck's dash. When I get the boat launched, I stick the GPS unit to a velcro pad on top of my 26M's pedistal. and away I go. Its waterproof (not to some marine spec though) and has the typical range of 30' so you can keep your laptop dry and still have your GPS in an optimum place for satellite reception. A charge lasts a full day of GPS use or on stanby for weeks.

[opie]

Herndon,

Do not despair. How about if you could show your college guy a Seaclear chart with your boat sailing around Oahu harbor, or anywhere else you have a chart?
I hope this will wipe his "hahaha" off his face.

- Open Seaclear with no gps plugged in
- Seaclear will say "Could not open comm port # 5 (or your port #)"
- Click "OK" box
- Probably your boat icon will appear at your last position you had the gps plugged in. (Where it just sits and sits....)
- Or if you have never plugged in a gps, you will be at lat/lon 0-0, or off the coast of Africa
- No problem
- Got to File/Chart/List All
- Click "Description" heading to sort list in alphabetical list
- Choose "Pearl Harbor Oahu" (or your favorite place for your fantasy sail, maybe Florida Keys or Cape Cod?)
- Assuming you chose "Pearl Harbor Oahu" move the cursor around until you are just south of the USS Arizona Monument. You may have to zoom in or out to find it. (I use 100% when I use Seaclear.)
- Go to the main 2 headings "File" and "Tools" at the top of the screen and choose "Tools/Properties/Display" and choose the shape for your boat icon image. I chose 5 second update, Boat shape, color red, size Huge, 2 radar rings, 5 sec speed marker.
- In the same Setup window, go over to "Comm" and click on the NMEA DR Update. What this will do is if your GPS fails at sea and you have a NMEA connected speed and compass instrument, your Seaclear plot will use DR (dead reckoning) to keep your boat right on going until the GPS returns,
- (You now may understand where I am headed in this instruction, I am going on a dummy trip that will look like a real trip.)
- Save and close the Setup window.
- Now, go back to your cursor just south of the USS Arizona. Click right mouse, choose Tools, Set DR Position.
- Your red (or your own chosen color) boat will appear heading at 0 degrees right into the USS Arizona. Your DR Red window at the screen box will show the lat/lon of your Oahu DR position.
- Now the fun part. In the DR Red box, set your speed to 20 kts (or 50 kts...) and your boat icon will head north. Set the course to 90 and you will head east and just miss hitting the Arizona Monument. (You are simulating a live NMEA compass and NMEA speed instrument inputs)
- As your boat goes to a chart border, the next best chart will automatically appear.
- Now you can do all sorts of other things, like practice with making a route and following it, tracing it, saving it, etc etc.

Hope this helps you.
Opie

[HERNDON]

Thanks Opie.
I have spent hours viewing the charts. Its great. I had previously down loaded most of the charts from S.F.
Bay and Delta for viewing but the ability SeaClear offers is great. Thanks again...!! Hamin X gave me a good
lead for USGS maps and I got one for Millerton Lake (11 miles from here). I am going to convert it to the
Seaclear format.

Rob

[Hamin' X]

Hamin X gave me a good
lead for USGS maps and I got one for Millerton Lake (11 miles from here). I am going to convert it to the
Seaclear format.

Rob

If you get this figured out Rob, let us know how you did it. I've been banging my head against the wall trying to get this done.

~Rich

[Retcoastie]

Here are the notes I have made for myself on how I convert PDF charts to SeaClear WCI files.



Hints: MOST IMPORTANT..WHEN YOU MAKE A CHANGE IN THE DIRECTORIES, YOU MUST RESTART SEACLEAR OR MAPCAL IN ORDER TO SEE THE CHANGE....

If chart is in a PDF file, use the "snapshot tool" to select the chart picture and copy to clipboard. Then, open Paint, or what ever photo working program you use, and paste the chart. Then save the file as a JPG file with a name you like into some working file.


----------------------------------------------------------------------------

\\\\\\Make sure all work is done in a working file. ONLY COPY TO SeaClear WHEN FINISHED//////////

Chart conversion:::::

Find folder with JPG charts

In MapCal choose Tools; Convert; Images in Dir to WCI
Find the folder with the JPG charts
Send the converted charts to the desired file into the working file.
Press OK to convert


SeaClear Calibration:::::

Choose File
Open Image, find the desired chart and click OPEN


choose Cal
Find a known spot on chart
Enlarge to maximum to insure best positioning of Cal Point
Set Cursor
Right click to Select: Add new Cal. Point
If you are happy with point Enter LAT and Long (Remember to set Long to W)
If not happy, right click to remove and try again.
Hit Activate Changes. (May get questioned, but click OK)
Repeat for three or four Cal Points

Choose to set border on chart
Choose Border
Set border to Image. Border should match chart border. If it doesn't, one of the cal points is bad.

Hit File
Save Calibration
(Note: MapCal appears to save the charts in - your user file: AppData: Local: VirtualStore: Program Files: SeaClear or SeaClear Charts)

Hit File
Open Image, for next chart


Entering Charts:::::

Move WCI file to an active SeaClear chart file

In MapCal open Tools; Autoload List; Scan for New Charts
A box should open and show you have found the number of new files and they have been added.

----------------------------------------------------------

SeaClear operating charts, traces, and waypoints files are in -
your user file; AppData; Local; VirtualStore; Programs Files; SeaClear
These are the files used by SeaClear to actually function now.
If you want to reduce the number of items SeaClear is using, delete
the contents of these files and paste in only the files you want
SeaClear to be able to access.

---------------------------------------------------------

Changing entire area files - To change from say Tennessee River to Southeast Florida
Open C:\ Program Files: SeaClear: Charts - delete unwanted charts
Open C:\ Program Files: SeaClear: SeaClear Charts - select desired area
Copy all desired charts
Paste into C:\Program Files: SeaClear: Charts
Start MapCal
Start Tools, Autolist, Recreate
Click OK to Delete SCAINDEX.BIN

SeaClear Now has only the desired area charts loaded.

(Note: SeaClear nor MapCal can have a chart loaded while doing this task. Go to USA and clear files before closing programs.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

[HERNDON]

Thanks Retcoastie.

I will look for the Geo charts in standard .pdf format and covert to .jpg as you suggest. Fortunitly, the USGs
charts using the .pdf plugin (see Hamin X above) give out a lat/long at any point established that can be
used with standard format.pdf in Mapcal for calibration points in Seaclear. I was trying a .pdf printer to
convert to standard .pdf and then using software to convert to .bmp based on file formats shown on page
19 of Seaclear manual "Chart intsallation guide". Hamin X do you have a link to to USGS standard format
.pdf? Soon I will be able to see where I am on my small Lake without looking. Hmmm...

Rob

[Hamin' X]

Hamin X do you have a link to to USGS standard format
.pdf? Soon I will be able to see where I am on my small Lake without looking. Hmmm...

Rob

Just go to the link that I provided, USGS Website and follow the instructions. The download map(s) will be in PDF.

Thanks for the notes, Retcoastie. I had tried the snapshot tool in the past, but perhaps I missed a step in the conversion. I'll give it another go.

~Rich

[Retcoastie]

On reading my previous SeaClear calibrations notes I realized that I omitted an explanation. In the section:

Changing entire area files - To change from say Tennessee River to Southeast Florida
Open C:\ Program Files: SeaClear: Charts - delete unwanted charts
Open C:\ Program Files: SeaClear: SeaClear Charts - select desired area
Copy all desired charts
Paste into C:\Program Files: SeaClear: Charts
Start MapCal
Start Tools, Autolist, Recreate
Click OK to Delete SCAINDEX.BIN

there is no SeaClear: SeaClear Charts folder in the C:\ Program Files: SeaClear folder. I added this folder as a storage locker for all the SeaClear charts I have. The operating program looks for charts in C:\ Program Files: SeaClear: Charts, but to keep that from becoming to overcrowded I use the storage locker (C:\ Program Files: SeaClear: SeaClear Charts).

In the example above, Tennessee River has 111 charts, Southeast Florida has 69 charts. You can see how the operating chart folder could get huge and make it difficult to find what you are looking for in it. That is why I only have the operating program use charts for the area I'm in. It makes handling them so much easier and faster.

[opie]

Recoastie,
Your comment about segregating your charts into separate folders and only using part of the charts at a time so as to "It makes handling them so much easier and faster...." makes me wonder why? Seaclear itself takes care of that function. What is the difficulty that brought you to this 'separate folder' conclusion? I have over 1000 charts loaded into the Seaclear/charts place and Seaclear only takes me to the chart I need when I need it when in the "Automatic On" state when on GPS or Dead Reckoning. When not in Automatic, right-mouse, followed by Charts/On Position selection will give you 5 or six choices of charts for your lat/lon cursor position, out of the 1000 on file.
The top-of-page command, File/Charts/List All, does produce a large unwieldy list sorted on "Scale" for some reason, but clicking on the "Description" tab will sort the list alphabetically to make it easier to find the file you want for route planning. The File/Charts/Name Search allows you to search for a key word. For example "Oahu" produces about 9 charts. And if you want to search by NOAA chart #, use File/Chart/Not Listed and click on the chart number you want to see.

[Note to moderators: I realize that the Seaclear subject is using a lot of electronic ink here on the Board, and I don't know how everyone is thinking, but, for me, it is worth it. I rank the idea of a charting system like this one (there are others), usable for planning and dreaming, either at home or on the inside of the Mac and visible to crew, right up there in the list, below the importance of the VHF radio and maybe just above the usefulness of the ice chest cooler.]

[Hamin' X]

[Note to moderators: I realize that the Seaclear subject is using a lot of electronic ink here on the Board, and I don't know how everyone is thinking, but, for me, it is worth it. I rank the idea of a charting system like this one (there are others), usable for planning and dreaming, either at home or on the inside of the Mac and visible to crew, right up there in the list, below the importance of the VHF radio and maybe just above the usefulness of the ice chest cooler.]

Not a problem opie, great discussion. You ought to see the waste of electronic ink in the Back Room

~Rich