2024-07-30, 04:48 PM
Can I also ask for help on this please. For trial purposes I have OpenCPN 5.9.x running variously on a Win10 machine and on an Android machine, and thought I should also try a Pi so as to understand the best way forwards for myself. Installing on the Win10 was easy, and the Android tolerable, but I'm clearly not understanding something as I cannot make decent progress on the Pi. In my case I am trying on a Pi400 in the house (not on the boat) and I have no Pi experience whatsoever. If nothing else, by writing this down, you will get to understand how stupid some of us can be.
I have tried two pathways. Let me explain the second one first.
THE SECOND WAY:
1. After failing completely with the first way, I looked around the fresh-out-of-the-box Pi desktop.
2. Up in the top left is the Pi icon, then a dropdown menu, so Pi>Preferences>Add/Remove Software/RETURN.
3. Enter a search term "CPN" without selecting any of the categories. Then RETURN.
4. This brought up three results, two of which were related to OpenCPN 5.2.4. One CPN package was plain "Software" and the other "Software(Data)". In my case I selected the Software option with a tick, then (from memory) I clicked the OK button in the bottom right. It asked for a password, and after some confusion I figured out that it meant my Pi logon password.
5. A download happened. I wasn't making notes but nothing else seemed to happen. (From memory) the OpenCPN program didn't launch.
6. I wondered if maybe I needed to download the (Data) file, so I went back to step 2 & 3, searched for CPN again, and the search result threw up the same three results again. I observed that both the "Software" and the "Software(Data)" items were now ticked. From this I guessed that the download had automatically added in the data it needed. It also made me suspect that it must have reached the Pi400 somewhere.
7. So I went back up to the Pi icon in the top left, and looked through the menus to see if anything had changed. And I found Pi/Education/OpenCPN.
8. This then opens and runs as OpenCPN 5.2.4
9. I cannot find the option to download the more detailed background world map, but apart from that everything seems similar to how I remember 5.9.x being.
10. But what I really cannot find is any option within OpenCPN so as to download the subsequent version.
>> QUESTION a) Is there any option within OpenCPN to download and update to the subsequent version(s) ?
>> QUESTION b) The approach above certainly got OpenCPN loaded. Is there any way to get the RaspberryPi organisation to make more up-to-date versions of OpenCPN available for download ?
>> QUESTION c) Is there any way within the Pi that I can myself force an update to the subsequent versions, i.e. from outside of OpenCPN ?
But prior to this I had also tried to download OpenCPN another way. Let me explain that and perhaps someone can help me, or at least understand how daft newbies can be and adjust the user instructions appropriately. I was starting from having a fresh-out-of-the-box Pi400 on the desk, accessing the internet using the Chromium browser that ships in the Pi400.
THE FIRST WAY.
1. I went to OpenCPN and to the downloads Directory page https://www.opencpn.org/OpenCPN/info/downloads.html .
2. From there to the 5.8.4 Stable Release page https://www.opencpn.org/OpenCPN/info/dow...encpn.html .
3. From there to the Pi-specific page https://opencpn.org/wiki/dokuwiki/doku.p...lation:rpi .
4. That told me some weird stuff about Debian repositories, but no links.
5. The only link it gave me was to OpenPlotter which was a strong hint that was where I really ought to go ...
6. .... so off I went to https://openplotter.readthedocs.io/en/latest/ which gave me a white-background web page with a lot of text that looked as if it should be hyperlinked but wasn't, and no graphics, irrespective of how much I refreshed it.
7. .... so by stumbling around I got to https://openplotter.readthedocs.io/latest/ which does open as a recognisable modern web page.
8. I checked the WhatDoYouNeed page at https://openplotter.readthedocs.io/lates..._need.html and seemed good to go.
9. I then went to the Downloading page at https://openplotter.readthedocs.io/lates...ading.html and it started talking weird stuff about Raspberry Pi images, but there was a basic "Starting" version with a link https://cloud.openmarine.net/s/TwxS4AJrtTJ485T so off I went, and that took me to a page with an 'old' and and a 'stable' but no hint as to which to prefer. Being brave I went for 'stable' and that downloaded to the Downloads folder on the Pi.
10. a) It didn't seem to do anything on its own ..... hmmmm
10. b) I opened the folder and couldn't see any .exe type file. "ExtractHere" didn't make anything happen. Nor did anything else that I tried that time.
11. So I went to the next thing on the menu, "Installing" at https://openplotter.readthedocs.io/lates...lling.html
12. Which again started talking about images, or to be more precise an Imager.
13. By the way I am on an SD card, and it just starts up straight into a running Pi.
14. I see as I start reading around e.g. at https://www.raspberrypi.com/software/ that I can create a Pi 'image' on a Windows/etc machine. But I am on a Pi machine.
15. So when it says "Put the microSD card into the SD card reader and run Raspberry Pi Imager in your computer. Click on CHOOSE OS and then on Use custom:" that gets me nowhere. I even shut down the machine and restarted it just in case I was missing something.
hmmmm.....
16. Back to the Downloads, guess at OpenWith>Accessories>Imager ........... bingo ................... two days lost ............... oh, hang on a moment .... why is "choose storage" going to a blank dialog box ...
...... surely the Storage dialog should be showing me options ? Instead I am getting a white box with no options at all
>> QUESTION d) What am I doing wrong ? What should I be doing instead ?
Any help most welcome.
I have tried two pathways. Let me explain the second one first.
THE SECOND WAY:
1. After failing completely with the first way, I looked around the fresh-out-of-the-box Pi desktop.
2. Up in the top left is the Pi icon, then a dropdown menu, so Pi>Preferences>Add/Remove Software/RETURN.
3. Enter a search term "CPN" without selecting any of the categories. Then RETURN.
4. This brought up three results, two of which were related to OpenCPN 5.2.4. One CPN package was plain "Software" and the other "Software(Data)". In my case I selected the Software option with a tick, then (from memory) I clicked the OK button in the bottom right. It asked for a password, and after some confusion I figured out that it meant my Pi logon password.
5. A download happened. I wasn't making notes but nothing else seemed to happen. (From memory) the OpenCPN program didn't launch.
6. I wondered if maybe I needed to download the (Data) file, so I went back to step 2 & 3, searched for CPN again, and the search result threw up the same three results again. I observed that both the "Software" and the "Software(Data)" items were now ticked. From this I guessed that the download had automatically added in the data it needed. It also made me suspect that it must have reached the Pi400 somewhere.
7. So I went back up to the Pi icon in the top left, and looked through the menus to see if anything had changed. And I found Pi/Education/OpenCPN.
8. This then opens and runs as OpenCPN 5.2.4
9. I cannot find the option to download the more detailed background world map, but apart from that everything seems similar to how I remember 5.9.x being.
10. But what I really cannot find is any option within OpenCPN so as to download the subsequent version.
>> QUESTION a) Is there any option within OpenCPN to download and update to the subsequent version(s) ?
>> QUESTION b) The approach above certainly got OpenCPN loaded. Is there any way to get the RaspberryPi organisation to make more up-to-date versions of OpenCPN available for download ?
>> QUESTION c) Is there any way within the Pi that I can myself force an update to the subsequent versions, i.e. from outside of OpenCPN ?
But prior to this I had also tried to download OpenCPN another way. Let me explain that and perhaps someone can help me, or at least understand how daft newbies can be and adjust the user instructions appropriately. I was starting from having a fresh-out-of-the-box Pi400 on the desk, accessing the internet using the Chromium browser that ships in the Pi400.
THE FIRST WAY.
1. I went to OpenCPN and to the downloads Directory page https://www.opencpn.org/OpenCPN/info/downloads.html .
2. From there to the 5.8.4 Stable Release page https://www.opencpn.org/OpenCPN/info/dow...encpn.html .
3. From there to the Pi-specific page https://opencpn.org/wiki/dokuwiki/doku.p...lation:rpi .
4. That told me some weird stuff about Debian repositories, but no links.
5. The only link it gave me was to OpenPlotter which was a strong hint that was where I really ought to go ...
6. .... so off I went to https://openplotter.readthedocs.io/en/latest/ which gave me a white-background web page with a lot of text that looked as if it should be hyperlinked but wasn't, and no graphics, irrespective of how much I refreshed it.
7. .... so by stumbling around I got to https://openplotter.readthedocs.io/latest/ which does open as a recognisable modern web page.
8. I checked the WhatDoYouNeed page at https://openplotter.readthedocs.io/lates..._need.html and seemed good to go.
9. I then went to the Downloading page at https://openplotter.readthedocs.io/lates...ading.html and it started talking weird stuff about Raspberry Pi images, but there was a basic "Starting" version with a link https://cloud.openmarine.net/s/TwxS4AJrtTJ485T so off I went, and that took me to a page with an 'old' and and a 'stable' but no hint as to which to prefer. Being brave I went for 'stable' and that downloaded to the Downloads folder on the Pi.
10. a) It didn't seem to do anything on its own ..... hmmmm
10. b) I opened the folder and couldn't see any .exe type file. "ExtractHere" didn't make anything happen. Nor did anything else that I tried that time.
11. So I went to the next thing on the menu, "Installing" at https://openplotter.readthedocs.io/lates...lling.html
12. Which again started talking about images, or to be more precise an Imager.
13. By the way I am on an SD card, and it just starts up straight into a running Pi.
14. I see as I start reading around e.g. at https://www.raspberrypi.com/software/ that I can create a Pi 'image' on a Windows/etc machine. But I am on a Pi machine.
15. So when it says "Put the microSD card into the SD card reader and run Raspberry Pi Imager in your computer. Click on CHOOSE OS and then on Use custom:" that gets me nowhere. I even shut down the machine and restarted it just in case I was missing something.
hmmmm.....
16. Back to the Downloads, guess at OpenWith>Accessories>Imager ........... bingo ................... two days lost ............... oh, hang on a moment .... why is "choose storage" going to a blank dialog box ...
...... surely the Storage dialog should be showing me options ? Instead I am getting a white box with no options at all
>> QUESTION d) What am I doing wrong ? What should I be doing instead ?
Any help most welcome.