Chart Levels Toolbar   [F2]

NOTE: If you experience display errors (mostly with PastTracks when navigating near the edge of a detailed chart) then turn ON Chart Lock will solve the display discrepancy.

NOTE: charts of different creation scales will be side-by-side, the larger scale chart will be less accurate and not always line-up precisely with the more detailed chart.

SOB will automatically provide extra information in a ViewPanel whenever a Navigate to Destination scenario is active.

There are three such scenarios in SOB. In order of priority they are:

1. Man-Over-Board
   Enabled by pressing the MOB button. 
    
2. Navigate to Destination Waypoint
   Any waypoint can be set as a destination, by pressing the "Navigate to..." button on it's Waypoint Form. Also, for a destination waypoint, an "Arrival Zone Alarm" can be set. The arrival zone will appear on the chart as a red "hashed" circle around the destination waypoint.
    
3. Next Turn Mark on an Active Route
   If neither (1) nor (2) apply, AND a Route is currently marked as active, then the "Navigate to..." panel will show details pertaining to the next turning point on a Route if it is marked as active (press the "Activate" button on the Route Form).
   The active route is displayed on the chart as thick red lines, any passed TurnMark is drawn as a green dot with the next TurnMark shown as a yellow dot. The current leg and the Destination ViewPanel is automatically updated as the turn marks are passed (either by sailing within the arrival zone, or passing a "perpendicular" from your course to the mark).

XTE is the "Cross Track Error" value sent to the AutoPilot when under remote control, and represents the perpendicular distance away from the original course line to the destination. 

Waypoints nominated as a Destination create a "Navigate to Destination" (N2D) scenario in SOB. Any N2D scenario (also a Man-Over-Board, or Active Route) will display the red N2D ViewPanel, providing constantly updated information to help you navigate to this location. The Waypoint text on the chart surface will also supply basic navigation information if enabled. 

To make a Waypoint a destination, press the [Navigate to Destination] button on the Waypoint Form, the FIRST one found in the list, that is set as a destination waypoint, will be the one used for on-screen navigation. If this waypoint is consequently un-set then the next one found in the list set as a destination will be used, etc.

The waypoint's status as a destination waypoint is reset once its ArrivalZone has been breached, or the [Navigate to...] button is reset. 

NOTE: A Man-Over-Board is a regular Waypoint set as N2D.

Sequential Waypoints set as destinations can be used as a simple route, as illustrated by the following examples ...

Click this ScreenShot and use the window for full scale reference for the Active Route example that follows.

Select Route mode, then touch any TurnMark on the Route to make active (the TM will be drawn as a solid red dot when selected). Now touch the same TurnMark and select the [Route Details] button from the quick menu. 

An Active route will be drawn as a thick red line, with the previous TurnMark drawn as large green dot, and the next as a yellow dots. A TM  is considered as been passed, when either the ship has passed a perpendicular to the mark (ie: the mark's bearing is now "aft of beam") and is on a heading for the next; or when the ship has come within a certain distance of the mark.

Complete up-to-date information about the current Route is available from the Route Details form. (Touch a Route TM twice then choose [Route Details] from the button menu).

The Green, Yellow or Grey indicators will match the drawing of the corresponding TurnMarks on the chart display. Green TMs have been passed, the Yellow TM is the next ahead (whose data is in the DestVP), and the Grey TMs are further ahead.

If visible, the LegLabel is always more detailed for the active leg. The TTG and ETA on the label are based on an estimated speed pre-set (on the RouteDetails form) for that Route leg.

Set the LegLabels to 1 to also show the names of the TurnMarks on the chart. Rename the TurnMarks on the RouteDetails form by clicking on the name in  the list. Type the new name, then press [TAB] or click somewhere else on the form to refresh ... avoid pressing [Enter] as this will close the form.

Once a leg has been completed, the LegLabel will display true time on leg and arrival time at the end of the leg.

When an Apparent Wind sensor is connected (and it sends NMEA sentence: V W R - "Wind Angle and Speed"),
several helpful indicators can be drawn on the chart...
  

• Wind Vector Arrows: open the Ship's Data Form (click the Ship's Target at any time) and check "Show Wind Tools", then check your choice of Apparent and/or True Wind Vectors.
  The apparent Wind Vector is drawn as either a red or green arrow, dependent on whether you are sailing on port or starboard tack. The apparent vector is read directly from the Wind Instrument, and shows the relative wind direction as felt on the deck of the yacht (actually - from the masthead, or where-ever the anemometer is fitted). 
  The True Wind is calculated based on the ship's "Speed Over Ground" and "Course Over Ground" (SOG & COG as provided by the GPS) and the apparent wind speed and direction supplied by the Apparent Wind device. The true wind vector is displayed on the chart as a blue arrow. 
  NOTE: The apparent wind vector is ALWAYS closer to the bow of the boat than the true wind vector (when moving forward).

• Ship's Wind Shadow: 
  Ideally designed for optimum upwind sailing, select (from the Ship's Data Form) either or both "Show Shadow" and "Show Laylines" and input your yacht's particular minimum angle that it can sail to the wind.
  The shadow thus displayed, represents the sector of the "Wind Circle" that your yacht cannot sail. Sailing along the laylines, if the Wind ½ Angle is set correctly, represents the closest point of sail that your yacht can sail to the wind.
  NOTE: On some displays, the Wind Shadow may (A) flicker annoyingly, or (B) slow the computer down too much. If either of these situations occur - uncheck the Wind Shadow box and utilise only the Wind Laylines.
  
  
  
• Waypoint Wind Shadow: 
  The Waypoint shadow is best used when the Waypoint is positioned to represent your upwind destination, it will help you sail optimally to this windward destination point. Once the Waypoint is correctly placed, click the Waypoint with the Waypoint selector button enabled to display this Waypoint Form. Now check "Show Shadow" and/or "Show Laylines" and set the ½ Angle as described for the Ship's Wind Shadow. Generally speaking, the ½ Angle for the Waypoint shadow should be the same as for the Ship's ½ Angle, however in practice you may find that making the Waypoint angle slightly larger will ensure that you will clear the windward mark.
  NOTE: the laylines are drawn exactly to the ½ Angle, the shadow is drawn 2° narrower than the ½ Angle.
  The Waypoint shadow works slightly differently to the Ship's shadow. The ship's shadow represents the sector where your yacht (under sail) CANNOT go, the Waypoint shadow represents the region where your yacht SHOULD remain to optimise your upwind leg (ie: sailing outside the Waypoint shadow means that you will cover unnecessary ground whilst sailing upwind).

(typical NMEA sentences used by SOB and AutoPilots are included in square brackets)

Refer to your AutoPilot manual to learn how to enable it for remote data.
Refer to SOB Manual - Technical Information for wiring schematics to connect the AutoPilot to your computer (and SOB)

One, or all of three, options may be available with the AutoPilot device: 

1. Steer to Course
     - as supplied by an electronic compass or SOB [APA, APB, BOD, XTE]
   
2. Steer to Apparent Wind
     - select the Wind tickbox on the NMEA form to forward any wind sentences to the AutoPilot. Note that SOB does not process any autopilot/wind functions, but simply repeats the incoming wind commands to the PC output for the pilot. [usually VWR]
   
3. Steer to Destination Waypoint 
     - the destination waypoint information is sent via NMEA 
       [RMC, BWR, BWC] from SOB, or a GPS, or some other NMEA devices

SOB will send any of the highlighted NMEA sentences if ticked on the NMEA Raw Data Form.

NOTE: A Navigate to Destination scenario must be active before SOB can send AutoPilot commands (except the Wind commands). 
The red Destination ViewPanel must be activated, by any of these conditions:

1. A Man-Over-Board scenario
2. A Waypoint marked as a Destination
3. An Activated Route

(SOB must be Registered or Licensed and Unlocked for AccessLevel=1 or higher to enable the autopilot commands on the Raw NMEA Data form)

Use the [Create AutoRoutes ...] button on the AllRoutes form

Select whether to draw a grid or circular, and 
choose the leg direction to determine the shape of the auto route.

As well as these four shapes, a further four configurations can be 
achieved by Reversing any of the auto routes after creating them.

Once the auto-route is ready, it can be used as is any 
other route: Loaded, Unloaded, Activated, Analysed etc

If the Centre of the Search Area is unknown, then estimate it using the set and drift calculator on the form.

Click an active area of the form to jump to the relevant topic

Some extra information to aid in diagnosis is also displayed: 
Sentences counts the total number of sentences received by SOB. 
Bytes read and Total bytes accumulate the amount of received data.
A.I.S. Rx: counts the dedicated sentences received from a connected AIS Receiver or Transponder.
Skipped: is a count of sentences that SOB did not process. They are either NMEA sentences that SOB does not recognise, or are incomplete or corrupted sentences that SOB will not process.

NOTE: A connected Wind Anemometer will only send Apparent wind data. The True wind values displayed here are calculated by SOB using apparent wind and GPS course and speed over ground.

Use the [Show GOTO NMEA Wpt on Chart] to create a waypoint in SOB using this information. If more than one wpt is being transmitted, then you should temporarily close the data source with [Close COMx] for a serial connection, or [Pause] for a replay file, before capturing the waypoint data, otherwise the captured wpt may have a combination of data from different waypoints.

FIX: AIS Latitude/Longitude
If you find that your AIS targets are incorrectly displayed on the chart, then apply the appropriate FIX to correct the incoming data.

NOTE: Do not try to replay the SOB_NMEA_DATA.log while SOB is running or an error will occur. First quit SOB, then rename the file before restarting SOB. The renamed file can now be replayed.

NOTE: Only Registered SOB versions with AccessLevel=1 or higher will have the Wind, APA and APB commands enabled.

Ignore any received NMEA data with no checksum, or a wrong checksum. The checksum is added to the end of the NMEA sentence as an error checking mechanism to ensure the integrity of the received data, although not all NMEA instruments make use of the checksum, and of those that do, some of them append an incorrect checksum!

Generally, you don't need to use the checksum, although if you discover some inaccuracies with the received data, then enabling checksum checking should  prevent SOB from trying to process corrupt data. 

SOB can receive data on two simultaneous COM ports. The configuration of these COM ports is controlled by the external program SOB_COM.EXE located in the \SOBvMAX\ folder.

Only the first COM port in use is used for outputting commands for autopilot control etc. The Open/Close and port selection buttons on the form can be used to override the setting of this port (except baud rate). This is useful for diagnosis purposes.

Refer to SOB User Manual - Networking Information

This button doesn't really do anything as the form updates itself a couple of times a second, or whenever new data is received. But please press it if you want to...