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Board » Technical Support » ALL THE TOOLS

Posted by
sol

Posts: 296
Registered at: 2008-08-14 11:08:14

2018-08-31 10:13:09 - ALL THE TOOLS

There are a number of tools external to the game that many/most people use.
They are all developments made by keen past and present SOLers.
I'll deal with them in calendar order, which is also more or less their usefulness.

1. Brainaid's http://sol.brainaid.de/sailonline/toolbox/
Just key in your boatname and password and on different pages you will find:
- downloadable polar data
- downloadable grib data
- waypoint, start and finish lats/lons.
- yacht instrument outputs (CC, TWA, TWS, TWD, LAT< LON, ETC) refreshing every time your yacht advances
- a DC (Delayed Command) Uploader (useful if you want to enter a long series of course instructions)

2. AGage's http://solfans.org/wxinspector/
Just key in your boatname and password and your screen will show a facsimile of the SOL racing page with your boat advancing in the same way as on the SOL page.
On the right hand side are a selection of Tools. Explore them all at your leisure, but have a look at Optimum Angles first.
Click on the button, then click on VMG and down below in the dialogue screen it gives you your optimum upwind and downwind angles for the boat you are racing at that point in time. Enter the bearing to a far away destination, click on VMC and you get the optimum VMC angle to advance you in that (general) direction.

3. maitai's and oxygen77's QtVlm downloadable via https://www.meltemus.com/index.php/en/download
A router is a piece of software that will generate and optimum route ot sail from A to B given a boat's polar and a grib with wind (and current).
maitai and oxygen 77 actually play a rival game called Vlm, but their router suits SOL well, especially because it features various enhancements principally through the interaction of various SOLers like Bimmer, psail, Kipper1258, kroppyer and myself with the two developers.
Basically it allows you to prepare a route to sail in great detail which you can then convert into DCs for uploading (and go to bed/work/etc).
There is a manual, but best is to ask questions in Chat. Replies will come quick.

4. kroppyer's http://sol.kroppyer.nl/
kroppyer features a tool for converting the .csv file that QtVLm generates into a file for uploading via brainaid's (or Kipper1258's, see below) utility.
kroppyer also gives you a full explanation of SOL's quirky Performance Loss (PL on a change of course) feature, and a tool to help you calculate in advance of making a course change.

5. Kipper1258's AGL downloadable via http://solfans.org/blog/uncategorized/dc-checker-version-3/
This is another tool for uploading DCs.
However, it has a graphic interface where you can view the resulting route of your DCs in to a much greater accuracy than the route you'll see in QtVLm's interface.
Much greater accuracy because it takes full account of PL and can zoom in to an extraordinarily high magnification. Use it (with some caution) and you need never BBQ.

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