| What do I need to get Grib forecasts when I'm cruising? |
| You will need a computer, and if you use our program then it must be able to run Windows with Win 98 SE or later. You will also need some way to access the Internet. If your sailing is likely to take you away from the shore for more than about 4 days at a time then you will need to use either a satellite link or use packet radio using an SSB receiver to access the Internet. If your sailing area ensures that you can visit an Internet cafe or get WiFi every 3 or 4 days then you can use these as a means of getting your Grib forecasts, otherwise you may like to consider accessing the Internet via a mobile phone. |
| How often need I download Grib forecasts |
| Gribs frequently show forecasts for up to 7 days ahead but they will become less accurate as time goes by. We have found that they are normally reasonably accurate for 3 or 4 days but we try to check them against other sources before relying on them especially if the weather looks marginal. Gribs should never be relied upon for hurricane tracking. We try to get updates every 3 days or so. |
| You license the viewer to run on a single computer - what happens if I change my computer |
| Just re-install the viewer on the new computer, then go to the registration page and make a note of the new computer ID number. Then enter your old registration details. The program will then as shareware (without the cut off period). Send us an email explaining what has happened along with your new computer ID number. We will send you a new unlock code. We reserve the right not to supply new unlock codes if we suspect that the program has been pirated. |
| I've been running my licensed copy for some time but I had to re-install Windows and now the program runs in Shareware mode - what can I do |
| The computer ID is calculated from various features of the computer and this can change when the operating system is changed or re-installed. Send us an email explaining what has happened along with your new computer ID number. We will send you a new unlock code. We reserve the right not to supply new unlock codes if we suspect that the program has been pirated. |
| I like the facility to download custom area Gribs, how large should I make the area |
| If you are just interested in the forecast for the next 24 or 36 hours then you will probably be safe to just select an area of about twice your expected sailing area. For longer term forecasts you will get a lot more information of weather systems by selecting large areas, especially towards the "weather side". For example, if you are sailing in Western Europe then select an area which extends some way westwards into the Atlantic because that is where most of the weather systems arrive from. Longer term forecasts are rarely totally wrong in our experience but the expected track of depressions can vary from the forecast so this possibility needs to be taken into account when you inspect weather forecasts for your area. If you select too small an area you may be oblivious of something nasty passing close by you. |
| Who provides the Gribs for free |
| Our program has built in functions to download Gribs from 3 separate organisations. Global Marine Net maintain area Gribs containing wind data as a public service. They also have a subscription service which can provide you with more information including wave and pressure data. The Raymarine Corporation freely provide 3 day Gribs with wind, pressure, temperature and precipitation data. Saildocs have a free to use email service for Gribs with wind data. |
| Who actually produces the Grib forecasts |
| The freely available Grib forecasts downloaded by our rogram are produced by the US NCEP/NOAA or the US National Weather Service using either their GFS (Global Forecast System) or Wave Watch III model. The live output from these models can also be downloaded freely but only in gobal form and they are therefore very large and the downloading is not supported by our system (but the Gribs are supported). The US Navy also run global models and these can also be downloaded freely and displayed by our program. |
| Will the program run with Vista |
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We have several customers who are running without trouble on Vista/Windows 7 computers. We had one who was unable to run the program on a Japanese version of Vista and an existing customer who used the program with XP, then had difficulty installing on Vista. What we suggest doing is, when you download our setup program or the update, save the file onto your desktop rather than running it from the Internet. Right click the file and take the option to run it as administrator. This should then allow Vista/Windows 7 to correctly install the program and its associated folders and files. Before trying to run our program you should use Window's own program to tell it to run our system in XP compatibility mode. You do this by Under Vista - Open the Program Compatibility Wizard by clicking the Start button, clicking Control Panel, clicking Programs, and then clicking Use an older program with this version of Windows. Follow the instructions for each of these programs which are in the c:\Program Files\BallGate Systems folder - BallGate Grib Viewer and bgsupd6 Under Windows 7 - Right click the Grib Viewer shortcut on the desktop, select the Troubleshoot Compatibility option, click Troubleshoot Program, click the option Worked earlier but won't work now and Program requires additional permissions, then click Next, choose Windows XP Service Pack 2, and Start Program The shield icon will appear in the task bar, click it and click Yes to run the program. The viewer will load. On the compatibility screen which remains visible, click Next, then Yes, then Close Then run our system. Please report any errors or problems and we will do our best to rectify them. Thanks. |
| Can I use Edition 2 Grib files |
| From 29 Jan 2008 the program includes a function to convert Edition 2 Grib files to Edition 1 format, so yes you can use Edition 2 Grib files! |
| I don't seem able to zoom in enough when I'm displaying global charts |
| The program relies on a Windows facility to auto redraw the charts whereby Windows saves and restores the chart image. Unfortunately Windows allocates its own memory buffer for this task and this can fill when the image is too large. You can reduce the memory needed to save the chart images by reducing the colour quality on your display. Most systems now allow you to specify the quality as either 16 or 32 bit. Unless you are seriously involved in image processing it is unlikely that you will be able to discern the difference, so try setting your display quality to 16 bits. To do this, go to Control Panel, Display, Settings, Advanced, Color Quality |
| I've installed the program on Vista but then get "Unable to open C:\Windows\System32\msvbvm60.dll" when I try to run it |
| The reported dll was actually present in the \windows\system32 folder, so I don't understand why this message was shown. The customer eventually fixed the problem by un-installing the Grib Viewer, erasing the msvbvm60.dll then re-installing the Grib Viewer by running the install from my web site - that is to say, he didn't save the Grib Viewer setup on his computer but instead took the option to Run it. |