UK Charts on Android - oeSENC+Open CPN?

[Mark-1]

Just a question; when you change your phone and restore settings etc. from the backup of the previous one, do the licences not transfer across as well?

Nope. The say you get two chart licenses and they are device specific.

 

[Mark-1]

Once you’ve bought a Navionics Chart its yours. They don’t take them away after a year. You only need a subscription if you want updates or some routing features.
I’ve transfered Navionics to new devices without any difficult.

Thanks, you're spot on:

Mobile: In-app purchases of charts and features

"After expiration of subscription, charts within the coverage area purchased can be downloaded. Areas which have been downloaded previously cannot be updated without an active subscription."


That means they must maintain old chart revisions for people to download charts they've previously bought after their year expires! (Or give free latest data when you change phones!) Anyway, I'm not grumbling, that's brilliant.

 

[fifer]

Is that with Raster or Vector Charts?

O-senc vector charts

 

[JNKScot]

Nope. The say you get two chart licenses and they are device specific.

Thanks.

 

[JumbleDuck]

Just a question; when you change your phone and restore settings etc. from the backup of the previous one, do the licences not transfer across as well?

The licence terms for the OpenCPN charts puzzle me, because they refer (as I recall) to "two devices" and I could not find out whether that meant "two storage devices" (ie two thumb drives which can be plugged into different computers), "two processors" (two computers) or something else.

I think the VMH version is per storage device.

 

[AngusMcDoon]

Just a question; when you change your phone and restore settings etc. from the backup of the previous one, do the licences not transfer across as well?

Don't know. Never tried. It's not a big cost buying a new license as I keep devices until I destroy them or they expire.

 

[requiem]

The licence terms for the OpenCPN charts puzzle me, because they refer (as I recall) to "two devices" and I could not find out whether that meant "two storage devices" (ie two thumb drives which can be plugged into different computers), "two processors" (two computers) or something else.

Yes, that's precisely what they mean. The user permits are tied to the OS and physical hardware combination to prevent cloning.

The chart data you can load on as many devices as you like, but the decryption keys needed to use them are limited. You can generate two user permits for two different devices and one (or both) can be a USB dongle. So, one person might say "I'll use one for my laptop and the other for my tablet" and another might say "I'll use one for my tablet and the second a USB key so I can swap between different laptops".

 

[Mark-1]

Yes, that's precisely what they mean. The user permits are tied to the OS and physical hardware combination to prevent cloning.

The chart data you can load on as many devices as you like, but the decryption keys needed to use them are limited. You can generate two user permits for two different devices and one (or both) can be a USB dongle. So, one person might say "I'll use one for my laptop and the other for my tablet" and another might say "I'll use one for my tablet and the second a USB key so I can swap between different laptops".

That's great. I wrongly assumed that if you used the oeSENC plugin from Playstore on Android you were committed to using the 'other' license on Android as well. So in fact I can put one license on my android phone and the other on a memory stick and use it on that memory stick on any device?

Or, even better, on a uSD card. If I do that I can transfer between subsequent phones/tablets with no limits.

EDIT:

• System is the combination of device and OS. If any of these items changes, your system will be presented as a new one, you will lose your license and you will have to use your backup.

I don't think "usb key dongle" means any storage of choice. I suspect they supply it somehow, or point at some thing specific.

 

[requiem]

So in fact I can put one license on my android phone and the other on a memory stick and use it on that memory stick on any device?

Or, even better, on a uSD card. If I do that I can transfer between subsequent phones/tablets with no limits.

It does need to be a specific hardware dongle, not a generic memory stick. (Unfortunately much of the industry seems to be stuck a number of decades in the past.)

So, you could use one license on your android and the other on the dongle: You'd lose the android one when you next replace the device, but the dongle could be used with multiple computers (just not simultaneously). There are unfortunately no dongles for Android, and the Mac version is claimed to be still under development. Check the details on O-charts USB Key Dongle - o-charts shop for more.

 

[Mark-1]

It does need to be a specific hardware dongle, not a generic memory stick. (Unfortunately much of the industry seems to be stuck a number of decades in the past.)

Thanks, I don't blame them - Pretty sure you can change serial numbers on some (many) memory cards so if they let people install on a card of their choice people could copy them as often as they wanted.

Even so, it's good to know that people can mix and match device types with oeSENC, I hadn't appreciated that, Android was looking like a special case!

 

[JumbleDuck]

So, you could use one license on your android and the other on the dongle: You'd lose the android one when you next replace the device, but the dongle could be used with multiple computers (just not simultaneously). There are unfortunately no dongles for Android, and the Mac version is claimed to be still under development. Check the details on O-charts USB Key Dongle - o-charts shop for more.

Do you know if it works with a Raspberry Pi and, if so, does it transfer with the OS if the SD card is moved from Pi to Pi?

 

[requiem]

Thanks, I don't blame them - Pretty sure you can change serial numbers on some (many) memory cards so if they let people install on a card of their choice people could copy them as often as they wanted.

Eh, I will.

Being able to easily swap to a backup system and having the same charts across multiple devices is a fundamental part of ensuring reliability when using electronics. I can read Kindle books across phone, laptop, and tablet; and similarly my other apps are also able to sort out licensed content across devices. The current state of nautical charts is unfortunately akin to mandating horsedrawn carts for fear of motorcars breaking down. This is not the fault of o-charts, it's a requirement imposed on them as a condition of obtaining the chart data.

 

[requiem]

Do you know if it works with a Raspberry Pi and, if so, does it transfer with the OS if the SD card is moved from Pi to Pi?

When using the USB dongle, it's the dongle that's the "system" and you can move it from Pi to Pi as needed. The charts themselves aren't on the dongle; the OpenCPN plugin simply queries the dongle in order to decrypt the charts. If you register the Raspberry Pi instead of using the USB dongle then you lose that portability.

If using a Raspberry Pi or laptops I think it makes sense to go the dongle route. Otherwise, if you had to swap out or re-image devices you'd be left without chart access. The only reason to do otherwise is if the hardware isn't supported (e.g. Apple or Android devices), in which case as an Apple user I assume I'm expected to simply wave a credit card around until the problem goes away.

 

[JumbleDuck]

When using the USB dongle, it's the dongle that's the "system" and you can move it from Pi to Pi as needed. The charts themselves aren't on the dongle; the OpenCPN plugin simply queries the dongle in order to decrypt the charts. If you register the Raspberry Pi instead of using the USB dongle then you lose that portability.

If using a Raspberry Pi or laptops I think it makes sense to go the dongle route. Otherwise, if you had to swap out or re-image devices you'd be left without chart access. The only reason to do otherwise is if the hardware isn't supported (e.g. Apple or Android devices), in which case as an Apple user I assume I'm expected to simply wave a credit card around until the problem goes away.

Thanks. Does the dongle definitely work with a Raspberry Pi? From their website it's firmly no Mac, no Android.

 

[Forty_Two]

Thanks. Does the dongle definitely work with a Raspberry Pi? From their website it's firmly no Mac, no Android.

Yes its what i use on my Rpi4 Open Plotter/Cpn setup. I have each of my licences on seperate usb dongles. Gives total freedom with the Rpi hardware & SD cards. I regularly copy my SD cards so i have several on hand in case of issues. Take the dongles home for my test & planning setup.

 

[JumbleDuck]

Yes its what i use on my Rpi4 Open Plotter/Cpn setup. I have each of my licences on seperate usb dongles. Gives total freedom with the Rpi hardware & SD cards. I regularly copy my SD cards so i have several on hand in case of issues. Take the dongles home for my test & planning setup.

Thanks - much obliged.