The Meteo Consult Group is the largest independent weather

forecasting company in Europe. In 2009, about 250 employees in 9

countries offer a wide range of weather services to many different
industries.

The marine and offshore activities are concentrated in the head-

office in the Netherlands. This branch is ISO 9001/2000 accredited
and applies a quality assurance system for optimal service and
quality to our clients.

Meteo Consult B.V.

Marine Department
P.O. Box 617
6700 AP WAGENINGEN
The Netherlands

E-mail: support@[Link]
Website: [Link]

Telephone: +31 317 399800

Fax: +31 317 424753

© SPOS is a trademark of Meteo Consult B.V.

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CONTENT page

1. INTRODUCTION 4
1.1 SPOS summary 4
1.2 installation & specifications 6
1.3 getting started 7
1.4 support 8
1.5 disclaimer 9
2. SPOS OVERVIEW (quick guide) 10
2.1 communication 12
2.2 weather information 12
2.3 voyage planning 13
3. SPOS IN DETAIL (complete guide) 22
3.1 weather 23
3.2 input 41
3.3 route 60
3.4 voyage 70
3.5 chart, menu & help 82
4. HOW TO .... 96
4.1 set up SPOS for your vessel 97
4.2 set up the communication via e-mail 98
4.3 configure SPOS for Fleet Management 100
4.4 set up a GPS link with SPOS 101
4.5 create / update a voyage plan 102
4.6 import and export route templates 103
4.7 use and view GIS information 104
5. FLEET MANAGEMENT 105
6. SEAKEEPING (optional) 106
INDEX 107

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1.1 SPOS summary

With the introduction of SPOS, a new way of weather routing was
introduced: on board routing.
The SPOS software is a tool which assists the master and staff on
board in taking the right decisions with regard to voyage planning in
relation to weather conditions.

Meteo Consult as a meteorological office prepares a complete set

of accurate weather information for ocean regions and coastal
waters. This information includes wind and wave forecasts but also
tropical storm forecasts, ice limits, etcetera.
Via e-mail, the weather information is sent to many vessels and on
board, the staff can display the forecasts in their preferred
presentation format.

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The information is not only available for display, it can also be used
to calculate the effect of the weather on a particular vessel. In
SPOS, the master may enter information on how the vessel
responds to wind and waves. With this information and details on
the voyage such as departure and arrival position, SPOS calculates
various route options taking weather and vessel response into
account. Routes include standard tracks (great circle, rhumb line)
but also an optimum route and the user may set out his own route.

In order to evaluate the results of different routes, analysis tools are

present in SPOS such as comparison tables, graphs and charts.
When the user has made a choice for a route to follow, it can be
saved as the voyage plan.
With new weather forecasts coming in automatically each day, the
voyage plan may be updated and effects on ETA due to changing
weather conditions are monitored easily. At the end of the voyage,
SPOS provides a complete voyage log.

Advantages of on board routing are clear:

as the master is responsible for the vessel so he should be

directly involved in passage planning / weather routing

the best knowledge on operational restrictions for vessel and
cargo is with the crew on board (safety, damage)

costs for meteorologists on shore are reduced

reduced administration on board and in the office

Accurate, timely and complete weather information remains

important for both safety and economic performance on board.
With SPOS a simple and affordable tool is given to the staff to
assist in optimising the ship's performance.

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1.2 Installation & specifications

SPOS is a Windows program, installed from a CD via an
InstallShield wizard. The system requires a minimal screen
resolution of 1024x768 and about 450 Mb of free diskspace.
A Pentium 3 processor (or better) is recommended.

Two installation types are available:

MASTERS installation: straight forward, default installation

advised by Meteo Consult

CUSTOM installation: for system administrators only who

may separate program files (read only) from data files
(read/write access!) for remote maintenance purposes

For a SPOS installation, the following input items are required:

1. Registration key (xxx-xxxxxxxxxxxxxx-xxx)

2. Name of the licensed vessel
3. Name of shipping company

The installation is self explanatory and only takes a minute.

When the installation is completed, SPOS may be started via the

icon on the desktop or via the start menu.

Important notes:
When installing SPOS software, you should have administrator
rights to avoid problems. When the installation is completed, all
users can run SPOS.

Use the registration key for one (licensed) vessel only!

To avoid your weather subscription being changed by other people.

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1.3 Getting started

The best way to start with SPOS is to run the VIRTUAL MANUAL,
it is provided with the software CDROM.
In 10 minutes a video is presented explaining the main features and
goals of the SPOS system.
A quick overview of SPOS is given in chapter 2 of the manual.
Details on all the screens and buttons are available in chapter 3:
SPOS in detail. You can always press F1 for help.

A routing session in SPOS normally follows 4 steps ordered in the 4

consecutive SPOS screens which are selected via these buttons:

1. first update and display the WEATHER forecast;

2. enter voyage/ship details via the INPUT screen;
3. via the ROUTE screen, various tracks may be calculated
and the performance can be compared;
4. select the best route and save (or update) the VOYAGE plan
with the best route.

On each of the 4 screens, a control unit on the left side is given and
a presentation unit (the chart) on the right.
In the control unit, buttons, selectors and edit fields are available for
operating the system; most are self explanatory.
Simply click on the desired option and the result is displayed or the
required action is done.

It is recommended to start using the weather screen first and

expand to the other screens once you get acquainted with the
system.

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1.4 Support
Meteo Consult provides support during office hours to SPOS users
with a valid licence.

Questions about how to operate SPOS:

If you have a question on how to operate the system, please check

the HELP function (press F1) or the user manual first.
If this does not help, you may of course contact Meteo Consult by
sending a mail to support@[Link].

Technical problems with SPOS:

Although SPOS has been tested extensively to avoid technical

problems in the system, they may occur incidentally. The first thing
you can do yourself is to RESET SPOS: Click on Windows START
button and select (all)PROGRAMS - SPOS - SPOS RESET

SPOS will restart with factory settings. If this does not solve your
problem, then please contact us, if possible via menu option Help,
Report a problem.
Enter your question using the blue form provided. This way we also
have immediate information on your system status.

Submit this information with your remarks about the problem to

support@[Link].

Meteo Consult will respond asap, with a suggestion or solution. If

the problem is not clear, further questions will be asked to pinpoint
the problem.

If you cannot e-mail, check other contact details. (see page 2)

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1.5 Disclaimer
SPOS (Ship Performance Optimisation System) is operated on a
personal computer and will serve as a meteorological management
support tool for on board applications.
Its functions include global marine weather forecast display,
weather routing, interactive voyage planning and ship performance
prediction.

SPOS is a meteorological information system.

This means that meteorological forecast data are used within

SPOS. Meteo Consult B.V. makes every effort to provide you with
an optimal forecast. Since it is a forecast only, actual weather
conditions encountered may differ from the forecasts as presented
by SPOS.

SPOS is a global presentation and calculation system.

This means that the information presented is intended to give a

global overview of weather systems and route alternatives. The
charts used by SPOS are prepared for this purpose and should
never be used for navigational purposes.
Also the routes calculated by SPOS should be carefully checked for
navigational hazards and modified if necessary.

SPOS is a management support tool.

This means that the system itself does not optimise ship
performance, but it supports the ship's staff in their efforts to do this
optimisation by clearly presenting information (on weather, ship
performance) and giving route optimisation tools. The interpretation
of the information and a critical judgement of optimisation results by
the ship's staff remains necessary at all times.

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2. SPOS OVERVIEW (quick guide)

This chapter gives you a quick overview on how to operate SPOS.
For a complete guide with all options, please see chapter 3: SPOS
in detail.

When you start SPOS, you will see a chart where weather and
route data can be displayed. On the left, an operating interface is
placed with buttons and selectors. With the 4 large buttons on top,
you can select the different screens: Weather (default at start up),
Input, Route and Voyage.

For the day-to-day operation of SPOS, these onscreen buttons and

selectors are enough.

Some system settings of SPOS are made via the menu shown in
the top left hand corner of the screen. For the initial operation of
SPOS, these system settings are predefined so there is no direct
need to change them.

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The chart is the central presentation unit of SPOS. Above the chart,
a toolbar is given with options to zoom in, zoom out, switch the
projection between Mercator and Globe, etcetera.

Moving the chart is simply done by "dragging" the chart with the
mouse. If you have a wheel-mouse, the wheel is linked to zooming
in and out.

In the following three paragraphs, the main topics to get acquainted

with SPOS are briefly explained:

e-mail communication

weather information

voyage planning

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2.1 Communication
SPOS is not equipped with its own communication system, instead
it makes use of the e-mail system already available on board. This
makes it easier for the staff on board since they are already familiar
with this system and the regular e-mail is supported and maintained
by the office.
Secondly it saves money and time: no special dial-in for the
weather, it comes with your other mail, simply in your mailbox.

In most cases, SPOS can directly retrieve forecasts from your

mailbox and place messages in your outbox via a so called mapi
connection. But this can also be done manually by saving files on
the local hard disk (eg. My Documents folder).

With SPOS there are several types of communication: subscribing

to a weather forecast, receiving daily weather forecasts and
optionally sending reports (e.g. SPOS Fleet Management) to shore.

Especially subscribing to a weather forecast and receiving weather

updates are essential for SPOS. Therefore these topics are
described in more detail on the following pages.

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2.2 Weather information

The SPOS system has two sources of weather information, which
are necessary for on board routing.

a forecast database updated via e-mails from Meteo Consult

a climatological database

For route calculations, the forecasted data are used as long as the
simulated voyage is within the forecast range. Otherwise,
climatological data at the end of the forecast period are used.

The dedicated climatological database (similar to pilot charts)

contains average values per month for surface pressure, wind,
windwaves, swell and ocean currents. The area covered by the
climatological database is 75°N – 60°S and 180°W – 180°E with a
resolution of 2.5 degrees.

Forecast data is available twice daily and world-wide from 90°N to

90°S. The forecasts are split in standard areas, such as North
Atlantic and South Pacific for oceans (in 2.5 degree resolution) and
smaller areas such as South China Sea and Mediterranean for
coastal waters (in a higher 1.0 degree resolution) A high resolution
mode of 0.2 degrees is available for European area's.

Ocean forecasts are available for 5 and 9 days ahead, coastal

areas for 5 days ahead and high resolution area's for 3 days ahead.
One can choose between a standard forecast with
wind/waves/ocean currents and an extended forecast which also
includes weather, precipitation, temperatures, visibility, 500mb
charts and risk of icing. Further, you can select high resolution
current to receive 0.5 and1.0 degree resolution current with coastal
and ocean regions respectively.

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WEATHER INFORMATION (continued)

SPOS can use multiple forecast areas simultaneously, but only

when they were issued at the same time. If a forecast for a certain
area is 'older' than one for another area, SPOS will not use this
older forecast. Information on how to subscribe and update a
forecast is given on the next page.

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2.2.1: Subscribe to a weather forecast

Subscribing to a forecast is done in SPOS itself. Select the

WEATHER SUBSCRIPTION button in the weather screen.
A popup appears where you can select a region from the droplist
(the chartlet will show selected region) and an area from the white
list below the droplist.
Optionally select a forecast range (5 or 9 days), the forecast type
(standard or extended) and (optional) high resolution current. Then
press ADD TO SUBSCRIPTION and the forecast is listed in your
subscription box below. You may add/remove areas and then
select the update frequency (once/twice daily).
Finally press SUBMIT to create the subscription for Meteo Consult.

The first time you use SPOS, the system will ask to set up your
communication to MAPI or FILE. Simply follow instructions on the
screen or check chapter 4.2: how to set up the communication via
e-mail for more information.

Once the subscription message is created, it can be sent to Meteo

Consult via email: subscription@[Link].
Meteo Consult will send you a confirmation e-mail with your new
subscription setting and starts sending your forecasts each day.

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2.2.2: Update a weather forecast

Each day at 00 and/or 12 UTC, Meteo Consult will send the

requested weather forecasts to your mailbox. The e-mails will have
a subject starting with "spos_" and contain an attachment with a
forecast file, e.g. "spos_11.sps". This file is read by the SPOS
program.

Updating the forecast is done in SPOS via the UPDATE WEATHER

FORECAST button.

Depending on your
communication setting (mapi), a
CHECK MAILBOX button may
be available. Press this to check
you inbox for new SPOS
forecasts. When new forecasts
are found, it is shown in the left
white box. The files are
automatically saved in your My
Documents folder.
Now press UPDATE and your
new forecast is available for display.

When the check mailbox button is not available, you should first go
to your e-mail program and manually save the attached forecast
files (e.g. spos_11.sps) to your My Documents folder. Then go back
to SPOS and use the UPDATE button directly.

For more detailed information on requesting and receiving

forecasts, read Chapter 3.1: SPOS in detail / weather.

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2.2.3: Display a weather forecast

The available weather elements are

shown in the standard (and extended)
tab in the weather screen. There are 3
display types: area, line and grid/arrows.
Tick the square boxes to display an
element. E.g. pressure lines, wind grid
(arrows) and wave areas can be
combined into a single presentation.

The forecast time is shown in the time

section, in the "valid for" droplist. With
the green animation buttons, you can
scroll through the forecast times.

If you have 2 forecast areas with

different resolutions, e.g. North
Atlantic/2.5° and Caribbean/1°, then the
North Atlantic data are shown when the chart is zoomed out. When
you zoom in on the Caribbean, the high resolution data will be
shown automatically. With the RESOLUTION droplist, you can
choose to display only one resolution. Please note that the
resolution of ocean currents may be higher than the resolution
displayed.

Ice lines (light blue) are plotted in the chart indicating limits of ice
free waters. Hurricane data is available in the chart but also via the
HURRICANE button.
NOTE: It is advised to check tropical storm bulletins via other
sources (e.g. radio or facsimile) as well.

2.2.4: Print a weather chart

Weather maps may be printed via the PRINT WEATHER MAPS

button. In Chapter 3.1.6, more detailed info on this option is given.

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2.3 Voyage planning

The advantage of onboard weather data is that it can be used
directly for voyage planning.
SPOS has 3 screens to do this: INPUT of ship and waypoint data,
ROUTE calculation and evaluation, and saving & updating your
VOYAGE plan.

2.3.1: Input of ship and voyage data

In the INPUT Screen, you can define the

(estimated) departure time at first
waypoint and create a route or select
one from the route library.
Press NEW to create a new route and
click the waypoints points on the chart.
The waypoint list appears below the
chart where waypoints can be edited.

Set a value for time between

(calculated) waypoints e.g. 6 or 12
hours. This interval also determines the
weather output along the route.

SPOS calculates a speed reduction due

to wind and waves via the speed in calm
seas which you can enter and a so
called speed curve.
Initially you may use the default speed
curve as provided by Meteo Consult, but
you can improve results by defining a
speedcurve that matches your vessel
performance.
You can also enter the estimated daily
fuel consumption.

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2.3.2: Route calculation

When the input is completed, proceed to

the ROUTE screen to calculate one or
more route options.

Press GREATCIRCLE or RHUMBLINE

to calculate the standard routes.
You can also press the OPTIMUM
button and let SPOS calculate the best
(fastest) route for you. Optimum routing
is especially useful for ocean crossings.

It is also possible to create COMPOSITE

routes.

2.3.3: Performance evaluation

When you have calculated one or more routes,

you can compare calculation results in the the information panel
below the chart.

Here you can view a summary of all calculated routes for a quick
evaluation of speed, distance, ETA and weather.
The GRAPHS tab gives a graphical display of elements along the
route such as speed and wave height.
In the WEATHER screen you can scroll the routes through time.
Using the SHIPS WX button you can view the weather impact on
your [Link] effect of parameters such as wind, waves and
current are shown in a polar diagram.

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IMPORTANT NOTE: the routes calculated with SPOS give a

general indication of tracks to sail. They have NOT been checked
for navigational hazards. It remains the responsibility of the
operator and staff on board to check (and when necessary modify)
routes in approved charts before sailing.

2.3.4: Save/update Voyage plan

When the calculated route options have been analysed with the
performance tools, a track can be selected as the voyage plan to
sail. This is done in the VOYAGE screen.

When no voyage is active, only the

CREATE VOYAGE PLAN option is
available. Click on this button and follow
the wizard instructions to create your
voyageplan. It will be plotted in the chart
in red.

The voyage plan is initialised once and

may be updated each day with new
weather information and actual position
information.
This is simply done by entering the
(noon)position via a position update and
recalculating/updating the current
voyage.

It is also possible to fully update the

remaining voyage track with a new route
alternative, for example when the
weather forecast changed drastically or
when new sailing orders have been
received.

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As soon as a voyage plan is created, the information panel below

the chart will display voyage data. With the ´send report´ option it is
possible to send or resend reports to third parties (e.g. SPOS Fleet
Management report).

Once the destination is reached, the voyage plan is completed and

stored on disk for future reference.

For a full explanation of Input, Route and Voyage screens, please

read chapters 3.2, 3.3, 3.4 and 3.5.

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3. SPOS IN DETAIL (complete guide)

The SPOS software is designed in such a way that all essential
options are available or selectable via clearly-marked buttons on
the screen. Only rarely used options are available via the menu.

Four screens are selectable via large buttons at the top of the
screen, representing consecutive stages in the routing process:

1. update, display, analyse weather

2. enter ship & voyage specific data

3. calculate various route options

and analyse results

4. create & update voyage plan

The grouping of functions per screen make SPOS easier to operate

as the options per screen are limited. Unique in the SPOS interface
is the "what you see (read) is what you get" approach with clear
buttons instead of vague pictograms or complex menu's.

In this reference section all items per screen are discussed from top
to bottom. The paragraphs per screen start with a picture of the
screen and a numbered listing of all available options.

In SPOS, you can always press F1, to access the on line Help
facility. Then simply click on the option you need help for.

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3.1 Weather - screen

The weather screen from top to bottom has the following elements:

1. Weather subscription

2. Update weather forecast

3. Display a forecast

4. Display options

3. Forecast time

3. Forecast resolution

5. GPS - Hurricane - Ship Wx

5. Bull. - Port Wx - Spot Wx

6. Print maps

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3.1.1: Weather subscription

Select this button for

creating and sending a
weather subscription
message to Meteo Consult.

4
5

1. select regional set (e.g. Asia coastal) via top droplist

2. select forecast area from list (area is shown in map)
3. optionally select forecast range (5/9 days), extended
weather elements and high resolution ocean current.
- standard = pressure, wind, waves, current
- extended = standard + 500mb charts, temperatures,
weather, precipitation, visibility and icing
- high resolution current: 0,5 degr. for coastal area's
: 1 degr. for ocean regions
4. press ADD TO SUBSCRIPTION
you can repeat step 1-4 if more areas are required, but
check Estimated Size per update
5. Select an update frequency (daily, twice daily, once)
6. Press the SUBMIT button for sending the subscription
information to Meteo Consult

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The first time when SUBMIT is pressed, the method of

communication is defined once: via MAPI or via FILE.
This procedure is described in detail in chapter 4.2: how to set up
the communication via e-mail.

When MAPI is working, SPOS will create an e-mail when SUBMIT

is pressed. This mail will be placed in your outbox and is sent to
Meteo Consult when you make a satcom connexion.
When FILE is selected, SPOS creates the file "[Link]" in
your My Documents folder. You should send this file via email to
subscription@[Link].

If the MAPI function does not work properly with your e-mail
software, then you may prefer to use the COPY TO CLIPBOARD
button instead of the submit button. The subscription information is
then “copied” in the Windows clipboard and can be “pasted” in the
body of an e-mail message to subscription@[Link].

When Meteo Consult receives Example subscription message:

your subscription message, it is
*SPOS*SUBSCRIPTION*INFORMATION*
processed and saved. You will ID=123-4567-89A
receive a confirmation message VER=[Link]
via e-mail with the new MV=Atlantic Carrier
UPD=TwiceD@00/12
subscription settings (no AREA=34,5,A,Asian East coast
confirmation for Globe Wireless AREA=33,5,E,South China Sea
users because of costs).

CANCEL A SUBSCRIPTION:

If you want to cancel your subscription, select all your subscribed

areas and press REMOVE FROM SUBSCRIPTION.
When all areas are removed, the update frequency is no longer
selectable. Now press SUBMIT to send your cancellation message.

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3.1.2: Update weather forecast

When a subscription is active, Meteo Consult starts sending e-mails

with attached weather forecast files to your pre-registered e-mail
address. SPOS forecast files are names SPOS_xx.S
When SPOS is started
and new weather info is
available, then the first
thing to do is to update
the weather.
When selecting this button, SPOS will report whether a new
forecast is available in the update folder of your computer. By
default, the update folder is your My Documents folder but this can
be changed under File - System Settings.

If your mail program supports

"mapi", you should first press
the CHECK MAIL button. The
new forecasts will be extracted
automatically from the mailbox
to the update folder.
If mapi is not supported, this
button is not available and you
should copy the forecasts
manually from your e-mail
program to the SPOS update
folder (e.g. via a "save attachment" command).
Note: do not "open" the forecast files; SPOS reads them directly.

When updates are found, the forecast time and area(s) are
displayed in the right-hand white list. The left-hand list shows the
forecasts currently available in SPOS.
Now press the UPDATE button to start the actual update process.

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The new forecast will be made available, based on the forecast

data in the Meteo Consult weather files.
When the update is completed, the data is available for display.

In incidental cases, it can happen that a forecast file is corrupted

during satellite communication.
This can result in so called UNZIP errors in SPOS. You can force a
-resend- by sending your subscription message again. Meteo
Consult will send your forecast when a subscription message is
received. This -resend- method can also be used, should you not
receive an update.

Example of SPOS forecast files saved in My Documents folder,

displayed via Windows Explorer

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3.1.3: Display a weather forecast

Displaying a weather forecast is

quite simple. Select a checkbox
for a weather element and a
display type (area, line or
grid/arrow) and the information
is shown on the chart. How to
modify the chart is described in
chapter 3.6: chart operations.

You can select three displaying

methods: area, line and
grid/arrows at the same time.
Each method can contain one
element
EG: if the pressure lines are displayed and you select wave lines,
then the pressure lines are removed automatically since onl All
weather is removed from the map by deselecting the selected
checkbox(es) or clicking on the CLEAR button.

The Standard forecast includes: surface Pressure in hpa/millibars,

Wind in knots, (total) Waves which is the combined height of wind
waves and swell in metres. The total waves are split in wind waves
and swell, each with height, period and direction. The standard set
also includes an ocean current forecast in knots.

The standard SPOS forecast contains actual ice information with

light blue lines on the chart indicating the ice free water limits.

When you have an Extended forecast (which includes all standard

elements), you can click on the Extended tab above the
checkboxes. Now you can also select the extended weather
elements such as 500mb charts, weather, precipitation, air/sea
temperatures, visibility and risk of icing.

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The display of standard and extended elements may be combined.

When you subscribed to a Standard forecast, then the checkboxes
of extended elements are disabled.

The following extended elements are available:

500mb height in meters

weather:

fog, drizzle, rain, freezing rain, snow, rain shower, snow shower, hail, thunder

risk of precipitation (in %, not the amount!)

air temperature in degrees Celsius

water temperature in degrees Celsius

visibility in 5 classes (shades of grey):
good (5+nm), mod/gd (3-5), moderate (1-3), mod/pr (0.5-1), poor (<0.5miles)

risk of icing in 5 classes (shades of ice blue)
none, light, moderate, severe and very severe

Fronts

SPOS includes automatic fronts

for the first 48 hours of the
forecast. These fronts are not
manually drawn by
meteorologists, but calculated
automatically. The coldfronts
are plotted in blue with triangles
indicating the direction of the
front, warmfronts in red with
semi-circles and occluded fronts
in purple with both triangles and
semi-circles. The shape of automatic fronts may be less smooth
than manually drawn fronts, but in reality fronts are not smooth
either. Since this is an experimental product, we expect that
improvements in quality (especially time consistency) will be made
in the future.

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Forecast time

Below the checkboxes, the source of data and the time can be
selected. The source of data is either forecast or climatic averages.
Each source is valid for different time steps. E.g. a forecast for +0,
+12, +24, ..+120 hours ahead or climatic data for Jan..Dec.
You can select the time step either by pulling down the list (click on
time field) and selecting the desired time. Please note that all
forecast times are in UTC. Another option is to use the multimedia
buttons.
Buttons for the first, previous, next and last time step are green, the
blue button is for starting the animation and the black square for
stopping the animation. The speed of the animation is set by the
fast—slow slider. The animation is continued even if you change
the weather elements (via the checkboxes).

The forecast is originally delivered in 12-hourly time steps for

oceans and 6-hourly for coastal waters, but may be changed for
display via the INTERVAL droplist. E.g. display weather at 2 hourly
intervals. Of course intermediate time steps will be calculated via
interpolations, it does not make the forecast more accurate.

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Weather forecast resolution

The SPOS forecast for oceans is delivered on a 2.5° grid. The

coastal areas have a higher resolution: 1.0°. If you have subscribed
for high resolution current, the resolution of the current data will be
higher than the weather data: 1 degree for ocean regions and 0.5
degrees for coastal areas.

When you have either ocean forecasts or coastal forecasts, SPOS

will automatically choose the correct resolution. When you have
both ocean and coastal forecasts, SPOS by default will set the
RESOLUTION droplist to AUTO: this means that when zoomed out,
the low resolution ocean data are displayed and when zoomed in,
the higher resolution coastal weather is shown. So you will have the
overview when you zoom out and more detail when you zoom in.
Note: this applies only when you zoom in on the area where you
have coastal data (i.a.w. your subscription).

You can choose to select a fixed resolution

(e.g. 2.5°) with the resolution drop list.

2.5 degree resolution forecast 1.0 degree resolution forecast

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Current forecast resolution

The current resolution within the SPOS forecast files depends on

whether you have selected low or high current resolution within the
weather subscription dialogue (step 4 in para 3.1.1) .

When you have selected low current resolution, the resolution of

the current data displayed has the same resolution as the weather
data.

When you have subscribed for high resolution current, the

resolution of the current data will be higher than the weather data: 1
degree for ocean regions and 0.5 degrees for coastal areas.

The resolution droplist does show or effect the resolution of the

meteorological data in your SPOS system. It does not show the
resolution of the current.

1.0 degree current resolution 0.5 degree current resolution

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3.1.4: Options button for weather display

Next to the checkboxes, you will find the Options

button for changing the weather display. When
selecting this button, a window will pop-up with five
tabs: Range, Ext Range, Colours, Label and Arrowsize. Changes
are set via the OK button, you can preview the changes with the
APPLY button.

Range:

For each weather element, you can

select a FROM value and a STEP size
for displaying the data. E.g. show the
waves higher than 3.0 metres (from) and
with an interval of 0.5 metres (step).
When selecting the checkbox APPLY
RANGES TO ARROWS, also arrows
with a value lower than the FROM value
(e.g. 3.0m waves) are not displayed.

Ext Range:

For some elements in the extended

forecast set, you can also select a
FROM value and a STEP size. E.g.
show risk of precipitation from 20% with
an interval of 5%.

For other elements this choice is not

relevant, such as a weather, visibility
and risk of icing as they have a limited
number of levels

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Colours:

First select a weather element and then

you can select one or more display
options (area, isolines and arrows). Now
press the change button and select a
new colour from the standard Windows
colour selector. When a colour is
selected, you can press the OK or
APPLY button for setting the new colour.

Label:

The labeling of lines, areas and arrows

can be set here at all lines of equal
value. For wind vanes, a separate option
is given since the wind speed is
presented in the number of barbs as
well.

A full wind barb is 10 knots, half a

barb is 5 knots and a filled triangle
is 50 knots.
For example: South 35 knots

Arrowsize:

Via a slider, the arrow sizes may be

scaled; the actual size is shown in the
middle and on the map (when selected).

All five options (range, ext-range, colour,

label and arrowsize) have a separate
RESTORE button, so you can restore
the default SPOS settings.

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3.1.5: Various other buttons

In this section, 6 small buttons that are present on the weather

screen are discussed:
GPS track, Hurricane, Ship Wx, Spot Wx, Port Wx and Bulletin.

GPS track

With the GPS toggle button, you

can set SPOS in GPS tracking
mode, which means that the
chart will center on the ships
GPS position and updates
regularly to stay centered.
The weather forecast will be
displayed for the GPS time
(now), so the weather on the
screen represents actual conditions.
You can still zoom in/out and select different weather elements on
the chart.
A blue bar at the bottom of the chart will clearly indicate that SPOS
is in GPS tracking mode.

Of course a valid GPS should be present on the SPOS PC,

otherwise this function cannot be used. The first time, you will be
asked to configure SPOS for receiving the GPS signal. How to
configure SPOS is described in chapter 3.6.4: GPS settings and
chapter 4.3: How to set up a GPS link with SPOS.
When a valid GPS signal is received, a ship symbol is always
plotted on the chart and the position coordinates, heading and
speed are displayed below the chart.

The GPS tracking is cancelled by clicking on GPS track button

again or when you change to another screen (e.g. input).

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Hurricane

The hurricanes or tropical storms are displayed on the

chart (zoom in for details), but it is also possible to
display detailed information about the track, movement and
windspeed. When pressing the hurricane button, the following table
is displayed:

The historical track of

the hurricane is given in
green, the forecasted
track in blue. Please
note that hurricane
forecasts are often less
reliable than regular
weather forecasts.

Via the droplist at the

bottom, other
hurricanes (when
present) may be
selected. Via the print
option a hardcopy of
the table is made.

Ship Wx

The Ship Wx button is only enabled when a voyage is

active or when a route has been calculated. With this
toggle button, you can display or remove the ship weather window
on the screen. This window The wind, sea, swell and ocean current
arrows indicate where the "weather comes from", relative to the
vessel. The height of the wave groups and the current speed are
plotted at the bottom of the impact display.

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When you step through

the forecast periods,
the weather data in the
impact window are also
updated. The position
indicator on the voyage
(circles) indicate where
the vessel is at the time
of the weather chart.

Multiple impact
windows (one for each
route) can be
displayed. The
windows can be
resized by dragging the
top side of the
information panel.

Spot Wx

With the SPOT WX toggle button, you

can display all weather elements at the
mouse position. Move the mouse over
the chart and you will see the spot
weather forecast in a window in a corner
of the chart.
The displayed data are valid for the
same time as set for regular weather
display.
The fontsize can be changed with the
font selector above the chart.

The spot condition display is cancelled by clicking on the SPOT WX

button again or when you change to another screen.

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Port Wx

When Extended weather is available, then you may

create a port weather forecast in SPOS.
Click on the Port Wx button and a window appears where you can
enter portname and position. You may also select a port/position
from the PORTLIST or the GPS (when a signal is available).
When a position is selected, the chart is centered on that position.
You may also move the chart to modify the position. You can zoom
in on the chart with the wheelmouse and/or the A and Z keys.

When a position is entered, the port

forecast table is updated automatically.
Next to a weather table, also a nautical
table (at open sea) is given.

You can print the forecast on a single A4

sheet with the PRINT button.

Bulletin

In some cases, Meteo Consult may decide to add a text bulletin to

the forecast.
This may be used to inform you about deviations in the forecast or
for any other reason believed to be relevant for SPOS or your
operation.
On most days however a bulletin will not be present.

If a bulletin is present in a
forecast, it will be shown
automatically when the weather
forecast is updated, but it is also
available via the bulletin button.
Bulletins may be present for
different ocean areas; selectable via tabs at the top of the window.

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3.1.6: Print weather maps

It is possible to print charts with weather and route information

automatically via the print weather map button.
This may be convenient when SPOS is not located on the bridge.

When selecting this button, a window will appear with a preview of

the chart, initially being equal to the regular chart. It can be
modified with mouse or keyboard.

NORMAL OPERATION:
1. Select which maps you want to print (map 1 to map 6).
2. Press the print button for printing these maps.

FIRST USE (initialisation):

When you use this function the first time, you can define how your
printed weather maps should look like. This is quite easy in SPOS.
For each map (1 to 6), there is a tab selectable (at the top of the
window) where you can do this.

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When selecting a tab (map 1 - map 6), the definition window for the
selected map is shown:

Here you should define which weather elements are to be

displayed and the forecast period (e.g. +24 hours ahead). On the
preview, you can see the result.
Define all maps you want to use. When maps have been defined
once, they can be used each time again because settings are
saved.

With the Print Setup button, you can select a printer and set printer
properties such as orientation (portrait/landscape), etcetera.

Example for printing of new set of maps:

Define map 1: pressure line, wind arrow and wave area, + 24 hours
Define map 2: pressure line, wind arrow and wave area, + 48 hours
Define map 3: pressure line, wind arrow and wave area, + 72 hours
Define map 4: swell area, swell arrow for + 24 hours ahead
Select "print menu" tab, select map 1 to 4 and press print button.

Example for printing the existing set of maps:

Select "print weather maps" button and press print button.

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3.2 Input - screen

The input screen from top to bottom has the following elements:

1. Time at first waypoint

2. Route templates

New

3. Time, speed & fuel

4. Speed curve

5. Weather limits

6. Restrictions

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3.2.2: Time at first waypoint

Here the operator can enter the departure time for the new route
calculation. This can be either at the departure position when
starting a voyage or at the actual position when on route. The time
is always connected to the first position (departure) of a route (see
below).

The date is edited by clicking on the date or via a calender function.

The time is edited by clicking on hour or minute and entering the
new value via keyboard or with the small arrow buttons.
With the NOW button, the actual time of the PC is set as the
departure time. Note that all times in SPOS are in UTC !

3.2.3: Route definitions

In SPOS, route templates can be made, consisting of a list of fixed

waypoints. The route definitions are saved and can be modified at
all times.

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NEW button:

Use the NEW button to create a new route template.

You can then enter the name of a new route and select to define
the waypoints on the chart (with the mouse), to make a copy of the
last selected route template or to import a route from file.

When you draw (click) the waypoints on the chart, start with the
departure position and finish with a double mouse click on the
destination position.
The new route waypoints are displayed in the edit window below
the chart and can be modified later.

A route template is renamed with the RENAME button and

removed with the DELETE button.

In the chart, the fixed waypoints of the selected route template are
numbered and connected with a grey dash-line, so you can easily
recognize the order of the waypoints.

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MANUALLY ADD WAYPOINTS IN A LIST:

Within the new route dialogue, choose for the option

'manually add waypoints in a list'. The following dialogue will
appear:

In this dialogue you can easily enter a number of waypoints. The

principle is simple. When you manually add waypoints in a list, you
do not need to put in spaces or other characters. Simply put in
ciphers only. (degrees, minutes and seconds). SPOS will
automatically convert them into proper formats (eg. When you type
in 784521, SPOS will convert it into 78° 45’ 21” and 07845 will be
converted into 078° 45’. Type 33 and it will be converted into 33°

A selected waypoint (marked by the blue line) can be removed with

the DELETE button. When a waypoint in the list is selected and
anothor wayoint is created, in will be inserted above the selected
waypoint.

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IMPORT ROUTE:

SPOS supports the import of routes from some ECDIS systems.

(please check with your ECDIS provider) Besides the import of
ECDIS routes, SPOS can import a simple text file with waypoints.

When you selected a NEW route, choose the import option and
click the BROWSE button. When e.g. NaviSailor is installed on the
same PC/console, SPOS will automatically select the folder where
the ECDIS routes are stored. Select a file type (e.g. RT3 format), a
route file and press OPEN

The route information is loaded into the SPOS system and

available for use.

Please note that when a SPOS voyage is created or updated, an

ECDIS (e.g. NaviSailor) route is created by SPOS. You can LOAD
this route called "# SPOS #" directly in your ECDIS. It should be
checked carefully for navigation constraints!

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Within the simple text format every line represents a

waypoint. In each line there should be three colums
(lattutude/ longitude/ remarks), separated by a slash
symbol (/). The coordinates can be put in in degrees,
minutes, hundreds of minutes or in degrees, minutes,
seconds. You can import a text file by selecting ‘all
files’ in the file type droplist. This format allows degrees, minutes
and seconds:

but it also allows degrees, minutes, tenth or hundreds of minutes:

After importing the route information is loaded into the route

template screen of the SPOS system and available for use.

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Information panel (Waypoint edit window) :

In the WPedit window, you can select and modify a waypoint, with
the buttons on the right (edit, portlist, etc) or directly with the mouse
in the chart.

In the WPedit listbox, for each numbered waypoint, the name,

latitude, longitude and track type are given.
The track type (great circle, rhumb line, optimum, canal passage) is
used for composite routes only and the use of track types is
explained there (chapter 3.3).

You can select a waypoint by clicking on it in the WPedit window or

directly on the waypoint in the chart. In the chart, the selected
waypoint is indicated with a square.
With the mouse, you can move a waypoint in the chart by pressing
the CTRL-key down while clicking in the chart on the desired
position. In the same way, you can insert a waypoint when pressing
the SHIFT-key, while clicking in the chart on the desired position of
the new waypoint.

A waypoint can be modified also via the buttons on the right side of
the WPedit window. This is further explained on the following
pages.

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EDIT button:

Edit the selected position from the position

list. Latitude and longitude may be entered
numerically or modified with arrow keys or
mousewheel. If a position is not valid, then
this is reported.
Optionally, you can give the waypoint a
name and set the track type which is used
for composite routes only. You can also put
in a delay at the waypoint or a deviating
speed for the track preceding.

INSERT WAYPOINT button:

You may add waypoints to your waypoint list with the insert button
or by holding the SHIFT key down while clicking on the desired
position in the chart.
E.g. when you sail from Hamburg to New York and want to sail via
the English Channel, you can add a fixed waypoint at Land’s End.

A waypoint is always inserted BEFORE the selected waypoint. It is

therefore not possible to insert a waypoint before the departure
position. Upon insertion, the new fixed waypoint is geographically
placed between the two surrounding waypoints from the list. On the
chart, the waypoint is indicated with a blue flag.

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It is noted that in order to use the optimum route calculation best,

one should try to keep the number of fixed waypoints to a minimum.
Each inserted (fixed) waypoint reduces the possibility of calculating
a true optimum.

DELETE WAYPOINT button:

Fixed waypoints are deleted by selecting them from the list and
clicking on the delete waypoint button. The departure and
destination position (first and last from position list) cannot be
deleted.

MOVE WAYPOINTS ON THE CHARTS

You can move waypoints with your mouse to a specific location on

the chart. This works as follows. Select a waypoint in the WPedit
screen or in the chart. Move the selected waypoint by holding the
CTRL-key down while clicking on the new position in the chart.

CANALS / PASSAGES button:

By default the route suggestion functionality suggests the shortest

route using open waters to sail on. By pre-selecting canals (like
Suez canal) the suggestion will take passages through those
channels into account and when appropriate suggest a route
template using the selected channel.

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ROUTE SUGGESTION

SPOS is able to suggest intermediate waypoints within a route

template. The suggested waypoints are selected from a database
based on the shortest path algorytm in SPOS. Hence the
intermediate waypoints can be showed on the chart by clicking the
‘Route suggestion’ button on the right side of the WP edit screen.
The suggested waypoints will be marked with a grey flag and can
be edited like other waypoints.

SPEED / DELAY

The program allows to put in a different speed for each track in a

route template. The default speed is the Speed in calm water seas.
The program also allows to plan a delay at each waypoint. You can
change the speed and delay for each track/waypoint by double
clicking on a waypoint in the chart or in the waypoint list. You can
also click on the EDIT button.

PORT LIST button:

The port list is a convenient tool to store and recall frequently used
positions. These can be ports, but also passages, anchor points or
any other location.

Before you press this button, select the waypoint you want to
change from the waypoint list. Press the port list button and a pop-
up window will appear.

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In order to select a position from the port

list, either type the name in the upper
editbox or select the position with the
mouse from the list. Press the SELECT
button and the position is entered in the
position list.

A default port list with major ports and

important positions is provided with SPOS,
but this list may be modified to your needs.
You can enter new positions with the ADD
button, edit positions from the port list with the EDIT button or
remove positions from the list with the DELETE button. In this way,
a dedicated list of often used positions and ports is kept.
All positions from the port list may be displayed on the map
via the red flag button on the map toolbar.

REVERSE ROUTE button:

The order of waypoints in the WPedit list may be reversed with this
button. Departure and destination, but also intermediate waypoints
are placed in a reverse order. In the chart, you will see that the
colors of the position flags are changed accordingly (departure
green, destination red).

This option may be useful when making a return trip.

By clicking this button a second time, the route is reversed back to
the original order.

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VERTEX COMPOSITE

The button Vertex composite enables you to toggle between a

traditional vertex composite track and an optimal vertex
composite track.

The traditional vertex composite will calculate a great circle to the

destination, switching to rumb line course when reaching the
vertex, and back to great circle when reaching the next intersection.

SPOS has developed a new algorithm which will suggests an

optimal vertex composite where the intersections of great circle and
rumb line are optimized, making the total distance sailed shorter.
This will result in a shorter sailing time and thus in an earlier ETA
and less fuel consumption.

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3.2.4: Time, speed and fuel

When SPOS calculates a route (see route screen), this is done with
fixed time intervals ("Time between waypoints") in order to
determine the weather and speed of the vessel on each section.
In the output of the route, calculated waypoints are placed between
the fixed waypoints such as given in the route template.
You may select a value between 1 and 24 hours, most common
values are 4, 6, 12 or 24 hour intervals. For optimum route
calculations, a short interval is better for navigating through small
passages (e.g. English Channel, Malacca Straight) but it requires
more calculation time.

SPOS uses a simple but effective speed calculation model. This

model is based on a speed in calm seas and a reduction factor
due to wind and waves. The reduction factors are defined in
speedcurves.
The speed in calm seas (no significant wind, waves or current) is
set here. Of course this value may vary per vessel depending on
loading conditions, trim, hull fouling and engine settings.
You may enter a value between 1 and 50 knots.

The average fuel consumption per day is entered in order to

estimate total consumption per route.

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3.2.5: Select & define speed curves

The speed curves are defining the reduction of a specific vessel

due to wind and waves.
The speed in calm seas is used as a 100% speed and for different
wind and wave conditions, a reduction percentage is applied.

SPOS comes with a default speed curve, which is a very general

reduction curve. It is important to DEFINE a curve for your ship and
possibly for different ship conditions (e.g. laden, ballast, with deck
cargo, sensitive cargo). Each time you calculate a route, you can
select the appropriate speed curve from the droplist.

When pressing the DEFINE button, a window appears:

On the left side, a listbox with the available speed curves is given.
Initially this will only contain the “default speed curve”.

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You may add a speed curve with the NEW or COPY button. A new
speedcurve has all values set to 100%, a copied speedcurve is a
copy of the previously selected speed curve. Immediately rename
the new speed curve so you can easily identify it later.
You can always DELETE or RENAME speed curves except for the
default speed curve.

When you select a speed curve in the list (left), the curve values
are displayed on the right in two square sections:

Speed reduction due to wind

Speed reduction due to waves (applied to windsea and swell)

In each section, combinations

of direction and speed/height
are given. You can enter a
reduced speed from 0% to
150% (in most cases the
speed will not exceed 100%).
Save the changes with the
SAVE button.

Example1: assume a speed in

calm seas of 20 knots. Waves
of 6 metre height coming from
the bow (=000° from bow) may
result in 85% of the speed in calm seas being 17 knots.

Example2: assume a speed in calm seas of 20 knots. A wind speed

of 40 knots coming from portside (e.g. 045° from bow) may result in
90% of the speed in calm seas being 18 knots.

The combination of example 1 and 2 is 85% * 90% is about 76% of

the speed in calm seas (15.3 knots).

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Since the speed model is relatively simple, it can be maintained

and fine-tuned on board.
For better understanding and fine-tuning, the speed curve window
also has a TEST button.
When clicking on this button, the windows is extended with a test
window where you can enter wind/wave and ship conditions and
see the resulting speed based on the selected speed curve.

One can fine-tune the model by entering the actual weather

conditions and checking the resulting ship speed with the actual
speed of the ship. Now modify the percentages until the correct
speed is reached.

The test window is removed by clicking on the TEST button again.

The speed curve model window is closed by clicking on the CLOSE
button.

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3.2.6: Weather limits

You can set a number of weather limits for a route calculation.

Listed are the active weather limits.

You may choose to AVOID weather limits (optimum route will

search for alternative routes) or WARN only. In that case, the route
may exceed weather limits but you get a warning.

Press DEFINE to choose from the limits and set criteria. The
minimum distance to hurricanes is always active but the safe
distance may be varied. All other elements are optional.

E.g. set a limit for following

waves higher than 5m with
wave periods of 14-20 seconds
(avoid surfing) or avoid beam
waves higher than 3m with
periods between 8-14 sec (roll
with low center of gravity)`.

Press OK to confirm new

weather limits, the list box in the
input screen is updated.

Note that limits of visibility and

icing are only valid when extended weather is available.

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3.2.7: Restrictions

You may restrict certain areas from navigating. This is useful for
avoiding certain areas because of environmental constraints (e.g.
ice edges as provided by Meteo Consult) or a vertex maximum
lattitude. You may also draw restriction area's on the chart in
accordance with your personal preferences.

Press the NEW button for creating a restriction and enter a

name identifier in the popup window. Press Ok and the
mouse will change into a purple drawing symbol.
Draw the restriction by clicking on the map. While you draw, the
restriction line is displayed in purple. DOUBLE CLICK on the last
position you want to add and the restriction is completed.

In the list box, all available restrictions are shown. A restriction is

(de)activated by clicking on the square box before the name.

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Activated restrictions are displayed on the map and when

calculating routes, it is not possible to cross/enter those restricted
areas.

With the DELETE button, you can delete a selected restriction.

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3.3 Route - screen

The route screen from top to bottom has the following elements:

Selected route template

1. Great circle

2. Rhumb line

3. Optimum route

4. Composite track

5. Original track

6. All

7. Status information

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In the route screen, you can view and optionally select the active
route template as given in the INPUT screen.

3.3.1: Great circle route

With this button, the great circle route is calculated, based on the
input as defined in the input screen.
The route calculation goes from fixed waypoint to fixed waypoint in
sections of “Time between waypoints” hours.
For each section, the weather (forecast or climatic data) is
determined and with the speed in calm seas and the speed curve
model, the expected speed of the vessel is calculated.

The great circle route is plotted in light blue in the chart and status
information and some key parameters such as ETA are shown at
the bottom left corner of the route screen. Full route details are
available in the performance screen.

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3.3.2: Rhumb line route

When this button is pushed, the rhumb line or loxodrome route

(route with fixed course) is calculated.
This option works similar to the Great circle route option.

The rhumb line route is plotted in the chart in orange. A summary of

calculation results is given in the status information window.
If for some reason, the rhumb line cannot be calculated, the reason
is reported here as well: e.g. when the rhumb line crosses land or
when user defined weather limits are exceeded.

Detailed route calculation results are present in the information

panel.

On a calculated route, the filled circles (dots) indicate calculated

waypoints where forecasted weather has been used, open circles
indicate that climatic weather data has been used.

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3.3.3: Optimum route

An optimum route calculation is not bound by restrictions such as

the shortest distance or a fixed course. When started, the program
calculates routes with different initial courses for “ time between
waypoints” hours.

For each arrival position, again new sections are calculated with
different courses. On each section, the weather is determined,
weather limits are checked and the speed is calculated.

When reaching the destination, the fastest route of all (thousands of

calculated) routes is selected as the optimum.
The route is plotted and status information is displayed.

The blue dots indicate calculated

positions for each time. So called
"isochrones" are formed: lines of
equal arrivaltime. The dots are
removed when the chart is
redrawn.

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The optimum route button has a special option via the square arrow
button directly right to the optimum button. When clicking on this
arrow-button, a selection window for the type of optimum
calculation is displayed.

With the mouse you can select one of three accuracy options:

LOW: initial courses are 5 degrees apart

MEDIUM: initial courses are 3 degrees apart

HIGH: initial courses are 1 degree apart

All three accuracies can be selected with the extra option WIDE
which means that the number of initial courses are doubled and an
extra wide waiver of courses is created.

low accuracy high accuracy and wide

The wide option is especially useful in areas with land/sea

restrictions (e.g. from North Sea to America) or when a significant
detour between departure and destination has to be made (e.g.
around Australia).

When an option is selected, the route calculation starts. The

selected accuracy option becomes the default for the larger
optimum button and the new accuracy setting is written in the
optimum button.

The user may abort a route calculation at any time via the ABORT
button which appears when a calculation is started.

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3.3.4: Composite track

The composite track as the word already indicates is a composite

of great circle, rhumbline and/or optimum tracks. The previous
route calculation options, such as the great circle, calculate the
whole route as great circles. But it can be useful to calculate rhumb
line sections in coastal areas and a great circle or optimum track for
crossing an ocean.

The definition of the different sections (between fixed waypoints) is

done in the input screen. In that screen, the waypoint listbox below
the chart contains a track type for each waypoint. By default, it is
set to rhumb line, but you can change it via the listbox button or by
double clicking on the waypoint.

When the tracks in a route

template are defined in the input
screen, then the composite button
will calculate the route with these
track types. For example the first
sections of the route are calculated
as rhumb line, followed by an
optimum track over the Atlantic.

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3.3.5: Original track

The original route is available only when a voyage is active and the
<< voyage route >> is selected in the input screen.
The original route is identical to the voyage route and can be used
to update the voyage plan (e.g. when a new weather forecast is
present) without changing the waypoints of the original voyage.

The original route starts from the current position as set in the input
screen and will calculate a track to the closest or first valid waypoint
of the current voyage route, and then follow the voyage route to the
destination. Of course new conditions such as weather are taken
into account. Since the waypoints will be identical to the current
voyage plan, the time between the waypoints will vary because of
changes in the weather.

An advantage of the original route is that route waypoints remain

unchanged. So no new waypoints have to be entered and checked
in the navigation chart! Especially when there are no large
differences in the weather, the new optimum route will be similar to
the old voyage anyway. In that case a lot of work is avoided by
selecting the original route for your voyage update.

Secondly, the original route results are ideal to compare the effect
of the new weather forecast on your ETA. Simply compare the
voyage plan ETA with the new "original route" calculations.

When doing a voyage update in the voyage screen, the original

route is used to recalculate the voyage plan.

Note: The original route is only calculated for the original active
voyage plan track.

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3.3.6: Status information

The information window

on the route screen
gives a quick overview
of successfully
calculated routes.

A calculated route which

is selected from the list
is removed with the
DELETE button. When
more routes are
calculated, the selected
route may be marked
with the HIGHLIGHT
button. That route is
then plotted bold in the
chart.

If a route cannot be calculated, e.g. because the route crosses

land, then this is reported in the information window in red. When
exceedings of weather limits are to be avoided, then routes may not
be calculated successfully either and this is also reported in red.
The information panel below the chart shows the performance data
of the routes created. This screen is devided into several tabs:

- Comparison track
- Comparison Weather
- Route info
- Seakeeping (optional, for seakeeping users only)
- Graphs

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3.3.7: Route comparison

The comparison overview consists of two tabs with track results

and weather results. The track result table gives an overview of key
parameters of a route such as the sailed distance, average speed,
fuel and arrival times. The sailed time is given in days and hours.
The time difference (in hours) between a route and the fastest
calculated route is also displayed (in red between brackets). The
fastest route is always given on top.
The routes are labelled with the name of the route template (see
input screen) and the track type (e.g. great circle or composite
track).

In the Weather comparison tab, key elements give an indication of

encountered weather without getting into detail. Elements such as
the average and maximum wind speed and wave height, the time
along a route where the windspeed exceeds 34 knots (8 Beaufort)
and the period where wave heights exceed 4 or 8 metres are given
here.

The ocean current column indicates the average current effect on

the vessels speed in knots. When user defined weather limits are
exceeded on a route (when selected to be warned only), the
weather results are plotted with a red background.

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3.3.8: Weather impact & graphs

Within the weather screen you can scroll through time and
view the (future) weather on different routes. When pressing the
button SHIP WX the information panel will display a polar plot for
each route. This option allows you to a visualize on where the
weather comes from.

The vessel is located in the center of the panel and in different

colors, the weather elements (wind, sea, swell and current) for a
specific route section are displayed. The graphs offer the user the
opportunity to look at calculated results in detail. It gives a clear
picture per element for all calculated routes. The graphs can be
used to analyse why the speed on one route is higher/lower than on
other routes (e.g. because of high waves).

The route colour legend is consistant with the colours on the chart.
The vertical axis of the graphs are set automatically based on the
calculated results. The horizontal axis shows the date/time of the
routes.

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3.4 Voyage - screen

The voyage screen has the following elements:

1. Create voyage

2. Voyage update

3. Complete voyage

4. Undo/Redo Delete

5. Send report

6. Voyage archive

7. Voyage display

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3.4.1: Create voyage plan

When a valid route has been calculated and evaluated as the best
route to sail, then this route may be saved as your initial voyage
plan.

To create a voyage plan a create voyage wizard is started:

Step 1:
Select or type a voyage
description and select the
calculated route to sail.
Also enter draft forward and aft
of vessel on this voyage. Tons
of cargo and numbers of
TEU may be entered
additionally

Press NEXT button for step 2

Step 2:
Enter the type of bunkers you
want to log and the initial
[Link] to three fuel types
can be logged (leave empty if
not used).

Press NEXT button for step 3

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Step 3:
Enter the speed order for the
voyage and additional
comments.

The initial voyage plan is stored

on the hard disk and displayed
on the map with square symbols
as waypoints (instead of
circles). All other calculated
routes will be removed since
you selected a single route for your voyage plan. All other routes
have thus become irrelevant.

If the weather for the next days

is expected to be severe, SPOS
will suggest to print a heavy
weather checklist.

When SPOS is closed and

restarted again, the voyage will
be activated automatically and
plotted in the chart.

Voyage plan results such as

waypoint listings are available
via the voyage display section.

The voyage may be updated on a daily basis with new weather

information and updated position information.

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3.4.2: Voyage update (position update)

Depending on weather and/or voyage developments, the master

may simply update his current position and recalculate the voyage.
In order to make more thorough changes in the voyage plan the
master may change different input and route settings.

The voyage update is initiated

with the button Start Voyage
Update:

Step 1:
Enter your current position and
time. Press the OK button and
SPOS will recalculate the
voyage plan.

This recalculation is carried out

for all possible tracks
(rhumbline, great circle,
optimum, composite).
You can check the calculated
results in the information panel
and optionally edit settings in
the Input and/or Route screen.

Then you can proceed to Finish

voyage update.

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Step 2:
Select the route to sail for the
remainder of the voyage. Press
NEXT button for step 3.

Step 3:
Now enter observed weather on
the last sailed section. Initially
SPOS suggests the latest
forecast data, but you may
modify that to actual observed
[Link] information will be
stored in the voyage log. Press
NEXT button for step 4.

Step 4:
Here you can enter the
RPM/CPP settings on the sailed
section and specify the fuel
consumption. The remaining
bunker amounts at the current
position will be calculated.
Press NEXT button for step 5.

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Step 5:
Finish the wizard by entering
the speed order and comments
for the sailed section.

The sailed section will be coloured black in the chart, the remainder
will still be displayed in red. If the weather for the next 36 hours is
adverse, SPOS will automatically suggest to print a heavy weather
checklist.

As long as the SPOS program is not closed, it is possible to UNDO

any voyage update made during this session.

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3.4.4: Complete voyage plan

When the destination has been reached, the master may complete
the voyage and archive it via the Complete Voyage button.

The completion of a voyage plan is also done via wizard screens:

Step 1:
On the first screen, confirm (or
enter) the arrival position and
arrival time.

Step 2, 3 and Step 4 are

identical to the Voyage Update procedure for the logging of
weather, fuel consumption and comments described there. (see
para 3.5.3)

When finished, the voyage is then archived to disk. The voyage will
remain visible on the screen until the SPOS program is terminated.
This enables the user to view or print the completed voyage
waypoint list (=voyage log).

Completed voyages remain accessible via Archived Voyages within

the control panel. By selecting a complete voyage you can still view
the voyage details.

Only after an active voyage has been completed or deleted, a new

voyage can be created.

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3.4.5: Undo/Redo & Delete

When a voyage has been updated but the update was not correct
for any reason, the user can undo the latest update with the UNDO
button.
When an update was undone, it may be redone with the REDO
button.
These buttons are only enabled when there is something to undo or
redo.

A voyage that has been created but is not used for actual sailing,
may be removed from the system with the voyage delete button.

The system will ask for a confirmation before deleting the active
voyage.

Once a voyage has been deleted, it cannot be restored !

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3.4.6: Voyage information

In the information screen below the chart, there are three tabs
containing a waypoint list and data from your route updates

A complete waypoint list of the

voyage, including history
(printed green) and future plan
(light blue) is shown.
The lists includes a track table,
a weather table and a log table
with fuel consumptions and
remarks from the operator. Also
the input settings for the voyage
calculation are given.

The information panel can be resized using the mouse,or

maximised or minimized using the buttons (top right of the
panel).
The waypoint list may be printed with the print button (top right of
the screen).

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3.4.7: Send report

The voyage waypoints or the position report may be sent to your

office or any other parties involved, e.g. for SPOS Fleet
Management reporting. This report will be generated automatically
when you have selected to participate in Fleet Management in the
system settings. The SPOS Fleet Management report is a
formatted XML report that can be interpreted by the SPOS Fleet
Management version in the office. With the send report function,
you can send or resend a report (created via a voyage wizard).

When you press the Submit button, the selected report is send via
the same communication method as for example a weather
subscription. This method is selectable via menu option FILE -
System settings, tab communication. This has been described in
detail in chapter 4.2: how to set up the communication via e-mail

The methods available are:

- direct link to your e-mail program (via mapi)

- via a file on disk, in the SPOS communication folder

(default: My Documents)

- copy to clipboard, copies the generated text to your

(Windows) clipboard

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(Send reports continued..)

Sending reports via MAPI link to your e-mail program

When you have configured your system to use MAPI, your
reports will be sent via the MAPI link. You can send a
Position report or a Fleet Management report using the
submit button.
When you are participating in SPOS Fleet Management you
will only be able to send a SPOS Fleet Management Report.
SPOS will use by default the e-mail address entered in the
system settings.

Sending reports via file on disk

If MAPI is not available you can generate a Position report or
Fleet Management report via the Submit button. The report
will be saved as [Link] or
[Link] in the folder you specified in
the system settings (default: My Documents). Attach this file
to an e-mail to your office.

Copy to Clipboard
Alternatively you can choose to copy/paste the information
yourself into a blank e-mail by using the Copy to Clipboard
button.

IMPORTANT: the subject line of the e-mail has to contain

the words “SPOS Fleet Management report from” in order
for the Office module of Fleet Management to identify the e-
mail as an voyage update from your vessel.

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3.4.8: SPOS voyage archive

When a voyage is completed, it is archived and saved on disk. All

archived voyages can be viewed via the SPOS voyage archive
interface at the control panel.

When the voyage archive feature is enabled the selected

(historical) voyage/track will be shown on the chart and details will
be shown on the information panel.
Simply click on a voyage from the list and the corresponding
information will be displayed in the chart and the information panel.

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3.5 Chart, Menu & Help

Apart from the 4 main screens, the following items are also
available:

1. chart operations 4. menu file-gps settings

2. menu file-system settings 5. help function
3. menu file-heavy/good weather

3.5.1: Chart operations

The chart is the main presentation tool of SPOS. It may be modified

with a set of buttons at the top of the chart:

The following button functions are present:

Enables or disables panning (movement) of chart. When

active, move the chart with arrow keys or click left mouse
button on chart and move chart while keeping button pressed.

Press this button (or Z-key) and the chart will zoom in.

Press this button (or A-key) and the chart will zoom out.

If you have a wheel-mouse, the wheel is connected to the zoom

function. Click on the map first to get focus, then scroll the wheel.

Press this button and the chart will zoom to the route based
on the route waypoints from the INPUT screen.

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Click on the dropdown arrow next to the

button and select a standard chart area or a user-defined
area. You may define your own chart areas: click with the right
mouse button on the chart. Select:
With this button (or P-key), you can toggle the chart projection
from globe to Mercator and back. The globe is convenient
since it shows a great circle (shortest distance) as a straight line,
which is
Add or remove the gridlines on meridians and parallels. The
plot interval is depending on the scale of the chart.

Add or remove grid coordinates, political boundaries, (is)land

and city names. Names appear only when zoomed in on.

Plot or remove the locations from the port-list on the chart

Click this button (or F-key) to change the presentation of the

chart to full screen mode. The same button is than present in
the top-right corner (or again F-key) to return to normal screen.

Toggle to plot bathymetry and orography on the chart.

Note: these options may slow down chart performance

Toggle to show your actual weather subscription forecast

areas on the chart.

Display or hide Geographical Information System (GIS) data.

For more information see para 3.6.6.

The font and fontsize of all text on the

chart may be modified here.

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The SPOS menu is rarely used, except for some special one-off
items. The menu options are FILE, VIEW and HELP.
Under FILE there are 3 options that need further explanation:
system settings, heavy/good weather and GPS settings.

3.5.2: Menu: FILE - system settings

Here you will find a window with six tab fields which are described
here: folders, communication, mapi options, weather history, fleet
management an

tab FOLDERS (from menu file - system settings)

Here you can enter the path to the Update folder and the Shared
folder.
The Update folder is the location where SPOS will look for new
weather forecast files when the Update weather forecast button is
pressed.
The default path of the update folder is "My Documents"
When you receive new forecast files via e-mail then these files
(SPOS_xxx.SPS) should be placed in this update folder, either
manually or automatically via mapi.

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(tab FOLDERS continued..) menu

The Shared folder contains the path to SPOS data files
which may be shared (via a network) with other PC's that
have SPOS installed. For example, the shared path may be
changed to "X:\SPOS" so 2 PC's have identical SPOS data.
When the shared folder field is empty, the default Windows
application data path is used.

Note: The Shared folder can only be changed when you

have sufficient rights, otherwise it is disabled.

WARNING: when the shared path is changed, all settings

and data in the original folder are NOT copied. Therefore
you will lose the current SPOS settings and weather! When
restarting SPOS, the SPOS factory settings will be used
again.

tab COMMUNICATION (from menu file - system settings)

You may select the best

workable option: MAPI or
FILE, which will be used
for all communication
from SPOS to shore such
as weather subscriptions
and position reports.

If possible, use MAPI, but

make sure that your mail
program supports it (use
the TEST MAPI button to
check)

The communication settings are described in detail in

chapter 4.2: HOW TO set up the communication via e-mail

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menu

tab MAPI OPTIONS (from menu file - system settings)

If MAPI is selected (see

tab communication),
there is a direct
connection with your e-
mail program. In that
case you can also collect
weather forecasts
automatically from your
mailbox. SPOS provides
some additional options
here to make this easier.

General: Apply profile

When multiple mail profiles are present, it may be
convenient to enter a default mail profile for SPOS. This
avoids selecting the required profile on each connection.
Simply enter the name of the required profile.

Receive options:
These options apply to updating the weather forecast. You
may check the mail automatically at program startup and
decide how to process the mail.
Note that SPOS will check only the most recent 200 e-mails
from your e-mail inbox.

Send options:
When you have created a voyage, you may send daily
position reports to your office. You may optionally predefine
an e-mail address of the recipient and whether you want the
report to be sent as plain text or as an attachment in the
mail.

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menu

tab WEATHER HISTORY (from menu file - system
settings)

The weather history folder contains the historical weather.

When you update the weather in SPOS, the old forecast is
automatically moved into this folder.

You can set the number of days saved into the archive,
default setting is 15 days.

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menu

tab FLEET MANAGEMENT (from menu file - system
settings)

When participating in the SPOS Fleet Management program

SPOS will automatically send voyage updates to shore after
completing a voyage wizard. This can be the:

- Create voyage wizard

- Voyage update wizard (Finish voyage update)

- Complete voyage wizard.

In this tab you can enter the mail address provided by your
shore organisation.

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menu

tab SEAKEEPING (from menu file - system settings)

SPOS has an optional Seakeeping module to calculate ship

motions.

This is an optional product developed in cooperation with

Amarcon and requires a seperate license.

Please contact your superintendent or Meteo Consult for

more information.

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3.5.3: Menu: FILE - heavy / good weather

Here you will find a window with two tab fields: Heavy weather
checklist and Good weather definitions.

tab HEAVY WEATHER CHECKLIST

If during a voyage creation or voyage update the weather in

the next 36 hours exceeds predefined criteria, SPOS
proposes to print a heavy weather checklist.
In this window, these criteria (wind speed and wave height)
are defined. You may also EDIT/PRINT the heavy weather
checklist here. When editing, please make sure that each
item is written on a separate line.

Default criteria are a wind speed of 34 knots (8 Bft) and 6m

waves. If you do not want to use this checklist, you may set
the criteria to extreme values (e.g. wind 100kn, waves 20m)
so SPOS will never propose to print this checklist. A sample
of the heavy weather checklist is given on the next page.

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(tab HEAVY WEATHER CHECKLIST menu

continued)

SPOS will provide a default heavy weather checklist:

You can modify this checklist to your own

requirements. Simply click the EDIT LIST
button and write one item per line in this
standard text editor.

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menu

tab GOOD WEATHER DEFINITION
(from menu file - heavy/good weather)

The voyage position report gives performance indicators.

One of the indicators is the performance speed: the
assumed speed in good weather conditions. The definition of
"good weather" may be given in a charter contract.

Here, you can set a wind speed and wave height threshold
value for the performance speed calculation. It is assumed
that when weather conditions do not exceed these
thresholds, there is no negative impact on vessel
performance due to weather.

If weather conditions do exceed thresholds, the effect is

calculated by SPOS and given as a speed reduction in
knots.
A common performance speed criterion is "wind speed not
exceeding 5 Beaufort" (17 knots). If you do not want to apply
a waveheight threshold, simply increase the value to 20
meter.

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3.5.4: Menu: FILE - GPS settings

SPOS can be connected to a GPS in order to display and proces

actual position information. There are two ways of connecting
SPOS to your SPOS computer:

via a serial cable connecting the GPS to a COM port of the PC

via a TCP/IP signal over a network

When a serial cable is connected, make sure the GPS is sending

NMEA output. Select the serial option in SPOS, select the COM
port where the cable is connected and press TEST NMEA SIGNAL
to see if a valid signal is available.

Possible test results:

- no signal received: check GPS, cable and correct COM port
- rubbish signal is received: baudrate may be wrong (default is
4800)
- good (readable) signal is received of lines starting with $GP

If a good signal is received, SPOS will decode the $GPRMC string

for position, speed and heading information, resulting in:
- no $GPRMC string received, check GPS settings
- invalid $GPRMC string: GPS has no valid position or test mode?
- ALL OK, correct position is plotted below the white test window

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(FILE - GPS SETTINGS continued..) menu

If the GPS data are received correctly,

then press OK to exit and save.
The actual GPS position will be plotted
at the bottom of the screen in SPOS and
in the chart, the vessel position is
indicated.
The GPS data are now also available for
GPS tracking and position updates in SPOS.

On some ships, GPS/NMEA data may be distributed to different

applications via a TCP/network. In that case, SPOS can use these
data by setting the TCP option and defining the host name and port
number.
This option is only to be used when instructed to do so by your own
IT department with details on the host and port settings.
There is no sense in trying this without the correct settings.

If you do not have a GPS connected to the SPOS PC, then select
the OFF option as this will avoid unnecessary processor time of the
computer.

If the GPS signal is not available in SPOS even though you think it
should be available, then experienced computer users may try the
standard Hyper Terminal application available in Windows to test if
a signal is indeed properly received via the COM p HyperTerminal
is accessed via START - programs - accessories - communications
- hyperterminal
For further details, read help in Hyper Terminal.

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3.5.5: Help function

SPOS comes with an extensive help function. The information is

identical to the user manual. An advantage of the online help utility
is that you can jump directly to related topics via hyperlinks.

There are several ways to access the help information:

with the F1 key

via the menu item Help

with the Help buttons

In Windows, system behaviour is depending on the focus of the

system. E.g. when you click on the chart, the focus will be on the
chart. If you than request help via F1 or the help button, help
information on the chart will appear. If focus is on the weather
control screen; help on this item will appear.

With the context sensitive help , you can select the item for
which you require help.

When help is started, you may select further information via the
blue hyperlinks or via the blue menu bar at the top of the screen:

< Content Intro SPOS overview SPOS in detail How to >

The "<" and ">" buttons link to previous and next help pages.

Under SPOS overview, a quick guide summarizes the main SPOS

functions. SPOS in detail is a reference manual, where all system
items are systematically discussed in detail.

Exit help by closing the help browser window.

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4. HOW TO ....
In this chapter, some procedures on operating SPOS are
discussed. A selection of topics is given in the following index.
Suggestions from masters on other topics are appreciated.

How to:

1. set up SPOS for your vessel (speedcurve)

2. set up the communication via e-mail

3. configure for SPOS Fleet Management

4. set up a GPS link with SPOS

5. create / update a voyage plan

6. import and export route templates

7. use and view GIS information

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4.1 How to
set up SPOS for your vessel
With SPOS, you can make route calculations for your specific
vessel. In order to do that, it is essential to define how your vessel
will respond to wind and waves.
This can be done by selecting the screen for defining
your speedcurve. Press the DEFINE button and the speedcurve
window will appear.

Create a NEW curve or make a COPY of the default curve and give
it a unique name (e.g. "Pacific Carrier, Laden").

Now define how the vessel responds to wind (speed reduction due
to wind) and separately how the vessel responds to waves (speed
reduction due to waves).
More information on how to operate this window can be found in
chapter 3.2.5: Select & define speed curves

If you do not know what the speed reduction due to wind and
waves is, then old voyage logs may help to determine this, together
with the test option of the speed curves:
Create a new curve and enter several observed situations in the
test interface and modify the speed curves for a proper fit. Finally
smooth out the curves to get a consistent picture.
Of course the speed curves may be updated when it a
Note that with the wrong speed curve percentages, route
calculation results especially items such as speed and ETA may
become inaccurate as well.

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4.2 How to
set up the communication via e-mail
In order to simplify the transmission of e-mail messages from
SPOS, a link between your e-mail program and SPOS may be set
up.

A standard e-mail that makes use of this setting is the transmission

of weather subscription messages to Meteo Consult.

In the File menu, you can select system settings. A window

appears where you should select the communication tab.

One of two options may be selected:

1. MAPI: direct (automatic) connection to your e-mail program

2. FILE: message saved in a file and manual e-mail transmission

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1. MAPI

First select MAPI and press the test button. If a mail message
appears addressed to: subscription@[Link] with subject "spos
MAPI test Ok" and message "If you can read this, the MAPI link
works fine" then close the mail message and select MAPI. You may
even send the test mapi mail and Meteo Consult will send a
confirmation back.
If the test mapi function does not work, select the FILE option.

MAPI is the most convenient way of communication, but it depends

on the possibilities of your e-mail program.
With MAPI, a mail message created by SPOS is placed directly in
your Outbox for transmission, the next time you make a connection
via satellite to shore.

If the MAPI link works with your mail program, then you can also
collect weather forecast updates automatically from your mailbox.

SPOS provides some extra MAPI option settings for your

convenience. These options are only useful when MAPI is selected.

2. FILE

If the MAPI link does not work, then a direct link with your e-mail
program is not possible. The alternative is to export the information
to a file and send this file manually.
The default path for storing this file is "My Documents", but you
may decide to use another folder.

When FILE is selected and a file is created (e.g. a new weather

subscription message), then you need to include or attach this file
in a new mail message created with your regular e-mail program.
Then send the mail with the attached file to the recipient.

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4.3 How to
configure for SPOS Fleet Management
In order to participate in the SPOS Fleet Management program you
need to configure the Fleet Management tab within the system
settings.

In the File menu, you can select system settings. A window

appears where you should select the Fleet Management tab.

Carry out the following actions:

1. Check the box 'Participate in SPOS Fleet Management

2. Fill in the mail address provided by your company for Fleet

Management Reports

3. Close the tab and save yor settings by clicking the OK button

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4.4 How to
set up a GPS link with SPOS
SPOS can process a GPS signal when available on the PC, but it is
your own responsibility to make this connection. Meteo Consult
cannot support this link as it may be different per ship and per
configuration.

In most cases, the link is made

by using a RS232 serial cable to
plug the GPS into one of the
PC's COM ports. The picture
shows two types of serial
connectors, on most PC's
nowadays the smaller 9-pin
connector (on the right) is used
to connect to the COM port of
your PC.

Unfortunately, the plugs on GPS units may be different for some

models and if it is not a standards RS232 connector as depicted,
you must purchase a PC cable from your GPS supplier.
In most cases these cables will be complete with plugs at both ends

When the connection is made, you should check your GPS manual
if it is indeed sending NMEA signals. You may need to configure it
and that can be different per model. Also check that is is sending
the $GPRMC string (=recommended minimum specific GPS data)
which is used by SPOS; this is normally the case.

When that is done, you can start SPOS and configure the GPS
settings as described in chapter 3.6.4 of this manual.

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4.5 How to
create / update a voyage plan
SPOS is designed to make it easy to create and update your
voyage plan. In the following diagram, the main actions are given in
five easy steps. Some items are equal for create and update.

Step Complete
Create voyage Voyage update
(in screen) Voyage

1.
Update the weather forecast

2.
Analyse the weather forecast

3. Enter all input:

time, positions, x x
speed, etcetera.

4. calculate one or more routes,

compare the performance in the x
information panel
click Create new click Start click Complete
5. voyage Voyage Update Voyage
button and button and button and
follow wizard follow wizard follow wizard
instructions instructions instructions

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4.6 How to
import & export route templates
The route templates created within the Input screen are saved in
the Read-write folder of SPOS. This folder is user specific and the
route templates are kept in a binary format and can not be used for
export.

SPOS makes a copy of each route template in your export folder.

(Default: My Documents). These files are common text files. You
can open them in your text editor

This allows you to export these files to another SPOS computer or

to take them with you in case you join another ship. You can also
import them into other applications. If you adhere to the simple
format, you can also create or a route template within a text editor.

An exemple of the format is given below:

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4.7 How to
use and view GIS information
SPOS offers the possiblity to project GIS information over the chart.
The information can be linked to webpages, telephone numbers,
mail addresses etc.

The information can be created in XML files which can be put in the
SPOS read write directory within your documents and settings
folder.

In order to make you own XML files you need to have some basic
knowledge of XML programming. Please contact support@[Link]
for the format of the XML file.

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5. Fleet Management
In conjunction with SPOS7 a company can also have SPOS Fleet
Management in the office.

SPOS Fleet Management is a SPOS brand, and works in

conjunction with SPOS onboard your vessel. Vessels can semi-
automatically generate data-report which are sent to your office
directly, without a third party interfering monitoring. The main
reason for having this system is to ensure safety and decrease the
work load of a captain and his crew, as well as in the office by
producing simple and factual reports of the voyage.

The system also helps a Captain and the office to have a better
idea of the ships performance and safety while at sea and help
determine a more accurate arrival time.

How does it work?

The updates are sent by the captain at his own discretion and
loaded into SPOS Fleet Management and will enable all parties to
optimize fleet performance, observe trends, and remain ahead of
time.

SPOS Fleet Management consists of two separate products: the

SPOS Fleet Management software module and SPOS Analysed
Weather.

More information about participating can be found in chapter 4.3

How to configure SPOS for Fleet Management.

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6. Seakeeping
As an option, SPOS can include a seakeeping module to take
vessel motion in a seaway into account.
This module is based on the Octopus (SRA) software of Amarcon.

This option requires a separate installation of the seakeeping

software and a registration of the seakeeping licence in SPOS. The
seakeeping software comes with installation instructions and a
seakeeping licence code which is valid for a year.

When the seakeeping software is installed and operational on a

PC, SPOS will automatically detect it at startup and initialize an
extra screen: the seakeeping screen, located between the input
and the route screens.

In SPOS under menu option

FILE - SYSTEM SETTINGS, tab
Seakeeping you can find the
seakeeping licence information.
It is also possible to temporarily
switch off the seakeeping
screen if you should require that
at any time. When you change
the registration, SPOS needs to
restart.

The seakeeping unit is used to

display and use vessel motions and responses which are
calculated by Octopus. Typical responses are vessel motions,
accelerations and e.g. hull slamming. A subset of maximum six
motions or responses can be selected to be displayed in SPOS.
This is done in the vessel configuration module.

The ship motions are calculated on SPOS routes and limits may be
applied by the user.

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Index

page page
Area of forecast 13 Isochrones 63
Canal & Passages 49 Laden / Ballast 54
Chart 82 Menu 84
Checklist heavy weather 90 Meteo Consult 2
Climatology 13 Optimum route 63
Communication 12 Original route 66
Comparison 68 Port weather 38
Composite route 65 Print weather maps 39
Create voyage plan 71 Resolution 31
Current resolution 32 Restrictions 58
Departure position 42 Rhumb line 62
Departure time 42 Route suggestion 50
ECDIS 44 Route templates 42
Edit waypoints 48 Seakeeping 106
E-mail 98 Send report 79
Errors 8 Speed, adjusted 50
Extended weather 28 Speedcurve 54
Fleet management 105 Subscription 24
Folders 84 System settings 84
Forecast 13 Update voyage plan 73
Fronts 29 Update weather forecast 26
Fuel 53 Vertex composite 52
GIS information 104 Voyage archive 81
GPS 93 Voyage information 78
Graphs 69 Voyage update 73
Great circle 61 Waypoints 45
Help 95 Weather display 28
Hurricane 36 Weather impact 69
Ice 28 Weather limits 57
Installation 6 Zoom In / Out 82

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SPOS on the web

You can find background information and the latest news on SPOS
on the Meteo Consult website.
Please note that a connection to the internet is required.
Depending on your satellite connection it may be unwise to connect
to the internet because of high costs.

For connecting to the internet and the SPOS website, please click
on the following link:

[Link]

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