FizzyCalc Updated

[+Cardinal Red]

There have been some recent updates to FizzyCalc. Download the latest version (Windows) and check it out. Is there anyone out there yet that still doesn't know that this great geographic calculator was written, and is being maintained, by a fellow Geocacher?

 

But the recent updates have only been noted in a How Do I thread about coordinate calculations in general, not one about FizzyCalc specifically. So if you missed that discussion, it's time to check out the new features.

 

1. When the Projection tab has been selected, there is now a selectable Output Format box. Previously the Output was restricted to the Geocaching DD MM.mmm Format. Now both the DD.dddddddd and the DD MM SS.ss Formats are also available.

 

2. When either the Distance or Projection tabs have been selected, clicking to open the Distance Units drop down box reveals that the size of the box has been expanded to accommodate all seven available unit selections. An extra click is no longer necessary to bring the seventh unit of measure into view.

 

3. Much less noticeable. A rounding quirk in the Projection function has been addressed. There were edge cases where instead of showing 00 Minutes and bumping up The Degrees by one, it would show the lower degree amount followed by 60 Minutes. There is a good chance most of us never encountered it in normal usage, but it works correctly all the time now.

 

This would be the best Geocaching calculator available at $20. At the bargain price of Free, all I can say is thanks Fizzy!

[+Cardinal Red]

A thread with the title FizzyCalc Updated isn't even interesting enough for one person to come here and read it? The Forum counters are broken? Everyone has moved on to a different geo-calculator? You found out about the update in the original 'How Do I' thread and have already grabbed it? Anything else?

 

I just learned something new. I was aware the counters were being updated less frequently to reduce their drag on site performance I believe. But when I posted the first response to the thread the number of views instantly jumped from 0 to 75. Interesting.

Edited May 16, 2013 by Cardinal Red

[+BlackRose67]

Didn't notice this thread until now.

 

The only thing missing from this program is the option to do True North or Magnetic North projections.

[jholly]

Didn't notice this thread until now.

 

The only thing missing from this program is the option to do True North or Magnetic North projections.

magnetic north projections would be maintenance nightmare. The pole is constantly changing and over the period of a couple years there could be a big change.

[+fizzymagic]

Didn't notice this thread until now.

 

The only thing missing from this program is the option to do True North or Magnetic North projections.

magnetic north projections would be maintenance nightmare. The pole is constantly changing and over the period of a couple years there could be a big change.

 

The maintenance nightmare was part of why I did not include them. I have considered a semi-automatic way of calculating declination, which might be useful, but it would be a lot of work.

 

Magnetic north projections really don't make sense unless there is no alternative. They don't work over long distances and they are not particularly useful for navigation. So they don't match the philosophy of FizzyCalc very well.

[+Timpat]

Thanks for the heads-up Cardinal Red. I was one of those 75 uncounted people who viewed your topic and update my trusty FizyCalc program! Fizzymagic Rocks!! Thanks so much!

[+Cardinal Red]

Didn't notice this thread until now.

 

The only thing missing from this program is the option to do True North or Magnetic North projections.

magnetic north projections would be maintenance nightmare. The pole is constantly changing and over the period of a couple years there could be a big change.

 

The maintenance nightmare was part of why I did not include them. I have considered a semi-automatic way of calculating declination, which might be useful, but it would be a lot of work.

 

Magnetic north projections really don't make sense unless there is no alternative. They don't work over long distances and they are not particularly useful for navigation. So they don't match the philosophy of FizzyCalc very well.

 

Could there be a maintenance free compromise, perhaps requiring far less programming work? I have used FizzyCalc to do a Magnetic North calculation. All I had to do was ADD (remember, if you add a negative number, you are actually subtracting a value) the Declination to the True North Bearing to calculate a Magnetic estimate. Can a Magnetic offset box be added that could be populated manually?

 

You can look up your own accurate local Magnetic Declination or just get a close approximation from your GPS. The older Garmin units made that data much more prominent. They made me dig a little deeper to find it in my Oregon 450.

 

I'm not sure if this needs to be a selectable function, or just leaving the Magnetic offset as ZERO would continue to return the True North results we have always gotten. And lets not forget the ability to handle the competing Declination designations of +, -, E, W (just parse them much like Longitude?).

 

Magnetic Declination capability is not something I had ever given much thought as a suggestion (not much is not zero). I rarely use it, but I already know how if I need to. Some users might benefit from a more automated calculation to offset True North correctly. The trick is to not confuse anyone. I am amazed at the number of friends I have who still do not have a good grasp of FizzyCalc. Of course I can say the same thing about Scientific calculators in general or RPN calculators specifically. At times, for some users, less really is better.

Edited May 17, 2013 by Cardinal Red

[+fizzymagic]

Could there be a maintenance free compromise, perhaps requiring far less programming work? I have used FizzyCalc to do a Magnetic North calculation. All I had to do was ADD (remember, if you add a negative number, you are actually subtracting a value) the Declination to the True North Bearing to calculate a Magnetic estimate. Can a Magnetic offset box be added that could be populated manually?

 

That's an interesting idea. It would be simple to implement for projections, and it would be nice in that it would do the sign of the declination.

 

Using it for distance and bearing measurements would be a little trickier. The main reason for that is that the reverse azimuth (the direction from the second point back to the first) depends on the declination of the second point, which can be very different from that of the first point.

 

One of my main design goals for FizzyCalc is that it not be too confusing. I want the information to be as clear and understandable as possible. Adding in a declination on the Distance tab could be confusing for that reason.

 

On the other hand, as you pointed out, having declination on the Projection tab is pretty simple and straightforward.

 

By the way, unless anybody tells me differently, I think I am going to get rid of the WAAS satellite tab. The positions are out of date and nobody seems to worry about whether WAAS satellites are visible or not anymore.

[+Cardinal Red]

The frustration with Groundspeak continues.

Edited June 3, 2013 by Cardinal Red

[robertlipe]

Moderator note As this thread is basically a 1:1 conversation between the software creator (Hi, DK!) and the software's users, it's probably falls under section 7 of the forum guidelines at the top of the page. I suggest the conversation be continued in whatever support venue is hosted/preferred FizzyCalc. As a volunteer moderator, we try (with mixed success) to keep things consistent with Groundspeak not wanting to host support forums for third parties, even when they're free.

[+cache bonus]

My computer keeps telling me a virus was detected and won't download Fizzycalc for me...what can I do?

[+fizzymagic]

My computer keeps telling me a virus was detected and won't download Fizzycalc for me...what can I do?

 

I honestly don't know. I suppose I could recompile to change the hash; it could be a collision. Behaviorally it should not set off a virus detector.

[+Diamond Head]

Is there or are there plans for a Mac version of this software?

[+Galileo the cat]

Is there or are there plans for a Mac version of this software?

there is, check out the Mac App store