New 20190621 firmware update

[Rogerpenney]

Once again its taken me pretty well two days to get my PA working again. You virtually need a degree in computing to own and operate PilotAware?
If I wasn't retired and have the time to mess around downloading updates getting it all installed and then having to do it all again because the damned thing won’t work properly I would have chucked it in the bin by now.
The other thing is that I now that lots of traffic is not picked up by PA as we know all about how transponders work etc.
I think PAW is just taking my eyes inside too much and I am missing some traffic I should be seeing and did see before I got PAW.
Lets hope that this update allows us to update the damned thing over wifi without all the messing about we currently have?
Or shall I go and buy a SkyEcho2 ?

[Admin]

Hi Roger
Could you elaborate exactly what has taken 2 days ?

In particular what was not covered by the instructions, in order that we can amend instructions, and others can shortcut any issues

Thx
Lee

[brinzlee]

It took me 20 minutes in total....and that included trying to find an 8GB card my 2 year old daughter had hidden in her toy box....
Formatting the cards to the unintiated can be a little daunting using SD Card Formatter....but if you RTFM or look through the forum for other folks installation errors it will be much easier.....download the new update then copy the contents within the zip file direct to the formatted SD card...insert into the PilotAware and make a cup of tea....about 15  minutes later....it should have rebooted showing up as a new ssid in your preferred tablet.......192.168.1.1 to enter the setup screen from a browser...enter your details including licence code...and jobs done

[Paul_Sengupta]

I'm wondering if the new version of the format tool (v5?) does what we want it to do and doesn't try to be too clever? The older version (v4?) had a specific question on how you wanted to format the card. Maybe v4 could be made available on the website (if it isn't already) so that it would remove all ambiguity from the process?

[Admin]

I do still have a copy of the SDFormatter_v4 installer
but you can also find it online if you google
Thx
Lee

[exfirepro]

Hi Roger,

I’m sorry to hear you are having such problems with your PilotAware.

Having spent almost 4 years as a ‘volunteer member’ of the PilotAware Development Team, I can say without fear of contradiction that you certainly don’t... ‘need a degree in computing to own and operate PilotAware’ - though some knowledge of computing is certainly not a disadvantage.

Like you, I am retired and (at least according to my wife) spend far more than a fair proportion of my time working on PAW and OGN-R development, testing and trying to help others on this and other Forums, so I certainly share your frustration when things don’t go to plan or meet expectations.

This is without doubt the most significant of the many PAW upgrades that I have had the privilege to be involved in over the years, which is why it requires a full manual update of both the Raspberry Pi Core as well as the PilotAware Software. This update also adds software necessary to enable direct update of both the core and PAW software via Ethernet from now on, to make the procedure easier for users in the future by supplementing the previously available Full Manual or Intermediate USB update options. It is therefore, admittedly, probably not the best choice for those who have never attempted a full manual update before, though in practice it need be no more complicated than any other manual update, provided the instructions are carefully followed to the letter. I can assure you the procedure is no easier with far more expensive devices.

Knowing the complexity of the software however, and from previous experience with full manual updates, anticipating issues, the decision was taken to supplement the Full Manual Update option with preloaded microSD cards for those who feel unable to perform this task themselves.

WRT the last part of your statement, you are of course entitled to your opinion, but there is clear and irrefutable evidence that far from reducing traffic seen, any EC device correctly used to support and supplement visual scan significantly increases the proportion of traffic seen and identified. In fact the percentage of traffic not picked up by PAW is reducing significantly with each successive development release, making PAW without doubt the most comprehensive traffic receiver on the market and if you also make proper use of the PAW audio warnings, there is absolutely no reason to be ‘eyes in’ for any significant length of time during flight.

Regards

Peter

[exfirepro]

Lee / All,

As well as having SDFormatter Version 4 on my laptop (which I still use as my primary tool for reformatting discs prior to full manual updates), I also still have a copy of the SDFormatter Version 4 Installer. IIRC, the last time I tried to use this (on another computer), however, it downloaded and installed SDFormatter V5 instead.

I have however found that after carrying out a ‘Full Overwrite Format’ using SDFormatter V5, if you run a ‘Quick Format’ of the disc to FAT32 using the standard ‘Windows 10’ Format Tool, the disc is then perfect for loading PAW software and subsequently running in PAW.

Regards

Peter