Hi Guys,
As reported previously, my system worked as expected on Tuesday, with gliders and other aircraft reported as before and all audio alerts as per design protocols, so all fine to that point.
I was however concerned solely that the flarm range had become very restricted and directional after I changed to a centre fed dipole inside the port side knee hole of my pod for the Tuesday flight. I suspected this had downgraded my flarm reception, so went back on Friday with Alan solely to retest with a PAW P3i endfed dipole fitted directly to the flarmMouse on top of the pod - as I had the previous weekend. The only other change I made was to re-site the flarmMouse slightly higher up on the sloping side of my pod and as close as possible to the front (nearest me) edge.
When I powered up and we tried to connect our tablets, they both (iOS 10/SD and Android/EVFR) kept losing signal and couldn't get a fix. I initially suspected a WiFi issue, but having reset it to known good values continued to get dropouts after takeoff, with SD displaying 'Seeking Satellites' banners before reconnecting for a few seconds then dropping out again and EVFR disappearing off to somewhere near the Azores - (presumably 0 degrees North and East) - where it goes when it can't get a GPS fix.
We therefore landed again, switched off the flarmMouse and disconnected the RS232/USB from PAW Port 1. Reconnected the PAW GPS Mouse in its own USB Port 3 (rather than Port 1 which is configured for Flarm-in) and PAW immediately got a solid gps fix, which held for the whole of an 80 minute circuit over Fife and back through Edinburgh Zone.
On analysing the track log for the short 20 minute flight, there is a definite pattern of GPS signal every second for 5 seconds, then no GPS signal for the next 15 seconds - repeating constantly throughout the flight on a 20 second repeat cycle - (thanks to Alan G for the initial analysis). Lee has also found the same pattern with another flarmMouse he put on long-term test at home and has e-mailed LXNav direct to elicit their help to identify the cause.
It's really strange, because I have now looked back through all my previous track logs since last Friday (some 5 hours of flight) and they consistently show regular $GPGGA data at 1 second intervals throughout all the flights, albeit with the very occasional 1 second gap, except for the one log from that first flight this Friday morning!!
In the meantime, as soon as I get a chance, I will swap over and try my 'spare' flarmMouse, but the airfield is presently 'closed due high wind' and will probably remain so for the next couple of days.
Please remember, that's why we test beta - We are already looking at options to improve reliability and we will get to the bottom of things, so don't lose faith.
Regards
Peter