Bits needed to connect to FLARM Mouse?

[Stu B]

I think I read somewhere a while back that a set of approved hardware would be specified (or sold via PilotAwareHardware.com) to allow the FLARM mouse to be connected?Is there any news on this now there is a formal release of a FLARM-enabled version? Clear hardware recommendations and installation/set-up instructions would be much appreciated!

[Martino]

Hi there;

We are similarly trying to setup a FLARM mouse and would appreciate some clear guidance if anyone has experience please? (We are newbies to this type of tech).

The FLARM mouse has an RJ12 male connector, and was supplied with a separate lead with an RJ12 male to a pair of females, and into this a separate RJ12 male with loose power wires only.

So far we believe we need an RS232 to USB like this to go into the PAW https://uk.rs-online.com/mobile/p/products/6877828/ ? And that we crimp a female RJ12 to this to connect to the male on the separate lead or the FLARM (dependant upon below). Any guidance on wire connections here would be useful please...

Then do we need to provide a separate power supply, or can the FLARM be powered via the USB to RJ12?

Thanks for any guidance...

Martin/Neil

[Ian Melville]

Hi Martin
I have had mine running, but at the moment is all disconnected and I didn't note where each wire went  If no one else comes back to you I will map it all out again tomorrow evening. I have been doing some additional testing and in the process revised my installation plan. I plan to not use that splitter, and to use an RJ12 to RJ12 coupler instead, much neater, the pin out may be different as LXNAV have possibly managed a wiring switch in that splitter  I need to understand what they have done first.

[Martino]

Hi Ian;

Thank you for the kind reply, that'd be great. We had wondered whether there was some magic that could make the splitter redundant, it seems a strange bit of kit!

We'll look forward to your further info...

Thank you for the much appreciated help; its great that the knowledge is out there and available, and kind of you to share it.

[MikeD]

Martino,

I have recently gone through the process with the FLARM MiniBox. See the thread at:
http://forum.pilotaware.com/index.php/topic,722.0.html

To retain the original power supply to the FLARM and use the RJ12 connection (The MiniBox only has one RJ12) I used the following:

RJ12 Double Adaptor Adapter 6P6C Modular Telephone Doubler
eBay item number:221765291889

I have ground tested the installation and obtained the following results (see attachments). Top two lines show the tug aircraft on the ground and a glider at 530ft.


Regards

Mike

[Ian Melville]

Hi Martin,
Details as promissed,
I was right there is a crossover in the splitter supplied with the FLARM Mouse. The RJ12 coupler I used was the same as that linked my MikeD in his post, this also has a crossover. So the wiring remains the same whether you user the RJ12 coupler or the Mouse splitter. It does not apply if you connect directly

Numbering of the pins as per attachment and FLARM Mouse Manual (Which shows the wire colours for the splitter, not the mouse, ie mirrored)

Pin 1 = +12v supply for mouse
Pin 2 = NC
Pin 3 = Data Ground, Black wire on USB-RS232-WE-LLLL-CU-PWR
Pin 4 = Data Out, Yellow wire on USB-RS232-WE-LLLL-CU-PWR
Pin 5 = Data In, Orange wire on USB-RS232-WE-LLLL-CU-PWR
Pin 6 = 0V supply for mouse(Gnd)

Cheers
Ian

[Martino]

Thank you very much for the excellent info Ian and Mike...

We'll have a play and feedback how we get on!

Kind regards

Martin

[Stu B]

I'm pleased to see there is some activity on this thread now, but TBH I was expecting that the PAW team would be marketing an approved interface kit of the necessary cables and connectors all ready assembled. This current "knit it all together yourself" approach is fine for those who understand the details but will certainly not lead to any wide-scale uptake of this important extension of the scope and capability of PAW. As I said in my first post, I'm sure I had read somewhere here that there was an intention to market such a ready-made solution, but there now seems no indication of any appetite to do that?

[Keithvinning]

Hi Stu

Lee is in Switzerland this week so that is probably why he has not responded. To install a Flarm mouse needs a cable and a power supply. Its not powered from the Pilotaware.

We integrated FLARM into PilotAware at the request of several customers and this has been done. We do need to write a paper on how to connect the two together and we will get this done as soon as possible.

With regards to a complete package its really only a cable that you can get from RS Ebay Amazon. We could not compete with them on price so its much better that we tell people where to get the cable from.

I'm sure I had read somewhere here that there was an intention to market such a ready-made solution, but there now seems no indication of any appetite to do that?

I don't think this will have come from  us however I'll put on the to do list a paper on the cables required, the connections to be made and the changes to PilotAware in the configuration.

Thanks

Keith


 

[T67M]

One challenge I've had (apart from the cost of the mouse!) is finding an elegant way to power the 6-12v mouse from a 28v aircraft with 5v USB outlets. The best I've come up with is a classic 3-terminal regulator design, but that's yet another inline box to find a home for.

[Ian Melville]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Car-Converter-24V-To-12V-5A-60W-Step-Down-Module-DC-To-DC-Buck-Module-UK-selle-/291997460582

You are right, it is another box, but if you are building an all-in-one case, it could be incorporated.

The FLARM mouse minimum voltage is quoted as 6V (max 18v). Not sure if that gives a degraded performance over 12V, and wonder what will happen if run a 5V?

[T67M]

Hmmm. A 60W module for a 0.5W mouse feels like overkill, and a buck converter probably has a truly horrible RF performance too.

[Ian Melville]

You could tap 12V off a couple of resistors in series 

[JCurtis]

I suspect it has a linear reg to produce 5v internally, so 6v min is to cover the voltage drop of the regulator and still have 5v internally.  Might work with 5v but probably not going to work very well.

[Ian Melville]

Thanks Jeremy, I sort of suspected that would be the case, but not in detail.

I am considering a BEC from R/C  models. As they are used to feed radio kit, I would have thought they are cleaner RF wise?

This size would fit T67Ms requirement. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/3a-UBEC-Max-5a-Universal-Battery-Eliminator-Circuit-5v-or-6v-option-6-6v-28v-/330912763478?_trksid=p2141725.m3641.l6368