aircraft reg doesn't show any more

[Admin]

If you can give me some pointers I can try and make changes for the return flight.

Hi Stu

I think we need to forward this to Funke.
These are standard NMEA Messages.
If you connected a GPS Source directly to the Transponder - this is what you get.

So I think we need to ask Funke what they are objecting to, in order to generate the message "Wrong Data"

Funke should be capable of discarding the messages that it does not require - maybe this message is superfluous.

Thx
Lee

(Update: I have emailed Funke, lets see if I get a reply)

[sdkellner]

Thanks Lee; I misinterpreted and thought there was too much there in the log.

Got a worse problem though - had to disconnect PAW midway as radio interference was terrible again; interference disappeared as soon as PAW power was cut.

And had a close encounter with a drone @ 1500 feet just south of Manchester zone.

Cheers

Stu

[Admin]

Radio Interference.
Something is not right here, you should not be getting this.

Can I ask what the interference is ?
is it a white noise effect, or a click ?

What I have seen is the following

If the RF antenna of PAW is close to the VHF antenna, you may hear a click every 1.6 - 1.8 seconds

If there is an issue with power, you can get a white noise effect over the RF

If this is persisting, we need to send a new unit to see if this solves the problem, and we can analyse you unit.
If it repeats with a new unit this would indicate power (if white noise)
But I recall you said you had changed power supplies to see if this was the issue

Thx
Lee

[JCurtis]

Check the ground (GND) connection on the USB-Serial cable is still physically connected, it could be the lack of a signal ground is impacting the serial comms and potentially creating issues with noise too.  That could explain both issues.

[sdkellner]

USB to transponder ground is definitely still firmly connected.

It's a white noise, only on certain frequencies. Today, Manchester approach was fine; Doncaster Radar completely unreadable - even squelch 9 wouldn't clear the noise. Until I disconnected PAW.

Flew back without PAW connected and radio was fine throughout, across all frequencies; squelch 2 was sufficient (squelch 1 is fully open).

Today I was back to my original Anker 20100 power core.

Best

Stu

[sdkellner]

Back home now.

With apologies for hijacking Ivor's thread, I thought it would be helpful to summarise my experience with PAW to date in one place so that those who understand these things better than me can make an informed diagnosis.

1.  Prior to installation of PAW, I had no radio interference problems.

2.  On installing PAW, I initially received hardly any traffic and started noticing radio interference problems.  Eventually diagnosed both a faulty ADS-B dongle and aerial. 

3.  As we suspected closeness of the antennas to the transponder aerial may have been the cause of the interference, I have moved my PAW and 1090 MHz aerials away from their original locations and they are now at least 3 feet from the transponder antenna, as recommended in my Funke TRT800H manual. 

4.  The PAW itself remains physically quite close to my radio unit, but I suspect others will have similar installations and my options are limited!

5.  On the first flight after moving the antennas, there was no interference.  However, it has always been intermittent and present on some frequencies whilst clear on others.

6.  On today's flight my base safety com 135.475 was clear, as was Manchester 118.575; Doncaster 126.225 was unreadable due to noise.  Previously I have had unreadable levels of interference on Hawarden 123.350, Liverpool 119.850 and Welshpool 128.000.

7.  When present, the noise is white noise of a very high level and cannot be squelched out.  It disappears when unplugging the PAW.

8.  I have run the PAW from two different Anker 20100 power cores as well as the recommended Anker 12v adapter and have experienced the same radio interference problems through all.

9.  With my new ADS-B dongle and new 1090MHz antenna in their new positions, I am receiving loads of traffic - see pic attached of today's screen grab; 246 aircraft being received!  My traffic volumes have increased perhaps ten-fold since I used the new 1090MHZ aerial.

10.  Despite using the recommended USB-RS232 lead connected to my Funke TRT800H, I have never seen my aircraft appear on the traffic page of PAW.

11.  Funke have not been very helpful throughout the process.  Their instructions say to wire the 'brown' cable from the TRT800H wiring to the data out from the RS232 cable (orange); but there are two browns - see pic attached.  They refused to confirm which one, saying they could not comment on my installation; by a process of elimination I connected as shown.  As for the grounds, again I have had to assume, by a process of elimination, that the bare cable visible in the pic is the ground.

12.  With the transponder wired as per the pic, I have been achieving ADS-B out successfully for a month.  I know this because my FR24 tracks have been transformed and now appear in their entirety.  For example, see pic attached of today's flight - I had to pull the PAW power just before the Ladybower Reservoir, once I'd switched from Manchester to Doncaster and the unreadable interference; my trace disappears immediately.  Although I continued to Netherthorpe and back to Ashcroft on Mode S, without ADS-B, having lost the PAW GPS input, I was invisible to Flight Radar.  So it looks like ADS-B has worked fine, but I've never appeared on the PAW traffic page.

13.  I note that Ivor intermittently appears on his traffic page.

14.  I love what this product is trying to achieve, and can see for some that it works brilliantly.  For me, the ADS-B out functionality is a key point and I'm sad to have lost it.  Outwards visibility from a gyrocopter is superb, but we are hard to spot from other aircraft and I want to be as visible as possible. 

15.  I suspect that (a) I have a faulty unit, (b) I have somehow wired my PAW-transponder incorrectly (but ADS-B out was working fine even today, despite the 'wrong data' message) or (c) there is some grounding issue affecting my radio (but all problems go when PAW is disconnected and there was no problem before PAW installation).

I have returned home with my disconnected PAW module, leaving the antennas in the aircraft.

Many thanks, once again.

Stu

[sdkellner]

It's gone very quiet on here. 

Lee, do I need to return my PAW unit to you,and if so, to which address?

Best

Stu

[exfirepro]

Hi Stu,

Sorry, I've been at the airfield the last 3 days from 8 am to after dark doing a 500 hour 'wing strip' service on my aircraft ready for permit inspection, hence my 'absence' from the Forum. By the time I got home each night I could just about manage to crawl up to bed (my hips and knees definitely don't like crawling about on a hangar floor these days) so haven't managed on here much.

I don't know if Lee wants you to send your unit back to Dave at PilotAware Hardware, or if he wants you to sent it to himself. He will probably PM you with a return address once he sees this.

Regards

Peter

[Admin]

Hi Stu,

I have asked Dave Styles to contact you for a return, and at the same time get a new unit out to you, to see if this resolves the Radio issue.

I will PM my cell number, just so we can fully understand the installation, easier than email sometimes

Thx
Lee

[sdkellner]

Thanks Peter and Lee; I really appreciate all your help.  Peter - sounds like you are having a way tougher time than me!  Hope you get flying again soon.  Lee, great to chat before.

Best

Stu