Dongle temperature

[SimonM]

Has anyone else noticed the temperature emitted by the ADSB dongle supplied with the PAW classic?
Mine runs so hot (and smells hot) that I can barely touch it.

P.S. Unit supplied approx 2 months ago.

[exfirepro]

Simon,

SDR dongles are renowned for running pretty warm, especially if the unit is left in the sun e.g. on an aircraft foaming or just inside a south-facing window, but not normally so hot you can barely touch them. I take it the unit is still working OK?

Regards

Peter

[SimonM]

I'm pretty sure its all working okay.
I've tested it on the window sill and got the 4 greens on the config page. Connected to SD it displays aircraft in the area perfectly.
Just one slight query... Should I be able to see it showing up on my FR24 feed.... The aerials are within 30cm of each other?
I haven't had a chance to try it in flight yet.

[exfirepro]

Hi Simon,

Glad it's still working OK. You can remove the plastic case from the dongle to let it 'breathe' a bit. That might help keep it a bit cooler. The case is just clipped together so can be carefully prised open with a thin knife blade.

Unfortunately PilotAware won't show up on your FR24 feed because FR24 is looking for signals on 1090MHz and your PAW is transmitting on 869MHz.

Have you 'turned on' Mode C/S Detection yet? It is 'off' by default to let new users get used to the system first, but as you are running it in a 'safe' (low stress) environment, it would be a good place to give it a try. If you have a transponder (in the plane obviously) you need to select Mode CS+ Filter (Beta), though you don't need the filter at home. You will need to set nice wide altitude filters if running it at home so you draw in maximum traffic and may also need to enable bearingless target display in your Nav system - e.g. In SkyDemon/Settings/Navigation - down at the bottom of the list.

For 'home testing' it would also be better to set Aircraft Type to 'Base Station Rx' which will temporarily disable the PAW transmitter to avoid frightening low flying local aircraft.

Let us know how you get on.

Best Regards

Peter

[SimonM]

I haven't removed the cover and will monitor the temperature for the time being but have followed your advice and set Mode C/S detection on and set to Base Station RX. I haven't had a chance to try it in the air yet but looking forward to when I can....Unfortunately the trial period has now expired though.

A couple of things

Interestingly the log is showing what looks like an error...

Use of uninitialized value $eth0_ip in concatenation (.) or string at htdocs/index.cgi line 152.
Use of uninitialized value $eth0_ip in concatenation (.) or string at htdocs/index.cgi line 152.
Use of uninitialized value $eth0_ip in concatenation (.) or string at htdocs/index.cgi line 152.
Use of uninitialized value $eth0_ip in concatenation (.) or string at htdocs/index.cgi line 152.
Use of uninitialized value $eth0_ip in concatenation (.) or string at htdocs/index.cgi line 152.
Use of uninitialized value $eth0_ip in concatenation (.) or string at htdocs/index.cgi line 152.
Use of uninitialized value $eth0_ip in concatenation (.) or string at htdocs/index.cgi line 152.


Maybe its nothing to worry about or its because the Ethernet port isn't connected but I would (probably wrongly) assume that this will be filling up the log file pretty quick as it is updating every few seconds. Does the log file empty itself at any time? Such as when its unplugged or will it just keep creating new ones and gradually fill the memory card?

....and, While sitting at home I have had 2 drop-outs of the wifi. I suspect this may be because I am monitoring multiple pages (Home, Radar, Logging) as well as connected with SD all with my laptop.

[exfirepro]

Simon,

A bit confused when you say....

I haven't had a chance to try it in the air yet but looking forward to when I can....Unfortunately the trial period has now expired though.

Do you mean you are running the unit on a 28 Day Trial Licence? If so it's easy to upgrade to your first year system licence which comes as part of the kit. Simply visit. www.pilotaware.lode.co.uk , select 1st Year System Key and fill in your details, then add the new licence key to your unit when the e-mail arrives (don't forget to save the changes).

A couple of things

Interestingly the log is showing what looks like an error...

Use of uninitialized value $eth0_ip in concatenation (.) or string at htdocs/index.cgi line 152.
Use of uninitialized value $eth0_ip in concatenation (.) or string at htdocs/index.cgi line 152.
Use of uninitialized value $eth0_ip in concatenation (.) or string at htdocs/index.cgi line 152.
Use of uninitialized value $eth0_ip in concatenation (.) or string at htdocs/index.cgi line 152.
Use of uninitialized value $eth0_ip in concatenation (.) or string at htdocs/index.cgi line 152.
Use of uninitialized value $eth0_ip in concatenation (.) or string at htdocs/index.cgi line 152.
Use of uninitialized value $eth0_ip in concatenation (.) or string at htdocs/index.cgi line 152.


Maybe its nothing to worry about or its because the Ethernet port isn't connected but I would (probably wrongly) assume that this will be filling up the log file pretty quick as it is updating every few seconds. Does the log file empty itself at any time? Such as when its unplugged or will it just keep creating new ones and gradually fill the memory card?

Sorry, can't help you with this one. Software is Lee's field. I'm sure he'll be along shortly. I wouldn't worry about the logs filling up the memory card though. The system is designed to manage this. I've been running mine for over 2 years now without issues.

....and, While sitting at home I have had 2 drop-outs of the wifi. I suspect this may be because I am monitoring multiple pages (Home, Radar, Logging) as well as connected with SD all with my laptop.

The home environment can certainly test WiFi capabilities. Your laptop wants to connect to your (generally stronger) home router, so any slight hiccup in PAW's WiFi and it will do so. If it's only the occasional dropout, I'd leave well alone meantime until you try it in the plane. If it proves to be a problem, you can adjust the WiFi settings (e.g. by raising the WiFi power slightly) under the 'Network' Tab, but you need to do so very carefully and keep a note of the original settings so you can go back.
PAW will by the way reboot after each WiFi setting change.

Hope this helps.

Regards

Peter

[Wadoadi]

if removing the case on the dongle I find adding a small self adhesive heat sink works great.