Messages

16

Technical Support / Re: SkyDemon loss of connection

« on: May 05, 2019, 08:26:12 pm »

I’m sure it won’t be this, but I had a similar issue a while back - PAW would work fine and then occasional issue (drops etc) after working fine for an hour etc.

After a lot of mucking about, I took my case apart and found that the PAW bridge was coming away from the main board - the pins were visible. I think the turbulent air and constant connection and disconnection of the PAW antenna had forced the items to slowly part. I pushed the bridge back in to the connector on the main board and then prevented it from parting by putting something inside against the case so when it was screwed back together, there was no means of anything parting company. This was the PAW classic - I have the Rosetta now and no way of it happening.

After that fix, never had an issue.

17

Technical Support / Re: SkyDemon unable to connect to PAW - initially and then it works

« on: May 05, 2019, 08:18:28 pm »

Good to hear that I’m not going mad! :-)

18

Technical Support / SkyDemon unable to connect to PAW - initially and then it works

« on: May 05, 2019, 10:55:14 am »

Hi all,

The last few times I have flown, I've experienced the following issue (on the ground before take off) where SkyDemon waits for connection to PAW and then fails. I should add that the iPad is WIFI only.

I'll detail the steps below:
Setup PAW in the back of the plane and power on - after this, the usual aircraft walk around is completed so a good 10 minutes will have passed.
Open iPad and check it is connected to the PAW WIFI - all present and correct
Open SkyDemon and click Fly and select PAW - SkyDemon displays a message stating waiting for device and eventually times out - maybe 15 seconds later or so.
Open a Safari web page on iPad and browse to the PAW configuration web page - PAW is running and all green lights
Back to SkyDemon and click Fly and select PAW - connects successfully (occasionally I have to quit SkyDemon (apple double tap button and close) before SkyDemon will connect)

I'm not pointing the figure at PAW, but has anyone else experienced this - only starting happening in the last couple of months and is really odd. It's as if the iPad is connected to PAW but doesn't have a 'proper' connection before you browse the configuration page.

Thanks
Rob

19

Technical Support / Re: PLAY function on 192.168.1.1 Track Page

« on: February 27, 2019, 08:17:19 pm »

Make sure you have the device you run SkyDemon connected to PAW and SkyDemon running - it’ll then play the flight as it happened on SkyDemon!

20

General Discussion / Re: PAW track log understanding

« on: December 22, 2018, 04:56:42 pm »

Thanks Lee - I’ll have a proper look through the log!

21

General Discussion / Re: PAW track log understanding

« on: December 22, 2018, 01:08:14 pm »

Thanks Ian - I’ll have a look!

Hi Lee,

I understand the details are on the traffic page, however, checking that while running SkyDemon, in cloud on an RNAV approach in to Cranfield is easier said than done! :-) I heard a few radio calls for traffic around Cranfield and suspect they would have been Mode S, but didn’t receive any notification - they weren’t close, but ahead, from the calls and I just wanted to check that PAW had received the signal even though they may have been filtered by my settings (not close enough or at a concerning height).

As I’ve repositioned the PAW on a window RAM mount in the rear, I just wanted to be ‘more’ certain it is in a good place and hence checking the track log would show the planes detected even if not alerted!

Thanks
Rob

22

General Discussion / PAW track log understanding

« on: December 21, 2018, 07:21:13 pm »

Hi all,

Just a quick one - I know I've seen this somewhere before but cannot now find it!

What do all the messages in the track log file indicate - e.g. $PFLAA, $PAWRT, $PGRMZ, $GPGGA etc.

The reason I'm asking is I've been trying new RAM mounts for PAW and positions and don't think I saw any Mode C/S targets today - understandable as the weather was atrocious and I must have been one of the mad few flying.

Anyway, I'm just trying to ascertain is the positioning is good/correct but cannot work out, what is ADSB, Mode C/S etc.

Thanks
Rob

23

General Discussion / Re: Upgrading Classic

« on: October 18, 2018, 09:46:23 pm »

This is off topic, but something relevant - is there any chance in a new version of the PAW software that there can be a configuration backup and save option? Hopefully saving all settings including WIFI, profile configurations for different planes, track files etc? That way, I don't think doing a full wipe and restore would be so daunting! I spent ages fine tuning mine and then when I did a full wipe and restore to get the latest kernel and forgot I'd lose everything I'd fine tuned! :-)

24

General Discussion / Re: PAW on a yoke mount

« on: October 16, 2018, 10:17:28 pm »

Hi Keith,

That's really kind - thank you! I hope you are recovering well from the operation!

The planes I fly are now located at Coventry, but I work in SoA from time to time, so really easy for me to organise. I'm going to the airfield either this weekend or next to try out the current configuration - if it doesn't work as expected, I will take you up on your kind offer!

Either way, I'll try and remember to get some pictures to post as it may be useful for some people in the future who want a similar setup.

Thanks once again.
Rob

25

General Discussion / Re: PAW on a yoke mount

« on: October 12, 2018, 01:50:11 pm »

Hi Peter,

That all makes perfect sense!

I'll definitely let you know how I get on and if I encounter any issues with the setup. My main concern is the amount of weight on one yoke - RAM mount extensions galore, iPad and PAW.

Being club aircraft, I was trying to achieve two things - easy installation with minimal cables and boxes affecting visibility and passenger comfort and for the 'co-pilot' along with myself to be able to monitor routing and potential traffic. We'll see how well it works!

Thanks
Rob

26

General Discussion / Re: PAW on a yoke mount

« on: October 12, 2018, 12:33:33 am »

Thanks for all of the replies - it’s a PA28 - I’ve always had the PAW sat on the coating but feel it does block some of the view - I love EC but worry I’ll miss something out in the open.

Anyway, I’ve taken the plunge (it’s only money....) and bought a three mount RAM extension (£47... horrified), RAM arm and mount for the Rosetta.

The plan is to have the tablet (iPad mini 2) and Rosetta mounted on the passenger yoke - this giving the passenger and I visibility of SkyDemon and traffic and full window visibility. I might find the £86 I spent on RAM bits is a waste, but it’s worth a try!

Just out of intersect, what is the concern with the GPS? If none of it works, I’ll be back to the coaming setup and proud owner of lots of expensive metal pieces! :-)

Thanks
Rob

27

General Discussion / PAW on a yoke mount

« on: September 30, 2018, 09:47:04 pm »

Hi all,

I'm looking at attempting to tidy the installation of the Rosetta as I fly in 'share' planes so have no fixed installation option. I usually try and mount the PAW Rosetta via a suction mount to the rear windows, but when you are 4 up, this is virtually impossible as the passengers have a poor view.

My thinking was to extend my RAM mount configuration to include a three ball connector - one would be used for the tablet for SkyDemon and the other could be used to mount the Rosetta on the yoke - this RAM mount would be positioned on the passenger yoke and I'd hopefully have the antenna's just above the 'dash' in this configuration. I'm guessing there are many downsides to this setup as I can imagine banking and climbing/descending would always be changing the antenna positions far more drastically than a window mount as such.

Any thoughts on the idea above or ideas of a better mount option?

Thanks
Rob

28

General Discussion / Re: Smaller PAW antenna - the one that attaches to the PAW bridge

« on: June 27, 2018, 11:59:50 am »

No problem - thanks for letting me know!

I'll buy a bigger storage box as it'll just be as easy! :-)

Thanks
Rob

29

General Discussion / Smaller PAW antenna - the one that attaches to the PAW bridge

« on: June 27, 2018, 11:50:09 am »

Hi all,

I've seen and read lots of posts with regards to using a smaller ADSB antenna and the one that ships with the Rosetta is perfectly sized for my storage box I transport the PAW in.

However, I'm struggling to fit the PAW antenna (the one that attaches to the PAW bridge) in my storage box - it is slightly too long.

Is there a recommended replacement that is smaller - ideally similar to the ADSB antenna in size? Obviously doing the Rosetta DIY upgrade, I'm not sure if the one that ships with a new Rosetta would be smaller anyway - if so, would someone mind sending me a link to what I need to purchase and I will get one organised.

Thanks for all your help
Rob

30

General Discussion / Rosetta upgrade - completed and some helpful tips - hopefully!

« on: June 26, 2018, 11:37:53 pm »

Hi folks,

I received my Rosetta upgrade kit today and decided to set to work - not knowing what to expect, here are my thoughts and hopefully some helpful tips as I did encounter a couple of issues along the way.

First off, everything is packaged nicely and the guide you download is very easy to follow for all parts!

One of the initial difficulties I had was that I wasn't expecting to have to punch holes in the supplied case - this is not a big deal as the holes are already 'precut' but as I don't have any decent tools this was a little challenge. In the end I used a Stanley knife and slow cut around the holes - when you get your kit you will see what I mean if you opt for this method. As the case is small, it can be a little fiddly.

The next difficulting is that the holes are not big enough for the connectors - all mentioned in the guide. I used a small flat head screw driver and slowly went round the holes in a circular fashion - this took a while but eventually the holes were big enough!

The connectors have screw on parts and a small set a pliers really helps with tightening these up!

Everything else was really easy to put together - the case can be a little fiddly to take apart and but I've found that with all Pi cases!

The next part was installing the PilotAware software and this was where I had my main issue - the guide explains the steps and I won't go over that here but I did find the following:

The guide references SD Card Formatter v4 - this does not appear to be available anymore and only v5 is. v5 does not have the options available that v4 appears to have.

Initially I decided to use a new memory card as I wanted to keep my old PAW functional so I could copy the settings.

I used SD Card Formatter on a new 32GB SD card, copied the PilotAware software and then tried to boot the PAW - I instantly received an error stating that it was unable to resize the FAT partition. Thinking the issue was the SD card, I got my original PAW SD card and did the same - same error. Convinced I didn't have two corrupt SD cards, I set about finding other tools to format the SD card. I found a tool called GUIFORMAT - http://www.ridgecrop.demon.co.uk/index.htm?guiformat.htm and this is the procedure that worked for me:

Formatted SD card with SD Card Formatter - full format - took a long time
Formatted the SD card using GUIFORMAT, set the allocation unit size to 32768 and made sure not to select Quick Format
Format took a long time
Extracted files from PilotAware download and copied to SD card as per PilotAware guide
Waited 15 seconds before ejecting the SD card from Windows to confirm all file copy operations had completed
Booted Pi......
Everything worked and this was using the new 32GB SD card

PilotAware is now up and running in the new Rosetta format - all very painless once I'd got the above sorted.

The only other piece of advice I would mention is to make sure you look at the pictures carefully in the Rosetta upgrade guide - I initially removed the holes in the wrong part of the case - no issue - but parts of the case look very similar to other parts of the case and if you don't pay full attention to the pictures, you will make the same mistake as me! :-) There aren't any issues making this mistake and you do have a couple more ventilation holes!

Good luck!

Thanks
Rob