Topics

1

Technical Support / PAW Classic now reports Volt=Error and works intermittently

« on: June 24, 2023, 02:49:26 pm »

My PAW classic runs software version 20230616, license is valid for 12 more months. I've been using it reliably for years, no modifications except software updates. Now it suddenly became unreliable:

1. Sometimes I see the Pilotaware WiFi and connect to it, but I can't get to the home page (or any other) from phone/tablet. Sometimes I don't see the Pilotaware wifi after starting it at all. Sometimes it works ok. I note also that I can sometimes connect to the wifi from my Samsung S22+ phone, but not from my Sony Tablet Compact .. but this is new .. always worked previously.

2. On the 'Home' page it reports 'Volt=Error' (also on radar screen) often, but intermittently. When it reports Volt=Error it still seems to find traffic on the 'Traffic' page if I am connected.

I use it in the aircraft with the same power cable and power connector (cigar lighter adapter) as ever, and at home with a stable power source and good USB cable .. don't think it's a power issue. All the 3 dongles are plugged-in ok as far as I can see.

The adsb receiver dongle (and therefore the wifi dongle because it touches the adsb dongle) get very hot  ... but always did since years.

Any one have an idea what can be the issue ? I really changed nothing in the position of the PAW in the aircraft, or the cables or the dongles, it just went whacko.

2

General Discussion / External antenna reccomendation?

« on: September 17, 2018, 04:50:17 pm »

Hi all. Have been using PAW for quite a while now. Working nicely. I'm considering an externally mounted aerial for reception of ads-b/090. Can anyone suggest such an antenna ? I see that PilotAware sells an aviation grade external antenna kit but I dont need the whole lot, just the adsb antenna and cable. Is this an item that anyone has found on ebay/amazon etc? Additionally, is it better mounted on top or bottom of the aircraft , or makes no difference ? I know this was previously discussed but I can no longer find the previous thread on the forum.

3

Technical Support / PAW doesnt start after renewing the key.

« on: June 25, 2018, 03:26:07 pm »

I just renewed my license on my standard PAW. Entered the new 16 character code, Saved and restarted PAW. Now it shows one small red light and one larger red flashing light which flashes 4 times, pauses and repeats. Now I cannot connect to PAW. Couldn't see what to do from the manual. Any suggestion appreciated?

4

General Discussion / What is the Pilotaware connectivity option in SkyDemon ?

« on: August 20, 2017, 09:20:51 am »

Just noticed that SD has a connectivity option called Pilotaware. I use the FLARM connectivity which works fine. The Pilotaware one doesn't seem to work. Can anyone point to info about or explain the new option and why we would use it over the Flarm one ?

5

General Discussion / Reducing PAW Audio Chattiness. Is it possible ?

« on: February 20, 2017, 09:54:10 am »

Was just considering the PAW audio output. Typically I find the audio distracting just after landing when I want to listen to tower instructions or transmissions by other pilots, even though my PAW audio is second priority to other radio inputs. Is anyone else finding this to be the case ? I was thinking it might be possible to reduce this chatter in PAW :

** If my GPS groundspeed is below, say 20 knots, I am on the ground and I don't want audio alerts (but still can see the alerts on SkyDemon or other device)

I do realize that this wouldn't work for very low speed aircraft but if there were a switch in PAW it could help a large number of ships by de-cluttering the audio for pilots at busy fields.

Obviously we could unplug paw when landing but that requires some fumbling and will cut the gps data to the android or iOS device also.

Anyone agree/disagree or have a better idea?

6

General Discussion / Bluetooth Audio for PAW

« on: February 02, 2017, 05:15:17 pm »

Just a note to say that a Bluetooth transmitter connected to PAW works fine. See the attached pic. I bought this:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mpow-Bluetooth-Transmitter-Streambot-Portable/dp/B00Z9M488E/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1481648452&sr=8-5&keywords=mpow+bluetooth+transmitter

Connect the 3.5mm jack to the paw output and the usb to the spare paw usb port. It paired with my Lightspeed Zulu 2 straight away (I think because it uses default code 0000) and the audio works just like that. For me the volume level is perfect.

I missed a trick because some other Bluetooth audio transmitters available on Amazon can transmit to 2 devices, which would allow 2 headsets. Anyway, works a treat.

Noticed, that on the ground with the mode-c/s enabled, the nice lady rants endlessly when other aircraft are in the circuit, presumably because they are constantly changing level when landing/taking off. Somewhat irritating, but generally the audio is a positive feature imho.

7

General Discussion / Feedback: PAW pressure and Mode C/S

« on: December 18, 2016, 07:26:58 am »

I am posting some feedback from yesterday's flying experiences around Stuttgart area, with PAW in a non-pressurized light aircraft. This is a new posting but relates to my previous post "Barometric Pressure Way-off ?".



Barometric Pressure on Ground
-----------------------------
Yesterday on the ground at my airfield (in AIP the altitude is quoted as 2227ft) I set the Dynon Skyview and Winter TSO analogue altimeter to the AIP airfield altitude, then checked the pressure on PAW :

PAW : 1037mb (picture 1)
Winter: 1038/1039mb (picture 2)
Dynon: 1038mb (picture 3)
Tower : 1038mb 

.. see the first 3 pictures attached. so it looks like all were in agreement quite closely. Also note that PAW had 10 satellites/dgps/3d even on the ground, so very good, and GNSS=2253ft which is close to the airfield altitude of 2227ft.

Negative Altitude of other aircraft
-----------------------------------
On the ground a twin then taxied right past my nose. It appeared with a tailnumber and 'circle' on SkyDemon, and a red, square notification box on paw radar, but both showed a relative altitude to me of -1.6, which confuses me somewhat. 

PAW pressure during flight
--------------------------
Climbing to 5500ft on the Dynon 1038mb and approx 40nm from the home airfield, regional Info also quoted regional QNH as 1038, same as home airfield. Dynon gps altitude 5391ft. Looking at PAW it showed GNSS=5396ft ,very close to the Skyview GPS altitude, with 'GPS fix SPS',  11 satellites and 3d. However, paw now showed QNH 1032mb. (Picture 4)

Phantom Airliner
----------------
Proceeding south-west of Stuttgart at 3600ft msl, I got a 'circle' on SkyDemon (and box on paw radar, no adsb) showing a relative altitude of -3 . That would put it below ground level. The associated tail-number shown was TC-NBB, which according to flightradar (https://www.flightradar24.com/data/aircraft/tc-nbb) is an Airbus A320. There's no way it could have been below me or anywhere near. After a minute or so, the circle disappeared.

Proceeding southwest another 30nm, I got another 'below ground' signal (circle on SD, box on paw radar, no adsb) , different tail number .. cant remember but wasnt a . Signal disappeared again soon. This time I was really far away from any controlled airspace or any major airfield.

Generally, this situation with 'phantom' signals has happened several times on other flights, always when flying within about 2000ft of the ground.

Flying Config
-------------
Generally, PAW picks-up adsb aircraft really well, also small aircraft with adsb, of which there are many in my area. The in-flight Mode S/C signals are also very accurate , and I can usually spot the target, which makes the 'phantoms' even harder to explain. I have never  spotted any aircraft when the 'phantom' signal appeared.


As a consequence of the above, I think the barometric pressure is not way-off at all as I had originally thought. However, I seem to get spurious 'below ground level' Mode S/C signals which I cannot explain. If anyone on paw team can suggest what might be the issue, I'd appreciate it.

8

General Discussion / Barometric Pressure Way-off ?

« on: December 10, 2016, 04:22:05 pm »

Maybe I don't understand correctly, but my baro pressure on the PAW was 1012mb when the area info was giving me 1021mb. Seems like a big difference. Does anyone know if this is expected to happen, or should it be about the same ?

9

Technical Support / Cannot make PAW update to latest software 20161124

« on: December 03, 2016, 10:46:08 pm »

I just followed these instructions :

Log onto pilotaware.lode.co.uk and download the latest pilotaware.pgp file.
Transfer this file onto the memory stick.
Power up your PilotAware unit and type in 192.168.1.1 and select Updates from the menu list
Insert the memory stick into a USB slot (anyone except the WiFi one will do as the WiFi needs to be enabled..for example try the USB dongle one)
Select  Check for Updates
After about 20-30 seconds you will see some lines of code followed by PilotAware Version 20161124.

... but on the final step I never see the 'lines of code' and no update is done. The PilotAware.pgp is definitely saved on my USB stick, and it's plugged in to the 1 spare USB port I have in my PAW. PAW is powered from mains. I select 'Updates' and it shows 'Checking for Updates' .. but never gets further. I really don't know what to do from here because the PAW update process offers zero information about what it's looking for or cannot find. It just doesn't work.

Has anyone experienced the same ? Any suggestions as to what may be wrong ?

10

General Discussion / MinIMU-9 AHRS

« on: December 02, 2016, 03:48:57 pm »

It's a different use-case to the traffic information but imho it would be interesting to have a backup attitude indicator without having to pay thousands. For raspberry pi I saw this:

http://blog.davidegrayson.com/2012/11/orientation-sensing-with-raspberry-pi.html
http://www.tinyosshop.com/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=852

Seems to cost $20 and be really small. Could this be something to integrate into PAW ?



 

11

Technical Support / Dynon SkyView Setup?

« on: October 01, 2016, 03:46:00 pm »

I believe that I can connect PAW to my Dynon SkyView via WiFi somehow, and I think I even read some instructions somewhere , but now I can't find them. Can anyone point me to these setup instructions ? Much appreciated.

12

General Discussion / What's the status of FLARM ?

« on: June 22, 2016, 03:08:42 pm »

FLARM has been discussed quite a lot here, so I'm probably repeating the issue, but I still dont have a clear understanding:

Generally it seems to be that FLARM is some proprietary protocol and the developer won't share its decoding since that would presumably reduce sales of their expensive hardware devices. For me the existence of super-cheap ADSB send/receive modules like PAW suggests that FLARM's protocol will die, sooner or later. However, loads of gliders and light aircraft use it currently, so it would be good to pick those up. The frequency used by FLARM seems rather similar to ADSB (but I'm not techy in this area).

I keep seeing articles on internet which suggest that decoding FLARM is not so tough, and people are doing it :

http://comments.gmane.org/gmane.comp.mobile.osmocom.sdr/455

Is that really the case or there's some mega encryption on it or something that's indecipherable ? If not, whats to speak against a flarm decoder in paw ? It's not clear to me whether that is a technical or legal issue.

Anyone clarify our position (no pun intended) ?

13

Technical Support / New User - Aerial Problems

« on: June 18, 2016, 10:03:22 am »

I just got my PAW. Works in Skydemon and EasyVFR nicely. Very good job . It comes with 2 aerials : A thin one on a long lead, and a thick one that screws-in.

1. On the cable of the 'thin' aerial I have to forcibly hold the end of the cable in to the dongle if I am to get traffic reception. As soon as I stop pushing the cable, the traffic disappears. I think the end of the long lead on the thin aerial is a bit broken because I can see some exposed wire. So, where can I get a replacement 'thin' aerial or cable ? (Would be better to have no cable at all for me .. just have a thin aerial sticking out of the dongle directly would be best)

2. I think the thin aerial picks up the traffic, so do I need the 'thick' aerial at all ? I am in Switzerland/Germany area so very few PAW users here and the thick aerial gets in the way because its too long. Can I leave it off ?

Any help appreciated since I'm not an electronics person. I notice that the thin aerial unscrews from its base. Would be great to get a small L-piece and attach the lightweight aerial to the dongle direct.