PilotAware
British Forum => General Discussion => Topic started by: Admin on August 31, 2015, 04:52:49 pm
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Hi All,
Probably worth mentioning where we are on this topic.
The only thing holding back PilotAware from running under Android is the CollisionAware App
This is something I wrote which is only available on iOS.
Chris Mills is currently porting this to Android, and in Parallel I have been investigating the ability
to use off the shelf apps which send GPS/NMEA messages over WiFi.
On iOS there is an app called GPS NMEA
https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/nmea-gps/id590868529?mt=8
and on Android there is an app called BlueNMEA
http://max.kellermann.name/projects/blue-nmea/
Both of these should provide the ability to stream the GPS data to PilotAware.
I am currently testing the iOS/GPS-NMEA application and I pretty much have it working, in which case I am
hopeful that I can use the same mechanism for Android/BlueNMEA.
This also means I can drop my iOS Developer License and save some money - Hurrah!
Thx
Lee
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That's interesting. Bluenmea just gives me errors.
I'm using a GNS2000 with android so have to use Bluetooth GPS with mock locations to use the gps with SD. The app as an NMEA tab spewing out a data stream.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=googoo.android.btgps&hl=en_GB&referrer=utm_source%3Dgoogle%26utm_medium%3Dorganic%26utm_term%3Dbluetooth+gps+play+store&pcampaignid=APPU_1_4abkVfmwBYOhgwSA3qrYCg
I can't see either in bluetooth gps or Bluenmea how set set a port to send this data to. What's the best way of testing if pilot aware is getting the data?
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Hi
There is some work to do still, at the moment CollisionAware provides the location info to
PilotAware, and that is a bespoke protocol
BlueNMEA I presume is streaming NMEA messages over WiFi.
So I need to create a parser to read those messages, not too difficult really.
My plan is to get PilotAware accepting the messages from the iOS app GPS NMEA firstly,
then this should just work (famous last words) when accepting messages from BlueNMEA
I am kind of halfway there, EasyVFR have now builtin a GPS broadcast. This means I can
connect EasyVFR to PilotAware without the need to run CollisionAware, but more importantly
(but not yet tested) this means that EasyVFR should work on Android straight off the bat
but lets prove this first
Thx
Lee
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Thnx.
I posted on the SD beta forum asking Tim to build collision aware into SD.
Fingers crossed.
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BlueNMEA I presume is streaming NMEA messages over WiFi.
I think its streaming it over bluetooth.
This might do it (or help Chris) https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.alexandreroman.nrelay
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BlueNMEA I presume is streaming NMEA messages over WiFi.
I think its streaming it over bluetooth.
This might do it (or help Chris) https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.alexandreroman.nrelay
Apparently BlueNMEA can stream over bluetooth, or TCP.
BlueNMEA is an Android application which sends location data over Bluetooth (RFCOMM) or TCP in the NMEA format.
I would prefer UDP I think to make everything orthogonal, but TCP is fine too
I think Chris Mills may have his solution working shortly anyway.
Thx
Lee
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Hi Lee.
Making progress with the android app. Currently I am able to grab all the required gps data and construct a P3I sentence. I can broadcast this over UDP to my desktop using an onscreen button to send each sentence.
Only things left to do are move the broadcast to a recurring event, rather than button driven, test using PilotAware box and make the app look a bit prettier. Which version of the Pi code do I need in order for it to receive UDP broadcasts?
Once I have a version which seems to be working for me I will publish on the Google Play Store. Hopefully soon.
I suspect there may be some initial issues to resolve with the app going to sleep, Android killing "unused" processes, etc, but at least it's a start.
BW, Chris
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Sounds good Chris.
There's a PERSISTENT_ACTIVITY property option in Xmarin projects which is not on by default. Must be something similar in your IDE.
Looking forward to testing it out!
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Hi Chris
Busy at show, hence I have been quiet.
I am guessing there are a number of ways to get this to repeat.
I presume the code is in java, so I am not much use on the syntax, but....
You either need to spawn a thread with a constant delay loop, like 1 second, or
Register a function callback on a timer event to perform the send
I am sure java would have these constructs available
Thx
Lee
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Thanks Lee.
You are correct in that I'm working in Java. Bit of a learning curve for me. It's been a long time since I've done any Java coding and even then, not to a high standard. However, making progress.
I'll keep you posted.
Hope the show was a good time and big success.
BW, Chris
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Thanks Lee.
You are correct in that I'm working in Java. Bit of a learning curve for me. It's been a long time since I've done any Java coding and even then, not to a high standard. However, making progress.
I'll keep you posted.
Hope the show was a good time and big success.
BW, Chris
Hi Chris - I do Java s/w dev for a living - let me know if you get stuck. I've not ventured into Android programming yet but Java no problem.
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Thanks for the offer of help Ian.
I'm please to say that I've cracked it. I have a very rough Android app running on my phone, providing GPS data and feeds that along with traffic to my tablet running Skydemon. Hooray.
My plan is to tidy up the app a bit and publish on the App store. I'll try to get something available tomorrow night, in time for the weekend.
Once it's published then I think it might be helpful if you like to take a look at my code and tidy up a bit. Even I think it's a bit of a mess and I'm sure and experienced Java developer would be mortally offended by it.
Cheers, Chris.
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That's good news! I really appreciate your efforts on this, Chris, and I am really looking forward to do some testing this weekend ;)
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Great news Chris. Happy to have a look - don't worry am sure I have seen much worse and I won't rip it to bits!
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:-)
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Thanks for your efforts Chris, hopefully this should get a fair few new units in service.
Personally, although I have been using an ipad mini, i much prefer the size of the my nexus 7, so great news.
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Well done Chris - Top Marks
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Android app available on Google Play Store. Look for PilotAwareAndroid . Should work out of the box
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Thanks Chris, now just waiting for the regulator board and can start.....
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Android app available on Google Play Store. Look for PilotAwareAndroid . Should work out of the box
Hi Chris
Just when you thought you were all done 😉
At some point I want to deprecate the $P3IGGA syntax, and replace with
The NMEA sentences using $GPGGA and $GPRMC
http://www.gpsinformation.org/dale/nmea.htm#nmea
This then smooths the path for incorporating a GPS device, so I have
one common parser
Just reformatting data so should be pretty straightforward - I hope
Thx
Lee
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Any chance of a 'step by step' guide to get up and running for a 'non-geek' Eejit Chris?
Have installed your app on my Nexus 7.
Or is it best to stand back and allow settling in time with the experts?
Top effort nevertheless!!
Alan
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Screenshot
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Good effort Chris....I'll try it out in the car later.
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Yep that is what I have Chris.
Just need to confirm the next step as I am getting the message 'Failed to establish a connection with the Butterfly Connect unit.
Wondering if I am doing something wrong or missing out a step?
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Alan, have you set the key in connectivity settings to 6000?
I have it installed, but not getting any traffic, this may be down to signal though, I am at home and it is raining.
Chris, when i tap settings in your app nothing comes up??, can't see how to input my aircraft code.
Thanks again, Russ
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Hi Alan. I suspect that your SkyDemon device might not be connected to the PilotAware WiFi access point. I have had this message during development. If you're trying to set up anywhere there is a regular wifi network, eg at home, then anytime your device loses the PilotAware AP it will automatically reconnect to your home network. The only indication of this is a message which pops up on screen for a short time and then disappears.
This problem was driving me nuts whilst working on the app and it's the reason I added the SSID display at the top line of the app (You can't see it on the screen shot because there was no WiFi when I took it).
If your still having problems then I suggets turn it all off and back on again. Maybe Lee could explain more but I think the PilotAware box can only accept a certain number of connections. During testing I found that if I connected with an iPhone running CollisionAvoid and then disconnnected and tried to connect with PilotAwareAndroid then I couldn't connect without a reboot of the PilotAware box.
Hope this helps.
Chris
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Hi Russ. Settings are a red herring. Everything is hard coded at the moment.
Your PilotAware box has a miniweb server running inside it. You can access this using a web browser on your android device connected to the PilotAware WiFi. Enter the URL http://192.168.1.1 into your browser and you'll get the settings page for the PilotAware box. This is where you enter the license code and your transponder code (A valid transponder code is not required for the system to work).
Also, there is a setting within SkyDemon which limits displayed traffic contacts to those at a similar height to you. I reccomend setting this to maximum (50000ft) for testing. On the Android version of SD Settings>Setup>Navigation_Options>Other_Traffic>Show_Within_Vertically.......Set this to max.
Good luck
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New release imminent to support this, uploading now ....
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Just a though for anyone testing the PilotAwareAndroid app.
I've been working with a Development Version of the Raspberry Pi code provided by Lee. I think the only difference from the regular version is some extra output for debugging but I guess it isn't exactly the same.
I'd be pleased to hear from anyone who has success with the regular code downloaded from the website.
Chris
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Cheers chris, settings were accessible in app for the Ipad version so missed that..
P.S. do i have to be running v1.03 software on the Pi box for Android compatability? (currently running 1.02), if so I can't get the download link for that to work, will keep trying.
edit..aah just seen above post Lee, will wait and download new version, Nice one.
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As far as I know the Android app provides exactly the same data and format as the original iPhone app, over the same type of connection. I don't think the Pi can tell what type of device is providing the GPS data and so it shouldn't matter. The mini webserver is a slightly newer development however.
Chris
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Sorry Lee, didn't realise the web server wasn't available in the curent version.
Chris
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As far as I know the Android app provides exactly the same data and format as the original iPhone app, over the same type of connection. I don't think the Pi can tell what type of device is providing the GPS data and so it shouldn't matter. The mini webserver is a slightly newer development however.
Chris
Almost correct :)
Your App is using UDP, my app is using TCP.
I think UDP is a better approach, it is a lot more forgiving to wifi dropouts because it does not look for an ACK. TCP can block waiting for an ACK when it is simply better to send again
Thx
Lee
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Thanks Chris and I very much suspect I was being a bit thick by not confirming I was correctly connected.
I am now able to use PilotAware with my:
1/ iPhone 6
2/ iPad Air + Garmin Glo
3/ Nexus 7
RESULT!!
Am flying out of my Cheddington base (2 miles from Halton) late morning tomorrow and will look out for others as have only picked up ADS-B traffic thus far.
Thanks to Lee and all of you Aviatechnogeeks for making this a reality.
As aye
Al
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Thanks to all of you Aviatechnogeeks for making this a reality.
Alan, I have absolutely no idea to whom you are referring ::)
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Quite right Lee..... MUST PROOFREAD in future!
Now amended.
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Sorry Lee. I thought I'd emailed but maybe not.
Finished up using TCP in the end, not UDP. Once I'd understood it all, the Java coding was a bit easier and it worked first time, unlike the UDP which I was struggling with.
Chris
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Sorry Lee. I thought I'd emailed but maybe not.
Finished up using TCP in the end, not UDP. Once I'd understood it all, the Java coding was a bit easier and it worked first time, unlike the UDP which I was struggling with.
Chris
Hi Chris,
Not a problem, I have to do some code cleanup, I have got lots of duplicated code at the moment.
I want to restructure into a common parser (NMEA based)
and two listening sockets on port 2001, both UDP & TCP.
So I dont intend to lose the TCP comms, but I do want to lose the $P3IGGA messaging, its just
duplicating what is already in NMEA
Thx
Lee
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Static testing on ground good. I can see CAT in skydemon and quite a range. Power board arrived this morning so pilot aware upgrade then testing once I've got the soldeting done and p3i working.
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Great stuff, Also got it running on Nexus 7 now and picking up ADSB at 10 miles in a ground test.
I think I can actually fit the Nexus on my panel, the Ipad Mini was too big.
Thanks Lee and Chris
P.S. Anyone with a skydemon forum account want to give em a nudge on making the
traffic icons a bit clearer/different colour?
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Don't think the traffic icons are configurable in SD.
Chris
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Lee.
Now that I know what I'm doing I think it will be a simple mod to send NMEA sentences. I'll have a go at a settings page and see if I can give the option of either P3I or NMEA at a user selectable setting.
How's that for futureproofing!!!
😉
Chris
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Managed 25nms in all directions from ground level albeit at 750' amsl in the Chilterns from my garden.
Will it be possible, at some stage in the future, to incorporate the facility to enter the ICAO identifier in the Android version of PilotAware Chris?
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See the earlier posting about the PilotAware box mini web server. This is where the ICAO aircraft code goes. You might need the latest version of the Pi code.
Chris
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Up and running on my Nexus 7 now.
Thanks guys.
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Instructions
1. Build your PilotAware box and get a licence code from Lee.
2. Download PilotAwareAndroid from the PlayStore to your phone (or tablet). This device must have GPS receiver.
3. Set up your Nav Software. This will depend on which software you have but Lee has posted instructions elsewhere on the forum.
For SkyDemon you need to make the following changes
Settings>Setup>Navigation Options>Other Traffic>Show Within Vertically = 50000ft
Settings>Setup>Connectivity Options>External GPS/Traffic Source = FLARM
Settings>Setup>Connectivity Options>FLARM Options>Air Connect Key = 6000
4. Power up your PilotAware box and wait patiently for it to finish booting. This takes about 20 seconds on my unit.The best way to tell is to look at you devices WiFi settings. You'll see the PilotAware WiFI access point(AP) appear. It should look something like PilotAware-1234567890
5. Connect the PilotAwareAndroid device to the PilotAware WiFi AP. This is an open network and no password is required.
6. Start the PilotAwareAndroid software. The top line of the display will confirm you are connnected to the right AP.
7. Wait for a GPS fix to be made. The rest of the PilotAwareAndroid display will be populated with live data and update regularly.
8. Connect your Nav device to the same PilotAware AP as above (PilotAware-1234567890).
9. Start your Nav software if not already.
10. Go Flying
Again, in Skydemon when you click "Go Flying" you need to chose "FLARM location". Sometimes takes a few moments to update at this stage.
Unless you're in a GA ADS-B rich area the most likely traffic you will see is high level commercial flights.
Once you're happy the system is working it probably makes sense to go back and alter the >Other Traffic>Show Within Vertically setting
Hope this helps
Chris
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Had a successfull test of Android version riding around Cardiff with it strapped to my rucksack.
Got pickups as far away as Northolt
All good apart from the attention from the old bill in a Beemer..............careful out there
P.S. How do you take a screenshot on a Nexus7?
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Hi Lee & Chris,
Successfully tested the Android version on my HTC ONE phone tonight, at home. Not much commercial stuff flying above Sheffield at this time of night, but did pick up a few, so thanks for getting the Android version up and running.
BobD
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Thanks Lee & Chris. Now working well on my Nexus 7
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Tried to jnstall on galaxy tab mini gt-p3100, but play store says it is not compatible. Any solution?
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Works basically well on my Asus Nexus style Android tablet as well as on the iPhone. Thanks guys.
Chris - sometimes Skydemon seems to get stuck "Searching For GPS" and closing and re-running the PilotAware app on the Android tablet seems to fix it. Perhaps there are some combinations of order of startup or parts coming and going that aren't quite covered. Not sure I can accurately reproduce yet - will try and get a clear reproducer and report back.
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How old is the Galaxy tab mini and which version of Android are you running. Check Settings > About Device > Android version. Some of the code required slightly more up to API features so older versions of Android might not work.
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Thanks Ian. If you manage to pin down a specific problem then let me know. There's some complicated stuff about process lifespan, pause and resume and multi threading that happens in the background of Android apps and might be responsible for dropping signal and stuff. I'm not sure i really understand it all quite yet
Also, if your device loses a gps fix PilotAwareAndroid sends null data to the PilotAware box which I guess might upset your SD.
Chris
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Try this Chris:
- ensure your device will only connect to the PilotAware wifi
- get everything up and running
- pull the plug on the Pi
- plug in Pi
- Go Flying again in SkyDemon
For me I need to close and reopen PilotAwareAndroid before it will work again
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Ahhhaaa
So this problem I think is due to the way the software sets up the TCP socket connection. This is done once when the app starts and isn't checked again. I'll see if I can rectify. For now cancelled I suggest leaving the Pi on while the system is running.
Chris
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Ahhhaaa
So this problem I think is due to the way the software sets up the TCP socket collection. This is done once when the app starts and isn't checked again. I'll see if I can rectify. For now can I suggest leaving the Pi on while the system is running. 😉
Chris
Hi Chris
I think I see what is happening here, you need to setup a timeout on the connection, one of the annoying things with TCP that you do not worry about with UDP, UDP is connectionless, probably different in Java, but in C, I do the following for the TCP siockets
struct timeval timeout;
timeout.tv_sec = SOCK_TIMEOUT;
timeout.tv_usec = 0;
setsockopt(sockP->accfd, SOL_SOCKET, SO_SNDTIMEO, (char *)&timeout, sizeof(timeout));
setsockopt(sockP->accfd, SOL_SOCKET, SO_RCVTIMEO, (char *)&timeout, sizeof(timeout));
Thx
Lee
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How old is the Galaxy tab mini and which version of Android are you running. Check Settings > About Device > Android version. Some of the code required slightly more up to API features so older versions of Android might not work.
For info my old Asus Memopad is running 4.2.2 and is OK
I am stuck on an older version of SkyDemon though: 3.3.2.20289
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Testing thismorning and I forced PilotAwareAndroid to stop after all detected and location found. I wasn't moving when I did that but Skydeamon continued quite hapily. I could see ADS-B traffic moving my no warning that I'd lost my GPS. Thats a bit of a concern.
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Testing thismorning and I forced PilotAwareAndroid to stop after all detected and location found. I wasn't moving when I did that but Skydeamon continued quite hapily. I could see ADS-B traffic moving my no warning that I'd lost my GPS. Thats a bit of a concern.
I noticed this too - I put it down to SkyDemon using the tablet GPS directly for its location info and PilotAware (ADS-B side) for traffic, but the ARF interface on the PilotAware would no longer be getting position information to transmit on the ARF radio side of things. Is that right ? I can't test the ARF side yet.
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I'm also noticing that the ADS-B traffic seems to vanish everynow and then....I can still see the traffic in FR24 quite close by buts it no longer showing in SD.
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I've had everything running all morning here and eventually I got a message saying SkyDemon (Android) had lost the input (after a couple of hours at least).
Had to restart the Pi. I didn't have it connected to the monitor so can't report any messages from the Pi - sorry.
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Thanks for comments everyone. I'm not sure that these problems are entirely due to my Android app. All the PilotAwareAndroid app does is recognise when updated location data is available and send it to the Pi over WiFi. There may be some issues with Android killing processes that are asleep. I don't have a thorough understanding of this at the moment. Moving, rather than being stationary, might yield better results with more frequent position updates preventing the process from sleeping. There is a byte at the end of the P3i sentence which indicates valid gps signal but this is hard coded to true. I assumed that since I'm only sending gps data when the position changes, then it must be valid.
As far as traffic goes, that's all handled by the Rasp Pi.
Chris
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I just went for a drive. 5mins down the road I notice the aircraft was not moving. My bluetooth GPS was updating and ADS-B traffice was all moving around above. Restarted PilotAwareAndroid. That seemed to fix things for about 5minutes then my location stopped updating. After that I started to get SD messages that GPS location was lost. Clicking Go Flying>Using FLARM fixed it but location was not updating.
Using Go Flying>Location Service nav functions 100%
I thought it was probably that the app was not staying alive. I use Bluetooth GPS to make the GNS 2000 work for my location so I know android is not kill off the background processes.
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One potential issue here.
PilotAware keeps sending the last known location received from the GPS to SkyDemon.
This stops Skdemon from timing out.
Maybe I should send an empty NMEA string If I receive no new GPS updates, I am concerned
this may cause SkyDemon to timeout
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For balance, I have had it all running for hours this afternoon with no sign of anything stopping working at all :)
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PilotAware keeps sending the last known location received from the GPS to SkyDemon.
This stops Skdemon from timing out.
Maybe I should send an empty NMEA string If I receive no new GPS updates, I am concerned
this may cause SkyDemon to timeout
Yeah but I think thats alright for maybe 60 seconds or so. There comes a point when we need to be alerted to fact that we don't have good GPS.
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PilotAware keeps sending the last known location received from the GPS to SkyDemon.
This stops Skdemon from timing out.
Maybe I should send an empty NMEA string If I receive no new GPS updates, I am concerned
this may cause SkyDemon to timeout
Yeah but I think thats alright for maybe 60 seconds or so. There comes a point when we need to be alerted to fact that we don't have good GPS.
Not quite so simple :-\
In iOS Location Services, they only supply updates on a 'significant change', so when stationary, you receive no updates, because your location has not changed. iOS Location Services, do have an error condition which is called if the GPS is lost, and I think I use this in the CollisionAware App.
Chris you may need to check if Android has an equivalent error condition, I can then leave you to, constantly provide updates (if the no significant change issue occurs on Android), and stop or provide empty messages on the GPS error condition.
If you use a serial device, when the unit is still alive, but not providing good info you get something like this
$GPGGA,,,,,,,,,,*54
so simply the msg type, and a set of empty fields, followd by a checksum.
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Okay. I think the problem is probably in the android app. My location services were good....I could see stats updating in bluetooth gps app and when I stopped navigating and click go flying with location services instead of farm everything was fine. It also seemed to start when I restarted the android pilot aware app.
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Thanks for letting me know your problems rg.
I do still need to spend some time trying to understand sleep and resume, etc.
I am a little confused by your setup however. In your posts you mention GNS2000, bluetooth apps and using location services for navigation and I'm not clear on how this all fits together.
Please could you describe in a bit more detail exactly how you are set up and which software you're using.
There are a few little catches and tricks in the way that android location services work, for example, unless set up specifically to use ONLY the GPS data, the LocationManager object will get position data from any available source, this includes using the IP address of any network access and also triangulating from the mobile phone network.
Let me know how you're set up and I'll have a think.
Chris
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Hi Chris.
The GNS 2000 is one of these http://www.transair.co.uk/sp+GNS-2000-Bluetooth-Receiver+GNS2000?utm_campaign=Googlebase&utm_medium=organic&utm_source=Googlebase&gclid=CjwKEAjwyemvBRDFpN3E5_bs9BQSJAA5n8L2H8BjDVI8LfDg2p93iWrcn8LPZHSY9xVRleq4dFprDRoC1Szw_wcB
So it can stick on the windshield and no fear of the cessna wing shielding it.
Android doesn't natively support Bluetooth GPS like iOS so you need an app and mock GPS providers enabled. The app that recommended is this https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=googoo.android.btgps
So it supplies location services.
Your app is correctly seeing the location. I just think its probably going to sleep when in tha background.
Russ
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Thanks Russ. That's way more complicated than my setup and I'm not sure if I'll be able to easily debug.
I'm running PilotAwareAndroid on my phone, sending P3i sentence to PilotAware box which adds on ADSB data and forwards to my Android tablet running SkyDemon.
I've also managed a successful test with running SD on my phone at same time as PilotAwareAndroid.
Adding in BT GPS and mock locations with more GPS software running might be causing problems.
Lee is developing his system to include 'internal' gps (possibly USB) which will probably increase reliability of GPS data, rather than relying on phones which are designed to sleep, pause and generally save battery, rather than provide super reliable position data. I'm not sure how much more mileage there is in the Android app at the moment but I'll keep chipping away for now.
I'll load updates to the Play Store and they should be pushed out as they are available.
Chris
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Yeah I can see the apps are limited. I'm slightly dubious that a £10 usb gps stick will be very good.
I'll try tomorrow just using the inbuilt tablet gps.
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Hi,
I finally had time to try it :-)
Well, it connected once, although the GPS data was a little flaky (but I excused it on the basis I an indoors so the tablet doesn't get strong GPS signals).. then I updated skydemon as I noticed I was on an old version.. after that I couldn't get Skydemon to connect to the pilotaware anymore (the app is running in the background correctly reporting GPS data).
After much rebooting, I got it to connect again, but although the pilotaware was receiving ADSB sentences, no traffic was reported (although my position was correctly placed on the screen).
Andy
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Hi,
I finally had time to try it :-)
Well, it connected once, although the GPS data was a little flaky (but I excused it on the basis I an indoors so the tablet doesn't get strong GPS signals).. then I updated skydemon as I noticed I was on an old version.. now I can't get Skydemon to connect to the pilotaware anymore (the app is running in the background correctly reporting GPS data).
any ideas?
Andy
Whats the error message from SkyDemon ?
is it 'Failed to establish a connection ...' ?
If you have an HDMI monitor attached, do you see any messages ?
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Hi,
I finally had time to try it :-)
Well, it connected once, although the GPS data was a little flaky (but I excused it on the basis I an indoors so the tablet doesn't get strong GPS signals).. then I updated skydemon as I noticed I was on an old version.. now I can't get Skydemon to connect to the pilotaware anymore (the app is running in the background correctly reporting GPS data).
any ideas?
Andy
Whats the error message from SkyDemon ?
is it 'Failed to establish a connection ...' ?
If you have an HDMI monitor attached, do you see any messages ?
Much rebooting sorted it.. I modified my reply, see above :-) Can see my position, no traffic shown (but receiving ADSB sentences - reported by the WebUI)
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Is there a chance you throw away any bad ADSB sentences (i.e. failed CRC?) but these are still reported?
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Is there a chance you throw away any bad ADSB sentences (i.e. failed CRC?) but these are still reported?
I receive adsb messages which are mode c only reporting altitude, these are discarded.
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Dumb question, you have enabled the filters upto 40000ft ?
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Dumb question, you have enabled the filters upto 40000ft ?
Ahem, errr.. whoops :-)
Working now.
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Sharp thinking Lee.
Working slowly on a rewrite with cleaner UI and UDP if I can get it to work.
Could you give some direction for planning protocols P3I, NMEA, TCP/UDP, etc
Thanks Lee
BW Chris
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I thought I had a 50,000ft filter, but I was missing a zero ;D
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There may be some issues with Android killing processes that are asleep. I don't have a thorough understanding of this at the moment.
Hi Chris.
You've probably moved beyond this now, but sounds like the CollisionAware needs to run its business end as a service rather than an app. That way the unload/reload aspects of the Android Lifecycle ought to no longer apply.
A very quick google turned up:
http://stackoverflow.com/questions/6177775/android-app-application-vs-android-app-service (http://stackoverflow.com/questions/6177775/android-app-application-vs-android-app-service)
but there should be lots more out there!
I came a cropper with the lifecycle when I did a bit of programming for android a couple of years ago, so I can sympathise. Fortunately I just needed to re-code to work within the application lifecycle rather than outside it, which CollisionAware probably needs to.
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Does the work Lee is doing with adding a USB GPS to the RPi / PilotAware mean that PA will work 'directly' with SkyDemon on Android and not need CollisionAware?
Just making sure I understand the way things are evolving!
Having multiple connection options has to be a good thing, though.
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Does the work Lee is doing with adding a USB GPS to the RPi / PilotAware mean that PA will work 'directly' with SkyDemon on Android and not need CollisionAware?
Yes, with the GPS plugged into the PI there is no need to run CollisionAware.
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can someone explain the android route, having set up the software on the pi will the two parts of the hardware just link via the wireless connection and the nav pro/sky demon just take on the supplied data?
is there going to be an update for the android software to handle the barometric pressure sensor?
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Hi Ian.
The android software is a direct replacement for the original CollisionAvoid iPhone app.
The whole system works a bit like this.
GPS Position data GPS Pos + Traffic
GPS source ------------------------------> PilotAware box ---------------------------> Nav Software
^
ADSB Traffic |
P3I Traffic --------------------|
GPS source can come from various options, namely CollisionAvoid software on iPhone, PilotAwareAndroid on Android phone/tab and most recently USB GPS plugged into PilotAware box.
Nav Software also has various options. Personally, I run SkyDemon on a 10" Android tablet, or on my Samsung Phone. Other software also works (Runway HD, EasyVFR, etc). Other folks use iPad/iPad Mini for their Nav software.
I have had success running both PilotAwareAndroid and Skydemon on the same device ie mobile phone and I assume my tablet would do the same, except it doesn't have a GPS chip.
With regards the barometric sensor, this is fitted to the PilotAware box. I'm not sure at the moment if there is any need for the GPS source to influence the pressure sensor. I think Lee will be implementing this through the web page config.
I'm currently rewriting the PilotAwareAndroid software to improve the user interface, allow configuration of settings, implement TCP and/or UDP and pass NMEA sentences in addition to the P3I sentence. I'm not a professional programmer and I'm working on this in my free time so I expect it will all take a while, however if Lee releases firmware which requires an Android app upgrade to maintain functionality then I hope to be able to release that promptly.
Hope this helps. I'm sure Lee could fill in any gaps
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Hi Lee. is it time for my Android app to switch over to supply NMEA sentences over UDP?
If so, which sentences is the PilotAware expecting to receive.
BW, Chris
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Hi Lee. is it time for my Android app to switch over to supply NMEA sentences over UDP?
If so, which sentences is the PilotAware expecting to receive.
BW, Chris
Hi Chris
I would say gpgga gprmc should be enough
Do you have access to an ios device ?
If so try running nmeagps sending on udp to 192.168.1.1 to 2001 and enable nmea logging in pilotaware
This should provide a good reference.
If this is difficult, let me know, I will capture and send you a log
Thx
Lee
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Thanks Lee. It's reasonably easy to access the raw NMEA sentences in Android. From memory the ones you mentioned are available. Is it critical for your code that the first 3 characters are $GP? Sometimes my phone generates a sentence which starts with $GN. I think it depends on if GPS or GLONAS us being used. I guess I could change N to P before sending on to PilotAware.
Chris
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My parser is looking for $GP... Do you have a reference to the $GN... messages ?
If they are equivalent. It is probably better for me to add this into my parser
Please let me know
If you give me a short spec I can turn this around very quickly an give you an engineering build
Thx
Lee
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One further thing Chris, I think the model to go for is how NMEA GPS works on iOS (cannot recall if you have access to an iOS device or not)
Basically I configure NMEA GPS to send UDP(no broadcast option) to 192.168.1.1:2001
This seems to work a treat.
Once the current version of CollisionAware(0.3) has finally made it through iTunes QA, I am going to immediately recode to be UDP
Thx
Lee
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Thanks Lee.
Body of $GN sentence is identical to $GP
Eg $GNRMC,123519,A,4807.038,N,01131.000,E,02.........
Looking at the documents, there are other prefixes beyond $GP and $GN. I'll work on editing the sentence before it's sent.
I do have access to an iphone. I'll check out nmeagps.
Chris
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Chris
In your next release of PilotAwareAndroid would it be possible to incorporate an Exit button? At the moment if it is necessary to stop the App for whatever reason, you have to go to Settings Apps and Force Stop.
Thanks
Dave
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Thanks Dave. Will see what I can do. Going to be a while before next release. Current version seems to still be working OK with latest PAW releases and I'm pretty busy at work at moment.
Chris
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Hi,
I've just put together my PAW (still waiting for the ADS-B dongle) and am currently testing. I am having disconnection issues and a few other weird things happening.
Test Environment
Tablet: Galaxy Tab S 8.4 WiFi + LTE
OS: Android 5.0.2
WiFi Dongle: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/231483794170?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT
GPS: U-Blox7 USB dongle
PAW Ver: 20151030
PilotAwareAndroid Ver: 1.0
Bug Report 1:
Test case: Left Skydemon and PAW connected overnight.
Result: In the morning SkyDemon appeared to sill be connected to the GPS, green LED on GPS dongle flashing away happily as is the WiFi dongle LED, however the server was unreachable in chrome. After disconnecting WiFi from PAW and reconnecting I get the following error msg in SkyDemon:
"Failed to establish connection with Butterfly Connect Unit."
Cycling the power on the PAW unit and reconnecting are the only way to resolve the issue.
Bug Report 2:
Test Case: General use and testing
Result: Various times when PAW has disconnected from my tablet (for whatever reason) I have noticed it sometimes requires rebooting the PAW unit (via cycling the power) to be able to connect to the web server again. I have tried to connect to the PAW web server from two devices when this bug appears and the results are the same: a blank screen or connection refused msg. All indications on the tablet show WiFi connection to PAW is okay but I am getting no data back.
Logs:
This set of errors are being repeatedly logged (which relates to the ADS-B receiver not being connected?):
SDR-USB: Attempting connection
SDR-USB: Error, connect()
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Two things spring to mind:
1) You don't need to run the PilotAware app if you have the GPS dongle
2) If your tablet is used to connecting to your home Wifi then it's all too easy for it to revert to that instead of the PAW - ideally get it to "forget" other networks so it sticks with the PAW one
May not be related to your issues but just a thought
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thanks Ian.
1) I have killed the PilotAwareAndroid App <- one less thing to potentially add errors into the mix
2) Good point, it can be a little confusing at first needing to swap connections, but pretty sure this is not the issue
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Does anyone else have a Galaxy Tab with 3g/4g?
I am wondering how the mobile data will work with PAW connected. I have tried using the smart switch setting but I seems to drop the connection to PAW when it can't use it to resolve web traffic endpoints, but I need to do more testing to be able to provide any meaningful feedback.
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I've just had another GPS/PAW disconnection.
Steps/ order of events:
SkyDemon: "The connection to your GPS has been lost"
WiFi connection to PAW seems to be ok (checked in the WiFi settings of the tablet)
Web server is responding: "The server could not fulfill your request because the resource specified is unavailable or nonexistent"
Reloading the web browser later results in:
"This web page is not available", "ERR_CONNECTION_REFUSED"
Disconnected the WiFi from the PAW box, connected to my home internet hub then reconnected to PAW.
Web server is returning: "This web page is not available", "ERR_CONNECTION_REFUSED"
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Does this work from another device, ie? IOS, or a PC ?
Need to know if the issue us specific to your PAW, or Android
Also what version of PAW are you running ?
Thx
Lee
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PAW Ver: 20151030
I will try connecting from my laptop and repeat the test from power up on the PAW unit.
I have tried to connect to PAW using the laptop during the latest test when it disconnected, I can connect via WiFi but am getting the same error in a web browser:
"This web page is not available", "ERR_CONNECTION_REFUSED"
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PAW Ver: 20151030
I will try connecting from my laptop and repeat the test from power up on the PAW unit.
I have tried to connect to PAW using the laptop during the latest test when it disconnected, I can connect via WiFi but am getting the same error in a web browser:
"This web page is not available", "ERR_CONNECTION_REFUSED"
Something strange happening, need to see if I can reproduce
Thx
Lee
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One datapoint here, please confirm, you do not have a dvb-t dongle connected, i wonder if this could be causing an issue ?
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One datapoint here, please confirm, you do not have a dvb-t dongle connected, i wonder if this could be causing an issue ?
Yes the dvb-t dongle is not attached at the moment.
This could be the source of the problems. Hopefully Monday or Tuesday the unit will arrive and I can see if that gets rid of the issue.
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One datapoint here, please confirm, you do not have a dvb-t dongle connected, i wonder if this could be causing an issue ?
It very well could be. Hopefully Monday or Tuesday the unit will arrive and I can see if that gets rid of the issue.
I am running mine now, with no dvbt plugged in, lets see if I see the same issue.
How long does it take before you cannot connect to 192.168.1.1 ?
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I am running mine now, with no dvbt plugged in, lets see if I see the same issue.
How long does it take before you cannot connect to 192.168.1.1 ?
about 20-30 mins IIRC.
I've just added the baro board so will be doing some more tests this evening and over night.
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I found the error message you referred to, this us produced when it cannot open the file you requested, eg index.html
I have a suspicion the system is running out of file descriptors, but cannot see hiw at the moment.
Are you running a web-client permanently looking at 192.168.1.1 ?
Or do you interrogate only when it seems to have gone bad ?
Thx
Lee
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I found the error message you referred to, this us produced when it cannot open the file you requested, eg index.html
awesome :)
I have left the web client (chrome) open on the tablet but I am not sure if chrome is active and loading or not when skydemon is running, the multi-tasking on droid might be putting it into hibernation.
once the connection times out I have a look at the web server page. although last time I did check the web server page to notice the connection has gone wonky as skydemon was still quite happy.
Skydemon does seem to take quite a while to time out and report and error when it loses the GPS connection to PAW.
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I have a suspicion the system is running out of file descriptors, but cannot see hiw at the moment.
do you suspect a file descriptor leak?
I'm trying to SSH into the PAW box so I can have a look to see how many descriptors are in use with user: pi pw: raspberry but I can't connect. Have the credentials been changed with the PAW o/s?
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latest test using the tablet timed out at approx: 60 mins
first thing I noticed was an error in the web browser "Error prohibited CGI execution"
upon reload the message is:
ERR_CONNECTION_REFUSED
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tested using the laptop:
got the exact same results as with the tablet, connection to GPS and web server dies after about 1 hour but WiFi connection remains.
so it looks to be related to the PAW box or one of the connected devices.
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I have reproduced this error, now to isolate.
it must be one of two things
1. Not having DVB-T connected
2. Constantly running Web Interface
Can I just confirm in your case, you have a web client permanently connected to the PAW index page (which auto refreshes)
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yes I can confirm I have been running the web interface alongside SkyDemon to keep an eye on things.
As I'm still waiting for the DVB-T dongle I'll try another test today without the web interface connected and report back.
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Hi,
I’m experiencing connectivity issues with my Google Nexus 7 (Android 5.1.1) and SkyDemon (version 3.4.2.20312). I'm not able to get as far as connecting SkyDemon to the PAW. I believe my problem stems from the PAW not recognising the auto generated licence as logging continually states “License Fail for wlan 001D430100F4”.
The Wi-Fi dongle is blinking away quite merrily and is the type recommended in the known good hardware list, so I presume that this is not the cause of the problem?
Has anyone had this type of difficulty before and if so, do they know of a neat way to cure it?
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Hi,
I’m experiencing connectivity issues with my Google Nexus 7 (Android 5.1.1) and SkyDemon (version 3.4.2.20312). I'm not able to get as far as connecting SkyDemon to the PAW. I believe my problem stems from the PAW not recognising the auto generated licence as logging continually states “License Fail for wlan 001D430100F4”.
The Wi-Fi dongle is blinking away quite merrily and is the type recommended in the known good hardware list, so I presume that this is not the cause of the problem?
Has anyone had this type of difficulty before and if so, do they know of a neat way to cure it?
Hi Paul
I have seen 2 license request from your email address
001E8C70F761
3085a95c604f
None of these match the WLAN reported above for 001D430100F4
Thx
Lee
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yes I can confirm I have been running the web interface alongside SkyDemon to keep an eye on things.
As I'm still waiting for the DVB-T dongle I'll try another test today without the web interface connected and report back.
Good Catch!
The problem is related to not having a DVB-T dongle inserted.
it tries to open a connection which fails, but leaves a file descriptor without closing, so over a period of time the process runs out of file descriptors.
Now fixed internally, and you will not see this issue if you insert a DVB-T, which I think you mentioned is on its way
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Will you be changing the code to allow it to run without a DVB-T dongle?
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Will you be changing the code to allow it to run without a DVB-T dongle?
It runs now, well for an hour. This is simply a bug and will be fixed in the next release.
Not really sure of the value of a PAW without a DVB-T ::)
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Hi Paul
I have seen 2 license request from your email address
001E8C70F761
3085a95c604f
None of these match the WLAN reported above for 001D430100F4
Thx
Lee
[/quote]
Hi Lee,
The first MAC address was for my PC (001E8C70F761) which is no longer required.
The second MAC address is for my Nexus 7 (3085a95c604f) which I'm trying to use.
If neither of these licence requests work with the current WLAN which is reporting 001D430100F4, what do you suggest I do to try and cure this problem?
Rgds,
Paul.
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The first MAC address was for my PC (001E8C70F761) which is no longer required.
The second MAC address is for my Nexus 7 (3085a95c604f) which I'm trying to use.
If neither of these licence requests work with the current WLAN which is reporting 001D430100F4, what do you suggest I do to try and cure this problem?
Hi Paul,
The license request is based upon the MAC address reported by PilotAware. So I am guessing the hotspot you are seeing is :-
PilotAware-001D430100F4So you need to request a license for
001D430100F4
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Hi Lee,
Spot on! That's done the trick... I now have connection from my Nexus 7 to the PAW.
Unfortunately, I now have to find out why when I use SkyDemon (SD) to connect to the PAW via "Go Flying and Use FLARM", SD hangs forever whilst it is "Seeking GPS Satellites"?
My SD connectivity options are as follows:
Internet Connection - "Live Data when Planning and Flying"
External GPS/Traffic Source - "FLARM"
FLARM Options - Air Connect Key - "6000"
This above all seems as per the forum advice but SD still hangs?
Rgds,
Paul.
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Do you have a GPS dongle attached to the PAW? If so, is the green light on it flashing, and when you go into a browser on the tablet and connect to 192.168.1.1, does it say, under "GPS (USB)", Fix="GPS fix (SPS)"?
If you don't have a GPS dongle attached, you'll need to supply the PAW with GPS from the tablet. For this you'll need the app:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.millsconsulting.PilotAwareAndroid (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.millsconsulting.PilotAwareAndroid)
Then you'll need to acquire the satellites on the tablet before trying to activate Sky Demon. The app will show the GPS location and the connection to the PAW.
Oh, and maybe change the SD setting to live data while planning, or it'll try contacting the internet which it won't be able to do as you're connecting to the PAW. I think.
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Hi Paul,
I've followed your set-up method and now it's all up and working satis.
Many thanks to one and all.
Rgds,
Paul.
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It runs now, well for an hour. This is simply a bug and will be fixed in the next release.
Not really sure of the value of a PAW without a DVB-T ::)
The only use I can think of is for attracting gremlins :)
I have run the test without a web browser connected to the PAW web server and everything has been running happily for over 5 hours, so I'm pretty sure that was the problem.
Thanks for all your help.
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I have run the test without a web browser connected to the PAW web server and everything has been running happily for over 5 hours, so I'm pretty sure that was the problem.
To be honest that is simply a fluke, the issue is the DVB-T intrrface is eating up all the file descriptors, attempting to connect but constantly failing.
This is only seen whdn a DVB-T is not present
Thx
Lee
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I have a suspicion the system is running out of file descriptors, but cannot see hiw at the moment.
do you suspect a file descriptor leak?
I'm trying to SSH into the PAW box so I can have a look to see how many descriptors are in use with user: pi pw: raspberry but I can't connect. Have the credentials been changed with the PAW o/s?
Hi Luke
Interactive logins are disabled
The intention is to use the web interface for configuration and monitoring
Thx
Lee
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Will you be changing the code to allow it to run without a DVB-T dongle?
It runs now, well for an hour. This is simply a bug and will be fixed in the next release.
Not really sure of the value of a PAW without a DVB-T ::)
Flying club owner asked if it could be used to track his fleet, ::)
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Will you be changing the code to allow it to run without a DVB-T dongle?
It runs now, well for an hour. This is simply a bug and will be fixed in the next release.
Not really sure of the value of a PAW without a DVB-T ::)
Flying club owner asked if it could be used to track his fleet, ::)
The P3i system in Pilotaware doesn't have the range to allow the flying club owner to track his aircraft.
Do these aircraft have Mode S transponders? If so, a PAW box with GPS dongle could provide position info and aircraft identifier hex code, for ADSB Out from the transponder. He then just has to use Flight Radar24 to see where his aircraft are.
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In the previous post I assumed he just needed to track his aircraft, he is also ground based, at the flying club.
With a complete PAW installation in each aircraft, he has the advantage of offering collision avoidance to his members as well as being able to track them via FR24, or in the air via ADSB, assuming his fleet are equipped with Mode S. A cheap tablet with XC Soar (see other thread), could provide the display.
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I have already suggested this to our Local Flying Club too. If just using Pilot Aware as it is you could track the aircraft up to may be 10 miles. (When the issue with the radio board are sorted out).
If willing to equip his aircraft with ADS-B via their transponders...... Tracking could be pretty good up to many miles (50 to 100 for example) with the DVB-T antenna outside on a mast. Then simply run Skydemon or Runway HD on the PC in the control room and you have a basic radar system at your fingertips ( Setting the "Show Traffic mabe at 7000ft.
If I had my own airfield this would be on the to do list for sure