PilotAware
British Forum => General Discussion => Topic started by: FERRYAIR on October 24, 2015, 08:29:14 pm
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8)Hi Forum users,
Just purchased a Pilotaware unit from a PAW Builder & to be honest I am a complete dork when it comes to Electronics.
I haven't received the unit because I literally only paid for it 8hrs ago ( as at 2015hrs 24/10/2015 ) but I am someone who when I get a new gizmo wants to play with it immediately.
Now comes the questions :
(1) I intend to run it on Skydemon & don't know how to connect the PAW unit to my Galaxy Tab3 Android tablet so that is likely to be my initial faux pas.
(2) Does the PAW unit have to maintain an internet connection during use or will it still function offline?
(3) My android Tab3 has an inbuilt GPS, will this be the GPS link I will use to run the PAW?
(4) Do you have to program your callsign into the PAW? * I ask because I am jumping in/out of different aircraft almost weekly and wouldn't want to be transmitting the incorrect callsign whilst flying *
I look forward to receiving the informed answers to what probably seem dumb ass questions, please explain in layman terms because I am electronically inept.
MTIA,
Peter.
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1) and 2) The PAW presents itself as a WiFi hotspot. So instead of connecting to your router or some other internet providing hotspot, you connect your tablet to the PAW WiFi. So you then have no access to the Internet
3) If the PAW you bought includes a GPS dongle, then that is what it will use. If not, you run an app on your tablet which sends the GPS positions to the PAW, which in turn sends them back to SkyDemon. The app is called CollisionAware on IOS, I'm not sure for Android, but search for that in the PlayStore.
4) You put your aircraft's 12 bit ICAO code into PAW, not the aircraft registration. Hopefully this will get translated into the registration sometime in the future. You can get the ICAO code for your aircraft from G-INFO. However, PAW will generate a made up value initially, and you could just leave it set to that, at least until ICAO->Registration translation becomes available.
You will need to set up your SkyDemon to connect via FLARM, with a code of 6000. Then when you 'Go Flying', select the FLARM option. Also, set it up to show aircraft at +/- 40000' or so, so that you can see ADS-B traffic (probably airliners), to give you confidence that the system is working.
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Time for a separate forum FAQ section perhaps?
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Perhaps an FAQ - but am in the process of writing some new more detailed setup documentation.
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8)Hi Forum users,
Just purchased a Pilotaware unit from a PAW Builder & to be honest I am a complete dork when it comes to Electronics.
I haven't received the unit because I literally only paid for it 8hrs ago ( as at 2015hrs 24/10/2015 ) but I am someone who when I get a new gizmo wants to play with it immediately.
Now comes the questions :
(1) I intend to run it on Skydemon & don't know how to connect the PAW unit to my Galaxy Tab3 Android tablet so that is likely to be my initial faux pas.
(2) Does the PAW unit have to maintain an internet connection during use or will it still function offline?
(3) My android Tab3 has an inbuilt GPS, will this be the GPS link I will use to run the PAW?
(4) Do you have to program your callsign into the PAW? * I ask because I am jumping in/out of different aircraft almost weekly and wouldn't want to be transmitting the incorrect callsign whilst flying *
I look forward to receiving the informed answers to what probably seem dumb ass questions, please explain in layman terms because I am electronically inept.
MTIA,
Peter.
Please read this in conjunction with other corespondance
on your android device download an app from the google store called pilotawareAndroid.
start up the pilotaware unit (ensure you have enough power for it as it draws a few amps), start up you android device and in settings change your wifi connection to a connection with the start of the name "PilotAware- xxxxxx" (where xxxxxx is your"serial number".
providing you are outside the pilotawareAndroid app will after a couple of minutes start to display some calorimetry.
start up you chosen nav program and set up the Flarm settings (see message from Lee about this for each nav program below)
2. SkyDemon Specific
2.1 Setup->Connectivity_Options
Select FLARM
set the Air Connect Key to 6000
2.1 Setup->Navigation_Options
Go to the bottom of the options and alter 'Show within Vertically' to something like +-40000ft,
otherwise for testing purposes, you will see no traffic
2.2 Fly
and select 'Use Flarm'
3. RunwayHD
3.1 Settings->System
Enable Flarm mode
IP Address 192.168.1.1
Port 2000
Passcode 6001
Altitude Filter(+/-ft) 40000
4. EasyVFR
4.1 Menu->NavTools->Settings->FlarmSettings
WiFlyIPAddress: 192.168.1.1
WiFly Port: 2000
WiFly Pin-code: 6001
5. Sky-Map
Setup> Wireless Interface Setup
Enable Wi-Fi
IP address: 192.168.1.1
Port: 2000
Password: 6001
Setup> FLARM / Show ADSB traffic
6. Air Navigation Pro
configuration->sensors->FLARM-AirAvionics-AirConnect
Sensor: On
Pin Code: 6001
and that should see you up and running
iang
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Let us know how you go one with your galaxy tab 3 as I cannot get mine to work with the paw and running pilot aware for android. Waiting for a gps dongle and hopefully that will allow it to work. Cheers Nick
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Look back through the forum for the Android thread. There are step by step instructions on how to get up and running with android.
Chris
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As an equally inept user...
Does the tablet have to have a GPS to run the nav software or can you run on a really cheapo tablet without gps and use the gps on the PAW for PAW and say SkyDemon?
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If your wifi is connected to the PilotAware access point and PAW has a GPS then Skydemon does not need a GPS on the tablet to navigate.
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<pedant mode>
n settings change your wifi connection to a connection with the start of the name "PilotAware- xxxxxx" (where xxxxxx is your"serial number".
xxxxxxxxxx is not a serial number but your WiFi dongles Media Access Control Address (MAC) which is linked to your generated Pilotaware license key
</pedant mode>
I've had no issues running the device on an iOS device (iPad Air2) but over the weekend tried on a Samsung Tab S 10.5 ( Android 5.02) and Skydemon kept losing the connection. This appeared to coincide with Skydemon saying it couldn't connect with it's servers and going in to off-line mode, even though I had "Live data when planning" set under Connectivity options, I even set this to "Offline mode" but it made no difference and Skydemon still dropped the connection.
Has anyone else seen this behaviour on Android?
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I've had no issues running the device on an iOS device (iPad Air2) but over the weekend tried on a Samsung Tab S 10.5 ( Android 5.02) and Skydemon kept losing the connection. This appeared to coincide with Skydemon saying it couldn't connect with it's servers and going in to off-line mode, even though I had "Live data when planning" set under Connectivity options, I even set this to "Offline mode" but it made no difference and Skydemon still dropped the connection.
Has anyone else seen this behaviour on Android?
Hi Michael,
Is your Android Pad WiFi or Cellular ?
Whilst connected to PAW, you will lose all internet connectivity, if your Android Pad is WiFi
How is PAW getting its GPS fix, do you have a GPS dongle plugged into PAW, or are you using the GPS share utility CollisionAwareAndroid ?
Thx
Lee
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Hi Lee,
Have the ublox gps usb dongle plugged into the PAW unit. As I said I've seen no issues using Skydemon under iOS only android 5.02 on the Tab S, both iPad and Tab S are WiFi only devices.
Planning on trying on a couple of different devices later to see if it's a specific device/android 5.02 issue.
Thanks,
Michael
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So I tried on a tegra note 7 (android 5.1) and a lg gpad 8.3 ( android 4.4.2) both WiFi only and had no issues with dropped connections.
I then tried again on the Tab S (android 5.01) which happily remained connected for over an hour until without issue.
So at this point I'll just put the previous observed behaviour down to a glitch.
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Sky Demon probably needed to download something.
Having downloaded it, it's probably now ok to connect to the PilotAware.
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Let us know how you go one with your galaxy tab 3 as I cannot get mine to work with the paw and running pilot aware for android. Waiting for a gps dongle and hopefully that will allow it to work. Cheers Nick
I finally got my Pilotaware unit after the Post Office took 5 days to deliver it from Cambridge to Edinburgh, probably par for the GPO to take that long to deliver a First Class Package !!!!
Anyway, being just like a impatient kid on Xmas Day I rapidly opened it and immediately switched on the unit and connected as per instructions to my Skydemon unit........Incredibly I saw 3 aircraft in my close vicinity immediately, not sure how I managed that because after about 3minutes I haven't seen another aircraft since ?
I was using it about 5nm away from Edinburgh Airport with a 45000ft height set, it seems to be that after the 3 minutes the Skydemon goes into offline mode.
I have Flarm 6000 set and have Pilotaware app running on my Tab 3 using the SD GPS but it seems to not get the GPS satellites in Flarm mode, if I put my Skydemon into " use location " the Skydemon location is almost immediate.
I must be doing something wrong because it very briefly worked, but since hasn't picked up a single thing !!!
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Hi
Can you take a look at the status page 192.168.1.1 to see what is reported, please post a screenshot, that would help
Thx
Lee
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Hopefully these screenprints will give you an idea of what is happening?
These screenprints were taken after I had managed to see a few of our inbounds this morning (31/10/2015 ) so may not be giving the issues I encountered yesterday?
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Having played with Pilotaware now for 4 days I am either doing something completely different & stupid each time I try to get it running.
I power up the Pilotaware unit, then start up pilotaware android app, then start up Skydemon.
Sometimes it starts up without any issues, sometimes the Skydemon just hangs as getting GPS satellites ( in location mode the position is instantly found ) in flarm Sod all !!!!
Is there a set process to get it running everytime?
Also when ' working ' it is only showing a few contacts, whilst our TCAS on the aircraft is putting contacts everywhere.
Go figure !!!!
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Hi Ferryair
What the display is telling you is the following
1. it has received 30 GPS Packets(over TCP) (0 in the last 5 seconds)
2. it has received 4119 ADS-B Packets (2 in the last 5 seconds)
Firstly, it should be receiving GPS Packets all the time, the fact that it has not received any in the last 5 seconds is suspicious
also 2 ADS-B packets in the last 5 seconds is pretty poor.
Do you have the ADS-B Antenna connected, and does it have a (reasonably) good view of the sky ?
Thx
Lee
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Perhaps I am being rather dumb but how do you know 1. it has received 30 GPS Packets(over TCP) (0 in the last 5 seconds) 2. it has received 4119 ADS-B Packets (2 in the last 5 seconds) ????
This is all a bit of a Black Art ? I have always been reliant on my eyes to see conflicts but I am spending more time in IMC so I thought the PAW would assist me, the 2 aerials are both coreectly attached, the internal disco lights flicker away relentlessly, the Pilotaware App shows a position that seems to be right for my locality, just the SD that hangs 90% of the time.
Much as it isn't the ideal set up, the XCSOAR TE fires up every time and shows more returns in my area than on SD
Is there something about the signal dying if the unit is stationary? I only ask because in the Chopper it only showed conflicts whilst the chopper was moving.... in the hover Sod all.
Hi Ferryair
What the display is telling you is the following
1. it has received 30 GPS Packets(over TCP) (0 in the last 5 seconds)
2. it has received 4119 ADS-B Packets (2 in the last 5 seconds)
Firstly, it should be receiving GPS Packets all the time, the fact that it has not received any in the last 5 seconds is suspicious
also 2 ADS-B packets in the last 5 seconds is pretty poor.
Do you have the ADS-B Antenna connected, and does it have a (reasonably) good view of the sky ?
Thx
Lee
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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
I presume you're following these instructions from the "Android" thread. Also set up as per instructions in the "3rd Party" thread.
Could you be specific about what devices you are using for GPS source and Skydemon display.
It's worth bearing in mind that although your phone/tablet may have a GPS receiver built in, it's not really designed for supplying constant GPS data like we need. These devices are designed and build to optimize battery life and that means turning stuff off, keeping CPU usage to a minimum and generally running low power hardware. I don't know about iOS but the Android operating system monitors CPU and memory usage and caches or even kills apps which are not being actively used or which are taking up too much space. Your best bet is to plug a USB GPS dongle into the PAW box.
Chris
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You say xcsoar shows more traffic than SD, ahaaa
Have you changed the vertical traffic filter in SD, as Chris mentions, this is in the instructions
Thx
Lee
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The Vertical traffic filter is set to 50000ft So yes I have it set to the maximum I can ;D
xcsoar is not that great either but it seems to show more conflicts than SD is showing.
I suspect that some of my poor returns are from the Window ledge scenario ( makes sense as I am trying it from an east facing window and the returns are mainly showing east of my position ) however the airborne tests weren't much better and didn't show everything in the vicinity.
Today it seemed to work better when tested from a different mode of transport, I even got a conflict of traffic that was below us....... not usually something to concern you too much about except I was at sea level on a motor cruiser 😃
You say xcsoar shows more traffic than SD, ahaaa
Have you changed the vertical traffic filter in SD, as Chris mentions, this is in the instructions
Thx
Lee
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ferryair, you're posts say "I'm stupid, I'm clueless, maybe I'm dumb"
You're imposing an unfair burden on people who would be more productive helping other people
Not exactly a productive post, but then neither is this one I guess.....
We're here to support development. I think that included bug fixing and troubleshooting at the moment. The more PAW is adopted, the better for all. Some will need a bit of help and encouragement.
Chris
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ferryair, you're posts say...
Not exactly a productive post...
Chris
Yes I agree, so I deleted it.
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Finally got my PAW working to a fashion, picking up a lot more stuff but it still seems to need reboot every 5-20minutes ( varies )
I still think that I must be doing something wrong when I initialise it each time because if I am not getting it wrong I can only opine that the PAW isn't completely User friendly.
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Finally got my PAW working to a fashion, picking up a lot more stuff but it still seems to need reboot every 5-20minutes ( varies )
I still think that I must be doing something wrong when I initialise it each time because if I am not getting it wrong I can only opine that the PAW isn't completely User friendly.
Hi Ferryair,
Please remember we are still in a Beta Trial phase for PilotAware, this is not yet a polished product.
In these circumstances 'User Friendliness' is our aim, and not yet our acheivement.
As part of a Beta trial it is absolutely imperative that we receive accurate, deep and thorugh feedback from our users in order to investigate potential design related issues, or to provide feedback for user related issues.
So can I ask you to please elaborate on your reporting so we can investigate fully.
The information we need to know is
1. 'picking up a lot more stuff',
- What is not being picked up ?
- What are you comparing against for 'not being picked up' ?
- What is the distance of traffic that you are seeing, compared to what you would expect to see ?
2. 'reboot every 5-20minutes'
- What is the reason for a reboot ?
- Do you lose a GPS connection ?
- Do you lose a 'butterfly' connection ?
- Do you lose a WiFi connection ?
- Do you see an error message, if so, what is the error message and where does the error message come from ?
- If you still have WiFi, can you interrogate the web page 192.168.1.1, and if so what does it report ?
Please try to answer all of the questions above, I know it can seem difficult and time consuming, but the more
detailed information we can get, then the better chance we have of diagnosing the issues quickly.
Thx
Lee
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[/quote]
Hi Ferryair,
Please remember we are still in a Beta Trial phase for PilotAware, this is not yet a polished product.
In these circumstances 'User Friendliness' is our aim, and not yet our acheivement.
As part of a Beta trial it is absolutely imperative that we receive accurate, deep and thorugh feedback from our users in order to investigate potential design related issues, or to provide feedback for user related issues.
So can I ask you to please elaborate on your reporting so we can investigate fully.
The information we need to know is
1. 'picking up a lot more stuff',
# I seem to now be getting a lot of the Bucket & Spade Traffic, but no low level GA Traffic. The GA stuff is around because it shows up on the FR24 & DYNON which is on ADS-B LINK UP. #
- What is not being picked up ?
# GA Traffic is not showing up, I know some don't have Transponders but the majority of Edinburgh Located stuff does # * The Trig Helicopter certainly has Mode S onboard and that is never picked up on PAW *
- What are you comparing against for 'not being picked up' ?
# Comparing to FR24 & DYNON SET UP #
- What is the distance of traffic that you are seeing, compared to what you would expect to see ?
# First few times I only saw stuff at high altitudes up to 45000ft but very few low level stuff except the depart/arrive stuff from Edinburgh that seems to disappear passing 5000ft and then reappear at 25000ft upwards. Recently I can pick up Bucket & Spade traffic as far south as Humberside & as far North as Lossiemouth, but still no low level stuff ( which is where I operate ) #
2. 'reboot every 5-20minutes?
# The reboot is the only way of refreshing the overlay of possible conflicts, I can have a screen full of Bucket & Spade stuff that will just disappear but return on a reboot #
- What is the reason for a reboot ?
# See answer above, the difference in timescale is dependant on when conflicts all disappear at same time #
- Do you lose a GPS connection ?
# Sometimes it is GPS connection that pops off for a snooze or I get the red Skydemon warning that it has gone into offline mode.#
- Do you lose a 'butterfly' connection ?
# Not that I am aware off? My technology knowledge is pretty dire #
- Do you lose a WiFi connection ?
# Yes, I am guessing that is what causes the Red Skydemon warning #
- Do you see an error message, if so, what is the error message and where does the error message come from ?
# Not had any error messages other than Red Skydemon offline message #
- If you still have WiFi, can you interrogate the web page 192.168.1.1, and if so what does it report ?
# I am totally IT inept so I can't see anything when I tried 192.168.1.1, except a load of google links to various sites #
Please try to answer all of the questions above, I know it can seem difficult and time consuming, but the more
detailed information we can get, then the better chance we have of diagnosing the issues quickly.
# Answered as best I can #
Thx
Lee
[/quote]
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Flight Radar 24 has multi-lateration, so if someone has a Mode S transponder without ADS-B it can pinpoint it using triangulation from various receiver sites.
PilotAware will ONLY pick up ADS-B traffic, i.e. if the traffic has a linked GPS and the transponder is ADS-B capable, reporting its position. There's the occasional GA aircraft which has this, but they're a bit thin on the ground (er, or in the air) at the moment.
With the ARF, the PilotAware will also pick up other PilotAware equipped aeroplanes.
What does the Dynon pick up? Is the antenna different to that on the PAW?
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Flight Radar 24 has multi-lateration, so if someone has a Mode S transponder without ADS-B it can pinpoint it using triangulation from various receiver sites.
# Ah, now everything is becoming clear, I won't get to see all the Mode S transponder equipped GA stuff that plays around in my lower airspace, so really I am only being safeguarded from not colliding with the Bucket & Spade Traffic? For the amount of times I am up in FL Whatever, I already have TCAS in those aircraft #
PilotAware will ONLY pick up ADS-B traffic, i.e. if the traffic has a linked GPS and the transponder is ADS-B capable, reporting its position. There's the occasional GA aircraft which has this, but they're a bit thin on the ground (er, or in the air) at the moment.
# The GPS and the transponder are linked & ADS-B capable in a few of the aircraft I fly, in one particular aircraft it is also somehow linked into the Dynon & shows The Traffic around me !!!! #
With the ARF, the PilotAware will also pick up other PilotAware equipped aeroplanes.
# OK this now raises the question of " How many PAW users are there in Scotland? " Is that information known to The Admin Team? I am guessing that I'm going to find out I am an orphan up here 😂 #
What does the Dynon pick up? Is the antenna different to that on the PAW?
# The Dynon picks up the ADS-B Traffic & I assumed the Mode S stuff ( which until now I thought was one & the same ) How exactly it transposes from the magic box to the screen is unknown to me? The Antenna linked to the Dynon is visually the same as a Transponder aerial ( the aircraft has 2 of the aerials that look like a replicant of a tongue piercing stud, one at the position immediately below the centre console between the crew & the second is half way along the fuselage #
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# OK this now raises the question of " How many PAW users are there in Scotland? " Is that information known to The Admin Team? I am guessing that I'm going to find out I am an orphan up here 😂 #
You could always check the map, the Admin team will quite possibly be the last to know. You seem to be forgetting that this system is still under development. I suspect there are a lot of wanabe users waiting in the wings (ged it:-)) for the final design. I hope that pilots realise what a bargain this unit is as a life saver, and don't wait till there is 90% coverage of the UK fleet with PAW.
Like your description of the Transponder antenna :-)
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We are the early adopters, both for PAW and for ADS-B out from transponders. Hopefully it'll come in time!
Having a cheap way of displaying ADS-B contacts will encourage people to take up the fitting of ADS-B out. Also as the popularity of the PAW grows, hopefully it'll become a standard, like Flarm is in the gliding community.
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...the internal disco lights flicker away relentlessly...
My PAW's Pi flickers its lights while booting up and then they go out and stay out...
???
Just wondering if all is well with the unit in question.
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...the internal disco lights flicker away relentlessly...
My PAW's Pi flickers its lights while booting up and then they go out and stay out...
???
Just wondering if all is well with the unit in question.
Which lights ?
The Red should always be on, this indicates a good power supply
the Green should flicker during boot, then remain off, occasionally you may see single flickers, but the majority of the time it should stay off
Thx
Lee
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Today I sussed out that I can get screenshots whilst on the PAW wifi ( I was trying the 192. Web page on normal wifi when I tried to get screenshots )
Here are the screenprints from today, excuse the repetitive shots but they might show something up that explains why I keep needing to reboot?
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This was another screenshot at same time ( give or take a few minute )
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Hi ferryair
If I understand correctly, your concern is SkyDemon reporting it is going offline ?
My understanding is that this happens when SkyDemon cannot contact its servers.
So can I confirm your iPad is 3g, you have a cellular contract with a service provider and a SIM installed in the iPad ?
If not, then when connected to PAW there is no route to the SkyDemon servers.
Could this be what you are seeing ?
If so its simply because you are disconnected from the internet, ie offline.
Thx
Lee
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...the internal disco lights flicker away relentlessly...
My PAW's Pi flickers its lights while booting up and then they go out and stay out...
???
Just wondering if all is well with the unit in question.
Which lights ?
The Red should always be on, this indicates a good power supply
the Green should flicker during boot, then remain off, occasionally you may see single flickers, but the majority of the time it should stay off
Thx
Lee
Once booted and running I get an occasional green flicker and no red at all.
All appears to be running fine.
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Hi Rob
If you get no red at all that would indicate a power issue.
Can i ask, what are you using for your power supply, and what about your usb cable, really requies 20 awg for the power.
Thx
Lee
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My concern is not so much that Skydemon is going offline, my concern is that I get a screen full of conflicts one second and then they can just disappear from view, they only seem to reappear if I reboot the entire system.
My Samsung Tab3 is not connected to the internet when using PAW ( other than on the Pilotaware wifi ), there isn't a cellular contract connected to my Tab3 nor does it have a Sim Card fitted....... Are we now getting a bit closer to why my system is playing up.
Not sure if this is relevant but if I get close to a Wifi hotspot or my own wifi set up, the PAW wifi goes tits up & my Tab3 auto connects to the Wifi hotspot etc.
I have even had the Tab3 auto connect to my passenger's wifi on his mobile phone whilst it was set to PAW.
Now onto Flickering lights : I have a Red light which flickers away like a backstreet of Amsterdam & a couple of blue lights that flicker away like the Police lights of the cop cars going to shut down the Red lights of Amsterdam.
Silly analogy I know, but I don't think I have any green lights flickering in my box.
I am technically inept when it comes to Electronics, If it doesn't switch on and instantly work I have a Brain freeze and then my workload goes awry.
Perhaps if you are going to be at the Flying Show I can ask you to explain the system to me in better detail , at the moment I am not convinced that I have got the benefit of the unit ( which is quite disconcerting bearing in mind that my airstrip is under the Edinburgh Airport airspace )
I may well be flying down to Shifnal for the Show, if I do I will see how many conflicts I see enroute as there seem to be a shedload of users between here and Telford.
Hi ferryair
If I understand correctly, your concern is SkyDemon reporting it is going offline ?
My understanding is that this happens when SkyDemon cannot contact its servers.
So can I confirm your iPad is 3g, you have a cellular contract with a service provider and a SIM installed in the iPad ?
If not, then when connected to PAW there is no route to the SkyDemon servers.
Could this be what you are seeing ?
If so its simply because you are disconnected from the internet, ie offline.
Thx
Lee
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Hi Peter,
Don't be too hard on yourself. I have spent the last 5 months trying to achieve ADS-B in via PowerFlarm Core fitted to my GT450 flexwing - flying out of East Fortune. I have a Trig TT21 with ADS-B out via a piggybacked Byonics GPS module, which works GREAT!!!, but have had horrendous problems trying to get the PowerFlarm to give reliable contacts and so far can't get it to speak to Sky Demon (via Air(Butterfly) Connect WiFi) at all!!! Seriously considering sending the whole £1300 worth back to the supplier and going down the Pilot Aware route instead - or waiting for NATS / Trig to come up with a viable ADS-B in solution at under the £1300 already invested (some chance). So don't lose heart... and if you want to do some ADSB tests please feel free to PM me. I'm always looking for an excuse to test my installation over Edinburgh on the incoming jets!!!!
Best regards
Peter (at Balerno)
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Hi Ferryair
My concern is not so much that Skydemon is going offline, my concern is that I get a screen full of conflicts one second and then they can just disappear from view, they only seem to reappear if I reboot the entire system.
OK, so there are 2 issues.
1. Skydemon goes offline
I presume you understood my explaination regarding a connection to the internet required for this feature ?
2. Lots of contacts, followed instantaneously by much less.
This is a bug in the version you are using, discovered recently, this was the note in the CHANGELOG.txt
Fixed time comparison for Aircraft stale data
What happened was that whilst PAW was not connected to a navigation source, it continued storing aircraft as they were captured, then when a navigation device connected, it bursts all that 'stale' data in one go, then removes it from its database, as I say this was a bug, and this issue was fixed in release 20151107
My Samsung Tab3 is not connected to the internet when using PAW ( other than on the Pilotaware wifi ), there isn't a cellular contract connected to my Tab3 nor does it have a Sim Card fitted....... Are we now getting a bit closer to why my system is playing up.
Clarification, PAW does not have an internet connection, so if your only connection from the Tab3 is to PAW, then you are not connected to the internet - there is no other than on the Pilotaware wifi
I am still not absolutely sure what you mean by 'playing up', that is why I am asking the probing questions, firstly you have confirmed the 'skydemon offline' is not an issue, lets address the other concerns.
Not sure if this is relevant but if I get close to a Wifi hotspot or my own wifi set up, the PAW wifi goes tits up & my Tab3 auto connects to the Wifi hotspot etc.
I have even had the Tab3 auto connect to my passenger's wifi on his mobile phone whilst it was set to PAW.
This will be down to the setup of your Tab3. I presume it is setup to connect to the 'strongest WiFi signal', hence when you go near to your other 'known wifi' it uses those connections. You would have to check with Android/Tab3 how it is configured to stick with a specific connection - I am sure there is a way to do that, outside of my remit I'm afraid, On iOS, you can tell the iPad to 'forget networks', which means they will not reconnect until explicitly told to do so.
This is not usually an issue in your plane, unless you are running multple WiFi's ???
Now onto Flickering lights : I have a Red light which flickers away like a backstreet of Amsterdam & a couple of blue lights that flicker away like the Police lights of the cop cars going to shut down the Red lights of Amsterdam.
Silly analogy I know, but I don't think I have any green lights flickering in my box.
There are multiple lights in PilotAware, as you look at the faceplate, bottom left are a green and red, green indicates disk activity, this should only be active during boot, and occasionally the odd flicker whilst running. The red indicates good power, if this goes off, there is a power problem (what is your power source ?).
The other lights (if you have a transceiver in-built) are associated with send / receive data, and a 1 second heartbeat, I think this is also red, so if you are seeing a 1 second flash of a red LED, it is most likely the heartbeat
I am technically inept when it comes to Electronics, If it doesn't switch on and instantly work I have a Brain freeze and then my workload goes awry.
Don't worry
Perhaps if you are going to be at the Flying Show I can ask you to explain the system to me in better detail , at the moment I am not convinced that I have got the benefit of the unit ( which is quite disconcerting bearing in mind that my airstrip is under the Edinburgh Airport airspace )
I may well be flying down to Shifnal for the Show, if I do I will see how many conflicts I see enroute as there seem to be a shedload of users between here and Telford.
We are at the flying show, feel free to come and meet with us, we are also presenting at the seminar at 3PM on the Saturday with a Q&A session, please feel free to come along and ask questions, don't worry about asking questions, as I am sure you know, it probably means many others are thinking the same thing, but too afraid to ask!
Thx
Lee
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Hope you all had a nice time at The Flying Show at Telford 😁
I have just tried to use my PAW unit with the latest update and it seemed to work previously after downloading but now it does not !!!
Silly question, Do I need a new licence code for the latest update? My licence number shows up as a row of zero's !!!
I am probably being extremely dense but bear with me on this.
I also note that a certain member of the Wfaec is querying the functionality of the PAW unit? Does he actually have a PAW unit or is he just looking at it from an outsider's viewpoint.
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You'll need to put your licence code in again... then all should be fine.
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I also note that a certain member of the Wfaec is querying the functionality of the PAW unit? Does he actually have a PAW unit or is he just looking at it from an outsider's viewpoint.
Hi Peter
I am not sure who the 'certain member' is, but I would recommend that any discussion regarding their opinion, informed or otherwise, is taken up with the Wfaec directly.
My intention for this forum, is to discuss the technical issues regarding the application of this technology.
I think we have plenty of pilot forums available for discussion regarding the potential merit or weaknesses with new technologies, I am happy to have those forums to continue to host such debate and discussion, and may even participate on the very odd occasion, where comment is warranted ;)
For this forum, I appreciate facts, figures, requirements, issues and solutions.
Thx
Lee
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Thanks Stephen ;) Done that, now everything Hunky Dory again 8)
You'll need to put your licence code in again... then all should be fine.
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Pleasure, glad my limited knowledge could be of some help!!
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take the unit outside sometimes the gps dongles don't get a fix indoors take it outside and leave it switched on for 10 minutes then re connect to SD using flarm and all should be fine.