Messages

31

OGN-R PilotAware / Re: New Stations Added

« on: July 20, 2020, 10:21:20 pm »

Hi Frank
Can I ask what instructions you were following, that is a very old release
We need to update those instructions
Thx
Lee

Hi Lee,

Thanks for your message. Please see my reply to Peter above for details.

Thanks,

Frank.

32

OGN-R PilotAware / Re: New Stations Added

« on: July 20, 2020, 10:19:38 pm »

Hi Frank,

It sounds like you are trying to manually configure the software. There is a much easier (and more efficient) method.

Download the latest software from...

https://pilotaware.lode.co.uk/downloads/OGN/PilotAware-OGN.latest.zip

You will currently get version 20200714 - please don’t use your pre-November 2019 version - it doesn’t contain the network or auto-update software.

Load this onto a fresh or fully reformatted card, install into your Pi, power up and leave it to unpack.

Log into the pi..

pi

12345678 (or later your own password if you’ve already set one)

Change directory (just type the bits in bold and hit [Enter])

cd rtlsdr-ogn

Then type...

./pilotaware-OGN.config.sh (in this step OGN is in caps)

This will automatically stop the rtlsdr-ogn service (which will be what is stopping your attempts) and lead you through the configuration process.

If you make a mistake, complete the sequence then power the Pi down, restart it, log back in (using your new password if you have already done that bit) change directory as above and re-run the config script.

Much easier than trying to stop/start the program and configure the files manually.

Best Regards

Peter

Hi Peter,

Thanks for your reply and info.

I'm just attempting to follow the setup information from here:

http://forum.pilotaware.com/index.php/topic,974.0.html

which links to this document:

http://www.pilotaware.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Building-an-OGN-PAW-Uplink.pdf

I downloaded and unpacked the latest version as you suggested, but was still getting exactly the same error. HOWEVER I checked the directory contents and the penny dropped!! I typed ./PilotAware-OGN.config.sh and lo and behold it worked. It was the lack of capitals P and A in the right places that were causing the problem.

I note though the remote connection option using http://ognpaw.local:4200/ still works on the latest version, none of the diagnostic ports:

http://ognpaw.local:8080
http://ognpaw.local:8081
http://ognpaw.local:8082

listed in the above document seem to work now.

I've entered all the lat/long/height info etc, named the site and completed the setup but as yet can't see the station on the https://ognrange.glidernet.org/ site. Whether it's because the Pi and aerials are inside at the moment I'm not sure, but I would have thought the station position would be sent to the server via the internet connection to update the location but I may be wrong - It's a learning thing!

I'm sure I'll have more questions as I progress, but it's a great project!

Thanks,

Frank.

33

OGN-R PilotAware / Re: New Stations Added

« on: July 19, 2020, 12:10:00 am »

Hi,

I'm in the process of setting up an OGN-R station in south Lincolnshire near Long Sutton.

I've gone through loading the software Ver. 201902020 onto the Pi and logged in per the instructions but cant get the ./do-cfg.sh command to work. The cd command works fine and I'm in the rtlsdr-ogn directory and can see the file PilotAware-OGN.config.sh which I presume is the correct file to run?

I'm new to Linux, but following the setup procedure in the document to the letter but getting nowhere.

I watched the installation unpack and there weren't any errors shown so I can't understand why the process won't start - Any ideas please?

Thanks,

Frank.

34

OGN-R PilotAware / Re: WiFi

« on: March 23, 2020, 09:40:21 pm »

Hi Frank

Unfortunately the WIFi will only work with a Pi 3 not a pi 2 with a dongle

Sorry

Keith

Hi Keith,

Thanks for your reply.

That's a shame because it's going to delay installing the station whilst I try to set up a wired connection to the Pi.

Thanks,

Frank.

35

OGN-R PilotAware / Re: WiFi

« on: March 06, 2020, 10:55:51 pm »

Hi Lee,

I'm finally after many months of delays intending to get my OGN-R station up and running which will be located near Long Sutton in south Lincolnshire. I will need to use wifi for the internet connection, but as I have the Pi2B, does the wifi script support external wifi dongles plugged into a spare USB port, or only the onboard wifi on the Pi3 ? If it does support USB wifi dongles, is there a specific type/chipset it is limited to please?

Thanks,

Frank.

36

OGN-R PilotAware / Re: Latest Software Version

« on: September 14, 2018, 08:56:22 pm »

Thanks Lee and all for the info.

I'll give it a try as soon as I get a chance and report back here how it goes.

Thanks,

Frank.

37

OGN-R PilotAware / Re: Latest Software Version

« on: September 10, 2018, 06:33:11 pm »

Thanks for the update chaps.

I thought it would be possible and thank you Paul re the 868-869MHz frequency. I wrote it from memory and was a bit out hence the ish. Curiously, it's approx the 2nd harmonic of the 433 licence exempt band for remote control and some telemetry, so I expect it's not a coincidence then.

Maybe as I suggested the wi-fi driver could be a permanent addition to the software as an update? I thought I wouldn't be the only one to find it useful.

I'm not well versed in programming of the Pi, but I'll give it a go. One question though, if I make the changes at the command line prompt, are those changes saved to the file so next boot-up will load the wi-fi driver option, or is it lost once the power is removed? It might sound a basic (no, I know it's UNIX!) question, but as I said I've done very little with the Pi so far.

Thanks,

Frank.

38

OGN-R PilotAware / Re: Latest Software Version

« on: September 08, 2018, 09:05:17 pm »

Hello Chaps,

I'm in the process of putting an OGN-R station together which will be located at my private strip a couple of miles south of Long Sutton in Lincolnshire.

I've spoken to Keith regarding setting-up the gear and my original idea was to mount most of it in a waterproof box up on a mast and just run power and ethernet cables up to the box, thus reducing the RF cable losses and keeping everything simple. However, my internet router is remote (about 100m away in the house) from where the OGN-R system will be mounted and although I could create a wireless connection through a router and connect it to my wi-fi network, it starts getting a bit awkward. I'm also aware that Ethernet should't be run externally without appropriate lightning-strike protection.

Keith has advised that there is no current capability in the OGN-R software to drive a wi-fi dongle, but I'm guessing (maybe wrongly) that it would be possible to update the software to include the necessary drivers which would make a wi-fi link to a network feasible? Maybe it could be either running permanently to auto-detect either wired or dongle, or configurable via a command-line input to select dongle from the default wired? Whether there are any technical issues other than the software I don't know, but I can't see any RF problems as wi-fi is 2.4 or 5GHz and P3i and Flarm are 950ish MHz. I think a wi-fi option would add versatility to the system and I'm sure other people would find it useful.

Comments from learned experts please!

Thanks,

Frank.

39

General Discussion / Re: MORE ADSB Antenna Stuff

« on: February 07, 2018, 11:15:09 pm »

Hello Paul,

OK being in Oz -  we are suffering the depths of winter at the moment and the temperature here in south Lincolnshire is forecast to drop to about -5 degrees Celsius tonight!

The aerial certainly looks like a colinear-type and the magnetic-base electrically couples the earthy-side to the groundplane by capacitance. In this instance there is no need for a physical electrical connection, so just attaching it to a steel sheet is sufficient. The effect of the groundplane is exactly the same whether the aerial is for transmitting or receiving. The only real difference is that if it's used for transmitting, the electrical matching of the aerial (high VSWR) to the transmitter may be bad enough to damage the transmitter output stages. That's why you've seen comments that differ for transmitting and receiving aerials. For a receive-only setup, although the effect on radiation pattern and electrical matching is exactly the same, the receiver will still work but not optimally. It's surprising what you can use for an aerial to receive radio signals, but when you compare what you are receiving on a piece of "damp string" to a properly configured and tuned aerial there is usually a vast difference.

As for the GAV-868 aerial, I think it must be a shortened 1/4 wavelength - the website doesn't give much away other than the height of 70mm which is far too short for a 1/4 wavelength at 868MHz. A 1/4 wave at 868MHz is about 86mm uncorrected.  That would mean it needs a groundplane, so yes, mounting it on an alloy groundplane is perfect. It appears to be designed to mount directly onto a typically metal airframe.

The GAV-868 seems expensive for what it is. A standard 1/4 wave aerial cut to the correct length (about 82mm corrected) would work just as well if not better than the GAV-868 (larger aperture), but then the GAV-868 can be fitted with no configuring and it's guaranteed to work out of the box.

You mention mounting the aerials within a couple of feet of each other, but I'm not sure about the minimum separation required between the transponder aerial and the P3I one. A transponder transmits typically 100 or 200 watts or so depending on model and class and I'm not sure if the P3I RF input stages could handle this sort of power close by repeatedly, so does anyone else reading this (Maybe Keith?) have any thoughts about aerial location/separation?

40

General Discussion / Re: MORE ADSB Antenna Stuff

« on: February 06, 2018, 10:57:01 pm »

Hello Paul,

Is that aerial you've bought from eBay a 5/8 over 1/4 wave co-linear? It looks like it from the photo on eBay. If so, then I am pretty sure it should be used with a groundplane as the radiation pattern will be severely affected without one. However as Keith mentioned, it will probably provide signals that are too far away to worry about for your purposes anyway.

Any groundplane should be a minimum of 1/4 wavelength at the operating frequency and the bigger the better within reason. A larger groundplane has the effect of lowering the radiation angle and effectively acts as a mirror for the radiating element. A groundplane is not just required for a transmitting aerial, but also for a receiving-only aerial as they both work in exactly the same way.

You mention that you are going to mount the P3I aerial on a groundplane, but I think I am right in saying that this aerial (if it's the one supplied with the purchased PA unit?) is a halfwave sleeve-dipole so doesn't need a groundplane. The same is also true for the supplied 1090MHz aerial as that's also a sleeve-dipole.

https://www.pulseelectronics.com/antenna_basic_concepts/

Frank,
G0CFD