PilotAware

British Forum => General Discussion => Topic started by: ianfallon on September 14, 2015, 08:35:11 pm

Title: Pi Model B (not B+)
Post by: ianfallon on September 14, 2015, 08:35:11 pm: Hi all,

I think I can confirm that Pi Model B appears to work fine as a PilotAware :)
Well, I've not tested the ARF side against another PilotAware yet but it looks hopeful (no nasty errors seen so far)

Of course adding a GPS dongle or RS232 cable is not an option with the 2 USB port Model B but the fundamentals seem to work fine.

Thanks Lee for your work and support.
Title: Re: Pi Model B (not B+)
Post by: Admin on September 15, 2015, 10:01:40 am: Hi Ian,

Can you please explain your previous findings where the hostapd seemed to be failing to start ?

You mentioned elsewhere that this was an issue with the DVB-T - which surprises me, because the
hostapd is related to the WiFi dongle.

Can I ask you try multiple boots to see if it re-occurs, this may be a non-deterministic issue you are seeing
Title: Re: Pi Model B (not B+)
Post by: ianfallon on September 15, 2015, 02:20:13 pm: Hi - I think it was a duff DVB dongle (Keedox).

I got some more through dongles the post (which look like yours at the show) and all is well with those.
Title: Re: Pi Model B (not B+)
Post by: ianfallon on September 15, 2015, 03:42:07 pm: So I went down the Slice of POD route with mine ...

1) Desoldered / snapped off / removed these headers from the SOP
Title: Re: Pi Model B (not B+)
Post by: ianfallon on September 15, 2015, 03:44:31 pm: 2) Soldered the wires to the SOP board first. The tape is just there to insulate the ARF board from the SOP board.
Don't do what I did and melt the GPIO connector!! (It works fine fortunately!)
Title: Re: Pi Model B (not B+)
Post by: ianfallon on September 15, 2015, 03:48:29 pm: Here's the wiring diagram for the SOP to the ARF board. Just 4 wires.
Title: Re: Pi Model B (not B+)
Post by: ianfallon on September 15, 2015, 03:49:50 pm: 3) So here's the ARF when the soldering is done. I stuck it to the SOP with some double sided sticky pads.
Title: Re: Pi Model B (not B+)
Post by: ianfallon on September 15, 2015, 03:53:51 pm: 4) Plug the ARF antenna in, drill the 6mm hole in the case and fit the antenna in it, then plug in the SOP board and fit the case top ...
Title: Re: Pi Model B (not B+)
Post by: ianfallon on September 15, 2015, 03:57:46 pm: Here's a screen shot from Skydemon on Android :)
Title: Re: Pi Model B (not B+)
Post by: ianfallon on September 15, 2015, 03:59:14 pm: EDIT: ARF side tested against another PilotAware and working.
Title: Re: Pi Model B (not B+)
Post by: ianfallon on September 20, 2015, 04:53:56 pm: Adafruit barometric pressure sensor added. Latest software build indicates it is "OK".
NOTE! : This Adafruit version of the sensor has a 5v input not 3.3v !!
Title: Re: Pi Model B (not B+)
Post by: roweda on September 21, 2015, 07:32:16 pm: Has anybody found a way of mounting both the Adafruit pressure sensor board and the ARF transceiver board on the SOP together? If so, please can you post some photos and how you did it?

I think trapdoor may have done it as per this thread: http://forum.pilotaware.com/index.php/topic,74.msg1019.html#msg1019 but the photo only shows the SOP when fixed in place.

Thanks

Dave
Title: Re: Pi Model B (not B+)
Post by: trapdoor on September 21, 2015, 07:50:07 pm: Yes, it's an easy mod, though I used the HobbyTronics board not the Adafruit one - the HobbyTronics board is a bit smaller.

I'll try and get a photo or two up later - but I have just attached it to the upper side of the SoP board and wired across - the pads on the SoP are plated through so you can use either side of the board to attach.
Title: Re: Pi Model B (not B+)
Post by: ianfallon on September 21, 2015, 07:53:00 pm: Quote from: roweda on September 21, 2015, 07:32:16 pm
Has anybody found a way of mounting both the Adafruit pressure sensor board and the ARF transceiver board on the SOP together? If so, please can you post some photos and how you did it?

I think trapdoor may have done it as per this thread: http://forum.pilotaware.com/index.php/topic,74.msg1019.html#msg1019 but the photo only shows the SOP when fixed in place.

Thanks

Dave

The pin pitch is the same but I have to admit I just wired it in and stuck it down rather than try to "properly" use headers to mount it
Title: Re: Pi Model B (not B+)
Post by: trapdoor on September 21, 2015, 07:57:09 pm: Here you go....
Title: Re: Pi Model B (not B+)
Post by: onkelmuetze on September 22, 2015, 06:46:37 am: Quote from: trapdoor on September 21, 2015, 07:50:07 pm
Yes, it's an easy mod, though I used the HobbyTronics board not the Adafruit one - the HobbyTronics board is a bit smaller.

I'll try and get a photo or two up later - but I have just attached it to the upper side of the SoP board and wired across - the pads on the SoP are plated through so you can use either side of the board to attach.

Can you please post a link or closer specs on the sensor you use? thx ;)
Title: Re: Pi Model B (not B+)
Post by: trapdoor on September 22, 2015, 08:48:27 am: Here you go...

http://www.hobbytronics.co.uk/mpl3115a2-pressure-temp-sensor
Title: Re: Pi Model B (not B+)
Post by: ianfallon on September 22, 2015, 07:15:15 pm: I have to admit I've not bothered doing anything elaborate in terms of fixing either the ARF or the Adafruit to the SOP board - just wired up and stuck to it with sticky pads!
Title: Re: Pi Model B (not B+)
Post by: neilmurg on November 13, 2015, 03:28:09 pm: Thanks for that Ian, the pin connections were just what I needed as I'm new to this. A word of warning for novices (like me), I was just about to connect my MPL3115A2 when I noticed:
a) the pins are configured differently, there are only 6 on mine and in a different order, but now I've spotted it it's not a problem
b) one of my baro's is a less precise version, an adafruit MPL115A2 (my fault I think)
c) My 3115 includes a temperature sensor, will that get used?

So double check what you've got and verify before melting stuff. All very new to me but very interesting.
Also, are there any plans to rename some threads so it's easier to find the pictures of wired up boards for different builds? eg this thread title doesn't mention the baro. I didn't find any info on adding a baro in the build manual, but I understand why it's not there

I'm using the Slice of POD board, I've ordered another one from cpc.farnell.com, they seem to have a couple of hundred in stock so you might want to edit the 'known good hardware' sticky.

Finally, thanks for all you're doing guys, I keep meeting pilots who are very interested in this stuff, I think I'm going to end up building more than 2.