PilotAware
British Forum => General Discussion => Topic started by: ColinC on July 30, 2015, 07:21:35 pm
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hi,
I am new to the Raspberry Pi so setting up the software was a bit of an adventure for me. I thought that I'd pass on a couple of pointers.
The SD card formatting program Lee recommends would not recognise the SD card when it was in my very expensive Dell lap top, but I used my wife's HP and it was fine. So, if you have that problem try another computer, or perhaps a card reader off eBay!
Having formatted the card, I downloaded the software zip file, opened it in 7zip (or win zip) and copied the contents to the card. You need to do that so that the readme file is at the root of the card
And not in a sub folder as it is in the zip.
Having done that, I Inserted the card, plugged in the wireless and TV tuner dongles as well as a mouse and keyboard into the Pi. An HDMI cable then connected the Pi to our TV set and I applied power.
Amazingly no smoke!
The next bit fooled me. It comes up with a dialog asking to select an operating system to install. There were three items, so I checked them all on the basis that more is better and clicked install.
The operating system and software was then unpacked from the image on the SD card, a process that takes a while. The prompts seemed to suggest it was working, so I then
1) set the wireless network on the iPad to connect to the device instead of our internet and
2) started up the CollisionAware app on the iPad and turned P3i on then
3) opened up SkyDemon. In SkyDemon you have to configure FLARM to on in the setup menu and set the Air Connect Key to 6000. Then click on Go Flying and turn FLARM on.
That's about it I think.
On subsequent reboots of the PilotAware device, it starts up without any intervention, you just have to connect you iPad to it and 'go flying' with FLARM.
I hope the above is an accurate reflection of what to do. Hopefully Lee will point out any errors and I'll fix them.
Regards,
Colin
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Hi Colin
I think the OS to install is called P3I.
There are a mixture of names at the moment P3I, CollisionAware, these all need standardizing to PilotAware
In the CollisionAware App, there is an entry 'ICAO', if you have a transponder, you should set this to the same value, a 6 digit hex value, ie 0-9,A-Z.
If you do not have a transponder, I suggest setting this to the last 6 digits of the WiFi name, I will automate this at some point in the future. So if the WiFi is:-
pilotaware-0123456789AB
set the ICAO to:-
6789AB
Thx
Lee
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I've now got the software installed with wifi and ADBS dongle installed but still need to wire in the Ciseco ARF board.
What next?
Also tried logging in but did not know the root or pi passwords?
I would be interested in interfacing this into my Garmin 495 and Zaon XRX?
Vince
Ex. Thrasher jockey, now a speed whore!
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Hi Vince
I need the MAC address of the wifi dongle, this is used for licensing, but its all a bit manual at the moment
The wifi name will also give me the MAC address
I am thinking maybe I should create some pre configured sdcard/wifidongles, and then I can just sell as a package, this would make the software installation much simpler
Thx
Lee
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Lee HI1
A pre-registered WiFi Dongle and SD Card would be a great option and especially when momentum of users gets going.
Although building my own Pilot Aware I would be very happy to purchase a turnkey built Unit too. Keep me on the list to purchase.
Regards
Gerry
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Lee Hi...Help!
I've booted my system which only has WiFi Dongle at moment.
Two things.
It asks me for 'pilot3i-rpi' Login as I'm not booting to Desktop?
Should I get a WiFi Hot Spot with only Dongle. It's an Edimax EW 7811Un Nano Dongle. I'm purchasing a Ralink RT5370 version from Amazon to meet your advice.
Regards
Gerry
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I have two wifi dongles:
001986811F0C
001986811B39
Vinc
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Lee Hi...Help!
I've booted my system which only has WiFi Dongle at moment.
Two things.
It asks me for 'pilot3i-rpi' Login as I'm not booting to Desktop?
Should I get a WiFi Hot Spot with only Dongle. It's an Edimax EW 7811Un Nano Dongle. I'm purchasing a Ralink RT5370 version from Amazon to meet your advice.
Regards
Gerry
Hi Gerry
I dont think the edimax is supported on debian as a hotspot, only a client, it needs to be a ralink 5370 chipset. You will see the wifi without the other parts
Thx
Lee
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Lee
Should I be left in Terminal Mode requiring a login for pilot3i-rpi?
I'm using the latest download.
Regards
Gerry
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Lee
Should I be left in Terminal Mode requiring a login for pilot3i-rpi?
I'm using the latest download.
Regards
Gerry
Hi Gerry,
What you are seeing is correct, but there is no need to login.
Normally of course, you would not have a display connected to your HDMI port, and hence would not see the login prompt.
The normal connection to PilotAware will be over the WiFi connection from SkyDemon, RunwayHD or EasyVFR, connecting directly to a server running on PilotAware.
The main issue you have is that you need the correct dongle (as discussed), and the dongle MAC address needs enabling in the software.
At the moment the licensing is pretty horrible, because it is statically defined in the downloaded zip file, which unfortunately means that once you give me your MAC address, you will need to download and install again.
I am in the process of trying to fix this, so that PilotAware runs a web server, which would allow you to simply connect to the WiFi hotspot, run up your web browser and enter a code, without all this nonsense of downloading and installing again.
All these things take time, and it will clearly take time to 'mature' into a more user friendly product, so please bear with me 😓
Not sure when your dongle is due to arrive, but I may have the web server interface up and running before the end of the week.
Thx
Lee
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Get in touch if you want any web assistance, I think there is some slick things we could do
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Thanks Lee
I'll restrain my enthusiasm and slow down.
The Forum is proving really useful!
G
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So should I download the latest version to get it working?
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So should I download the latest version to get it working?
Yes please go ahead, I have now built a simple web server to allow a license code entry.
I will email the license code tomoorow morning for your 2 dongles
Thx
Lee
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Thanks, installed and web server working.
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Unit built, sd card inserted and install. It goes through the boot and gives license fail 00:13:ef:60:12:03
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Unit built, sd card inserted and install. It goes through the boot and gives license fail 00:13:ef:60:12:03
License code sent, please check your email.
Run up a web browser on your IOS device when connected to the PilotAware-0013ef601203 hotspot
go to
http://192.168.1.1
and enter the code sent by email
Let me know how you get on
Thx
Lee
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Brilliant, accepted, collision aware running and connected.
Runway hd is missing the Flarm setting in the earlier post, need to investigate
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Brilliant, accepted, collision aware running and connected.
Runway hd is missing the Flarm setting in the earlier post, need to investigate
Ah yes, I have pre-release software.
Contact Tim Marlow at airbox aero, also
Try connecting to
192.168.1.1:8080
Thx
Lee
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Working as expected, nice touch.
I did direct airbox - Tom and William in your direction a few weeks ago saying they would be foolish not to engage with you!
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Both codes entered via web interface and both dongles are now licensed with an expire date of 20160801.
I get a uart coms failure but have not tried a usb/serial cable yet. It would be nice to feed my Garmin 495 with TIS data. Or feed pilotaware with position data from the Garmin which could then feed a none 3G iPad with position data via the Flarm interface?
Vince
Ps. Let me know if you need any help as I am quite IT savy.
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I get a uart coms failure but have not tried a usb/serial cable yet.
Hi Vince
The uart comms reported error, is for communication with the ARF
I presume you do not yet have that fitted ?
Thx
Lee
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No not yet, will do it before the weekend and then try it all in the air.
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Okay, so Wi-fi module & ADS- receiver dongle connected to the Pi B+ (but not the radio module yet).
Software appears to have installed (on the latest download the OS seems to be simply called "Rapsberian", but it's got the PilotAware radar logo next to it). Following boot the last message on my Pi monitor is "License Fail for Host 00:13:EF:b0:17:1F"
My iPad can see a Wi-Fi connection called "PilotAware-0013EFB0171F" in the Wi-Fi settings. When I try to connect the iPad to this, it shows it as the active connection with a tick next to it & the Wi-Fi "rainbow" to the right next to the "I" with a circle round it (information button). BUT the "rainbow" does NOT show by the word "iPad" in the top left of the screen as it does when I'm connected to my home network & when I try to active CollisionAware it says "P3I Unavailable - Check WiFi Settings", and Safari won't connect to http://192.168.1.1 ("...could not connect to server")
What's wrong?
Paul
(cross posted to email thread)
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Okay, so Wi-fi module & ADS- receiver dongle connected to the Pi B+ (but not the radio module yet).
Software appears to have installed (on the latest download the OS seems to be simply called "Rapsberian", but it's got the PilotAware radar logo next to it). Following boot the last message on my Pi monitor is "License Fail for Host 00:13:EF:b0:17:1F"
My iPad can see a Wi-Fi connection called "PilotAware-0013EFB0171F" in the Wi-Fi settings. When I try to connect the iPad to this, it shows it as the active connection with a tick next to it & the Wi-Fi "rainbow" to the right next to the "I" with a circle round it (information button). BUT the "rainbow" does NOT show by the word "iPad" in the top left of the screen as it does when I'm connected to my home network & when I try to active CollisionAware it says "P3I Unavailable - Check WiFi Settings", and Safari won't connect to http://192.168.1.1 ("...could not connect to server")
What's wrong?
Paul
(cross posted to email thread)
Hi Paul,
Can I ask when did you take the copy of the ZIP file ?
There has been quite a lot of updates in the past couple of weeks
Thx
Lee
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Last night!
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Last night!
Apologies Paul,
I made some changes yesterday, and I think I have broken something, I am investigating now ....
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Last night!
Apologies Paul,
I made some changes yesterday, and I think I have broken something, I am investigating now ....
Thanks Lee
To clarify:-
Circles A & B appear to show iPad connected to PilotAware, but there's no "rainbow" at circle C:--
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Hi Lee
Tried the new image. Definitely different as on install, it now says "P3i" & once install & start up is complete, it doesn't give the MAC address of the Wi-Fi dongle, but at the end says:-
Starting PilotAware server ...
/root/servers /
/
with a flashing cursor underneath.
However, my iPad (in fact I've tried two) are still not connecting properly to it, and I'm getting the same "sees the hotspot, seems to connect, but isn't actually connected" problem I had before. The Wi-Fi dongle I bought was advertised on eBay with the chipset as specified in the build manual.
On the other problem, my IDC connector was "adapted" from a complete cable which had three plugs on it. I've plugged one of the unused ones I've got left (which has a 40 wire ribbon attached, but the ribbon's not connected to anything else) to the Pi - & it doesn't boot. I'm using a 2.5 amp 5v feed (my iPad adapter with the lead for the Pi), so it shouldn't be a power problem. Thoughts? I could try a plug from Maplin's with no ribbon & add my own wires - or would these do? http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/raspberry-pi-compatible-jumper-wires-malefemale-n75de
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Hi Paul
Just to confirm, you cannot connect to
http://192.168.1.1
This worked fine on my iphone even when there was no license
Thx
Lee
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Hi Paul
Just to confirm, you cannot connect to
http://192.168.1.1
This worked fine on my iphone even when there was no license
Thx
Lee
Well, I'll be.......
I tried it before posting - nought. Had a bath, saw your message, thought "one more time" - & it worked! Connected to IPad via CollisionAware, & thus SkyDemon using FLARM as per instructions - loads of contacts!
Pi screen now says;-
Mounting file system READWRITE ...
Mounting file system READONLY ...
if that means anything.
So just the IDC issue to sort now.
Does it matter that I use a Garmin GLO as my position source. SkyDemon will still work, even though it's set to FLARM?
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Hi Paul
What you describe is correct behavior.
The messages are really there for my debug, not intended for the end user ;)
I create the disk as readonly, and toggle to writable for small updates, these
Include entering the license code, and date changes.
Regarding garmin glo, did you try that in your tests ?
Basically CollisionAware uses location services from IOS, assuming that the garmin is providing
The ipad with gps info, I would expect this to be propagated through to location services.
I was in touvh with badelf, and they confirmed this is the case for the badelf gps.
So i would expect the garmin to feed location services, location services to feed collisionaware, collisionaware to feed pilotaware and pilotaware to feed skydemon, confusing huh!
Please post some screenshots and post your findings to the forums bmaa/mf etc
Thx
Lee
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I had no luck first time, reloaded the OS, but although the ipad connects it doesn't show in the "title bar". I can connect to 192.168.1.1 OK though. Collision aware shows P3I disconnected.
My WiFi network says 001986812043.
Any ideas?
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I had no luck first time, reloaded the OS, but although the ipad connects it doesn't show in the "title bar". I can connect to 192.168.1.1 OK though. Collision aware shows P3I disconnected.
My WiFi network says 001986812043.
Any ideas?
Hi Malcolm
Can you elaborate on - no luck first time ?
This will be important for other users.
One thing I have noticed is you MUST NOT have an rj45 ethernet cable connected during installation.
So please confirm, you are able to connect a web browser to 192.168.1.1 ?
This should have an entry box "License"
If this is the case you are good to go, and I will email a license code
Thx
Lee
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Hi Lee
After you saying that you had done stuff to the OS I reloaded with a copy downloaded this morning, but no luck yet.
No RJ45 connected.
I have been able to connect to 192.168.1.1
Standing by for license key.
Many thanks,
Malcolm
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Hi Lee
After you saying that you had done stuff to the OS I reloaded with a copy downloaded this morning, but no luck yet.
No RJ45 connected.
I have been able to connect to 192.168.1.1
Standing by for license key.
Many thanks,
Malcolm
License key sent, please let me know how you get on
Thx
Lee
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Connected now, Skydemon showing traffic.
Just the ARF to connect now.
well done Lee! ;D
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ARF now connected, no flames, but how can I tell if it's actually doing anything? There are no lights on the Digole board or on the transmitter?
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ARF now connected, no flames, but how can I tell if it's actually doing anything? There are no lights on the Digole board or on the transmitter?
There should be lights on the digole board.
I will need to check what they are
I will post tomorrow
Thx
Lee
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It could well be my soldering of course ;D
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It could well be my soldering of course ;D
Hi Malcolm, after power up the following should be lit up
the RED Power light should be constant
the BLUE RSSI should be flashing
I dont think there is a light on this board to indicate TX/RX
Time to get out the multimeter I think 8-)
You should be able to measure 5V coming from the Raspberry PI,
and 3.3v going to the ARF
Also, you did see the Email ERRATA note regarding some of the digole boiards having a manufacturing
fault where the 5V jumper was left in place ?
Thx
Lee
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So i would expect the garmin to feed location services, location services to feed collisionaware, collisionaware to feed pilotaware and pilotaware to feed skydemon, confusing huh!
Please post some screenshots and post your findings to the forums bmaa/mf etc
Thx
Lee
So Saturday night, it seemed to work while in the spare bedroom:-
- wireless connects between Pi & iPad
- can connect to 192.168.1.1 & enter the license code
- P3I flag shows green & "P3I Connected" in CollisionAware
- set FLARM & Air connect Key to 6000 in SkyDemon connectivity options.
- select "Go Flying" & then "Use FLARM"
Bingo! Traffic shows on SkyDemon! Went to bed, well pleased.
Sunday, took it to the airfield, plugged all in to trike, seemed to work. In the air, first of all got "lost GPS connection", then after I killed & restarted SkyDemon, then got (eventually) "Failed to establish a connection with the Butterfly Connect unit". Tried restarting numerous times on the near 2 hour flight. Nothing.
So brought it all home (inc. Garmin GLO) & tried it again just now. First off, all connects & I can see traffic in SD - then, after a few minutes we get "lost GPS connection" again & then "Failed to establish a connection with the Butterfly Connect unit" on every attempted reconnection. If you select "Use Location Services" when "Go Flying" in SD, it instantly shows correct location. I tried switching the GLO off & trying to "Go Flying" using "Use FLARM", but still "Failed to establish a connection with the Butterfly Connect unit" shows.
iPad is a Mini2 running 8.4 (and I tried going back to 8.2, but can't)
Glo has the latest firmware (2.70)
I can see an LED flashing quickly behind the WiFi dongle - presumably this shows TX/RX - & anyway the iPad shows it's connected. Red LED glows on the Pi motherboard.
So I don't get why it starts to work - then doesn't. Thoughts. Screen shots to follow - this is on my PC!
This is all slightly frustrating, but I am enjoying!. I'm not going to worry about the radio module until the ADS-B bit is working though!
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screen 1
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screen 2
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Pic 3
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Pic 4
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Pic 5
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Hi Paul
The most common issue I have seen is
1. Quality of the power supply
2. Quality of the usb connector
If the voltage drops at the input to be the pi, seems to cause real issues
Are you using the same usb power at home and in trike ?
What current rating is the usb adapter ?
Thx
Lee
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Power sources are different.
1) trike uses a 12V to 5V "cigar lighter" adaptor. This has three USB sockets for output, and is putting out a max of 6.6 amps, up to 2.2 amps per socket. Lead is a meter long "flat ribbon" type from eBay.
2) at home I'm using an Apple mains power adapter putting out up to 5v at a max of 2.5 amps. The lead is 30cm one borrowed from a mobile phone 14,000 mAhr power pack.
is more than 2 amps needed? Of course, these are just the declared figures by the maker/seller of these things, but the point is neither seems to solve the problem. All very odd.
I was concerned that the 8.4 iOS would cause issues? But you didn't mention it.....
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I have got a second WiFi dongle to try. How do I find its MAC address so you can send me the license code? Or just plug it in & see what access point shows on the iPad?
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Power sources are different.
1) trike uses a 12V to 5V "cigar lighter" adaptor. This has three USB sockets for output, and is putting out a max of 6.6 amps, up to 2.2 amps per socket. Lead is a meter long "flat ribbon" type from eBay.
2) at home I'm using an Apple mains power adapter putting out up to 5v at a max of 2.5 amps. The lead is 30cm one borrowed from a mobile phone 14,000 mAhr power pack.
is more than 2 amps needed? Of course, these are just the declared figures by the maker/seller of these things, but the point is neither seems to solve the problem. All very odd.
I was concerned that the 8.4 iOS would cause issues? But you didn't mention it.....
Hi Paul,
I had been holding off from taking the 8.4 update, and was unnerved by your comments :-|
I updated this morning, and then took a 1 hour commute from Coventry down to Oxford with PilotAware in my car.
I got no dropouts and saw lots of traffic.
Hmmmmm, so ...
The (mobile) power supply I am using is also a 2.1A AUX as you describe.
Regarding power, I have measured PilotAware drawing Approx 750mA without the ARF, so factor in the ARF as well
which is approx 350mA (short bursts of 1 millisecond every 2 seconds), and you are looking at a requirement of 1.1A
Question: did you have anything else connected to the other USB ports during your flight ?
I have found when I plug my iPhone 6 Plus into the second port of the 2.1a charger, the charger is overloaded, and drops
out for 5 seconds.
This also means any other connections drop out alos, I have observed PilotAware constantly rebooting as it had its
power cut due to my iPhone 6 plus, can you provide a reference to the charger you are using and could this be a similar
scenario ?
The Power cable I am using is now a dedicated PI cable, I have found issues with
lots of standard USB cables, they simply have too much voltage drop from one end to the other.
On one of my cables I measured 5.25v at cable input, and just over 4.1v at the input to the PI - that is a killer !
here is a reference for the Pi Switchable similar to the one I am using
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/USB-to-Micro-USB-Power-Cable-Charger-with-ON-OFF-Switch-for-Raspberry-Pi-Android-/131567044246?hash=item1ea201c696
To be honest the power source issue is a minefield, in the case of the PI, we are only interested in power and not data.
so we need good quality USB cables for the power, I have read online you really want something at 20AWG,
and a lot of cables are much poorer than this at ratings such as 28AWG (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_wire_gauge)
Would really like to get to the bottom of your issues.
Thx
Lee
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I have got a second WiFi dongle to try. How do I find its MAC address so you can send me the license code? Or just plug it in & see what access point shows on the iPad?
Hi Paul
2 options, plug it into a Windows PC and run this command from a DOS shell
CMD> ipconfig /all
or as you say, plug it into PilotAware, boot it and see what comes up in the hotspot !
I think the second option is generally easier
Thx
Lee
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Hi All
One final note on the Power supply, I recall Andy Fell mentioning that linear regulators are preferable over the switch mode regulators.
I wonder if there is an issue that requires a more thorough investigation regarding the quality of the supply.
The switch mode regulators will certainly output more interference, you may notice this in your car when listening to FM radio,
and suddenly you get a horrible hissssssss after plugging the regulator and charging a device.
Thx
Lee
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Hi to all.
Its working with ADS-B and connection to iPad and iPhone!!!!
Tx/Rx almost ready to fit. Had a senior moment with ARF Module so need careful use of Solder Sucker!
Checked 'targets' with Flight Radar 24 locally and all were correct.
When complete later today will fit ARF.
Anybody in SW who wants to fly and check?
Regards
Gerry
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To add to fly and check...
I mean I'll get airborne myself and rendezvous with another Pilot Aware equipped aircraft.
Regards
Gerry
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It works well and all 'targets' matched Flight Radar 24.
Gerry
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Lee
A very naive question....so sorry.
What in PilotAware or SkyDemon terms 'colours' the ADS-B targets shown.
I ask as the 'white' outlined targets hide within the clutter of SD sometimes.
REgards
Gerry
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Lee
A very naive question....so sorry.
What in PilotAware or SkyDemon terms 'colours' the ADS-B targets shown.
I ask as the 'white' outlined targets hide within the clutter of SD sometimes.
REgards
Gerry
Hi Gerry
It is SkyDemon. This changed recently, they were previously green, which I think most people prefer, maybe we should ask Tim Dawson why this changed ?
At the moment I do not flag any targets as a 'threat', think if I do they may change color
Thx
Lee
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or as you say, plug it into PilotAware, boot it and see what comes up in the hotspot !
Hi Lee
The second WiFi dongle seems to have the address 0013EF30110F. Can you supply a licence & I'll give it a go.
Still intermittent in the car to & from work today.
Paul
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or as you say, plug it into PilotAware, boot it and see what comes up in the hotspot !
Hi Lee
The second WiFi dongle seems to have the address 0013EF30110F. Can you supply a licence & I'll give it a go.
Still intermittent in the car to & from work today.
Paul
Hi Paul
I will send out license tomorrow.
I really want to get a detailed description of the setup
1. What power supply are you using, and is anything else loading the supply ?
2. The rating of the USB cable, it should really be 20AWG for the power
3. What IOS device
Also, do you have a multimeter to test the voltage on the PI itself.
I have seen a huge voltage drop on some cable/supply combinations
I am tempted to send you a cable supply combination I use to see if
The performance is better
Please let me know the answers to above
Many Thx
Lee
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1. What power supply are you using, and is anything else loading the supply ?
2. The rating of the USB cable, it should really be 20AWG for the power
3. What IOS device
Also, do you have a multimeter to test the voltage on the PI itself.
I have seen a huge voltage drop on some cable/supply combinations
1) At home a 5V/2.5A iPad mains charger. In the trike/car a three way adapter rated at 5V/6.6A total (2.2A per socket). I don't know how I'd avoid using this, as I need to power the iPad (draws about 2.1A) & the GLO (I think this has a current draw of 0.5A) Then I read somewhere that the Pi draws about 750mA & the ARF (which isn't installed yet) about 250mA, so that's 1A. In total, about 3.6A, which should be well within the capabilities of the charger.
2) Dunno. it's one I've taken from a "power brick" & looks quite chunky to me & is probably 50cm long. I've ordered the one you recommended from eBay
3) iPad mini2 running iOs 8.4 (12H143). as I've noted, works fine with the GLO directly.
Yes, I've a multimeter. where would I touch the probes to measure the voltage on the Pi?
Paul
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or as you say, plug it into PilotAware, boot it and see what comes up in the hotspot !
Hi Lee
The second WiFi dongle seems to have the address 0013EF30110F. Can you supply a licence & I'll give it a go.
Still intermittent in the car to & from work today.
Paul
Hi Paul,
License sent.
I also have a topi already for handling licensing, we should probably use this in future - easier to make sure I dont lose requests
Thx
Lee
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1) At home a 5V/2.5A iPad mains charger. In the trike/car a three way adapter rated at 5V/6.6A total (2.2A per socket). I don't know how I'd avoid using this, as I need to power the iPad (draws about 2.1A) & the GLO (I think this has a current draw of 0.5A) Then I read somewhere that the Pi draws about 750mA & the ARF (which isn't installed yet) about 250mA, so that's 1A. In total, about 3.6A, which should be well within the capabilities of the charger.
2) Dunno. it's one I've taken from a "power brick" & looks quite chunky to me & is probably 50cm long. I've ordered the one you recommended from eBay
3) iPad mini2 running iOs 8.4 (12H143). as I've noted, works fine with the GLO directly.
Yes, I've a multimeter. where would I touch the probes to measure the voltage on the Pi?
Paul
Hi Paul,
the best place to take the voltage reading is on the GPIO of the Pi Header
http://raspi.tv/2014/rpi-gpio-quick-reference-updated-for-raspberry-pi-b
pin 1 = 3.3v
pin 2 = 5.0v
pin 6 = GND
Further reading ...
the RTL-SDR usb dongle can allegedley draw approx 300mA http://superkuh.com/rtlsdr.html
The WiFi I have seen reports of upto 157mA
The RPi by default has a limitation of 600mA on the USB, or it powers down the usb devices.
I wonder if somehow your installation is hitting this limit ?
I already have a USB power meter which measures average voltage and current, so I have just
purchased one of these
http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/maplin-usb-power-meter-n55ce
in addition to the averages, this can measure peak current spike (max) and peak voltage drop (min),
So I will test out the following
1. Supply to RPi
2. RPi(USB) to WiFi
3. RPi(USB) to DVB-T
This should give us a better estimation of the averages and peaks.
Thx
Lee
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In openwrt you can significantly reduce the current drawn by the wifi dongle by setting the transmit power (tx-power) in the /etc/config/wireless file. I simply dont know if the same applies to debian/rPi, but would think so. Worth a try. After all, in the cockpit, you wont need to be blasting out a signal for a connection over a foot or two.
Would imagine that Tx-Power = 5dbm would be plenty.
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In openwrt you can significantly reduce the current drawn by the wifi dongle by setting the transmit power (tx-power) in the /etc/config/wireless file. I simply dont know if the same applies to debian/rPi, but would think so. Worth a try. After all, in the cockpit, you wont need to be blasting out a signal for a connection over a foot or two.
Would imagine that Tx-Power = 5dbm would be plenty.
In a previous release i dropped the power down to 5mw, but is now back at 20mw. I think you are right but at the time I was trying to overcome what I thought could be too much noise in the cockpit
Thx
Lee
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Still intermittent in the car to & from work today.
Paul
Hi Paul,
I have uploaded a new S/W release. I have added KEEPALIVE and TIMEOUT's to the socket communications between
PilotAware and the Nav system - possibly too much information ;-)
Would you be able to try this out and see if this makes a difference.
One difference it will definitely fix is the problem when SkyDemon cannot reconnect without rebooting PilotAware.
PilotAware will now timeout a disconnect, allowing a reconnection simply by 'go flying'
Thx
Lee
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Hi Paul,
I have uploaded a new S/W release. I have added KEEPALIVE and TIMEOUT's to the socket communications between
PilotAware and the Nav system - possibly too much information ;-)
Would you be able to try this out and see if this makes a difference.
Hi Lee. Sorry for the delay - was away for the weekend.
Er... the latest software seems to have broken something. The screen connected to the Pi shows the normal boot, then streams of "Connecting SBS1" followed by streams of "Error: Socket()". There may be other messages, but they pass by too fast to read - and the WiFi initially connects to the iPad, then drops (the LED on the dongle goes out). Additionally, in the time the WiFi appears to be connected, Safari won't connect to 192.168.1.1
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Hi Paul,
I have uploaded a new S/W release. I have added KEEPALIVE and TIMEOUT's to the socket communications between
PilotAware and the Nav system - possibly too much information ;-)
Would you be able to try this out and see if this makes a difference.
Hi Lee. Sorry for the delay - was away for the weekend.
Er... the latest software seems to have broken something. The screen connected to the Pi shows the normal boot, then streams of "Connecting SBS1" followed by streams of "Error: Socket()". There may be other messages, but they pass by too fast to read - and the WiFi initially connects to the iPad, then drops (the LED on the dongle goes out). Additionally, in the time the WiFi appears to be connected, Safari won't connect to 192.168.1.1
Hi Paul,
I will double check, I am pretty sure I am running this on all my devices now
That error message would normally indicate an issue with the DVB-T dongle.
(I will cleanup the messages)
Thx
Lee
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Er... the latest software seems to have broken something. The screen connected to the Pi shows the normal boot, then streams of "Connecting SBS1" followed by streams of "Error: Socket()". There may be other messages, but they pass by too fast to read - and the WiFi initially connects to the iPad, then drops (the LED on the dongle goes out). Additionally, in the time the WiFi appears to be connected, Safari won't connect to 192.168.1.1
same problem here!
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OK, I am downloading and trying myself ...
First thing I notice, the version on the website has an older datestamp than expected,
checking to see if it is corrupt
I am uploading a new version, Also including a datestamp file in the root directory
so we can refer to revision information.
Please standby...
I have uploaded a new release, downloaded, installed and tested.
It all seems to work fine.
Can you please try this and let me know ?
one additional question, can you confirm are you running on a Pi B+ ?
Thx
Lee
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I have uploaded a new release, downloaded, installed and tested.
It all seems to work fine.
Can you please try this and let me know ?
Last night, all seemed fine at home. Today, in the car, I used it connected to a power brick putting out 2.4A max with no other drain. SkyDemon dropped the GPS connection every 5 to 30 seconds. When it reconnected (which it NORMALLY did - although one re-boot of the Pi was required), SkyDemon then reported my position as where I was minutes before, with no groundspeed - but traffic could be seen. The interesting thing is that, after a dropped connection, the WiFi selection in the iPad Settings can say it's still connected, Safari can see the "home page", but CollisionAware says it's disconnected & can take 5 or so swipes of the switch to make it go green again. Before that it'll say "Check WiFi settings" - but, as stated, all appears connected in the iPad settings.
I'm being to think it's the Wi-Fi! Was Bluetooth ever an option for connection? Can an iPad have more than one Bluetooth connection at a time (as I'm using a Garmin Glo)?
Anyway, now re-downloaded the software, in case you've downloaded a version with a longer timeout - & it's running in the spare room! But not moving of course. Will try again tomorrow in the car.
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Hi Paul
The one thing I am now starting to think. Is the garmin glo.
Is your ipad a wifi ?
If so do, you have access to an iphone?
I was going to suggest the following
1. Connect iphone to pilotaware using collisionaware (for gps)
2. Connect ipad to pilotaware using skydemon
This would be a useful datapoint
If your ipad is cellular, could you try using the internal gps ?
Thx
Lee
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Hi Paul
Probably a stupid question, what version of ios are you running, I have been reading about the issues of external gps issues in 8.3
Thx
Lee
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Hi Paul
The one thing I am now starting to think. Is the garmin glo.
Is your ipad a wifi ?
If so do, you have access to an iphone?
Yes, WiFi only, running 8.4.1 with which the Glo works directly (i.e. "Go Flying" using "Location Services") perfectly well. I agree it would be useful to compare by running the PilotAware with a cellular iDevice with built-in GPS - but I've not got one. My 'phone (supplied by work) is Android, & I use that as a WiFi hotspot when necessary, which is why I have a WiFi only iPad.
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Hi Paul
Thanks for info
Unfortunately i do not have a glo I can test, but i can put some diagnostics in to give more information about what goes wrong.
If I go ahead and do that are you able to rerun and give feedback ?
Probably will not be until middle of next week before it would be ready.
Thx
Lee
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Hi Lee,
A few questions & problems. Using Sky Demon for Android on my HTC One M9 phone
1. What is the significance of the Air Connect Key of 6000 ? My Sky Demon defaults to 1234. Easy to change, but it appears to go back to default after re-boot of device.
2. Software installed OK, and working. However, Wifi connection appears flaky, get "Unstable Internet" message on my phone, which clears on retry, but re-appears a few minutes later. However connection is showing as excellent with IP of 192.168.1.105
3. Get "Sky Demon for Android - wait whilst a connection is established" message after Go-flying, for quite a while, then occasional "failed to connect to Butterfly Unit".
4. If connection is established, get "Seeking GPS" message for ages, until timeout (it appears that choosing FLARM in setup disables the internal GPS).
Any ideas ?
TIA
BobD
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Thanks Lee. That'd be great. GLO s are fairly common, so we need to understand if that's the problem. No rush at all though.
Paul
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Hi Lee,
A few questions & problems. Using Sky Demon for Android on my HTC One M9 phone
Hi Bob
Sorry to tell you android is not yet supported😔
There is ongoing work
Lee
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Hi Lee,
Well that's a bit of a bummer - something I hadn't even thought of :-\
Any chance of an Android version soon, or do I need to start looking for an Ipad ?
Best Regards
BobD
p.s. If I do need to think about an Ipad, pls let me have a minimum spec for one - I have never owned any Apple products.
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p.s. If I do need to think about an Ipad, pls let me have a minimum spec for one - I have never owned any Apple products.
Bob,
I'm using an iPad mini. It is just the 16GB version and it is a older version. So any new ones wil be ok.
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Yes, nothing too highly specced is needed, but the 3G one might be better. Not that it needs 3G, but only those have the GPS chip built in.
I have a WiFi only iPad mini, as I use my work phone as a hotspot when needed. However, I've always had to use a Bluetooth GPS source with it (currently a Garmin GLO). However, this maybe causing some issues with the PilotAware, which Lee is investigating.
The GLO supplies location services to the iPad via Bluetooth , the iPad to PilotAware via WiFi, and the PilotAware to SkyDemon (which is on the iPad) via WiFi using the FLARM setting. Why SkyDemon can't use location services directly from the iPad location (provided either internally or via Bluetooth) & just take other traffic from PilotAware, God knows - but this is probably a question for Tim Dawson, not Lee.
[/quote]
Bob,
I'm using an iPad mini. It is just the 16GB version and it is a older version. So any new ones wil be ok.
[/quote]
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Hi Bob
Make sure its a cellular version, this has internal gps
Thx
Lee
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Bob
What nav software are you using ?
Pocketfms/easyvfr are building collisionaware directly into their product
There Should be a beta version available in a week
This will solve the issue on android
Thx
Lee
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Thanks for the Ipad info Guys.
Lee, I only use Skydemon as my NAV software. I did try out PocketFMS in the States 4 years ago when I gained my PPL (just the 30 day evaluation) version, but after trying Skydemon on my return, I thought that the better option.
BobD
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Hi Bob. I'm working on a port of the iPhone software over to Android. It's a bit more complicated than anything I've done before soI'm working my way up the learning curve. Don't want to offer an exact date for first draft but hopefully will make some progress in the next couple weeks.
ChrisMills
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Good news Chris, thanks for the update.
I am just waiting for the delivery of a Powerpod for my second unit build, before I donate it to a friend who has an Ipad, when we can test both units.
BobD
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I've ordered all my hardware bits. Fingers crossed you make good progress with the android app Chris.
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Stupid questions whilst I wait for the bits to arrive. There is the SD format utility to download but is there any reason you can format the SD card with the standard Win7 utility?
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Win7 might not see all partitions on the Card, because some linux based file systems (the Pi uses those) are not recognized by windows systems.
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Win7 might not see all partitions on the Card, because some linux based file systems (the Pi uses those) are not recognized by windows systems.
I suspect this is only a problem if you've used the SD card with a Pi before, or on Linux or similar.
A new card, or one that's been used for a camera etc with the default full-size partition formatted FAT(32) should be good to go to just copy the files onto it unless I've missed something.
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I was about is throw the towel in, building the boards etc no problem with all the support the manual gives but when it can to downloading and getting the software to install on the Pi now that was a different case, I ended up having to down load the zip file four times and format a couple of micro SD cards dozzens of times before I finally managed to see the code number.
Its funny as I had not trouble with version 19 which booted up first time, but the code number has now changed with the software version upgrade.
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The PilotAware re-partitions the card when it boots up first time.
I suspect the most common problems are when re-using an SD card for a new version.
In this case it's important to not just reformat in Windows (which just reformats the small partition) but use the SD formatter program and select the Size Adjustment option ON
This reformats with 1 big partition. Then copy the files. Then put the SD in the PAW and it should do it's thing setting up (which takes a while) then reboots to running state.
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If you use 'SD Format' I can almost guarantee no problems copying across PAW Files and booting it.
Now it's a 'self propelled' boot it's a no effort upgrade.
Always reformat.
G
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New system, booted OK, good power source, all lights on PI and shield, connected to Pilotaware wifi and collision aware is on, skydemon set to Flarm in traffic source, with 6000 key, Navigation, other traffic set to +- 50K, Select Go fly - Flarm, position shows as correct, BUT no traffic showing, cross check with Flightradar, lots of contacts. Any ideas ?
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New system, booted OK, good power source, all lights on PI and shield, connected to Pilotaware wifi and collision aware is on, skydemon set to Flarm in traffic source, with 6000 key, Navigation, other traffic set to +- 50K, Select Go fly - Flarm, position shows as correct, BUT no traffic showing, cross check with Flightradar, lots of contacts. Any ideas ?
Hi Peter,
Please try the following
1. go to PAW web interface http://192.168.1.1
2. what does it report for 'ADS-B (DVB-T)', Enabled, Disabled, Msgs ?
The Format is this
<status> Msgs=<abs>(+<rel>)
status = Enabled | Disabled
abs = messages in total
rel = messages in last sample period
Thx
Lee
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Just a thought, Check the plug on your ADS-B antenna. One of mine lost the little pin in the end of the plug.
Someone had also reported that the solder had broken in the base of antenna.
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If its the Mini Dongle then carefully prise open case and check internal connection for aerial.
I had same symptoms and centre core detached.
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New system, booted OK, good power source, all lights on PI and shield, connected to Pilotaware wifi and collision aware is on, skydemon set to Flarm in traffic source, with 6000 key, Navigation, other traffic set to +- 50K, Select Go fly - Flarm, position shows as correct, BUT no traffic showing, cross check with Flightradar, lots of contacts. Any ideas ?
ADS-B = Enabled, no messages
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New system, booted OK, good power source, all lights on PI and shield, connected to Pilotaware wifi and collision aware is on, skydemon set to Flarm in traffic source, with 6000 key, Navigation, other traffic set to +- 50K, Select Go fly - Flarm, position shows as correct, BUT no traffic showing, cross check with Flightradar, lots of contacts. Any ideas ?
ADS-B = Enabled, no messages
sounds like a faulty DVB-T dongle :-(
could be the antenna connection as some others have mentioned
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Now getting traffic, but its intermittant, on for few seconds or 30 secs, then disappears, then re-appears 30 secs or so later. Interestingly, when all the traffic disappears off the screen, if I double press the home button on the ipad and then go back into skydemon the traffic re-appears.
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Just a thought, Check the plug on your ADS-B antenna. One of mine lost the little pin in the end of the plug.
Someone had also reported that the solder had broken in the base of antenna.
D'oh !! Yep, it does help plugging in the aerial, thank you !!!! All the traffic comes to life for 30 secs and then disappears, intermittent !!
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Just a thought, Check the plug on your ADS-B antenna. One of mine lost the little pin in the end of the plug.
Someone had also reported that the solder had broken in the base of antenna.
D'oh !! Yep, it does help plugging in the aerial, thank you !!!! All the traffic comes to life for 30 secs and then disappears, intermittent !!
You mean all the traffic dissappears , so you are left with a blank display other than yourself ?
can you cross reference against flight radar to see if you have something near you not shown.
Also are the messages continuing to be reported in the web interface ?
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Another thought - check the PilotAware map and find someone close to meet for some parts-swap testing (if you're close to someone else).
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Yes, all the surrounding traffic that is being tracked just disappear, my position, maps all remain unchanged, just all the moving traffic drops off the screen, a quick double click on the home button, tap on skydemon and the traffic comes back up just a little further down there route, the time tracked aircraft disappear is around 30 seconds after going back into skydemon, Weird !!
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Yes, all the surrounding traffic that is being tracked just disappear, my position, maps all remain unchanged, just all the moving traffic drops off the screen, a quick double click on the home button, tap on skydemon and the traffic comes back up just a little further down there route, the time tracked aircraft disappear is around 30 seconds after going back into skydemon, Weird !!
are you using Android or iOS, and what version of SD ?
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IOS 9.2.0 SD 3.4.2.19 (just re-installed to see that helped -no)
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Hi
Everything seems to be talking and the pi says it is connected to skydemon however, collisionaware software allows me to select to connect P3I but that is all that is on the screen. No option to enter ICAO or anythin else.
Any suggestions?
Gary
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The settings are now on the web interface, so if you open your browser on the iPad and go to 192.168.1.1 you can enter the configure details there.
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Can anyone tell me if these settings and outputs from 192.168.1.1 all look okay ?
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Can anyone tell me if these settings and outputs from 192.168.1.1 all look okay ?
Hi Peter,
Generally OK, but the number of ADSB messages is low,
the format you are looking at says the following
8729(+5)
this means a total of 8729 messages have been received, +5 messages in the last 5 second period
I typically get +500 to +600 messages in each 5 second period.
does the ADS-B antenna have areasonable line of sight to the sky ?
I think I should probably have another line of information in the web view reporting how many aircraft are captured ?
Thx
Lee
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Thanks, you were absolutely correct in the sight to the sky assumption. I've been testing sitting the car, its got one of these metallized coating on the windscreen, which has obviously reduced the reception to the aerial sitting on the dash. Set it up outside on the roof, absolutely no drop out, worked 100%. Thank you Lee :-)
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Hi, have just tried to connect to pi unit to check for updates. It won't let me in as out of the blue asking for a password, I have not set up this function. Have also tried the go fly from Skydemon-same result. Thanks for any help.
Tony
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Hi Tony
Looks like someone has set a password on your device, it wasn't you ?
If not, someone playing a practical joke 😒
Easiest way to reset the wifi password is to connect to your wired network, and use a web browser
Thx
Lee