Messages

16

Technical Support / Re: Vector shows PAW but not ADS-B signals

« on: December 30, 2020, 07:20:22 pm »

(continued)

What was surprising was that Vector reports NO ADS-B traffic at all.

My transponder was on, it was connected to PAW and was receiving a GPS signal,  and flightradar 24 shows my flight pretty much from when I left the circuit to when I returned back.   FR24 is using ADS-B to trace my route so I am confused

Geoffrey

Update:  the runway had dried out enough today to get up in the air again,  this time a much longer 2 hour flight around Bedford, Peterborough and towards Ely.

Looking on Vector, same/similar results.

A good set of PilotAware traces, 5676 contacts today, up to 60km away, and definite issue on front/right, caused I think by the front strut.  I could move the antennae in front of the strut but then I fear I'd get no rearwards signal,  I could mount it under the pod further back, but then great for planes below me, but what about above?

ADS-B does show 35 contacts, all very close range,  and again FlightRadar tracks me fine, screenshot of the latter half of the flight below.

And, another strange thing, Vector is showing 869 pilotaware contacts from 9th August.  They weren't there last week, I didn't fly then and in fact the plane was dismantled and PAW stripped out of it then,  so unless someone else was inadvertently using my ICAO hex code, these don't make sense.

17

Technical Support / Re: Vector shows PAW but not ADS-B signals

« on: December 29, 2020, 11:30:33 am »

Hi Geoffrey

Your flight on the 22/12/2020 you flew within 2 ground stations that were less than 10km away which were:

 - PWUKBIG which doesn't have an ADS-B in
 - PWEverton which does have ADS-B in but its extremely limited (the PilotAware range is 10 times better)

...

Thanks James, so that explains the lack of ADSB from the two most nearest ground stations, but does surprise me that there's no ADSB traffic received from anywhere else.  I know I wasn't particularly high, but Gransden Lodge and Orwell should have seen me OK.

Geoffrey

18

Technical Support / Re: Vector shows PAW but not ADS-B signals

« on: December 28, 2020, 08:51:57 pm »

(continued)

What was surprising was that Vector reports NO ADS-B traffic at all.

My transponder was on, it was connected to PAW and was receiving a GPS signal,  and flightradar 24 shows my flight pretty much from when I left the circuit to when I returned back.   FR24 is using ADS-B to trace my route so I am confused

Geoffrey

19

Technical Support / Vector shows PAW but not ADS-B signals

« on: December 28, 2020, 08:34:08 pm »

Firstly thanks to all at PilotAware for the new Vector facility (and I see there’s a useful new explanation video on YouTube today https://youtu.be/VOoZPhzFNDY

Owing to bending my Quik-R in July and a long repair process I have only recently been able to try it out and see what results I got, and this was from the single post-repair check flight so it’s interesting to see the results with limited data.

PAW mounted in the front pod (on top of the battery) with the PAW antenna extended and in the front windscreen (this is actually a photo of the plane post accident, note the retractable undercarriage mod, but the antenna is back in pretty much the same position, perhaps a little more vertical):

Trig TT21 transponder, antenna underneath at the bottom back of the pod, connected to PAW for ADS-B

The PilotAware diagrams show I’ve got good 10km visibility (I was flying round the Everton base station), and some signal received at 40km.  Strongest is front and left, right is good as well, a definite black-spot at about 30 degrees (which I’m guessing is the front strut attenuating the signal) and poorer behind where my body and the fuel tank are in the way.
Think I will try moving the antenna further forward to see if I can resolve the front strut issue, but I’m fairly happy with this

20

General Discussion / Re: Flexwing pilots - replacement for nose mounted aerial in P&M Quantum/Quik?

« on: December 28, 2020, 07:54:29 pm »

Micro avionics sell the whip aerial you can use for a flexwing.  I don’t know if they supplied to P&M but I bought one from them years ago and it worked great

Geoffrey

21

Technical Support / Re: Enhancement suggestion: traffic alert ‘memory’

« on: August 09, 2020, 12:44:00 pm »

Hi Geoffrey,

Lee and I were discussing this very subject (annoying 'repeating' voice alerts) just the other day (following a prompt from me after a similar experience during a recent test flight), so we are aware of the issue.

...

(Don't worry, I won't let him forget) 

Best Regards

Peter

Thank you Peter for your (and Lee's) swift response and recognising the issue. 

Another one for the product enhancement backlog !

BTW,  is there any outlook on when the next product upgrade is due out?   Been over a year with this one, not that I'm complaining, just be nice to have some new toys for when my plane is fixed and I can go flying again

Thanks, Geoffrey

22

Technical Support / Enhancement suggestion: traffic alert ‘memory’

« on: August 09, 2020, 09:43:19 am »

Been meaning to post this for some time, finally remembered...

One of the few annoying things with PilotAware i find is repeated audio alerts.  You’re flying along in loose formation with other aircraft, ahead or behind you, and so of course one or the other of you will invariably be blocking the signal depending on the antenna position.  Usually with paw in the front of the aircraft it’s the lead aircraft’s pilot that causes this, his body absorbing the signal as it radiates out to aircraft behind.

What I find happens is that paw will often not see the aircraft, and then of course the track/ signal shift slightly and the other aircraft is seen and you get an audio alert.  Signal blocks and when it resumes you get another alert.

Repeat this over the course of a flight and you can get a lot of alerts for the same aircraft.  Having a transponder and paw on of course gives twice the opportunity for such repeating alerts.

I don’t think it does but it would be useful if paw had some form of memory of what alerts it has recently given out.  If the “new” traffic is the same as a traffic alert in say the previous 30 seconds (and the distance/bearing is constant ie no relative movement) or it’s for the same traffic that was seen say 15 seconds ago (and momentarily disappeared) then the alert is suppressed.

Geoffrey

23

Technical Support / Re: Feature request: Pause traffic audio

« on: August 09, 2020, 09:23:35 am »

A simple in-line switch on the audio cable would be better than fiddling about with programming your tablet/phone when you are already getting an overload of information!
I would cost max £1.50 - not £49.99!
If you can't remember to turn it back on again you certainly won't remember to turn any other system back on either.
Remember..... KISS.

Definitely agree this is a problem that needs a fix.  I looked around for a simple inline audio switch, ideally a jack to jack cable with a Switch moulded into it, but couldn’t find one so have ended up just having to cope with the occasional excessive audio alerts.

Not sure I want to go to the trouble of a whole audio mixer that then requires yet another power connection. Kiss as above

Geoffrey

24

Technical Support / Pilotaware firmware updater

« on: June 19, 2020, 02:02:02 pm »

Great to see the PAW firmware updater on the UK Apple App store last night,  shout out to Neil Hathaway for his great work in developing it.

Should make it a lot easier for novice PAW users to upgrade the firmware in their PAW's,  am looking forward to new PAW features to try it out for real.

Geoffrey

25

Technical Support / Re: Dead PAW, Pi advice

« on: May 26, 2020, 09:39:56 am »

I would recommend the 3b over the 3b+ it uses less power
Thx
Lee

Thanks Lee.   I have PM'd you details of my new Pi MAC address to swap it over.

After dismantling my PAW and trying it on the bench I found that it worked,  and then it didn't,  and then it did.  Turns out that the Micro USB power socket worked some of the time but a little wiggle of the power lead and it would stop again .  I guess with flying and vibration the solder has weakened or cracked and so its not making proper connection.

Have got a new Pi which works fine now.

Geoffrey

26

Technical Support / Dead PAW, Pi advice

« on: May 16, 2020, 09:54:02 pm »

A couple of times I found that my PAW wouldn’t boot up when I went flying.  Unplugging and plugging it in it then worked one occasion but next time I tried this trick it didn’t.

Brought the PAW and all it’s leads home with the intent of sorting it out during lockdown, but of course didn’t !

Now we’re flying again there’s the impetus to sort it out.   Plugged it into the tv and no matter what power lead I use it doesn’t do anything at all.  No lights, nothing.  Power lead works on other things so my conclusion is that the Pi has died.

Checking prior messages it seems that both the 3b+ and the 3b are supported now.  I have a PAW classic so should I just get the 3b+ as the newest, or I think someone said that they draw more power?
Price the same from Farnell https://cpc.farnell.com/raspberry-pi/rpi3-modbp/raspberry-pi-3-model-b/dp/SC14882

And then I’ll need a new licence key from Lee

Thanks

27

Technical Support / Re: Transponder Aerial

« on: January 29, 2020, 07:16:48 am »

David,

You would get away with cutting a PAW 1090 whip (the type supplied with the ‘Classic), down to 69mm after which it would almost certainly fit on the coaming. As the 1090 side is RX only, It doesn’t need a ground plane - just watch for the base magnets if near the compass (or remove them).

There is a thread here, though some of the photos seem to have disappeared...

http://forum.pilotaware.com/index.php/topic,438.msg5661.html#msg5661

Hope this helps.

Regards

Peter

I did the “cutting the classic antenna down to 69mm” approach as recommended in this article, and it works fine, but found that securing the classic antenna in place wasn’t easy.  My inspector didn’t like it and neither did I, Velcro, sticky pads, all tried but after a while it came loose again.

So I changed and tried the “MCX pigtail stripped back and stiffened with heatshrink”.  This worked perfectly, the antenna sticks straight up at the back of my classic and receives signals reliably.

Geoffrey

28

Technical Support / Re: Installing 20190621 - SDFormat and Software upgrade

« on: January 12, 2020, 04:56:53 pm »

I've just removed pilotaware classic from the plane and renewed my licence / upgraded to 20190621.  Having a nightmare, as soon as I change the wifi network name from Pilotaware ----- to (my aircraft callsign) as I had it previously, I have the following problem;
Although my iPad can see the wi fi (callsign) it just says there is a network error and the network cannot be accessed.  The only way to see the pilotaware wi fi is to retain the original pilotaware network and not change it.  Dave

This is exactly as I have my PAW setup,  my aircraft callsign.   Works just fine on the new software.

It surprises me how many PAW users don't make this simple change as it makes it so much easier to connect to the right wifi hotspot if the iPad doesn't autoconnect.

Geoffrey

29

Technical Support / Re: A really weird one, PAW grabbed traffic and held it.

« on: November 02, 2019, 08:47:21 pm »

Another problem is the lack of icon differentiation on the various displays.  You are looking for an aircraft, when the contact might actually be a white (flarm) glider on a white background. 

I did suggest more differentiation of aircraft icons, to both PAW and SD, but there is not too much progress on that.   I see SD differentiates between aircraft and helicopters, which is a start.

RE

SD shows different icons for different plane types.

A friend of mine configured his PAW with an aircraft type of bigjet- faithfully reproduced on screen as we flew together.

Geoffrey

30

Technical Support / Re: A really weird one, PAW grabbed traffic and held it.

« on: September 21, 2019, 01:54:00 pm »

There's definitely a pattern of this issue because it happened to me today from Lee on Solent back to Sandy.   In the circuit I noticed that GAWPW was above and behind me, but ‘stuck’ a constant distance behind, and apparently flying backwards!

...
I will go back and see if there is a trace file on my plane, but when I looked after landing there didn't appear to be.

Geoffrey

Went back to the airfield today and checked my PAW to see if there was a trace file from that flight,  and as after I landed, it wasn't available.   I did check the trace from the previous flight just in case it had been merged in,  but it hadn't.

Hopefully the issue Lee has found with Mlat broadcasts applies to me as well.

Thanks Lee for looking into this

Geoffrey