Messages

16

Technical Support / Re: Virtually no traffic, ADS-B red

« on: February 18, 2018, 09:33:41 pm »

Test at Luton this evening shows no further power errors, lots of ADS messages being recorded (600+), but very little traffic (most 3 lines) in the traffic page, and only 1 or 2 aircraft appeared in RunwayHD for the last 10 seconds or so before they landed!
Took a few screenshots, can upload them if needed. Any logs of interest I should check?

17

Technical Support / Re: Virtually no traffic, ADS-B red

« on: February 18, 2018, 04:52:49 pm »

Is this the juicybitz cable provided ?

Yes.

18

Technical Support / Re: Virtually no traffic, ADS-B red

« on: February 18, 2018, 12:03:45 pm »

@ Lee - yes that would be helpful.

PAW on bench in workshop.
When running from the PowerBank, voltage measured from the 2nd USB port on it is 5.2v.
There is a fan in my case. With it connected, throttled=0x50005 - voltage measured on pins 1&3 (from the left) of JP2 on the bridge board are: 4.86v

With the same PowerBank, but fan removed, still have throttled=0x50000 and pin voltage is 4.88v - so the additional load from the fan drops it a bit, but it's still not happy without it.

Running from a bench PSU set to 5.14v, it reports about 700mA most of the time (no fan).
Voltage on bridge P1&3 is 4.82v
Still have throttled=0x50005
BUT - this is via a chopped cheapo USB cable to bench PSU (didn't want to chop up the decent one that came with the PAW)

Decent cable with bench PSU @ 5.14v: (connected to chassis-mount USB, to bench PSU): throttled=0x50000, pin voltage 4.83v
So still not perfect.

Bench PSU @ 5.27v via decent cable: throttled=0x0, pin voltage 4.98v - so the extra 0.1v here helps. Bench PSU has a 1.5m cable so there will be some voltage drop.

Running from Pi Battery board (that no-one liked in another post!)
throttled=0x0
Voltage at board 2nd USB socket (while PAW loading the other): 5.09v - on this board the output are in parallel. On the PowerBank above they are independent with different current ratings, so I think the 5.2v on it is not representative of the feed to the PAW.
Voltage at pins, 4.9v - seems happiest on this! 
Same, but with fan connected again, still throttled=0x0, pin voltage 4.86v

I'll try the Pi battery at Luton to see if I get any more traffic reported. None at home (2m from airport!)

So it seems the PAW is *very* fussy about voltage, a 0.1v drop in the supply is enough to make it complain.

Is the Pi3 as bad? I'm involved with a project using Pi3's in remote locations fed from 18850 cells via cheapo 5v regulators (intended for RC gear) which output ~5.03v with NO power issues.

19

Technical Support / Re: Virtually no traffic, ADS-B red

« on: February 18, 2018, 09:16:20 am »

Thanks for the pointers.
I'm using an unbranded powerbank - the same one that worked fine previously. I'll check what voltage it's providing.
The SDR is the standard one that came with the PAW kit. Initially (at Cranfield) I was using it with a different pigtail and antenna, and at Luton with the standard magmount that comes with the kit - but no change.
The strange settings that Ian mentioned were when playing with stuff while at Luton - will change back.

@ Ian - wasn't connected to a LAN at any time recently. Home screenshot was in the aircraft at Cranfield. Config was at home yesterday evening.

Can you advise how to make sense of the 'Throttled=0 x 5005’ (or whatever) messages?

20

Technical Support / Re: Virtually no traffic, ADS-B red

« on: February 17, 2018, 11:26:25 pm »

You can do a ‘factory reset’ by following this link...
http://forum.pilotaware.com/index.php/topic,1150.0.html

Surely this is essentially the same as the fresh install I already did to another SD, which didn't help?

What version did you update from?

The July 2017 one.

Did you do the update by USB stick? If not, which method did you use?

No, Ethernet.

Can you power up your PilotAware and post screengrabs of the Home and Configure Screens please, so we can try to check what is going on.

Attached. The Home screen was after landing after flying a circuit at Cranfield, with loads of other aircraft around. Note the uptime, but nothing received. Later it changed to 319 ADS messages recieved, but still red (and no traffic seen in RHD).
Config screen taken just now.

Also - it seems very slow loading these pages, sometimes they don't load at all, and I have to stop and refresh.

21

Technical Support / Virtually no traffic, ADS-B red

« on: February 17, 2018, 10:34:05 pm »

Flew with my PAW today, first time since upgrading to the new version.
I flew Cranfield > Turweston and back again, and there were loads of aircraft around.
Only 1 was reported on PAW (with RunwayHD) - IIRC a green 'dart' icon.
As a further test I parked parallel to the runway at Luton Airport this evening - only 1 aircraft reported in RunwayHD, and another briefly while I was watching the 'Traffic' screen.

ADS-B is red most of the time, but the numbers are increasing when I refresh - was 319 after I landed earlier,
I'm not aware I changed any settings since it last worked.
I even tried another SD card with a fresh install of 20180129 on it - no improvement.

Any suggestions on what I need to check? Can someone point me to a download for the older PAW version to try that again?

22

General Discussion / Re: New member with a case / ADSB antenna Q

« on: February 17, 2018, 10:19:22 pm »

Only do this if you have lots of time and are bored because the weather is preventing you from flying!  Would I do it again? probably not. I would wait for availability from http://forum.pilotaware.com/index.php/topic,1144.msg13827.html#msg13827

Should be soon. I now have the pillars and fans, just waiting for the pigtails and antennas to arrive.
I've also designed a version of the case with mounting lugs, for those that want a permanent mounting solution.

23

General Discussion / Re: New member with a case / ADSB antenna Q

« on: February 08, 2018, 03:14:09 pm »

Ian,

The fan under the board is still in place but not powered/connected so the V2 case must be taller.  What I'm trying to work out is how I can power the fan that will be under the USB ports (the fan shown in the photo).  As mentioned, the fan shown in the photo has a USB power source but I don't have any spare ports.

Mike

There are GND and 5v pins on the bridge board, see pictures in my post here with my 3D case design: http://forum.pilotaware.com/index.php/topic,1144.msg13827.html#msg13827
However - it may not be supported to solder to these!
They go direct to the Pi's GPIO 5v and GND pins however so I don't see an issue.

24

Technical Support / Re: Custom case designs

« on: February 07, 2018, 02:25:22 pm »

Update...
The nice people at Pilot Aware contacted me to advise that 'PilotAware' is a registered trademark, so they would not allow me to write 'PilotAware' on my case, but I could sell it as a 'Case for PilotAware'.
So, I've removed the black text from the case lid.
Also, as a few people here and PilotAware themselves have concerns over the lithium battery used in the Pi power module, I have designed a battery-less version of the case, pictures below, complete with 30mm cooling fan.
The fact that this is the same battery technology used in most power banks that are the usual method of powering kit like this when the aircraft doesn't have a socket, and those are considered safer seems a mystery to me, but OK..
Conveniently, there are 5v and GND pins on the PilotAware module nearby which are ideal for powering the fan. I'm waiting for some short USB plugs to arrive to see if they will clear the fan as a plug-and-play fan power option. Space above the SDR dongle is tight.

If anyone is interested, I should be able to offer this as a kit complete with fan, antenna/cable and fixing hardware soon, or just case + hardware sooner if you have your own antenna etc.
I modified the original battery version to move the power switch and add a fan, for anyone who might be interested in that version, and the associated risks.

I need to confirm the costs of the SDR antenna/cable, fan, hardware etc, but i'd expect the complete case kit to be in the region of £20-£30 if anyone's interested.

25

Technical Support / Re: Custom case designs

« on: January 30, 2018, 08:00:02 pm »

I was thinking of the fans used in the Statux case, some of us have a few kicking around  which measure 30mm square, and are 5v 0.2A

If you switch to low power RTL-SDR you will be better off, just 

Yes, I have one here, also from a Statux case
I'm playing with the design now to move the switch to the opposite side, turn it 90, then mount the fan where the switch was.
I'd say a few holes at the antenna end of the box should encourage airflow from the fan past the dongles, battery voltage controller and Pi then out by the antennas.

26

Technical Support / Re: Custom case designs

« on: January 30, 2018, 05:37:30 pm »

I would be *very* careful about putting a modified unit in a cockpit without some serious testing, including emissions, as the base board seems to have no CE mark.  If you looking to sell these in the future you will legally have to prove compliance with the various regulations even with an unmodified unit.

Good point. I don't see the point of re-selling parts that anyone can buy from Amazon, only the case and hardware to assemble it.
I'll design a version of the case without the battery board also, when I get time!

27

Technical Support / Re: Custom case designs

« on: January 30, 2018, 03:52:18 pm »

But I am not sure about your external connector slots, as they are too easily disturbed or disconnected.  I have gone for the opposite philosophy, of having all the connections inside the box so they cannot be disturbed.  And the result is below, with just three leads comming out.   The dc converter is inside the box too.

Because of the internal battery and wiring between the battery module and the Pi, there is no need for any connectors in normal use. Just switch on and leave it alone.
Only connect to charge it - typically on the ground.

Have you done any work on testing the Lipo battery. These can get very nasty if not charged right and cause fire?

The off-the-shelf Pi battery module is an existing tried-and-tested design, with the battery charge controller etc on-board. Full info here: http://www.raspberrypiwiki.com/index.php/RPI_Lithium_Battery_Expansion_Board_SKU:435230
There is a red charge LED on the opposite side of the board, and a hole in the case to match. It charges from a micro-USB cable (the same as you usually use to power the PAW).
It takes about 2 hours to charge from flat, and automatically stops when full.

28

Technical Support / Re: Custom case designs

« on: January 30, 2018, 12:45:14 pm »

Hi Alan, would moving the switch allow enough space for a fan?

Yes, that's possible. The switch could go horizontally on the other side below the GPS dongle.
Something like a 30mm 5v fan?
It would shorten the battery life a bit, would need to test to see by how long...

29

Technical Support / Re: Custom case designs

« on: January 30, 2018, 12:09:50 pm »

Hi Alan,

Your case looks very professional, I’m impressed!

A couple of issues you should consider though, mainly regarding ventilation. The SDR dongle tends to run hot (which has caused a couple of failures, probably linked to running in enclosed spaces) and will run even hotter shut inside your case. The Pi may also get hotter than is good for it unless some ventilation is supplied.

The Stratux cases (see Amazon) incorporate passive ventilation slots and also a fan, in fact the case has just been updated and the Mk.II (or maybe that should be Mk.III) version now incorporates 2 fans. I would suggest at the very least some ventilation slots and removing the case from the SDR dongle if you wish to avoid problems.

Best Regards

Peter

Peter - yes additional holes are already on my 'to do' list. I added some to the lid already as you can see on the photos. I'll add some around the case walls also before the next print.
I've tried the lid ones at 3mm and 2mm - the 3mm looked a bit big, so the photo above is 2mm holes. Will probably use the same size for the walls.
Removing the SDR case will also help it fit better next to the wifi dongle, so will do that soon.

I'll upload some photos of a 'holey' case when complete.

30

Technical Support / Re: Custom case designs

« on: January 30, 2018, 11:48:42 am »

I'm VERY interested in this
do let us know the instant they're available on a well known bay!

Will do. As the pillars are needed to mount the lid, I need to wait until they arrive before I can sell it as a kit. In the meantime i'll get on with printing some and work out the costs.
Any preference of colour? I tried one in black but it looked a bit boring!
Also (to the PAW staff), what is the font of the 'PilotAware' text so I can use the correct one for the lid?