Messages

796

General Discussion / Re: Trasponder C mode

« on: October 16, 2015, 11:02:44 am »

If that were to be adopted here then it would open up the idea of an ADS-B only transceiver, which could be produced far more cheaply than a Mode-S + ES transponder. Such a unit would not need any user controls, therefore requiring no panel space and could be put anywhere in the aircraft within reason. It would still need an external antenna and probably have a transmit power in the 10s of watts PEP level, rather than a few hundred mW. It's the sort of thing a company like Trig would jump at.

This is what the NATS LPAT device does if I understand it correctly, albeit still on 1090 ES.

797

General Discussion / Re: Raspberry Pi 2 b+

« on: October 15, 2015, 07:22:21 pm »

I've got mine currently running on an original B. I haven't ordered my B+ yet! 

I had a B running a TV dongle for SDR/ADS-B anyway with the correct (for this project) Wifi dongle, so I thought I'd just install the software to see what happened. Seems ok. My JCurtis ARF shield arrived today and it appears to work. Haven't got a GPS module yet, still getting my GPS from an Android tablet.

798

General Discussion / Re: Transmit power and range

« on: October 15, 2015, 07:18:21 pm »

I purchased one of these a while back, when I test the power, the RSSI numbers get worse, I suspect the loss in the cable is greater than the gain in the antenna. Bear in mind its a pretty long cable

Yes, I feared that, especially as I received my ARF (with shield) today and found that the supplied antenna is reasonably large to start with.

Though it may be better having this (or other) antenna up high rather than trying to use the PAW on the floor of the aeroplane with the antenna attached directly to it.

Regarding the announcement about the ARF today, have you measured the output power into a dummy load? It looks awfully small. When I was looking to build something similar, I looked at some 500mW modules from China and they seemed rather bigger than this module.

799

General Discussion / Re: Transmit power and range

« on: October 14, 2015, 09:31:38 pm »

Has anyone tried any of the slightly larger antennae coupled with the ARF?

This sort of thing?

800

General Discussion / Re: USB-GPS Working in PilotAware

« on: October 11, 2015, 08:10:58 pm »

Following on from tWF's confusion, I also have some queries.

As I understand it, if you have a non-GPS iPad, you can use the GPS on the PAW to feed the iPad for your navigation software...is this correct?

Now say, like John, you have an XGPS-150/160 connected to the iPad. Which GPS does the iPad use?

Similar question with iPads or Android tablets which do have the built in GPS. Which GPS does it use for navigation?

801

General Discussion / Re: USB Dongles fit and Overheating

« on: October 11, 2015, 07:58:15 pm »

I've been playing around with these dongles for a couple of years now, and have several types, including the small one. They do get hot. I tend to favour the larger format ones with the large "UHF TV" aerial sockets on them. They don't get as hot as the little ones.

802

General Discussion / Re: Regulator board & ARF Board

« on: October 09, 2015, 11:09:14 am »

I also think it would be a nice idea to have the GPS on the ARF shield board...all in one plug in unit, if the interfacing (I2C bus?) allows it. It would be neat to have it all inside the case. I mentioned modules to Lee at the LAA rally, but I was told the USB one would suffice for the moment.

Don't know if this sort of thing is any good?

http://uk.farnell.com/maestro-wireless-solutions/a2200a/gps-module-rom-based-mini-outline/dp/2281694

Or maybe this, which has the antenna built in - the equivalent of previous posted GPS modules?:

http://uk.farnell.com/maestro-wireless-solutions/a2235h/gps-module-mini-outline-w-ant/dp/2281695


Anyway, another thought I had was for the TV dongle. Most PCs these days have headers on the motherboard for plugging in case mounted USB ports. Perhaps we could persuade the Raspberry PI people to feature these on a future PI, which would make integration within one case easier.