Messages

466

General Discussion / Re: Regulator board & ARF Board

« on: September 17, 2015, 09:32:23 am »

Hi Jeremy,
      Just a quick question I'm about to solder on the header pins to the ARF so its ready to plug into your board and I noticed in the hardware build manual it states "do not solder pins 15 & 18" Can we solder all pins if using your board or do we still need to not solder 15 & 18?

thanks

Adrian

You can solder all the pins on the ARF with my board, no need to leave out 15 & 18.

467

General Discussion / Re: Regulator board & ARF Board

« on: September 16, 2015, 07:24:08 pm »

Just to confirm that my Regulator Pi Shield for the ARF Board will have the Barometric sensor also fitted (a MPL3115A2).  This will all fit within the small rounded case Lee mentions within the build document.

Lee does mention here http://forum.pilotaware.com/index.php/topic,31.0.html that he is now supporting it.

I will update this thread when they are available on the website.

468

General Discussion / Re: Regulator board & ARF Board

« on: September 14, 2015, 08:23:12 pm »

Please put me down for one as well, Jeremy.  I'd be particularly interested in one including the ARF, too, although I don't mind a little soldering if not!
Also, your idea of a bundle with the Charge2/4 sounds interesting.  Will you post here when/if you put these up on your site?

Thanks, Stuart

I will update this entry when they are available on the website.  The longest lead are the PCB's, even though they are made in the EU - looking like back end of next week from the progress through the factory.  Everything else looks due in to me tomorrow.

469

General Discussion / Re: Regulator board & ARF Board

« on: September 14, 2015, 10:56:30 am »

sounds good. will you post a link here when you have it online?

Yes, will do. 

I'll sort out a bundle with a Charge2 unit too, for those interested in both.

470

General Discussion / Re: Regulator board & ARF Board

« on: September 14, 2015, 10:47:14 am »

Ordered a batch of ARF Pi Shield PCB's, should take about a week to arrive plus a day or so to run them through assembly and test.

These include everything to mount the ARF unit and include a heartbeat LED so indicate it is running.
Also on the board is the barometric sensor that Lee mentioned in another post.

The design permits them to be fitted to the Pi inside the case Lee mentions in the build document.

Looks like they will end up at £12.50 ex VAT (£15 inc VAT) inc P&P.  Might be slightly less depending on where I source a couple of the bits I don't have in stock.

I'll probably put them onto the Charge2 website as it's easier to process things then.

471

General Discussion / Re: PilotAware Latest Release 20150911

« on: September 14, 2015, 08:22:17 am »

Lee,

Spent more years than I can remember as a network bod, if you drop me an e-mail explaining what you are doing I might be able to help.

Jeremy.

Hi Jeremy

I am sure Lee will articulate it further, but basically....

IOS will use its cellular connection for Internet traffic whilst also connected to a WiFi network, but only as long as the DHCP service on the WiFi network doesn't give it a Default Route or any DNS entries for the WiFI connection.  As soon as the DHCP server on the WiFi network gives out a Default Route, or a DNS server, then IOS thinks it should be an Internet connection and sends all the traffic to the WiFi network - even though there is no Internet through it.

So, just "don't publish a Default Route / DNS entries from the PilotAware DHCP server" you say - the second half of the problem, is that UDP Broadcast traffic does not seem to be accepted by IOS over its WiFi connection, unless that connection has a Default Route and DNS servers defined.  One of the apps Lee is trying to support has 'CollisionAware' built into it, and send the GPS data over a UDP broadcast - hence the need to accept it...

Cheers
Kev

You could go "round" the DNS by issuing the likes of OpenDNS addresses, which would still be valid to be used.  It's tricky over the route, as you could use RFC3442 to send a specific route via DHCP - but this can be "seen" as an attempt at a man in the middle attack but could be worth a try.

Would multicasting the data cause the same problem with iOS?

I have seen one product create a hotspot for devices then not issue addresses, so everything picks a random number in the 169.254.0.0/16 range as per the spec.  Then they used multicast and unicast to pass traffic around.  You can set the PilotAware to a specific address, so it's still accessible.

472

General Discussion / Re: PilotAware Latest Release 20150911

« on: September 12, 2015, 11:09:59 pm »

Lee,

Spent more years than I can remember as a network bod, if you drop me an e-mail explaining what you are doing I might be able to help.

Jeremy.

473

General Discussion / Re: Power Supply & USB Power Cable

« on: September 11, 2015, 10:17:29 pm »

I have exactly that setup in my aircraft, Ian.   For powering any USB powered device, it works fine... no issues.

Could be OK, you'd have to build one up and try it and see if it works for you.  Some aircraft can withstand greater emissions than others, depends on lots of factors.

Be cautious of the rated power output if you are using the likes of a standard size iPad (non mini), they draw 2.1A with full backlight and the likes of SkyDemon running + what ever PilotAware draws.

"Output current: Rated current is 2A, maximum 3A (if the output power more than 10W, the heat sink is needed.)"

As an iPad can draw 12w, then a heat sink should be added when mounting into a suitable case.

474

General Discussion / Re: Incorporating a power supply?

« on: September 11, 2015, 12:45:17 pm »

I'm sorry if I have offended anybody by suggesting that the cost of the power supply is an important factor.  I certainly didn't mean to imply that the Charge2 is overpriced.  I know from speaking to other aviation electronics suppliers the requirements and cost to get certification are significant.  Indeed one British manufacturer told me that they could supply their product for a third of the price if it didn't need certifying.

However I still maintain that if the cost of the power supply doubles the overall cost it will severely limit take-up, particularly at the light end of aviation.  The heavy end will have mode S anyway. Whilst it is admirable that the Charge2 is designed and assembled in Britain please be aware that most high-tech consumer electronics is made in Asia and it does not deter many.  Ask any Apple user if s/he cares about the country of manufacture or feels it would be of better quality if made in the West.

However it would appear that there are some very clever British chaps working on this project and I am sure that by the start of next year's flying season a relatively cheap solution will have been found.  Perhaps Charge2 could offer a certified/uncertified version of their product?  Only a suggestion so please don't take offence.

No offence taken at all.  There is no physical difference between the two versions, just one will come with the minor mod approval (at a higher price), it was designed to pass the tests from the outset.  It seemed the 'right' thing to do given the operating environment.
I am not associated with PilotAware just pointed toward it by customers, I'm sure there are other solutions out there too.  I registered here just to say hello and answer questions anyone may have over the units.

Assembly in the far east requires large volumes to make sense and unless you watch them like a hawk the quality is variable too.  The capital costs of setting up even a small production run are quite large, it is only by covering the cost over 1000's of units does it become viable.

Charge2 (and the 4 port version, Charge4) was designed to solve a problem in a friends aircraft and spawned from there.  I looked at a number of solutions out there, some were frankly shocking (literally!).  One memorable moment; I put a short on the USB port of one (to simulate possible USB cable fault), it whined for a few seconds then catastrophically failed. Stank the office out, the other half wasn't impressed...

As I said I could look at a discounted bundle to support PilotAware, with a Charge2 and a PilotAware kit?  I could then pass on any discounts for buying bits in higher quantities.  It's a great project.

475

General Discussion / Re: Incorporating a power supply?

« on: September 11, 2015, 08:50:57 am »

Hi

This project is a great idea. Thanks. However it seems that the cost of a Rf interference-free power supply is greater than the cost of the pilotaware, which may hinder its success. In addition my understanding is that certified aircraft owners need expensive approval paperwork to fit the charge4u.

Would it be possible to incorporate a psu within the pilotaware?  I cannot imagine that the parts cost of the charge4u excluding the case exceeds £20.  Even better, of the pilotaware had a power out socket to charge tablets/phones etc some pilots might buy it just for the charging capability and the TCAS would be a free bonus.

Just a thought.

For information the Charge2 is in the process of gaining an EASA Minor Mod approval certificate for fitting into EASA registered aircraft.  The physical tests have been completed and I believe the paperwork is in progress.  This work is being performed by an avionics company and they will resell Charge2 with the approval paperwork.

The parts inside a Charge2, excluding the case, do cost more than £20.  All parts are from traceable sources, and the multilayer PCB is made in the EU.  The quality of far east suppliers is way too variable and unpredictable to ensure everything remains within specification.  They are designed to meet the aviation standards, which takes time.  Each is also fully tested before getting it's serial number, again this takes time.

I could look at a bundle of a Charge2 and kit to make a PilotAware, which might make some overall saving?

476

General Discussion / Re: Regulator board & ARF Board

« on: September 06, 2015, 06:07:47 pm »

Please I will have two of you.I  can not find any ARF Shield - Digole 5v-3.3v regulator board anywhere can you tell me where to buy one from or does your board would have this built in ?

WirelessThings have the ARF in stock.... https://www.wirelessthings.net/arf-high-power-radio-transceiver

I was discussing over mounting options with Lee today (*waves*), and it would be a neat solution to design.  I am currently mulling the ability to mount your own ARF board and to supply them with the ARF close coupled to it - so people can do which ever they feel is most suitable.

People were asking about cost, I think it would work out ~£10 (£12 with the VAT) + P&P, might be cheaper depending on total numbers etc.

Either way I'll probably order up a small batch of boards this week, I have the other bits 'in stock' as I use them on other projects.

477

General Discussion / Re: Regulator board & ARF Board

« on: September 02, 2015, 08:00:34 pm »

Custom board sounds great, what price point are you thinking?

Thanks
Kev

A fair bit depends on the size of PCB, so when everything arrives I will have a better idea of what is needed.  Naturally it's cheaper the more PCB's I order, so that's also a factor.
Once I've worked things out I'll update this thread.

478

General Discussion / Re: Regulator board & ARF Board

« on: September 02, 2015, 10:02:34 am »

I also noticed that within the ARF documentation on the website it says "The ARF is not 5v tollerant, use 3.3v logic and power", so I might also look at adding a logic level shifter to go between the 5v logic of the Pi and the ARF, just to keep everything within spec.

5v tolerant ?
My understanding is that the RPi GPIO pins are 3.3v , not 5v.
Where have you seen that the GPIO is 5v ?
Thx
Lee

Scrub that, yep they are 3.3v reading the Pi documents.  I might have been remembering doing things the other way round, using a 5v logic device on the Pi and popped in a level shifter.

I'll stop thinking about it until the bits arrive and I can have a play with them 

479

General Discussion / Re: Regulator board & ARF Board

« on: September 02, 2015, 09:07:33 am »

JCurtis,

Were you planning on placing a screening can over the ARF and regulator board assembly?

It's possible that we may see some self interference effects with digital noise injecting into the radio (with it being so close and not screened at all)..  Tests so far seem to suggest this is ok , but it wouldn't surprise me if at some point some performance degradation is seen due to digital noise coming off the Raspberry PI PCB.

Self interference can sometimes be a bit of a difficult animal to track down (can be intermittent and also vary from unit to unit).  A screening can over the radio would be a good idea.

rgds
Andy

I was looking at just making the Pi shield with voltage reg to power the ARF, so people would still need to attach that as described before (I would supply the pin headers etc.).  It just does away with all the wiring and makes it easier to mount. 
Naturally I could also include a mounted ARF unit too which would save people getting out the soldering iron.

Once I have some bits here I can do some EMI tests to see if there is anything going on which may impact the performance.  The problem with using cans is finding an off the shelf one of just the right size, and then I would have to also make the shield with ARF as a prebuilt module.

I also noticed that within the ARF documentation on the website it says "The ARF is not 5v tollerant, use 3.3v logic and power", so I might also look at adding a logic level shifter to go between the 5v logic of the Pi and the ARF, just to keep everything within spec.

480

General Discussion / Re: Regulator board & ARF Board

« on: August 31, 2015, 08:36:41 pm »

Jeremy,

I have a list as long as my arm of people who have contacted me !

I will email you directly
Thx
Lee

Indeed, and reply sent. 

For everyone else, it will take a few weeks, but I'll pop up updates from time to time.