Messages

46

General Discussion / Re: PAW of limited use (for now at least)

« on: June 20, 2016, 06:17:42 am »

Hear, hear, Alan.
Or for the backward baseball cap wearers - What he said!

When I've shown PAW / SD to people with just ADS-B contacts they've wanted one, even before I have explained the P3I benefits.

47

General Discussion / Re: NMEA output to autopilot

« on: April 27, 2016, 02:44:42 pm »

Another way of getting NMEA would be to buy an old air/marine/trekking GPS off e-bay and tie that in somewhere. These will have batteries in so will be backed up in case of power failure, at least for as long as the batteries last.

My Dynon EMS requires a GPS input to allow calculation of fuel economy, getting the date & time, and calculating power levels (needs altitude). I use a very old Garmin GPS III Pilot as that can output NMEA sentences, if you set it up to do so!

A friend has just bought one on ebay for £60 to do pretty much the same thing!

48

General Discussion / Re: Display of Data in SD

« on: April 14, 2016, 03:03:07 pm »

So if PW sends no alarms the targets will all stay white which would not really be of much use especially on a small screen with pilots of a certain age who cant read the numbers on screen without reading glasses.

Another point is if you look at the product reviews of the TM250 and PowerFlarm the most useful feature is the audio warning.

These issues (size of screen, visibility of screen, audible alarms) are more to do with how you build/install/interface SkyDemon (be it Android, Ipad, PC, SD/Windows CE device) into your aircraft, rather than any shortcoming in PAW!

How do you currently discover that SD is warning you about airspace, terrain, timer timeout (change tank, for example) etc? A traffic proximity warning is simply another alarm similar to one of these!

Personally I have a decent sized screen prominently displayed. I tried hooking the sound from my tablet through the plane's intercom (Permit aircraft - don't you just love 'em) but I had a noise problem when running the tablet off the plane's power. I guess I need a way to decouple the resulting loop, or get a 'quieter' USB power adaptor, but either way, this is my problem - not PAW's!

49

General Discussion / Re: Audible alarm

« on: April 14, 2016, 02:40:36 pm »

Wouldn't the display system (e.g. SkyDemon) do the alarming function?

To make an alarm come over the headset would require some form of installation into the aircraft's systems, which I think is something that the designers would rather avoid!

50

General Discussion / Is LPAT actually available?

« on: February 18, 2016, 01:58:23 pm »

I know this is probably not the best place to ask, but I also know how well informed the readership here is so I'll take a punt.

LPAT : Low Powered ADS-B Transceiver.
This has allegedly been developed by NATS.
As I understand things it is basically the ADS-B out bit of a mode S transponder, and the ADS-B in bit of a PAW.
All the in/out goodness of ADS-B without all the power hungry mode S stuff that makes a mode S transponder a non-starter for gliders and a lot of microlights, permit, vintage and SSDR aircraft.

Has anybody actually produced the LPAT for sale in the UK?
I know the FAA in the US are mandating ADS-B from 2020 using such devices, but their implementation has some differences from our situation, like weather broadcasts etc.

From a purely logical point of view (leaving out the CAA, NATS, OFCOM and all that) aren't both PAW's P3i side, and FLARM just trying to fill a niche that ADS-B / LPAT should be filling?

This is not a rant against PAW - far from it! Conceivably LPAT would be complimentary to PAW, or even integrated with it.
I accept that "we are where we are". I'm just waiting on the new P3i shield for my PAW!

51

General Discussion / Re: Buying a pilot aware unit

« on: February 02, 2016, 04:05:08 pm »

Just want to confirm whether the bridge will be available on its own for those of us who have already built a PAW?

I think I've signed up for that option! It's been a while, but I do understand why!

52

General Discussion / Re: Licensing cost

« on: January 28, 2016, 11:57:38 am »

Or, in a black scenario, Lee decides to call it quits and there's no further licenses available.

If you joined this endeavour without realising that is a possibility then you were being somewhat optimistic.

I really hope PAW succeeds, but it is a community development project that started from a basic proof-of-concept device that one builds (and modifies as one goes along) from very cheap components.
I entered into it accepting that it may come to nothing; hoping for the best but planning for and accepting the worst.
I can always use the R-Pi hardware for something else, using some of what I've learned from participation in the great PAW experiment!

Keep up the good work, Lee & Co! Some of us love you!

53

General Discussion / Re: Imagine if Wellingtons had PilotAware.

« on: December 26, 2015, 05:38:20 am »

Supporting the push up through the 'soft underbelly of Europe' (W. Churchill) was every bit as important as sorties made from the UK.

54

General Discussion / Re: Traffic Awareness in the new version of Air Navigation Pro

« on: December 26, 2015, 05:24:02 am »

Too cynical?

I don't think so... 

Many of us use tablets with no cellular ability, and most people I know with cellular iPads don't bother to put a SIM card in as it is very expensive to run.

There are large areas with limited phone network coverage - often the same areas as have limited radar coverage - where one would really want additional traffic awareness.

55

General Discussion / Re: Licensing cost

« on: December 26, 2015, 05:17:41 am »

...beta testing something commercial in an initial free period.

£12 has to be for just covering costs! There's no way that can be considered a proper "commercial" price for what we are getting!

Why do so many people feel entitled to something for nothing? I used to think the aviation community was better than that, but it seems I was wrong...

56

General Discussion / Re: Mode C/S

« on: December 25, 2015, 07:05:06 am »

Also an affordable, low power ads-b out transmitter (I.e. not a full mode S transponder) would be nice! 

I'm afraid dedicated ADS-B out is only any use if you don't have any sort of transponder.

CAA/NATS will not permit more than one 1090Mhz transmission device in an aircraft.

That us the main driver behind Le'e's P3I initiative of course.

I realise this is what P3I is for.

Hadn't realised one could only have one 1090 tx from an aircraft. Thanks for that.

I was thinking more of 'ads-b out only' for aircraft with no electrics. Transponders are really hungry, as well as expensive.

57

General Discussion / Re: Am I doing something wrong.

« on: December 25, 2015, 06:45:16 am »

BTW, I really recommend using a GPS dongle rather than the GPS Sharing APP

Yes - I have seen you say this a number of times, but I dont know why. My Ipad is mounted  high on the panel with excellent view of the sky and runs the Navigation application without any glitches.

Why are you arguing with the guy you asked for help from, and who designed the system?

I am using an Ipad mini and the Pi is buried under the panel. I if I attach a GPS dongle it will be screened by a number of layers of metal as well as looking through two transceivers , a transponder etc.

I'm surprised you can even get a reliable WiFi signal through that lot!

Sorry to sound negative.
Lee and his associates have far more patience that I do!

If this post gets 'moderated' I will understand!

58

General Discussion / Re: USB-GPS Working in PilotAware

« on: December 24, 2015, 08:15:39 am »

The GPS receivers in Android tablets also have a tendency to show minor movement when stationery, where as iPad GPS are more stable.

That should say in SOME Android tablets!

My Samsung phone and Google Nexus 7 tablet are rock solid!

I should hope an iPad is better than a cheap tablet, given the price premium.

59

General Discussion / Re: Mode C/S

« on: December 24, 2015, 08:04:18 am »

As I mentioned in another thread, I sometimes think our efforts may be better spent convincing our fellow Pilots to adopt PilotAware and/or ADS-B (out).

What he said.

Also an affordable, low power ads-b out transmitter (I.e. not a full mode S transponder) would be nice! 

60

General Discussion / Re: Enhancement Requests

« on: December 15, 2015, 06:22:01 am »

Are there any plans for providing other ads-b in functionality in the future?
Or would this be dependent on SkyDemon etc being able to use the data received?
Or are such services not going to be made available in the UK? 

I ask as on an FAA page I read:

What are ADS-B In broadcast services?
ADS-B In pilot cockpit advisory services consist of Flight Information Service-Broadcast (FIS-B) and Traffic Information Service-Broadcast (TIS-B). These are free services transmitted automatically to aircraft equipped to receive ADS-B In.
FIS-B provides a broad range of textual/graphical weather products and other flight information to the general aviation community. FIS-B is only available on the 978MHz Universal Access Transceiver (UAT) equipment. FIS-B includes the following:
Aviation Routine Weather Reports (METARs)
Non-Routine Aviation Weather Reports (SPECIs)
Terminal Area Forecasts (TAFs) and their amendments
NEXRAD (regional and CONUS) precipitation maps
Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) Distant and Flight Data Center
Airmen's Meteorological Conditions (AIRMET)
Significant Meteorological Conditions (SIGMET) and Convective SIGMET
Status of Special Use Airspace (SUA)
Temporary Flight Restrictions (TFRs)
Winds and Temperatures Aloft
Pilot Reports (PIREPS)
TIS-B is an advisory-only service available to both 1090ES and UAT equipment users. TIS-B increases pilots’ situational awareness by providing traffic information on all transponder-based aircraft within the vicinity of the ADS-B In equipped aircraft receiving the data.