Author Topic: PAW not working  (Read 4419 times)

exfirepro

Re: PAW not working
« Reply #15 on: July 25, 2020, 09:26:38 am »
Morning Patrick,

The easy bit first - P3i will show red and won’t transmit until the GPS gets a fix because up to that point the unit doesn’t know where it is, so trying to tell others would be meaningless, but that isn’t the problem here.

Your P3i is reporting ‘Unavailable’. My first thought was ‘had the Bridge board become dislodged from the Motherboard during transit to Germany’, but reading on, your P3i problem seems to be related to your power source.

Most power blocks are designed to charge phones and tablets, not to provide continuous power at up to 2 amps, which PilotAware can require. The fancy so called ‘intelligent’ power blocks are the worst in this respect from the PilotAware point of view, as they often see this high power draw as a fault and automatically restrict the supply further, causing the unit to shut down. This would normally show on the Home Screen as a Voltage Error and/or Throttling of the processor, but you have taken the screenshot immediately after power-up so this hasn’t had time to show. What power bank are you using?

If powering from a powerbank, PilotAware recommends the ‘simple’ Anker powerbanks such as...

https://aax-eu.amazon.de/x/c/QhvqBKb4w9swpfndbKuwlWkAAAFzhQnSOAMAAAH2Abiz-Dw/https://www.amazon.de/gp/aw/d/B00VJT3IUA?pf_rd_p=d51695e5-42da-4d0e-af4d-eb46295bba24&aaxitk=Fieklm1nFl6d8ChoFhCvag&hsa_cr_id=5547371870802&ref_=sbx_be_s_sparkle_mcd_asin_1

or...

https://www.amazon.de/Anker-PowerCore-Powerbank-Tragbares-Technologie-Schwarz/dp/B00Z9UY65G/ref=sr_1_11?crid=CIYF47RGPHNT&dchild=1&keywords=anker+powercore&qid=1595666130&s=ce-de&sprefix=Anker%2Celectronics%2C248&sr=1-11

Which are tried and tested by the Team and have proved reliable over many years. Alternatively, to power the unit from your aircraft, the excellent EASA approved power supplies such as the Charge2 or Charge4 produced by Jeremy Curtis...  https://charge4.harkwood.co.uk/ are highly recommended.

I suggest change your power source and let’s see if that cures the problem.

Best Regards

Peter
« Last Edit: July 25, 2020, 09:43:37 am by exfirepro »

Kurt37

Re: PAW not working
« Reply #16 on: July 25, 2020, 09:48:05 am »
I am using this powerbank, since it is very small
,https://www.amazon.de/dp/B082V3G8LC/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_Md.gFbTDTRAV5

I think it's the cable though, I have ordered shorter juicebitz usb micro usb cables.

Even after running 10 min there are no warnings. Like I say it's only when pressing the Powerbank on off button the P3I becomes unavailable. When unplugging it never fails. So it for sure must be the powersupply. I will try the other cable and/or an anker powerbank and post the results.

exfirepro

Re: PAW not working
« Reply #17 on: July 25, 2020, 07:24:17 pm »
Hi again Patrick,

As I suspected - an ‘intelligent’ powerbank phone charger, which will be great for what it’s designed for but not great for powering PilotAware (or similar devices). I don’t think changing the power cable will make any difference - assuming you are using the cable supplied with Rosetta - as it was chosen specifically to ensure reliable power feed when used with the correct power source.

If powerbank size is an issue, I (and others) have also used this smaller Anker powerbank perfectly satisfactorily for ‘day trips’...

https://www.amazon.de/Anker-PowerCore-leichtere-Powerbank-Smartphones-Schwarz/dp/B019GJLER8/ref=sr_1_3?dchild=1&keywords=anker+10000&qid=1595701193&sr=8-3

...so also highly recommended.

Regards

Peter

Kurt37

Re: PAW not working
« Reply #18 on: July 26, 2020, 06:02:59 am »
I am actually using another cable with two 90° males, again to save space. I have tried at least a dozen of cables, and like many of you I'm sure I made the same experiences. 75% of the cables show constant volt errors. The cable I have shows volts and throttle ok. I noticed yesterday after 20 min of running this cables also gives a volt warning. It doesn't appear that often, compared with the other cables though. Everything seems to working normal however, even the p3l unavailability is gone. I just have the feeling the GPS fix isn't working as good/fast.

However I am going to revert back to a juicebitz (50cm, shortest they have with a 90° male) and to an anker powerbank and post the results. I guess the intelligent anker powerbanks are also not to be recommended?
(With poweriq?)

Kind regards,
Patrick

exfirepro

Re: PAW not working
« Reply #19 on: July 26, 2020, 08:02:43 am »
Patrick,

I have no personal experience of the newer - ‘intelligent’ Anker powerbanks, but doubts have been expressed by others about some of their more recent ‘slimline’ ‘intelligent’ models ability in relation to powering units such as PilotAware. As I have said already, they are designed to fast charge electronic devices over a very short period, not to power them long-term.

All I can say is that I have personally used all 3 of the Anker powerpacks I have recommended above for several years with complete reliability as have many other PAW users. As I now have more than one of each (3 of the 20100) I have no need or desire to buy others just to ‘experiment’.

Best Regards

Peter

Admin

Re: PAW not working
« Reply #20 on: July 26, 2020, 08:17:44 am »
Normal usb data cables are not suitable for pilotaware
These do not have sufficient characteristics for current draw
This was the reason for adding the voltage check/error

Thx
Lee

Kurt37

Re: PAW not working
« Reply #21 on: July 27, 2020, 01:43:30 pm »
And taking about power supplies, what is an acceptable time for a GPS fix? I have 5min (cold or warm start doesn't matter oddly enough)

mariko

Re: PAW not working
« Reply #22 on: July 27, 2020, 02:41:47 pm »
And taking about power supplies, what is an acceptable time for a GPS fix? I have 5min (cold or warm start doesn't matter oddly enough)
The speed of initial fix may be influenced by clear or less satellites view. Where are your PAW positioned? Do you start it inside the hangar?
Ciao
  Mariko

exfirepro

Re: PAW not working
« Reply #23 on: July 27, 2020, 02:44:46 pm »
Hi Patrick,

5 minutes to GPS fix sounds a bit long - except perhaps for initial fix on first powering up the unit after shipping to Germany (unless it’s inside a hangar). Pretty sure it’s not anything to do with power supply.

If we are talking about the Cessna and you have the Rosetta mounted under the coaming behind the dashboard (as you indicated in the other thread), I’d say much more likely to be due to shielding. Either that or you have Rosetta mounted upside down so its own circuit board is obscuring the GPS antenna.

Regards

Peter
« Last Edit: July 27, 2020, 02:46:33 pm by exfirepro »