Progress

[Admin]

I just decided to take a chance on the ARF-board and soldered the wires to the other side - and it works
So if you look at the side with the antenna connector, Pin 1 is left of the connector. 

Hi Seb
Excellent, well done in getting another device working.
You fixed it before I managed to make a posting.

Are you near to Markus Krauss ?

Thx
Lee

[onkelmuetze]

Where is he located? My Homebase is EDXG, about 80 km west of Hannover.

[Admin]

Where is he located? My Homebase is EDXG, about 80 km west of Hannover.

user name is mjkrauss

Thx
Lee

[BobD]

I just decided to take a chance on the ARF-board and soldered the wires to the other side - and it works


So if you look at the side with the antenna connector, Pin 1 is left of the connector. 

Hi Onkelmuetze,

I have had problems trying to source the correct Xbee Adapter, so have purchased the same powerpod as you. If I read the above post correctly, and looking at the jpeg you provided in the previous post, after swapping the wires around, could you please confirm the correct pinouts are as follows:


ARF                        POD                          IDC

                              VIN --------------------- 2 (PWR)
10 ------------------- GND -------------------- 6 (GND)
 1 -------------------- VOUT
 3 ---------------------------------------------- 8 (TXD)
 2 ---------------------------------------------- 10 (RXD)

From your photo (copy attached) it appears that pin GND on the pod takes inut from the IDC, and provides output to pin 10 on the ARF, via two wires soldered together, but I just can't quite make this out from the photo.

Forgive my ignorance on this, but I am following the 'painting by numbers' method for hardware assembly, and am wary of making expensive mistakes.

BobD

[onkelmuetze]

Hi Bob,

your pinout is correct!

GND on the PowerPod is used for GND from the IDC and the ARF. Just make sure you solder all the wires to the correct side of the ARF, my picture in the previous post shows my first try, which was the wrong side. It did not kill the ARF though, so if you get it wrong, you should still have a second chance

Seb

[BobD]

Hi Seb,

Are there any visual indications (i.e. lights), that the unit is working, after soldering and prior to assembly, such as those given with the Digole Regulator ? If not, is there any software indication available to prove the item ?

Best Regards

BobD

[Admin]

Are there any visual indications (i.e. lights), that the unit is working, after soldering and prior to assembly, such as those given with the Digole Regulator ? If not, is there any software indication available to prove the item ?

If you have used the Digole 3.3v regulator, you should see a blue flashing LED.
This is the 'heartbeat' output of the ARF

Thx
Lee

[BobD]

Hi Lee,

I am still waiting for a Digole Regulator to arrive from China for my second unit build, so I have tried the PowerPod that Seb has used on his unit. However, unlike the Digole, I can't see a 'heartbeat' indicator (unless I am missing it), so I wondered if there is another way to test the unit before assembly. I can see the heartbeat  on the Digole you sent me, so am fairly confident that the original unit is working. I want to complete the second unit, before I visit a friend with an Ipad for final testing.

Regards
BobD


 

[Admin]

Hi Bob,

Sorry, now I understand.
If you have a monitor connected to the RPi as it boots, you should see some messages appear regarding
programming up the ARF, this of course depends when you took the copy of PilotAware.zip, because this was only introduced
recently

I am slowly trying to build in diagnostics for this kind of information

If messages appear, then the ARF is probably working correctly

Thx
Lee

[BobD]

Hi Lee,

Thanks for the info, the ARF messages do appear on booting, so I guess my hamfisted soldering has worked after all 
My download of the zip file was from 20/08, so I guess it is the latest release.
As I requested in a previous post, these software diagnostic messages are really useful for those like me with limited electronic testing experience. I only yesterday bought a Multimeter, but have only used if for connectivity testing so far.
So now I have two units ready for testing, but no Apple product to use yet  That should be rectified later this week when I pass on one unit to a friend with an Ipad.
Roll on the Android version of PilotAware !

Best Regards
BobD

[Robski]

Roll on the Android version of PilotAware !

Seconded!

Not that I'm complaining, Lee!

[onkelmuetze]

Hi Seb,

Are there any visual indications (i.e. lights), that the unit is working, after soldering and prior to assembly, such as those given with the Digole Regulator ? If not, is there any software indication available to prove the item ?

Sorry for my late answer, I was on holidays - there are no light indicators if you use the PowerPod from wirelessthings, but if you have a look at the pinout of the ARF-board, you will find a pin called "heartbeat" or "H-BEAT". You just need to put a LED with sufficient resisitor between the heartbeat-pin and GND.

[stephenmelody]

@BobD and @Onkelmeutze,

Think I'm going the same route as you guys with mine, all the bits have pretty much arrived. Was wondering, how did you secure the ARF board and PowerPOD to the RPi casing? Are you putting anything between them and the main RPi board?

I'm a bit of a novice at this and likely to create an expensive mistake!!

Cheers!

Steve.

[BobD]

Hi Stephen,

I simply bought a cheap hot glue gun, and glued both individual parts to the top of the case, positioning them so that neither would foul anything on the main board (see attached photo).

BobD

[ianfallon]

Thanks for this pic Bob - exactly what I'm going to do when the bits arrive