Setting up the software

[peastlake]

Pic 4

[peastlake]

Pic 5

[Admin]

Hi Paul

The most common issue I have seen is


1. Quality of the power supply
2. Quality of the usb connector

If the voltage drops at the input to be the pi, seems to cause real issues

Are you using the same usb power at home and in trike ?
What current rating is the usb adapter ?

Thx
Lee

[peastlake]

Power sources are different.

1) trike uses a 12V to 5V "cigar lighter" adaptor. This has three USB sockets for output, and is putting out a max of 6.6 amps, up to 2.2 amps per socket. Lead is a meter long "flat ribbon" type from eBay.

2) at home I'm using an Apple mains power adapter putting out up to 5v at a max of 2.5 amps. The lead is 30cm one borrowed from a mobile phone 14,000 mAhr power pack.

is more than 2 amps needed? Of course, these are just the declared figures by the maker/seller of these things, but the point is neither seems to solve the problem. All very odd.

I was concerned that the 8.4 iOS would cause issues? But you didn't mention it.....

[peastlake]

I have got a second WiFi dongle to try. How do I find its MAC address so you can send me the license code? Or just plug it in & see what access point shows on the iPad?

[Admin]

Power sources are different.

1) trike uses a 12V to 5V "cigar lighter" adaptor. This has three USB sockets for output, and is putting out a max of 6.6 amps, up to 2.2 amps per socket. Lead is a meter long "flat ribbon" type from eBay.

2) at home I'm using an Apple mains power adapter putting out up to 5v at a max of 2.5 amps. The lead is 30cm one borrowed from a mobile phone 14,000 mAhr power pack.

is more than 2 amps needed? Of course, these are just the declared figures by the maker/seller of these things, but the point is neither seems to solve the problem. All very odd.

I was concerned that the 8.4 iOS would cause issues? But you didn't mention it.....

Hi Paul,

I had been holding off from taking the 8.4 update, and was unnerved by your comments :-|
I updated this morning, and then took a 1 hour commute from Coventry down to Oxford with PilotAware in my car.
I got no dropouts and saw lots of traffic.

Hmmmmm, so ...

The (mobile) power supply I am using is also a 2.1A AUX as you describe.
Regarding power, I have measured PilotAware drawing Approx 750mA without the ARF, so factor in the ARF as well
which is approx 350mA (short bursts of 1 millisecond every 2 seconds), and you are looking at a requirement of 1.1A

Question: did you have anything else connected to the other USB ports during your flight ?
I have found when I plug my iPhone 6 Plus into the second port of the 2.1a charger, the charger is overloaded, and drops
out for 5 seconds.
This also means any other connections drop out alos, I have observed PilotAware constantly rebooting as it had its
power cut due to my iPhone 6 plus, can you provide a reference to the charger you are using and could this be a similar
scenario ?

The Power cable I am using is now a dedicated PI cable, I have found issues with
lots of standard USB cables, they simply have too much voltage drop from one end to the other.
On one of my cables I measured 5.25v at cable input, and just over 4.1v at the input to the PI - that is a killer !

here is a reference for the Pi Switchable similar to the one I am using
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/USB-to-Micro-USB-Power-Cable-Charger-with-ON-OFF-Switch-for-Raspberry-Pi-Android-/131567044246?hash=item1ea201c696

To be honest the power source issue is a minefield, in the case of the PI, we are only interested in power and not data.
so we need good quality USB cables for the power, I have read online you really want something at 20AWG,
and a lot of cables are much poorer than this at ratings such as 28AWG (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_wire_gauge)

Would really like to get to the bottom of your issues.

Thx
Lee

[Admin]

I have got a second WiFi dongle to try. How do I find its MAC address so you can send me the license code? Or just plug it in & see what access point shows on the iPad?

Hi Paul
2 options, plug it into a Windows PC and run this command from a DOS shell
CMD> ipconfig /all

or as you say, plug it into PilotAware, boot it and see what comes up in the hotspot !

I think the second option is generally easier

Thx
Lee

[Admin]

Hi All

One final note on the Power supply, I recall Andy Fell mentioning that linear regulators are preferable over the switch mode regulators.

I wonder if there is an issue that requires a more thorough investigation regarding the quality of the supply.
The switch mode regulators will certainly output more interference, you may notice this in your car when listening to FM radio,
and suddenly you get a horrible hissssssss after plugging the regulator and charging a device.

Thx
Lee

[Mig29fuk]

Hi to all.
Its working with ADS-B and connection to iPad and iPhone!!!!
Tx/Rx almost ready to fit. Had a senior moment with ARF Module so need careful use of Solder Sucker!
Checked 'targets' with Flight Radar 24 locally and all were correct.
When complete later today will fit ARF.
Anybody in SW who wants to fly and check?
Regards
Gerry

[Mig29fuk]

To add to fly and check...
I mean I'll get airborne myself and rendezvous with another Pilot Aware equipped aircraft.
Regards
Gerry

[Mig29fuk]

It works well and all 'targets' matched Flight Radar 24.
Gerry

[Mig29fuk]

Lee
A very naive question....so sorry.
What in PilotAware or SkyDemon terms 'colours' the ADS-B targets shown.
I ask as the 'white' outlined targets hide within the clutter of SD sometimes.
REgards
Gerry

[Admin]

Lee
A very naive question....so sorry.
What in PilotAware or SkyDemon terms 'colours' the ADS-B targets shown.
I ask as the 'white' outlined targets hide within the clutter of SD sometimes.
REgards
Gerry

Hi Gerry
It is SkyDemon. This changed recently, they were previously green, which I think most people prefer, maybe we should ask Tim Dawson why this changed ?
At the moment I do not flag any targets as a 'threat',  think if I do they may change color

Thx
Lee

[peastlake]

or as you say, plug it into PilotAware, boot it and see what comes up in the hotspot !

Hi Lee

The second WiFi dongle seems to have the address 0013EF30110F. Can you supply a licence & I'll give it a go.

Still intermittent in the car to & from work today.

Paul

[Admin]

or as you say, plug it into PilotAware, boot it and see what comes up in the hotspot !

Hi Lee

The second WiFi dongle seems to have the address 0013EF30110F. Can you supply a licence & I'll give it a go.

Still intermittent in the car to & from work today.

Paul

Hi Paul
I will send out license tomorrow.
I really want to get a detailed description of the setup

1. What power supply are you using, and is anything else loading the supply ?
2. The rating of the USB cable, it should really be 20AWG for the power
3. What IOS device

Also, do you have a multimeter to test the voltage on the PI itself.
I have seen a huge voltage drop on some cable/supply combinations

I am tempted to send you a cable supply combination I use to see if
The performance is better

Please let me know the answers to above
Many Thx
Lee