Slice of Pi - a simpler construction method

[Admin]

If somebody wants to document this build procedure
I will happily replace the section in the current build manual.
It would be good to include the barometric pressure sensor
Thx
Lee

[trapdoor]

Happy to provide some photo's for you Lee.

The build is quite self-explanatory but if you can wait a day or so I can probably knock something up for you. I'm on a client site tomorrow so can't get it done then, but Wednesday might be possible.

[Andy Fell]

Trapdoor, Looks very neat! 

Would be interested to see what performance is obtained using that stubby antenna for 868MHz.  In my experience they're a bit poor, but we do have a little margin.

Wouldn't surprise me if that is -10dBi or so.  It's not at all critical on the ADS-B RX of course (transponders have plenty of power), but for 868MHz we need to be careful not to compromise our detection range.

[trapdoor]

Would be interested to see what performance is obtained using that stubby antenna for 868MHz.  In my experience they're a bit poor, but we do have a little margin.
[/quote

Here you go ...

https://www.wirelessthings.net/electronics-hardware/antennas

Wouldn't surprise me if that is -10dBi or so.  It's not at all critical on the ADS-B RX of course (transponders have plenty of power), but for 868MHz we need to be careful not to compromise our detection range.

Buy one, test it against what was supplied (what I did) and make your choice. Just because the supplied antenna that comes with the ARF is physically longer, doesn't mean it's a 'better' antenna, but its physical characteristics lend itself to a more general use. 'Electrically' (for want of a better word) it is little different from the small helical.

If you find a better off the shelf antenna that fits the criteria (in band, physically acceptable/ short enough and not on a mag base/ cable) let us know.

[N6010Y]

Trapdoor,

Just ordered my ARF board from WT -    About to start the final build (has been running well in receive mode for the past few days).

Have you managed to integrate a GPS dongle/chip and the Altitude module into your builds?  If so can you post some pictures if possible?

Hugh

[N6010Y]

Forgot to add .....

Are both your mini aerials the same make/model?

Hugh

[brinzlee]

I was told today by wirelessthings that they were intending on stopping the production of slice of pod....I had the last 10 but I told them under the circumstances they my want to reconsider that as using these boards makes the construction a little simpler in my opinion and neater. So call them and register a vote if you want the board and I think they'll put it back into production.

[ianfallon]

I think the confusion is partly that there is a thing called "Slice of Pi" and a thing called "Slice of Pod"
The latter has the 3.3v regulator built in and GPIO connector and is the one I used.

An interesting thing to note, my friend had a bad SOPod board which only gave 1.7v !
Because we have used the Adafruit version of the Baro sensor, it has a 3.3v output! So we used that to power the ARF ! Seems to work!

[Richard]

Hi,
  If your looking for alternative supply for the Slice Of Pod you can get them from here too.

http://cpc.farnell.com/1/1/114594-ciseco-b024-slice-of-pod-rpi-stacker-adaptor.html

[ianfallon]

Has anyone tried Slice of Pi (not POD) + POD (or similar) + ARF ?

Another possibility might be:

Slice of Pi (not POD) + Adafruit baro (with 3.3v out) + ARF

[ianfallon]

I had the last 10

10 ! The first PilotWare factory ? 

[brinzlee]

I'm using Slice Of Pod, ARF and Adafruit Barometer MPL3115A2.
Very easy to wire up.....one side of the Slice Of Pod has the ARF and the other the Barometer

[ianfallon]

I'm using Slice Of Pod, ARF and Adafruit Barometer MPL3115A2.
Very easy to wire up.....one side of the Slice Of Pod has the ARF and the other the Barometer

Yep same as mine

[N6010Y]

Any chance of a picture of the front and back connections?

[Pete]

Can anyone tell me if they have successfully achieved a reasonable range (i.e. <10NM) using this ( the above ) setup.

If so, would you mind stating what WiFi dongle and antennae setups you are using etc.
I have built several units the original way with Digole Regulator board and ARF with the supplied antennas and range is very poor.

Thanks for any input on this.