USA PF Brick question

[Andy[_1_]]

I've been getting familiar with my PowerFLARM brick and Butterfly display before installing it.

I created a flarmcfg.txt file and loaded it using a USB stick. The file loads ok as confirmed by the configuration indicating my glider ICAO address. However, after the expected flashing green/red LED sequence, the LED ends up being amber which is supposed to indicate the start-up sequence is still active. The unit operates normally and detects traffic. The LED stays amber whether the stick is removed or not.

On the next power up with memory stick removed, the LED ends up being green and the ICAO address is retained.

Anyone else see this amber LED after loading? If so, do you have an explanation?

thanks,
GY

[Richard[_9_]]

On Saturday, August 11, 2012 5:58:25 PM UTC-7, Andy wrote:
> I've been getting familiar with my PowerFLARM brick and Butterfly display before installing it. I created a flarmcfg.txt file and loaded it using a USB stick. The file loads ok as confirmed by the configuration indicating my glider ICAO address. However, after the expected flashing green/red LED sequence, the LED ends up being amber which is supposed to indicate the start-up sequence is still active. The unit operates normally and detects traffic. The LED stays amber whether the stick is removed or not. On the next power up with memory stick removed, the LED ends up being green and the ICAO address is retained. Anyone else see this amber LED after loading? If so, do you have an explanation? thanks, GY

Andy,

Make sure the file is named FLARMcfg.txt caps/small.


Richard
www.craggyaero.com

[Richard[_9_]]

On Saturday, August 11, 2012 5:58:25 PM UTC-7, Andy wrote:
> I've been getting familiar with my PowerFLARM brick and Butterfly display before installing it. I created a flarmcfg.txt file and loaded it using a USB stick. The file loads ok as confirmed by the configuration indicating my glider ICAO address. However, after the expected flashing green/red LED sequence, the LED ends up being amber which is supposed to indicate the start-up sequence is still active. The unit operates normally and detects traffic. The LED stays amber whether the stick is removed or not. On the next power up with memory stick removed, the LED ends up being green and the ICAO address is retained. Anyone else see this amber LED after loading? If so, do you have an explanation? thanks, GY

Andy,

You can email me the FLARMcfg.txt and I will check it out.

Richard
www.craggyaero.com

[Andy[_1_]]

On Saturday, August 11, 2012 6:10:06 PM UTC-7, Richard wrote:
>
> Make sure the file is named FLARMcfg.txt caps/small.
>

If the file name is case sensitive it will either be found and read, or not found and not read. My file was found and read, and at least one command was executed, so it seems all lower case is acceptable.

I included this (from a FLARM example file):

################################################## ######################
# Writes a diagnostic dump (PFSSSSS.DMP) to the USB stick.
Existing files with the same file name will be overwritten
################################################## ######################
$file,dump


However, I can find no definition of that command in the user port specification. Does that command influence the LED behavior?

GY

[Bob Gibbons[_2_]]

Richard, my experience with all our bricks is that it is not necessary
to put CAPS in the filename.
flarmcfg.txt
works just fine.

Bob


On Sat, 11 Aug 2012 18:10:06 -0700 (PDT), Richard
> wrote:

>On Saturday, August 11, 2012 5:58:25 PM UTC-7, Andy wrote:
>> I've been getting familiar with my PowerFLARM brick and Butterfly
display before installing it. I created a flarmcfg.txt file and
loaded it using a USB stick. The file loads ok as confirmed by the
configuration indicating my glider ICAO address. However, after the
expected flashing green/red LED sequence, the LED ends up being amber
which is supposed to indicate the start-up sequence is still active.
The unit operates normally and detects traffic. The LED stays amber
whether the stick is removed or not. On the next power up with memory
stick removed, the LED ends up being green and the ICAO address is
retained. Anyone else see this amber LED after loading? If so, do you
have an explanation? thanks, GY
>
>Andy,
>
>Make sure the file is named FLARMcfg.txt caps/small.
>
>
>Richard
>www.craggyaero.com

[Jim[_32_]]

On Saturday, August 11, 2012 9:46:39 PM UTC-4, Andy wrote:
> On Saturday, August 11, 2012 6:10:06 PM UTC-7, Richard wrote:
>
> >
>
> > Make sure the file is named FLARMcfg.txt caps/small.
>
> >
>
>
>
> If the file name is case sensitive it will either be found and read, or not found and not read. My file was found and read, and at least one command was executed, so it seems all lower case is acceptable.
>
>
>
> I included this (from a FLARM example file):
>
>
>
> ################################################## ######################
>
> # Writes a diagnostic dump (PFSSSSS.DMP) to the USB stick.
>
> Existing files with the same file name will be overwritten
>
> ################################################## ######################
>
> $file,dump
>
>
>
>
>
> However, I can find no definition of that command in the user port specification. Does that command influence the LED behavior?
>
>
>
> GY

Andy, you are correct, the case of the filename is irrelevant. In my PF the $file,dump command creates a rather lengthy text file for diagnostic information only. It's full of unintelligible stuff and you don't really need it.. It may be continually accumulating data and appending it to the open file.. I don't recall the final color of the LED but you could just delete the $file,dump line and see what happens to the LED. If you want to see more informative info you could use the $debug_out,fat,all,all which dumps a smaller easier to read file on your disk.

One word of caution if you will be using 2 external displays: You need to enable the second serial port in the Brick with:
$pflac,s,nmeaout2,61
and set the BAUD rate with:
$PFLAC,S,BAUD2,5

-Jim

[Richard[_9_]]

On Saturday, August 11, 2012 5:58:25 PM UTC-7, Andy wrote:
> I've been getting familiar with my PowerFLARM brick and Butterfly display before installing it. I created a flarmcfg.txt file and loaded it using a USB stick. The file loads ok as confirmed by the configuration indicating my glider ICAO address. However, after the expected flashing green/red LED sequence, the LED ends up being amber which is supposed to indicate the start-up sequence is still active. The unit operates normally and detects traffic. The LED stays amber whether the stick is removed or not. On the next power up with memory stick removed, the LED ends up being green and the ICAO address is retained. Anyone else see this amber LED after loading? If so, do you have an explanation? thanks, GY

Many things with computer have to be exact. I agree the flarmcfg.txt may work but the manuals have to be read and used exactly. If there are problems then we are all on the same page and on the way to eliminating the issues..


Richard
www.craggyaero.com

[Richard[_9_]]

On Sunday, August 12, 2012 7:11:09 AM UTC-7, Jim wrote:
> On Saturday, August 11, 2012 9:46:39 PM UTC-4, Andy wrote: > On Saturday, August 11, 2012 6:10:06 PM UTC-7, Richard wrote: > > > > > > Make sure the file is named FLARMcfg.txt caps/small. > > > > > > > If the file name is case sensitive it will either be found and read, or not found and not read. My file was found and read, and at least one command was executed, so it seems all lower case is acceptable. > > > > I included this (from a FLARM example file): > > > > ################################################## ###################### > > # Writes a diagnostic dump (PFSSSSS.DMP) to the USB stick. > > Existing files with the same file name will be overwritten > > ################################################## ###################### > > $file,dump > > > > > > However, I can find no definition of that command in the user port specification. Does that command influence the LED behavior? > > > > GY Andy, you are correct, the case of the filename is irrelevant. In my PF the $file,dump command creates a rather lengthy text file for diagnostic information only. It's full of unintelligible stuff and you don't really need it. It may be continually accumulating data and appending it to the open file. I don't recall the final color of the LED but you could just delete the $file,dump line and see what happens to the LED. If you want to see more informative info you could use the $debug_out,fat,all,all which dumps a smaller easier to read file on your disk. One word of caution if you will be using 2 external displays: You need to enable the second serial port in the Brick with: $pflac,s,nmeaout2,61 and set the BAUD rate with: $PFLAC,S,BAUD2,5 -Jim

Jim,

I would suggest to all to be very carefull what you are changing in the cfg file. If someone takes the above advice they are setting the baud rate at 57.6 kBaud. If they do this and then because of confusion remove that sentence the baud rate will be at 57.6 until changed with another sentence. You can imagine the many calls that I can connect to my software.

I recommend that all use the config on the PowerFlarm USA web site and contact their dealer advice on changes or additions.

I realize the PowerFlarm documentation is not complete at this time and is still in development.

Richard
www.craggyaero.com

[Andy[_1_]]

On Aug 11, 5:58*pm, Andy > wrote:

> Anyone else see this amber LED after loading? If so, do you have an explanation?

The amber led was caused by the command

$PFLAC,S,PCASRANGE,9656

This command is documented in the data port addendum which states its
max value is 65535m.

However, experimentation has shown that the max value is between 9250
and 9300. 9250 gives a green LED after loading but 9300 gives an
amber LED after loading.

It appears that the amber LED indicates that a command line was not
parsed correctly but that does not seem to be stated in the
documentation.

GY

[[email protected]]

I had the same problem.
It is caused by the PCAS range setting.
This setting should be 9000 or smaller
Larger than 9000 will keep the orange LED on (indicating an error)
Read my PowerFlarm Brick tips at
https://sites.google.com/site/threeuniform/powerflarm/pf-brick-tips

Also some more info about the config file and mounting.

3U

[Evan Ludeman[_4_]]

On Aug 12, 1:02*pm, Andy > wrote:
> On Aug 11, 5:58*pm, Andy > wrote:
>
> > Anyone else see this amber LED after loading? If so, do you have an explanation?
>
> The amber led was caused by the command
>
> $PFLAC,S,PCASRANGE,9656
>
> This command is documented in the data port addendum which states its
> max value is 65535m.
>
> However, experimentation has shown that the max value is between 9250
> and 9300. *9250 gives a green LED after loading but 9300 gives an
> amber LED after loading.
>
> It appears that the amber LED indicates that a command line was not
> parsed correctly but that does not seem to be stated in the
> documentation.
>
> GY

Mine behaves differently (but good catch!).

If I set pcas and adsb range to 9600m, the file loads with ten or so
green flashes, one red flash, amber very briefly then steady green.
If I set both ranges to 9000m, I get only green flashes, amber
briefly, then steady green. Too bad I have no way to inspect the
settings.

I'm also wondering what "XPDR Alarm" and "Farm UI" options do in the
display setup.

The first, presumably, turns on the warning chime for PCAS (and ADSB?)
traffic. The default, oddly, seems to be "off". Up til now, all I've
gotten from pcas contacts has been a single chirp. Totally useless as
"warning". But I thought that perhaps I just hadn't been bold enough
to let a pcas contact close enough to trigger the warning alarm. Now
I have it turned on, I guess we'll see. I would like to know what the
warning algorithm is for adsb and pcas. The "Flarm UI" default is
also off. The docs make reference to this (flarm external display
instructions, pg 11) but give no clues as to what might happen if I
turn it to "on". I don't recall seeing this option before I did the
2.40 update. It may have been there... <scratches head>... there's
just so very much about this device that isn't (well enough)
documented.

Opinion: We should not be having to experiment with a device this
expensive (and this difficult and potentially hazardous to test in
flight) in order to figure out what it does and what the optimum
settings are.

-Evan Ludeman / T8

[Richard[_9_]]

On Saturday, August 11, 2012 5:58:25 PM UTC-7, Andy wrote:
> I've been getting familiar with my PowerFLARM brick and Butterfly display before installing it. I created a flarmcfg.txt file and loaded it using a USB stick. The file loads ok as confirmed by the configuration indicating my glider ICAO address. However, after the expected flashing green/red LED sequence, the LED ends up being amber which is supposed to indicate the start-up sequence is still active. The unit operates normally and detects traffic. The LED stays amber whether the stick is removed or not. On the next power up with memory stick removed, the LED ends up being green and the ICAO address is retained. Anyone else see this amber LED after loading? If so, do you have an explanation? thanks, GY

I checked with PowerFlarm US and the current PowerFlarm firmware PF2.4_4100 is compatible with all the sentences in the dataport manual v6.0. and addendum.

I think that the setup could be difficult and have many unintended results, so I would suggest staying to the published FLARMcfg.txt on the PowerFlarm US website. I have tested some Port and Baud settings for my installation
in flight. I have not fooled with the range settings and think that it would be very hard to verify, I suggest staying to the defaults.

http://www.craggyaero.com/installation.htm

also check
http://www.craggyaero.com/cables_&_antennas.htm

for some antenna options.


Richard
www.craggyaero.com

[Evan Ludeman[_4_]]

FWIW (not much....) here's an excerpt from my dump file after changing
pcas and adsb range settings to 9000m and 650m vertical. the
organization of this file is by no means obvious -- it isn't
chronological! My reason for messing with this is that my pcas range
seems to be about 3km in practice.



00011.211 INFO Initializing external config...
00011.211 INFO Initializing Configuration from USB MSD
00011.655 INFO CONFIG: reading file FLARMCFG.TXT...
00011.680 INFO CONFIG: set ACFT to 1
00011.684 INFO CONFIG: set XPDR to 0
00011.692 INFO Setting FLARM ID: DF0077
00011.692 INFO CONFIG: set ID to FFFFF R  ë
ÿÿ #œF
00011.702 INFO CONFIG: set PCASRANGE to 9000
00011.703 INFO CONFIG: set PCASVRANGE to 650
00011.705 INFO CONFIG: set ADSBRANGE to 9000
00011.706 INFO CONFIG: set ADSBVRANGE to 650
00011.709 INFO CONFIG: set NMEAOUT2 to 1
00011.711 INFO CONFIG: 0 command(s) successfully executed
00023.031 INFO OK
00023.232 INFO System configuration:
00023.232 INFO freq = 1
00023.232 INFO cflags = 0
00023.233 INFO ui = 1
00023.233 INFO priv = 0 S  ë
ÿÿ #œ
00023.239 INFO thre = 2
00023.239 INFO range = 20000
00023.239 INFO acft = 1
00023.240 INFO logint = 4
00023.240 INFO vol = 3
00023.240 INFO pilot = undefined
00023.241 INFO copilot = undefined
00023.241 INFO gliderid = undefined
00023.242 INFO glidertype = undefined
00023.242 INFO compid = undefined
00023.242 INFO pilot = undefined
00023.243 INFO nmeaout = 1
00023.243 INFO nmeaout1 = 1
00023.244 INFO nmeaout2 = 1
0 T  ë
ÿÿ #œ0023.254 INFO baud = 2
00023.270 INFO baud1 = 2
00023.285 INFO baud2 = 2
00023.302 INFO ID = FFFFFF
00023.321 INFO pcasrange = 9000
00023.340 INFO adsbrange = 9000
00023.359 INFO pcasvrange = 650
00023.379 INFO adsbvrange = 650
00023.394 INFO xpdr = 0
00023.416 INFO rssi_threshold = 1023
00023.436 INFO rssi_bandwidth = 0
00023.452 INFO modec = 1
00023.471 INFO brightness = 100
00023.489 INFO batterytype = 0


More info:

It looks like (from older logs in the dump) the default settings in
v2.40 appear to be 8000m range and 1000m vertical range for both pcas
and adsb.

The default settings in 2.21beta, which is what we received at 15m
nats, were pcasrange=7408, adsbrange=65535, pcasvrange=610,
adsbvrange=1000

Having tampered this much with it, I think Richard is right: stick
with the defaults unless you have a really good reason to do
otherwise. I doubt very much that changing the pcasrange from 7408
(old software) to 9000 (maximum allowed in new software) is going to
yield the improvement I was looking for.

-Evan Ludeman / T8

[Andy[_1_]]

On Aug 12, 10:58*am, Evan Ludeman > wrote:

> If I set pcas and adsb range to 9600m, the file loads with ten or so
> green flashes, one red flash, amber very briefly then steady green.
> If I set both ranges to 9000m, I get only green *flashes, amber
> briefly, then steady green. *Too bad I have no way to inspect the
> settings.

Yes, you can inspect them with this command that continuously writes
a diagnostic file to the usb stick:

$debug_out,fat,scheduler|config|baro|rf|gps|pffsm, all

If you see the vertical bar symbol replace it with a forward slash

Andy

[Evan Ludeman[_4_]]

On Aug 12, 3:09*pm, Andy > wrote:
> On Aug 12, 10:58*am, Evan Ludeman > wrote:
>
> > If I set pcas and adsb range to 9600m, the file loads with ten or so
> > green flashes, one red flash, amber very briefly then steady green.
> > If I set both ranges to 9000m, I get only green *flashes, amber
> > briefly, then steady green. *Too bad I have no way to inspect the
> > settings.
>
> Yes, *you can inspect them with this command that continuously writes
> a diagnostic file to the usb stick:
>
> $debug_out,fat,scheduler|config|baro|rf|gps|pffsm, all
>
> If you see the vertical bar symbol replace it with a forward slash
>
> Andy

Ah, I thought that was just for portable. Yes this is much easier
than sifting through the dump file.

-Evan / T8

[Andy[_1_]]

On Aug 12, 10:15*am, wrote:
> I had the same problem.
> It is caused by the PCAS range setting.
> This setting should be 9000 or smaller
> Larger than 9000 will keep the orange LED on (indicating an error)

While that's almost true it is not quite accurate. 9250 is accepted
but 9300 is not.

Has anyone found out how to reset the brick to factory defaults? if
it's documented I haven't found it yet.

GY

[Jim[_32_]]

On Sunday, August 12, 2012 3:36:31 PM UTC-4, Andy wrote:
> On Aug 12, 10:15*am, wrote:
>
> > I had the same problem.
>
> > It is caused by the PCAS range setting.
>
> > This setting should be 9000 or smaller
>
> > Larger than 9000 will keep the orange LED on (indicating an error)
>
>
>
> While that's almost true it is not quite accurate. 9250 is accepted
>
> but 9300 is not.
>
>
>
> Has anyone found out how to reset the brick to factory defaults? if
>
> it's documented I haven't found it yet.
>
>
>
> GY

The DATA PORT SPECIFICATIONS has all the default values underlined. There is no apparent single command to reset them all at once.

-Jim

[Jim[_32_]]

On Sunday, August 12, 2012 3:36:31 PM UTC-4, Andy wrote:
> On Aug 12, 10:15*am, wrote:
>
> > I had the same problem.
>
> > It is caused by the PCAS range setting.
>
> > This setting should be 9000 or smaller
>
> > Larger than 9000 will keep the orange LED on (indicating an error)
>
>
>
> While that's almost true it is not quite accurate. 9250 is accepted
>
> but 9300 is not.
>
>
>
> Has anyone found out how to reset the brick to factory defaults? if
>
> it's documented I haven't found it yet.
>
>
>
> GY

The DATA PORT SPECIFICATION says the default PFLAC values are underlined. However, it also says:"Factory preset values can differ from default values."

There is no apparent single command to reset them all at once.

-Jim

[Ramy]

On Sunday, August 12, 2012 10:58:03 AM UTC-7, Evan Ludeman wrote:
> On Aug 12, 1:02*pm, Andy > wrote:
>
> > On Aug 11, 5:58*pm, Andy > wrote:
>
> >
>
> > > Anyone else see this amber LED after loading? If so, do you have an explanation?
>
> >
>
> > The amber led was caused by the command
>
> >
>
> > $PFLAC,S,PCASRANGE,9656
>
> >
>
> > This command is documented in the data port addendum which states its
>
> > max value is 65535m.
>
> >
>
> > However, experimentation has shown that the max value is between 9250
>
> > and 9300. *9250 gives a green LED after loading but 9300 gives an
>
> > amber LED after loading.
>
> >
>
> > It appears that the amber LED indicates that a command line was not
>
> > parsed correctly but that does not seem to be stated in the
>
> > documentation.
>
> >
>
> > GY
>
>
>
> Mine behaves differently (but good catch!).
>
>
>
> If I set pcas and adsb range to 9600m, the file loads with ten or so
>
> green flashes, one red flash, amber very briefly then steady green.
>
> If I set both ranges to 9000m, I get only green flashes, amber
>
> briefly, then steady green. Too bad I have no way to inspect the
>
> settings.
>
>
>
> I'm also wondering what "XPDR Alarm" and "Farm UI" options do in the
>
> display setup.
>
>
>
> The first, presumably, turns on the warning chime for PCAS (and ADSB?)
>
> traffic. The default, oddly, seems to be "off". Up til now, all I've
>
> gotten from pcas contacts has been a single chirp. Totally useless as
>
> "warning". But I thought that perhaps I just hadn't been bold enough
>
> to let a pcas contact close enough to trigger the warning alarm. Now
>
> I have it turned on, I guess we'll see. I would like to know what the
>
> warning algorithm is for adsb and pcas. The "Flarm UI" default is
>
> also off. The docs make reference to this (flarm external display
>
> instructions, pg 11) but give no clues as to what might happen if I
>
> turn it to "on". I don't recall seeing this option before I did the
>
> 2.40 update. It may have been there... <scratches head>... there's
>
> just so very much about this device that isn't (well enough)
>
> documented.
>
>
>
> Opinion: We should not be having to experiment with a device this
>
> expensive (and this difficult and potentially hazardous to test in
>
> flight) in order to figure out what it does and what the optimum
>
> settings are.
>
>
>
> -Evan Ludeman / T8

I find the audio alert to be inadequate, especially when the cockpit is noisy with wind noise and/or vario beeping. It is set to the high volume, but I sure hope this can be made louder in the future. I understand this has to do with the display and not the brick itself. I recall the midair flarm simulation video had a very distinct loud alert, not just chimes. Did anyone compare the audio alerts between the portable, rectangular display and panel display?
The other thing I find inadequate is the PCAS functionality. Even after moving the antenna around, I get significantly less alerts than my Zaon. I was hoping to remove my Zaon but so far it looks like I will need to keep both..
I understand that it is all under development still, but will be great if we could get updates of what is coming up, known issues etc.

[noel.wade]

On Aug 13, 1:00*pm, Ramy > wrote:
>
> I find the audio alert to be inadequate, especially when the cockpit is noisy with wind noise and/or vario beeping. It is set to the high volume, but I

Ramy - What display are you using? I have the "rectangular" display
mounted on a gooseneck just in front of my panel and find it to be
plenty loud (even at 85+ knots).

--Noel

[Ramy]

On Monday, August 13, 2012 1:56:49 PM UTC-7, noel.wade wrote:
> On Aug 13, 1:00*pm, Ramy > wrote:
>
> >
>
> > I find the audio alert to be inadequate, especially when the cockpit is noisy with wind noise and/or vario beeping. It is set to the high volume, but I
>
>
>
> Ramy - What display are you using? I have the "rectangular" display
>
> mounted on a gooseneck just in front of my panel and find it to be
>
> plenty loud (even at 85+ knots).
>
>
>
> --Noel

I have the rectangular display. Not sure if the beep just not loud enough or too short to catch the attention. Perhaps I am not used to it yet, but was wondering what others are thinking, and if there is different between the various displays.

Ramy

[Jim[_32_]]

On Monday, August 13, 2012 5:25:48 PM UTC-4, Ramy wrote:
> On Monday, August 13, 2012 1:56:49 PM UTC-7, noel.wade wrote:
>
> > On Aug 13, 1:00*pm, Ramy > wrote:
>
> >
>
> > >
>
> >
>
> > > I find the audio alert to be inadequate, especially when the cockpit is noisy with wind noise and/or vario beeping. It is set to the high volume, but I
>
> >
>
> >
>
> >
>
> > Ramy - What display are you using? I have the "rectangular" display
>
> >
>
> > mounted on a gooseneck just in front of my panel and find it to be
>
> >
>
> > plenty loud (even at 85+ knots).
>
> >
>
> >
>
> >
>
> > --Noel
>
>
>
> I have the rectangular display. Not sure if the beep just not loud enough or too short to catch the attention. Perhaps I am not used to it yet, but was wondering what others are thinking, and if there is different between the various displays.
>
>
>
> Ramy

Ramy, I too have the rectangular display and only get a single short unsatisfying chirp for a PCAS alert. Useless!
-Jim

[Ramy]

On Tuesday, August 14, 2012 4:47:38 PM UTC-7, Jim wrote:
> On Monday, August 13, 2012 5:25:48 PM UTC-4, Ramy wrote:
>
> > On Monday, August 13, 2012 1:56:49 PM UTC-7, noel.wade wrote:
>
> >
>
> > > On Aug 13, 1:00*pm, Ramy > wrote:
>
> >
>
> > >
>
> >
>
> > > >
>
> >
>
> > >
>
> >
>
> > > > I find the audio alert to be inadequate, especially when the cockpit is noisy with wind noise and/or vario beeping. It is set to the high volume, but I
>
> >
>
> > >
>
> >
>
> > >
>
> >
>
> > >
>
> >
>
> > > Ramy - What display are you using? I have the "rectangular" display
>
> >
>
> > >
>
> >
>
> > > mounted on a gooseneck just in front of my panel and find it to be
>
> >
>
> > >
>
> >
>
> > > plenty loud (even at 85+ knots).
>
> >
>
> > >
>
> >
>
> > >
>
> >
>
> > >
>
> >
>
> > > --Noel
>
> >
>
> >
>
> >
>
> > I have the rectangular display. Not sure if the beep just not loud enough or too short to catch the attention. Perhaps I am not used to it yet, but was wondering what others are thinking, and if there is different between the various displays.
>
> >
>
> >
>
> >
>
> > Ramy
>
>
>
> Ramy, I too have the rectangular display and only get a single short unsatisfying chirp for a PCAS alert. Useless!
>
> -Jim

Thanks Jim. I wonder if there is a place where we can post feedback for the Powerflarm folks? Last I checked the forum on their web site was not working yet. Anyone listens? Dave?

[Andy[_1_]]

On Aug 13, 2:25*pm, Ramy > wrote:
> On Monday, August 13, 2012 1:56:49 PM UTC-7, noel.wade wrote:
> > On Aug 13, 1:00*pm, Ramy > wrote:
>
> > > I find the audio alert to be inadequate, especially when the cockpit is noisy with wind noise and/or vario beeping. It is set to the high volume, but I
>
> > Ramy - What display are you using? I have the "rectangular" display
>
> > mounted on a gooseneck just in front of my panel and find it to be
>
> > plenty loud (even at 85+ knots).
>
> > --Noel
>
> I have the rectangular display. Not sure if the beep just not loud enough or too short to catch the attention. Perhaps I am not used to it yet, but was wondering what others are thinking, and if there is different between the various displays.
>
> Ramy- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

I have the rectangular display. I have observed/heard a couple of
alerts for helicopters flying low over my house. The number of beeps
seems to depend on the treat level. The volume, at maximum, seems to
be far too low to useful in a glider cockpit.

There is a hole in the display close to the function knob. I thought
that this was the exit hole for the speaker but the alerter is no
quieter when that hole is covered.

In contrast my ZAON PCAS is so loud I have to tape over the alerter
hole when I use it in the glider. For equipment of this cost I would
expect the volume to be adequate and also to be automatically
compensated for the ambient noise level, either based on measured
noise level or ground speed.

No one else has commented on this yet, but my display has horrible
light leaks along the entire top and bottom edges of the display.


GY