PowerFlarm Puzzle

[John Carlyle]

I discovered by looking at some IGC files that several settings in my FLARMCFG.TXT file were apparently not making it into my PowerFlarm Core unit, and several other FLARMCFG.TXT file settings had been changed. Eventually, I found that the place to look for actual PF settings was in the PFCxxxxx.TXT file (on the USB drive used to download the PF files). The apparently missing settings were indeed in there. But, this file also proved that some settings had definitely been changed.

Three of the changed settings were horizontal and vertical ranges - these were due to my use of the FlarmView57 menu, so that's OK. But two GPS/traffic protocol statements (NMEAOUT1,71 and NMEAOUT2,71) had also been changed, the first to a value of 41 and the second to 61 - not OK!

As far as I can tell, the protocol changes occurred the first time I flew with the PF, after I had updated the firmware from 6.02 to 6.07 on my desk. I have no idea if the FV57 changed the protocols, but I do know that the horizontal and vertical ranges were changed at this time.

QUESTION - Can someone who uses a PowerFlarm Core and a FlarmView57 (I was running v2.34 firmware when this happened) look at either some of their recent PF IGC files or their PFCxxxxx.TXT file and see if their GPS/traffic protocol values in the two NMEAOUT statements have been changed from what’s in their FLARMCFG.TXT file?

-John, Q3

[John Carlyle]

Flarm gave me the answer to the puzzle today:

"Display devices can set their preferred dataport versions (the first digit in nmeout, i.e. "7" in "71"). This also explains why two different values are set for each port (61 vs. 41). The displays access the setting after the unit has fully booted, so you will not see the access in the diagnostics file."

-John, Q3

On Sunday, July 2, 2017 at 5:30:24 PM UTC-4, John Carlyle wrote:
> I discovered by looking at some IGC files that several settings in my FLARMCFG.TXT file were apparently not making it into my PowerFlarm Core unit, and several other FLARMCFG.TXT file settings had been changed. Eventually, I found that the place to look for actual PF settings was in the PFCxxxxx.TXT file (on the USB drive used to download the PF files). The apparently missing settings were indeed in there. But, this file also proved that some settings had definitely been changed.
>
> Three of the changed settings were horizontal and vertical ranges - these were due to my use of the FlarmView57 menu, so that's OK. But two GPS/traffic protocol statements (NMEAOUT1,71 and NMEAOUT2,71) had also been changed, the first to a value of 41 and the second to 61 - not OK!
>
> As far as I can tell, the protocol changes occurred the first time I flew with the PF, after I had updated the firmware from 6.02 to 6.07 on my desk.. I have no idea if the FV57 changed the protocols, but I do know that the horizontal and vertical ranges were changed at this time.
>
> QUESTION - Can someone who uses a PowerFlarm Core and a FlarmView57 (I was running v2.34 firmware when this happened) look at either some of their recent PF IGC files or their PFCxxxxx.TXT file and see if their GPS/traffic protocol values in the two NMEAOUT statements have been changed from what’s in their FLARMCFG.TXT file?
>
> -John, Q3