Cambridge 302 Utility

[[email protected]]

I’ve a new-to-me Cambridge 302 that I’m attempting to set up for me and my glider. The Utility is asking me: “Is another program using the port? Quit Pocket-NAV to use this program”. I’ve attempted every Com Port option offered. Any suggestions as how to quit a Pocket-NAV that I do not have?
TIA Gene

[JS[_5_]]

On Sunday, September 23, 2018 at 1:29:19 PM UTC-7, wrote:
> I’ve a new-to-me Cambridge 302 that I’m attempting to set up for me and my glider. The Utility is asking me: “Is another program using the port? Quit Pocket-NAV to use this program”. I’ve attempted every Com Port option offered. Any suggestions as how to quit a Pocket-NAV that I do not have?
> TIA Gene

It's been a long time for me since using that combination.
Have you shut down whatever soaring software is on the IPAQ?
What version is your CAI Utility for IPAQ, and which device is it on?
The latest utility was v2.57 (from 2006). If you don't have that version, try upgrading to it. That and some advice on:
https://www.cumulus-soaring.com/cai_downloads.htm
Jim

[[email protected]]

Thank you. I will try upgrading the software but my problem is I don’t have an IPAC. The previous owner must have. All I have is the 302 and a computer. I would like to wipe the data in the 302 clean and start the set up from the beginning factory default.
Gene

[MNLou]

I can't remember the solution but Paul Remde at Cumulus Soaring gave me the answer. (I think it has to do with changing ports (maybe COM 2?) or something equally as easy.)

I'd ping Paul.

Lou

[Nick Kennedy[_3_]]

Hi Gene
I'm a long time user of the 302 and the Utility.
FWIW I was never successful in connecting a PC to the 302 with the Utility software that came on the CD.
Here is how I did it.
Get a new clean SD card. Transfer the 302 Utility and the turnpoints you need; with a .dat file after the turnpoints onto the SD card. Get the 302 talking to the PC, I think on com 4 is best. Then open SD card and the Utility, load your information, Polar etc and turnpoints into the 302. I know this can be so frustrating, In the early days I spent hours trying. While in the Utility leave the 302 Unlocked so you can adjust it in flight. And put it in super Netto mode and learn what that displays, when your polar is in there and the TE is adjusted right the 302 is still a great instrument IMHO.. Never locks up or needs software updates; Ellis got it right the first time. Good Luck- you can do it!
PS as the installation Manuel says; MAKE sure the static line to the 302 is the same as the static line to the ASI, this is important! Its working on very subtle pressure changes and the 302 is only as good as the information it receives. Once its all running adjust the TE Compensation [ if you know what your looking for ] up or down a little bit until you like it, you can do this in flight. The Electronic TE mode also works very well in the 302- I owned a Grob Twin Astir that worked super good with the Electronic TE plumbed. On the probe it was so so -Electronic it was perfect.

[[email protected]]

My recollection is that you can run your soaring software, or the utility, but not both at the same time or you get that error. It’s been a while now, so I can’t remember much more than that.

[[email protected]]

“Is another program using the port? Quit Pocket-NAV to use this program” simply means that the 302 and your computer have failed to connect.

I assume that you are using a computer with a USB port, and a serial to USB converter. My experience was that it took me several tries to find a USB converter that would work with the 302. I strongly recommend the USB mod to the 302, and a remote USB port mounted on the instrument panel for easy down loads.

On my Win XP machines, I use Com 2. On my Win 7 machine, I use "other" with "3" in the box. Why that works rather than just checking the com 3 box is well above my pay grade.

Once you get connected, you will need to deal with "Crazy Mouse Syndrome". Windows often recognizes a GPS device as a mouse, sending your curser careening across the screen, rendering your computer unusable. That is an easy fix, Google is your friend here.

Your next challenge, if you are using Win 7, is that a driver is needed. Be sure that you are connected to the internet so Windows can hunt it down for you and load it.

Or wimp out and hit e-Bay for a legacy computer with a serial port.

The only glitch I have ever had is that after trailering down rough dirt roads sometimes the plug for the temperature sensor will wiggle partly loose. When that happens, the system will freeze during boot up. Just turn it off, pull it out, and push it back in.

P9

[[email protected]]

Thank you all!
Gene

[[email protected]]

I strongly recommend the USB mod to the 302, and a remote USB port mounted on the instrument panel for easy down loads.

To my knowledge and recollection, the USB mod to the 302 was solely for software upgrades and input. Downloads through the USB port are not possible. I used a serial to Bluetooth adapter, but had to make my own cable.

[OHM Ω http://aviation.derosaweb.net]

On Sunday, September 23, 2018 at 6:09:27 PM UTC-5, wrote:
> Thank you. I will try upgrading the software but my problem is I don’t have an IPAC. The previous owner must have. All I have is the 302 and a computer. I would like to wipe the data in the 302 clean and start the set up from the beginning factory default.
> Gene

First, IMHO, the C302 is a wonderful audio vario - I have one in my '27. Sorry that I don't have an answer to your question - it has been years since using its serial port.

But about wiping the data - you may find some useful information about this (and other things) at http://aviation.derosaweb.net/cambridge/ under the "Cambridge 302 Logging Errors" section.

Best of luck, John OHM Ω

[kinsell]

On 09/24/2018 06:41 AM, wrote:
> I strongly recommend the USB mod to the 302, and a remote USB port mounted on the instrument panel for easy down loads.
>
> To my knowledge and recollection, the USB mod to the 302 was solely for software upgrades and input. Downloads through the USB port are not possible. I used a serial to Bluetooth adapter, but had to make my own cable.
>

Don't believe so. The USB mod was just one of those converter chips
connected to RS-232, when the switch was thrown in the correct position.
You had to provide a proper driver in your laptop to make it work.
Really no different than using a converter cable that had a chip built
into it. There were multiple versions of that chip, some of the cables
worked and some didn't.

The OP should remember that Win XP was the current OS when this software
was developed, using an XP laptop with a real RS-232 port would be the
best way to make it work. Maybe a newer OS in compatibility mode could
work, but no guarantees.

There's enough versatility in configuring the 302 through the panel that
I never found the utility program to be essential, and haven't tried to
use it in many years.


-Dave

[Luke Szczepaniak]

I have had very good luck using keyspan USB to serial adapters on WinXP, Win7 and Win10, both 32 and 64 bit with a variety of devices ranging from flight recorders (including the CAI302) to CISCO network switches and routers. It has been a while since i had to run the 302 utility but I am pretty sure it had to be executed with elevated privileges in Windows 7 or 10 (right click on the executable and run as administrator)

https://www.amazon.com/Tripp-Lite-Keyspan-High-Speed-USA-19HS/dp/B0000VYJRY

Hope that helps
Luke

[Nick Kennedy[_3_]]

Dave
To configure a 302 through the panel you need a 303 display connected to the 302 I believe.

To the OP if you can get a 303 screen attached to your 302 you've really got something! Great wind info, turnpoint data, task making, performance etc etc I think it may have 10 or more pages of info to look at.
But you still cannot install turnpoint data bases, for that you need the utility or a Oudie.
A Oudie with ConnectMe can load turnpoints into a 302 BTW. You can also download your flight into a Oudie. A Oudie coupled to to a 302 and a 303 is pretty awesome even in todays high tech world, and cheap!
That's how I change turnpoint data bases when I travel. Bu using the Oudie. You just need to make sure the Baud rate on the Oudie is set to 4800 to talk to the 302, aren't computers fun?

[[email protected]]

You can also your load turnpoint database via XCSoar if you don't want to spend hundreds of $$$ on an Oudie.

On Monday, September 24, 2018 at 12:00:47 PM UTC-5, Nick Kennedy wrote:
> Dave
> To configure a 302 through the panel you need a 303 display connected to the 302 I believe.
>
> To the OP if you can get a 303 screen attached to your 302 you've really got something! Great wind info, turnpoint data, task making, performance etc etc I think it may have 10 or more pages of info to look at.
> But you still cannot install turnpoint data bases, for that you need the utility or a Oudie.
> A Oudie with ConnectMe can load turnpoints into a 302 BTW. You can also download your flight into a Oudie. A Oudie coupled to to a 302 and a 303 is pretty awesome even in todays high tech world, and cheap!
> That's how I change turnpoint data bases when I travel. Bu using the Oudie. You just need to make sure the Baud rate on the Oudie is set to 4800 to talk to the 302, aren't computers fun?

[Nick Kennedy[_3_]]

Just for my knowledge, is XC Soar run on a Ipaq type device? Does it use a SD card where the Software, 302 Utility and turnpoints live? Or Does XC Soar have its own internal memory?

[[email protected]]

XCSoar can be run on a PC, an Android phone, mac, linux, and Windows Mobile.

Typically the user would load their waypoints into XCSoar using a standard .cup waypoint file and then XCSoar will reformat for the 302 automatically in the background when pushing to the vario.

The way XCSoar stores data such as turnpoints really depends on the device running XCSoar. Most Android phones will us an SD card or internal memory, PC and Mac will use the normal computer file system, etc.

Robert

n Monday, September 24, 2018 at 6:08:30 PM UTC-5, Nick Kennedy wrote:
> Just for my knowledge, is XC Soar run on a Ipaq type device? Does it use a SD card where the Software, 302 Utility and turnpoints live? Or Does XC Soar have its own internal memory?

[kinsell]

In this age of moving map flight computers being essentially free, I
don't see the appeal of trying to navigate with the 302, even if he has
the 303.

I've used a 302 feeding gps and other data to a tablet running TopHat,
and using the tablet as a convenient way to download flights from the 302.

OP didn't tell us exactly what he's trying to accomplish with the 302,
more details would make for a better discussion.

-Dave




On 09/24/2018 11:54 AM, wrote:
> You can also your load turnpoint database via XCSoar if you don't want to spend hundreds of $$$ on an Oudie.
>
> On Monday, September 24, 2018 at 12:00:47 PM UTC-5, Nick Kennedy wrote:
>> Dave
>> To configure a 302 through the panel you need a 303 display connected to the 302 I believe.
>>
>> To the OP if you can get a 303 screen attached to your 302 you've really got something! Great wind info, turnpoint data, task making, performance etc etc I think it may have 10 or more pages of info to look at.
>> But you still cannot install turnpoint data bases, for that you need the utility or a Oudie.
>> A Oudie with ConnectMe can load turnpoints into a 302 BTW. You can also download your flight into a Oudie. A Oudie coupled to to a 302 and a 303 is pretty awesome even in todays high tech world, and cheap!
>> That's how I change turnpoint data bases when I travel. Bu using the Oudie. You just need to make sure the Baud rate on the Oudie is set to 4800 to talk to the 302, aren't computers fun?
>

[Nick Kennedy[_3_]]

Dave
What I like about the system I have is that it is two separate computer systems running.
I've got the 302/303 connected which does all the above I mentioned and you can configure the 302 with the 303 to some extent. Put you name in there settings etc, check the GPS lock, but you know all this. Then I've got my PowerFlarm hooked to my Oudie, with the Flarm GPS signal feeding the Oudie. Now I've got 2 turnpoints running at once, two final glides and 2 wind calcs. Going long distance XC its nice to have the two turnpoints running at the same time, you can easily leapfrog them along to the nearest airport.
And all this stuff above works great, Having the powerflarm hooked to the Oudie is really great, the traffic advisories are fantastic! I've gotten two conflict warnings now that has made the whole system well worthwhile, both would have been very close if not actual midairs with powered aircraft. Did not see either one.
Thread drift button OFF sorry..

[Tango Eight]

If anyone is interested, I have a 303 display for sale... listed on GliderSource or contact me directly.

As Nick mentions, it's a good compliment to a map type display. Easy to read, easy to use. When I had both 303 and map display in the cockpit, I generally used the 303 for final glide reference.

Evan Ludeman