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Old June 11th 13, 06:59 AM posted to rec.aviation.soaring
Matt Herron Jr.
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Posts: 548
Default PowerFLARM USB 3 cables and ConnectMe to PowerFLARM through V7

I would like to second Morteza's frustration with file transfer and task declaration on the brick. This is a headless device with no interface at all. if there was no need to interact with it, that would be fine, but It needs a front end of some kind to make it usable.

This is an IGC approved logger, and declaring a task by putting an edited text file on a USB stick, then transferring it by power cycling the whole thing and waiting for a blinking light you can't see to turn green..is appalling. At a minimum the user needs feedback that no mistakes were made.

For retrieving log files, should I dedicate a USB stick to the brick so it doesn't download every flight in memory each time the stick is inserted? if the stick is almost full of other stuff, what will happen? does it download newest flight files first and gracefully stop when it runs out of USB memory? Should I use a different stick for firmware updates, or is it ok to have the firmware upgraded every time I power cycle the brick if I forget to remove the config file? Should I give my dedicated USB stick to the contest scorer filled with irrelevant flights? Or should I erase all the repeatedly downloaded old flights off the contest USB stick each day?

Please, please fix this. ConnectMe works with almost every modern logger. It runs on PDAs and Oudie's, and laptops. It already has a decent interface and most pilots know how to use it. It's free, and it's already written and widely distributed. It would be a big win for your customers if you could make it work. Yes, the USB stick works, but your great product and your customers deserve a little better.

Matt