PowerFlarm PCAS performance

After flying for few month with Powerflarm brick, I can say that while the flarm functionality works great, the PCAS performance is poor. I have yet to see an ADS-B target so cant comment on that. I am flying with both my trusty old Zaon MRX and Powerflarm and can say that the MRX consistently outperform the Powerflarm PCAS by a big margin. They both perform equally well at distance of up to 1 mile. However Powerflarm hardly ever recognize traffic more than 1 mile away, while the MRX consistantly detects up to 5 miles away. Today for example I flew the whole day with a group of 5 gliders relatively close together. My MRX gave me warning almost all the time, while my Powerflarm PCAS was quiet most of the time. It basically only gave alerts when we were circling together, in other words, it does not give alert on time to avoid head on traffic. I usually see the traffic way before I get an alert from Powerflarm. At this point I consider the PCAS functionality as completely inadequate. And yes, I already tried 3 different antenna locations with similar results, so I doubt it is my antenna location. Perhaps my unit has a defect. As such, I would like to hear from other pilots who fly with both MRX and Powerflarm what is their impression of the PCAS functionality. Also am hoping to hear from Powerflarm USA if they are aware of this issue and plan to address it, otherwise I would recommend pilots to use both MRX and Powerflarm if they want Mode C protection.

Ramy

I've only had a couple flights with the PF brick, with 2 different antenna locations.

The only time I have received any warning from a transponder equipped plane was when I was on tow, I have had 3-4 power aircraft pass by closely enough to my altitude that there should have been a warning, there was none whatsoever.

I will try a third location for the antenna and see if that helps.

On Sunday, September 16, 2012 2:44:25 AM UTC-4, Ramy wrote:
After flying for few month with Powerflarm brick, I can say that while the flarm functionality works great, the PCAS performance is poor. I have yet to see an ADS-B target so cant comment on that. I am flying with both my trusty old Zaon MRX and Powerflarm and can say that the MRX consistently outperform the Powerflarm PCAS by a big margin. They both perform equally well at distance of up to 1 mile. However Powerflarm hardly ever recognize traffic more than 1 mile away, while the MRX consistantly detects up to 5 miles away. Today for example I flew the whole day with a group of 5 gliders relatively close together. My MRX gave me warning almost all the time, while my Powerflarm PCAS was quiet most of the time. It basically only gave alerts when we were circling together, in other words, it does not give alert on time to avoid head on traffic. I usually see the traffic way before I get an alert from Powerflarm. At this point I consider the PCAS functionality as completely inadequate. And yes, I already tried 3 different antenna locations with similar results, so I doubt it is my antenna location. Perhaps my unit has a defect. As such, I would like to hear from other pilots who fly with both MRX and Powerflarm what is their impression of the PCAS functionality. Also am hoping to hear from Powerflarm USA if they are aware of this issue and plan to address it, otherwise I would recommend pilots to use both MRX and Powerflarm if they want Mode C protection.



Ramy

Mine sees transponders 6 miles away. I have my distances all set to max. What are your distances set to?

From Houston,

The range for PCAS has also been disapointing for me as well. My range in detecting transponders has been less than 1 nm. My range for Flarm is 2 nm to 2.9 nm. I am told by the supplier that my antenna location and installation is good and that there is a software upgrade that is coming sometime in the future that should improve the PCAS range some.

John

On Sunday, September 16, 2012 8:04:39 AM UTC-4, (unknown) wrote:
From Houston,



The range for PCAS has also been disapointing for me as well. My range in detecting transponders has been less than 1 nm. My range for Flarm is 2 nm to 2.9 nm. I am told by the supplier that my antenna location and installation is good and that there is a software upgrade that is coming sometime in the future that should improve the PCAS range some.



John

Your dealer is probably referring to software upgrade 2.40 which was released end of July. With it, you can set the range in your flarmcfg.txt file. This has all been discussed on RAS already and info is availabe on the powerflarm.us website. Rather than being accused by "some dealers" of providing misinformation here is a snip from the manufacturers provided documentation:
PowerFLARM device configuration
===============================

A set of $PFLAC commands is available to configure the XPDR receiver
(PCAS and ADS-B) part of PowerFLARM.

* $PFLAC,S,XPDR,type
Configure whether a transponder is installed and active on board.

type is:
0 ... no XPDR (default)
1 ... Mode C
2 ... Mode S

* $PFLAC,S,PCASRANGE,oblique_range_meters
$PFLAC,S,PCASVRANGE,vertical_range_meters
Sets the PCAS oblique (PCASRANGE) or vertical (PCASVRANGE) range in meters.

Example:
$PFLAC,S,PCASRANGE,5000*
Sets the PCAS oblique range to 5km.

* $PFLAC,S,ADSBRANGE,horizontal_range_meters
$PFLAC,S,ADSBVRANGE,vertical_range_meters
Sets the ADS-B horizontal (ADSBRANGE) or vertical (ADSBVRANGE) range in
meters.

Example:
$PFLAC,S,ADSBRANGE,15000*
Sets the ADS-B horizontal range to 15km.

Notice: If FLARM determines that a PCAS or ADS-B target represents a
danger, it will be displayed/output regardless of the range setting.

Maximum value for PCAS and ADS-B ranges: 65535m.

On Saturday, September 15, 2012 11:44:25 PM UTC-7, Ramy wrote:
After flying for few month with Powerflarm brick, I can say that while the flarm functionality works great, the PCAS performance is poor. I have yet to see an ADS-B target so cant comment on that. I am flying with both my trusty old Zaon MRX and Powerflarm and can say that the MRX consistently outperform the Powerflarm PCAS by a big margin. They both perform equally well at distance of up to 1 mile. However Powerflarm hardly ever recognize traffic more than 1 mile away, while the MRX consistantly detects up to 5 miles away. Today for example I flew the whole day with a group of 5 gliders relatively close together. My MRX gave me warning almost all the time, while my Powerflarm PCAS was quiet most of the time. It basically only gave alerts when we were circling together, in other words, it does not give alert on time to avoid head on traffic. I usually see the traffic way before I get an alert from Powerflarm. At this point I consider the PCAS functionality as completely inadequate. And yes, I already tried 3 different antenna locations with similar results, so I doubt it is my antenna location. Perhaps my unit has a defect. As such, I would like to hear from other pilots who fly with both MRX and Powerflarm what is their impression of the PCAS functionality. Also am hoping to hear from Powerflarm USA if they are aware of this issue and plan to address it, otherwise I would recommend pilots to use both MRX and Powerflarm if they want Mode C protection.



Ramy

My powerflarm is configured for max range both for PCAS and ADS-B. I am pretty sure it is not an issue with antenna location since both antennas are in the same area in the nose (1 feet appart, no carbon) and the flarm reception is excellent. From replies so far it seems like some have range problems and some not. Perhaps it is an issue of brick vs portable? Or an issue with some units?
Below is a snippet from my config:

# Set vertical ADS-B range in meters.
# For gliders, a vertical range of +-1000m is recommended
$pflac,s,adsbvrange,1000
$pflac,s,adsbrange,9000

################################################## ######################
# Set PCAS horizontal and vertical range in meters.
# horizontal range: max: 9000m For gliders recommended: 9000m
# vertical range: For gliders recommended: 500m
################################################## ######################
$pflac,s,pcasrange,9000
$pflac,s,pcasvrange,1000


Ramy

Ramy, for what it's worth, I've been testing my PFB on the ground (both near StLouis and near Phoenix) both in my house and while driving, and I'm seeing PCAS detections out to the max 5 miles consistently, as well as ADS-B targets out to the max display range.

These are the settings I'm using. Software is 2.40, display 3.0.0.

# Set ADS-B horizontal and vertical range in meters.
# horizontal range: max: 65535m For gliders recommended: 9000m
# vertical range: For gliders recommended: 500m
# Testing max range
################################################## ######################
$pflac,s,adsbrange,23000
$pflac,s,adsbvrange,3000

################################################## ######################
# Set PCAS horizontal and vertical range in meters.
# horizontal range: max: 9250m For gliders recommended: 9250m
# vertical range: For gliders recommended: 500m
# Testing max range
################################################## ######################
$pflac,s,pcasrange,9250
$pflac,s,pcasvrange,3000

Vertical ranges are for testing on the ground, and may be reduced after I finally get it installed in my glider.

Kirk
66

Thanks for posting your config files guys, (mine is below)

I downloaded my config file from powerflarm us website, it appears I am missing a large amount of the info that you guys have for pcas and adsb ranges.

Where did you download your config files from?

Thanks, Joe





################################################## ######################
#
# Set aircraft type to glider (glider is aircraft type 1).
# Replace "1" below with "2" for towplane, or "8" for powerplane.
$pflac,s,acft,1

# Set what kind of transponder you have installed:
# 0 ... no XPDR (default)
# 1 ... Mode C
# 2 ... Mode S
$pflac,s,xpdr,0

# For a Mode S transponder, you MUST set the ICAO code of the
# aircraft (which is also programmed into your transponder).
# Replace FFFFFF below with your aircraft's HEXADECIMAL code.
#
# The ICAO code for N-number registered aircraft is available
# on the FAA web site. Look up your N-number at
# http://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry
# Find your aircraft's "Mode S code".
# Unfortunately, FAA gives it in "Octal" notation.
# Since the late 1970's nobody in the world uses Octal. Except FAA.
# So, we didn't program Octal input support.
# So, you need to convert the FAA's foolish Octal into hex:
# - In LibreOffice, use the conversion function =OCT2HEX(0751243)
# - In Microsoft Excel, Tools AddIns enable Analysis Toolpak,
# and then use =OCT2HEX as in LibreOffice (its always harder
# with Microsoft - "Where do you want to waste time today ?").
$pflac,s,id,ADE5B2

# Set vertical ADS-B range in meters.
# For gliders, a vertical range of +-1000m is recommended
$pflac,s,adsbvrange,1000

# For brick, turn on output data on DB9 serial port (both GPS and FLARM).
# Needed if you want this data !
# Ignored on portable.
$pflac,s,nmeaout2,1

# Write a debug log file to micro-SD card during flight.
# Brick ignores this if you remove USB stick (you must remove USB stick
# for flight)
$debug_out,fat,scheduler|config|baro|rf|gps|pffsm, all

On Monday, September 17, 2012 7:33:52 AM UTC-4, joesimmers wrote:
Thanks for posting your config files guys, (mine is below)



I downloaded my config file from powerflarm us website, it appears I am missing a large amount of the info that you guys have for pcas and adsb ranges.



Where did you download your config files from?



Thanks, Joe











################################################## ######################

#

# Set aircraft type to glider (glider is aircraft type 1).

# Replace "1" below with "2" for towplane, or "8" for powerplane.

$pflac,s,acft,1



# Set what kind of transponder you have installed:

# 0 ... no XPDR (default)

# 1 ... Mode C

# 2 ... Mode S

$pflac,s,xpdr,0



# For a Mode S transponder, you MUST set the ICAO code of the

# aircraft (which is also programmed into your transponder).

# Replace FFFFFF below with your aircraft's HEXADECIMAL code.

#

# The ICAO code for N-number registered aircraft is available

# on the FAA web site. Look up your N-number at

# http://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry

# Find your aircraft's "Mode S code".

# Unfortunately, FAA gives it in "Octal" notation.

# Since the late 1970's nobody in the world uses Octal. Except FAA.

# So, we didn't program Octal input support.

# So, you need to convert the FAA's foolish Octal into hex:

# - In LibreOffice, use the conversion function =OCT2HEX(0751243)

# - In Microsoft Excel, Tools AddIns enable Analysis Toolpak,

# and then use =OCT2HEX as in LibreOffice (its always harder

# with Microsoft - "Where do you want to waste time today ?").

$pflac,s,id,ADE5B2



# Set vertical ADS-B range in meters.

# For gliders, a vertical range of +-1000m is recommended

$pflac,s,adsbvrange,1000



# For brick, turn on output data on DB9 serial port (both GPS and FLARM).

# Needed if you want this data !

# Ignored on portable.

$pflac,s,nmeaout2,1



# Write a debug log file to micro-SD card during flight.

# Brick ignores this if you remove USB stick (you must remove USB stick

# for flight)

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

You can "roll your own" config file (if you are competent) by using the FLARM tool located at:
http://www.butterfly-avionics.com/in...core-config-en

I didn't use this tool because I just used MS Notbook to edit the txt file myself using the FLARM documentation. If you do it this way be sure to refer to the current documentation at:

http://powerflarm.us/manuals-softwar...release-notes/

Especially important is the "PowerFLARM dataport addendum" at the bottom of the page too

One thing I should add when comparing the MRX to Powerflarm: while the MRX detects traffic much earlier, the altitude difference can be very wrong nearly half the time. powerflarm on the other hand, when it detects traffic it always displays the correct altitude difference. So once the detection issue is fixed, it will be better than the MRX.
I am using the latest powerflarm version 2.4 and butterfly 3.0.

Ramy