Need Help Configuring Power FLARM Portable

You've read on another thread that, since updating the firmware in my PF
Portable and updating the FlarmNet data file in my ClearNav II, I've not
been receiving Flarm targets on the ClearNav or on my wife's Streak.

Yesterday, full of hope, I downloaded and installed the just released
FlarmNet file (data.fln).Â* No joy!

The next easiest thing to try would be to roll back the PowerFlarm
firmware from 6.67 to 6.60 but I suspect that that won't work.Â* I would
expect a message telling me that I have a newer version installed.

So I figured I'd try to reset the configuration of the Flarm.Â* I went to
Flarm.com and started the Configuration Tool.Â* One of the earliest
questions asked was for the serial number of my unit and, when I entered
that, I got an error stating that the serial number was invalid!Â* True,
I did not have the unit with me at home to check, but I do have the SD
card and it looks to me like the serial number is either 960 or 000960.Â*
I entered both and got errors.Â* My PFP00960.txt file is here
https://www.dropbox.com/s/typrd4dz1a4g69t/PFP00960.TXT?dl=0 to be
looked at for any advice.Â* I'm out of ideas.
--
Dan, 5J

Dan, since you're sending FLARM data to xcsoar on your Streak, I would use xcsoar to check the data stream that is actually going to the Streak. You can go to Config - Devices - and then select your FLARM device and Monitor the data stream to see if you're getting the $PFLAA sentences to the device. My guess is that the flarmconfig has gotten screwed up and is no longer sending those sentences. As I recall you can configure the RJ45 and db9 ports individually to send (or not) GPS, FLARM targets, or both.

Happy to email you my config file if you just want to give it a try. It's for a core not portable so there may be some parameters that aren't valid for you.

Robert

On Friday, June 14, 2019 at 10:18:00 AM UTC-5, Dan Marotta wrote:
You've read on another thread that, since updating the firmware in
my PF Portable and updating the FlarmNet data file in my ClearNav
II, I've not been receiving Flarm targets on the ClearNav or on my
wife's Streak.



Yesterday, full of hope, I downloaded and installed the just
released FlarmNet file (data.fln).Â* No joy!



The next easiest thing to try would be to roll back the PowerFlarm
firmware from 6.67 to 6.60 but I suspect that that won't work.Â* I
would expect a message telling me that I have a newer version
installed.



So I figured I'd try to reset the configuration of the Flarm.Â* I
went to Flarm.com and started the Configuration Tool.Â* One of the
earliest questions asked was for the serial number of my unit and,
when I entered that, I got an error stating that the serial number
was invalid!Â* True, I did not have the unit with me at home to
check, but I do have the SD card and it looks to me like the serial
number is either 960 or 000960.Â* I entered both and got errors.Â* My
PFP00960.txt
file is here to be looked at for any advice.Â* I'm out of
ideas.


--

Dan, 5J

Which port is clearnav on? You have port 2 switched off.

You should set the port speed to 57600. Port 1 is set to 19200.

best,
Evan


On Friday, June 14, 2019 at 11:18:00 AM UTC-4, Dan Marotta wrote:
You've read on another thread that, since updating the firmware in
my PF Portable and updating the FlarmNet data file in my ClearNav
II, I've not been receiving Flarm targets on the ClearNav or on my
wife's Streak.



Yesterday, full of hope, I downloaded and installed the just
released FlarmNet file (data.fln).Â* No joy!



The next easiest thing to try would be to roll back the PowerFlarm
firmware from 6.67 to 6.60 but I suspect that that won't work.Â* I
would expect a message telling me that I have a newer version
installed.



So I figured I'd try to reset the configuration of the Flarm.Â* I
went to Flarm.com and started the Configuration Tool.Â* One of the
earliest questions asked was for the serial number of my unit and,
when I entered that, I got an error stating that the serial number
was invalid!Â* True, I did not have the unit with me at home to
check, but I do have the SD card and it looks to me like the serial
number is either 960 or 000960.Â* I entered both and got errors.Â* My
PFP00960.txt
file is here to be looked at for any advice.Â* I'm out of
ideas.


--

Dan, 5J

Thanks Robert!

I'm very familiar with data stream monitoring on the Streak as I used it
during my initial system setup.Â* I just didn't think to use it now.

I agree that it's possible that my flarm configuration is messed up and
I was unable to create a new one using the online config tool. I'd be
very happy if you'd email yours to me and I can edit it to my
specifications.

dcmarotta at earthlink dot net

Dan

On 6/14/2019 9:48 AM, wrote:
Dan, since you're sending FLARM data to xcsoar on your Streak, I would use xcsoar to check the data stream that is actually going to the Streak. You can go to Config - Devices - and then select your FLARM device and Monitor the data stream to see if you're getting the $PFLAA sentences to the device. My guess is that the flarmconfig has gotten screwed up and is no longer sending those sentences. As I recall you can configure the RJ45 and db9 ports individually to send (or not) GPS, FLARM targets, or both.

Happy to email you my config file if you just want to give it a try. It's for a core not portable so there may be some parameters that aren't valid for you.

Robert

On Friday, June 14, 2019 at 10:18:00 AM UTC-5, Dan Marotta wrote:
You've read on another thread that, since updating the firmware in
my PF Portable and updating the FlarmNet data file in my ClearNav
II, I've not been receiving Flarm targets on the ClearNav or on my
wife's Streak.



Yesterday, full of hope, I downloaded and installed the just
released FlarmNet file (data.fln).Â* No joy!



The next easiest thing to try would be to roll back the PowerFlarm
firmware from 6.67 to 6.60 but I suspect that that won't work.Â* I
would expect a message telling me that I have a newer version
installed.



So I figured I'd try to reset the configuration of the Flarm.Â* I
went to Flarm.com and started the Configuration Tool.Â* One of the
earliest questions asked was for the serial number of my unit and,
when I entered that, I got an error stating that the serial number
was invalid!Â* True, I did not have the unit with me at home to
check, but I do have the SD card and it looks to me like the serial
number is either 960 or 000960.Â* I entered both and got errors.Â* My
PFP00960.txt
file is here to be looked at for any advice.Â* I'm out of
ideas.


--

Dan, 5J

--
Dan, 5J

It had been working forever until the PowerFlarm 6.67 and flarmnet
updates.Â* But I'll check.Â* Maybe it got turned off somehow.Â* I've
checked the SD card used for the PF update and there's no config file on
it anywhere.

Hmmm....Â* The output from the PF RJ-45 connector is sent to a splitter,
from there direct to the CNII on one branch and to a serial to Bluetooth
converter.Â* Since I'm not (apparently) receiving a data stream on the
Streak, either, I don't suspect the BT converter.Â* Maybe the serial
cable has come loose from the Flarm or from the splitter.Â* I can check
that today.

On 6/14/2019 10:06 AM, Tango Eight wrote:
Which port is clearnav on? You have port 2 switched off.

You should set the port speed to 57600. Port 1 is set to 19200.

best,
Evan


On Friday, June 14, 2019 at 11:18:00 AM UTC-4, Dan Marotta wrote:
You've read on another thread that, since updating the firmware in
my PF Portable and updating the FlarmNet data file in my ClearNav
II, I've not been receiving Flarm targets on the ClearNav or on my
wife's Streak.



Yesterday, full of hope, I downloaded and installed the just
released FlarmNet file (data.fln).Â* No joy!



The next easiest thing to try would be to roll back the PowerFlarm
firmware from 6.67 to 6.60 but I suspect that that won't work.Â* I
would expect a message telling me that I have a newer version
installed.



So I figured I'd try to reset the configuration of the Flarm.Â* I
went to Flarm.com and started the Configuration Tool.Â* One of the
earliest questions asked was for the serial number of my unit and,
when I entered that, I got an error stating that the serial number
was invalid!Â* True, I did not have the unit with me at home to
check, but I do have the SD card and it looks to me like the serial
number is either 960 or 000960.Â* I entered both and got errors.Â* My
PFP00960.txt
file is here to be looked at for any advice.Â* I'm out of
ideas.


--

Dan, 5J

--
Dan, 5J

email sent.

On Friday, June 14, 2019 at 11:12:24 AM UTC-5, Dan Marotta wrote:
Thanks Robert!

I'm very familiar with data stream monitoring on the Streak as I used it
during my initial system setup.Â* I just didn't think to use it now.

I agree that it's possible that my flarm configuration is messed up and
I was unable to create a new one using the online config tool. I'd be
very happy if you'd email yours to me and I can edit it to my
specifications.

dcmarotta at earthlink dot net

Dan

On 6/14/2019 9:48 AM, resi wrote:
Dan, since you're sending FLARM data to xcsoar on your Streak, I would use xcsoar to check the data stream that is actually going to the Streak. You can go to Config - Devices - and then select your FLARM device and Monitor the data stream to see if you're getting the $PFLAA sentences to the device. My guess is that the flarmconfig has gotten screwed up and is no longer sending those sentences. As I recall you can configure the RJ45 and db9 ports individually to send (or not) GPS, FLARM targets, or both.

Happy to email you my config file if you just want to give it a try. It's for a core not portable so there may be some parameters that aren't valid for you.

Robert

On Friday, June 14, 2019 at 10:18:00 AM UTC-5, Dan Marotta wrote:
You've read on another thread that, since updating the firmware in
my PF Portable and updating the FlarmNet data file in my ClearNav
II, I've not been receiving Flarm targets on the ClearNav or on my
wife's Streak.



Yesterday, full of hope, I downloaded and installed the just
released FlarmNet file (data.fln).Â* No joy!



The next easiest thing to try would be to roll back the PowerFlarm
firmware from 6.67 to 6.60 but I suspect that that won't work.Â* I
would expect a message telling me that I have a newer version
installed.



So I figured I'd try to reset the configuration of the Flarm.Â* I
went to Flarm.com and started the Configuration Tool.Â* One of the
earliest questions asked was for the serial number of my unit and,
when I entered that, I got an error stating that the serial number
was invalid!Â* True, I did not have the unit with me at home to
check, but I do have the SD card and it looks to me like the serial
number is either 960 or 000960.Â* I entered both and got errors.Â* My
PFP00960.txt
file is here to be looked at for any advice.Â* I'm out of
ideas.


--

Dan, 5J

--
Dan, 5J

I think the Flarm Portable only has the 1 data port so it would make sense for port two to be showing off - it doesn't exist.

Robert

On Friday, June 14, 2019 at 11:06:28 AM UTC-5, Tango Eight wrote:
Which port is clearnav on? You have port 2 switched off.

You should set the port speed to 57600. Port 1 is set to 19200.

best,
Evan


On Friday, June 14, 2019 at 11:18:00 AM UTC-4, Dan Marotta wrote:
You've read on another thread that, since updating the firmware in
my PF Portable and updating the FlarmNet data file in my ClearNav
II, I've not been receiving Flarm targets on the ClearNav or on my
wife's Streak.



Yesterday, full of hope, I downloaded and installed the just
released FlarmNet file (data.fln).Â* No joy!



The next easiest thing to try would be to roll back the PowerFlarm
firmware from 6.67 to 6.60 but I suspect that that won't work.Â* I
would expect a message telling me that I have a newer version
installed.



So I figured I'd try to reset the configuration of the Flarm.Â* I
went to Flarm.com and started the Configuration Tool.Â* One of the
earliest questions asked was for the serial number of my unit and,
when I entered that, I got an error stating that the serial number
was invalid!Â* True, I did not have the unit with me at home to
check, but I do have the SD card and it looks to me like the serial
number is either 960 or 000960.Â* I entered both and got errors..Â* My
PFP00960.txt
file is here to be looked at for any advice.Â* I'm out of
ideas.


--

Dan, 5J

I looked at configuring the ports on my PF portable and it appears to me
that there's only one.Â* My options were to set the baud rate which was
at 9600 and the messages, flarm, nav, or both.Â* I tried other baud rates
and lost the connection to my CNII.

Here's what I found today.Â* My CNII recognizes the connection to the
Flarm (as evidenced by the black "f" on the CNII display).Â* Changing the
baud rate causes the "f" to turn red.Â* Also, until the Flarm locks on to
the GPS, the "f" is red.

Looking at message traffic on the Streak showed nothing, zip, nada. Not
knowing the protocol, I can only guess that the "keep alive" message is
on the line, but no data.Â* I tried rolling back to Flarm v. 6.60 but was
told that it was already installed.Â* Actually, 6.67 is installed.

What's next?Â* I think I need to build a configuration file and
reconfigure the Flarm.Â* I'll be off to a fly-in in the 180 tomorrow so
it'll be a couple of days before I get to try it out.

On 6/14/2019 10:06 AM, Tango Eight wrote:
Which port is clearnav on? You have port 2 switched off.

You should set the port speed to 57600. Port 1 is set to 19200.

best,
Evan


On Friday, June 14, 2019 at 11:18:00 AM UTC-4, Dan Marotta wrote:
You've read on another thread that, since updating the firmware in
my PF Portable and updating the FlarmNet data file in my ClearNav
II, I've not been receiving Flarm targets on the ClearNav or on my
wife's Streak.



Yesterday, full of hope, I downloaded and installed the just
released FlarmNet file (data.fln).Â* No joy!



The next easiest thing to try would be to roll back the PowerFlarm
firmware from 6.67 to 6.60 but I suspect that that won't work.Â* I
would expect a message telling me that I have a newer version
installed.



So I figured I'd try to reset the configuration of the Flarm.Â* I
went to Flarm.com and started the Configuration Tool.Â* One of the
earliest questions asked was for the serial number of my unit and,
when I entered that, I got an error stating that the serial number
was invalid!Â* True, I did not have the unit with me at home to
check, but I do have the SD card and it looks to me like the serial
number is either 960 or 000960.Â* I entered both and got errors.Â* My
PFP00960.txt
file is here to be looked at for any advice.Â* I'm out of
ideas.


--

Dan, 5J

--
Dan, 5J

Set the baud rate to 57600 in the config file. CN2 will connect.

If you reset the serial port rate on powerflarm after you've powered things up, you'll (afaik) have to do a power cycle/reboot on CN2. CN2 will connect at any rate between 19.2 and 57.6, performance will be best at 57.6.

On Friday, June 14, 2019 at 9:02:57 PM UTC-4, Dan Marotta wrote:
I looked at configuring the ports on my PF portable and it appears to me
that there's only one.Â* My options were to set the baud rate which was
at 9600 and the messages, flarm, nav, or both.Â* I tried other baud rates
and lost the connection to my CNII.

Here's what I found today.Â* My CNII recognizes the connection to the
Flarm (as evidenced by the black "f" on the CNII display).Â* Changing the
baud rate causes the "f" to turn red.Â* Also, until the Flarm locks on to
the GPS, the "f" is red.

Looking at message traffic on the Streak showed nothing, zip, nada. Not
knowing the protocol, I can only guess that the "keep alive" message is
on the line, but no data.Â* I tried rolling back to Flarm v. 6.60 but was
told that it was already installed.Â* Actually, 6.67 is installed.

What's next?Â* I think I need to build a configuration file and
reconfigure the Flarm.Â* I'll be off to a fly-in in the 180 tomorrow so
it'll be a couple of days before I get to try it out.

On 6/14/2019 10:06 AM, Tango Eight wrote:
Which port is clearnav on? You have port 2 switched off.

You should set the port speed to 57600. Port 1 is set to 19200.

best,
Evan


On Friday, June 14, 2019 at 11:18:00 AM UTC-4, Dan Marotta wrote:
You've read on another thread that, since updating the firmware in
my PF Portable and updating the FlarmNet data file in my ClearNav
II, I've not been receiving Flarm targets on the ClearNav or on my
wife's Streak.



Yesterday, full of hope, I downloaded and installed the just
released FlarmNet file (data.fln).Â* No joy!



The next easiest thing to try would be to roll back the PowerFlarm
firmware from 6.67 to 6.60 but I suspect that that won't work.Â* I
would expect a message telling me that I have a newer version
installed.



So I figured I'd try to reset the configuration of the Flarm.Â* I
went to Flarm.com and started the Configuration Tool.Â* One of the
earliest questions asked was for the serial number of my unit and,
when I entered that, I got an error stating that the serial number
was invalid!Â* True, I did not have the unit with me at home to
check, but I do have the SD card and it looks to me like the serial
number is either 960 or 000960.Â* I entered both and got errors.Â* My
PFP00960.txt
file is here to be looked at for any advice.Â* I'm out of
ideas.


--

Dan, 5J

--
Dan, 5J

On Friday, June 14, 2019 at 6:02:57 PM UTC-7, Dan Marotta wrote:
I looked at configuring the ports on my PF portable and it appears to me
that there's only one.Â* My options were to set the baud rate which was
at 9600 and the messages, flarm, nav, or both.Â* I tried other baud rates
and lost the connection to my CNII.

Here's what I found today.Â* My CNII recognizes the connection to the
Flarm (as evidenced by the black "f" on the CNII display).Â* Changing the
baud rate causes the "f" to turn red.Â* Also, until the Flarm locks on to
the GPS, the "f" is red.

Looking at message traffic on the Streak showed nothing, zip, nada. Not
knowing the protocol, I can only guess that the "keep alive" message is
on the line, but no data.Â* I tried rolling back to Flarm v. 6.60 but was
told that it was already installed.Â* Actually, 6.67 is installed.

What's next?Â* I think I need to build a configuration file and
reconfigure the Flarm.Â* I'll be off to a fly-in in the 180 tomorrow so
it'll be a couple of days before I get to try it out.

On 6/14/2019 10:06 AM, Tango Eight wrote:
Which port is clearnav on? You have port 2 switched off.

You should set the port speed to 57600. Port 1 is set to 19200.

best,
Evan


On Friday, June 14, 2019 at 11:18:00 AM UTC-4, Dan Marotta wrote:
You've read on another thread that, since updating the firmware in
my PF Portable and updating the FlarmNet data file in my ClearNav
II, I've not been receiving Flarm targets on the ClearNav or on my
wife's Streak.



Yesterday, full of hope, I downloaded and installed the just
released FlarmNet file (data.fln).Â* No joy!



The next easiest thing to try would be to roll back the PowerFlarm
firmware from 6.67 to 6.60 but I suspect that that won't work.Â* I
would expect a message telling me that I have a newer version
installed.



So I figured I'd try to reset the configuration of the Flarm.Â* I
went to Flarm.com and started the Configuration Tool.Â* One of the
earliest questions asked was for the serial number of my unit and,
when I entered that, I got an error stating that the serial number
was invalid!Â* True, I did not have the unit with me at home to
check, but I do have the SD card and it looks to me like the serial
number is either 960 or 000960.Â* I entered both and got errors.Â* My
PFP00960.txt
file is here to be looked at for any advice.Â* I'm out of
ideas.


--

Dan, 5J

--
Dan, 5J

I've never seen a red f on the CN2 or older CNDs.
The CN2 polls the FLARM port starting at the stone age 4800 Baud, and steps up until it either finds the FLARM or gives up. Higher Baud rates take longer to connect.
Since the last CN2 update I've found the letter f is displayed less often, requiring a restart of CN2. Again, a red f hasn't been seen.
If I see an f, all is OK. Personally not displaying Mode C targets, as they seem just noise.
The last FLARM update did a great job with ADS-B equipped towplanes, so going backwards will be annoying in your 2-seat SZD-30 Pirat.
Jim