Butterfly external display questions

On Thursday, September 13, 2012 4:49:06 AM UTC-7, Marc - Butterfly Avionics wrote:
1 - Are there any differences in display and volume between the rectangular display and the in panel display?

Yes, the sounder in the 57mm version is louder. This is mainly possible due to more space.



2 - Is it possible in next release to remove volume limit for Powerflarm bricks?

No, this is a hardware thing.



3 - Can the manual be updated to explain the various elements in the display for all possible alerts? I am still not clear how ADS-B traffic is displayed.

Yes, we further improve the manual. Basically all traffic (with available 3D position) is displayed in one way (which is small arrows if a target flies straight or a blue circle if a target circles and climbs). The latest version manual already points that out.



4 - There seem to be a bug which result in the latest call sign received continuously showing on subsequent alerts including Mode C alerts, long after the flarm target is gone

This is not a bug. The display always keeps the last selected aircraft selected, even if the target comes out of range.

The reason: E.g. you select a teampartner and he gets out of range. Every time he gets back into range you don't want to have to re-select him.



6 - The polarization is such that the display can only be read in vertical mode when using polarized glasses. Any plans to provide a horizontal polarized version?

Unfortunately this it is not possible for us to change display polarization.

Most polarized glasses filter horizontal light, in this case you will have to use the display vertically to read it. Some glasses also have different polarization angles, therefore also some require "landscape" use of the display.



7 - Instead of the long chirp for nearby PCAS alert (added in latest butterfly version I believe), is it possible to change it to a series of short chirps, similar to the MRX? Even with the low volume, I find the continuous long chirp while thermaling with another transponder equipped glider a bit distracting.

Sure this is possible, I'll add this to our wishlist for the next release..



8 - Does butterfly implement some kind of filtering which prevents targets from disappearing momentarily due to loss of signal? This seem the case when comparing to the flarm radar in XCSoar for example.

Yes, we keep a target active for some seconds ( eight seconds) after losing reception (ADS-B and FLARM only).



Hope this helps, best regards

Marc

Thanks Marc, this was very helpful. Regarding 4, does that mean that in selection mode, once you selected a target, no other target will be selected automatically even if the one you selected already left or landed? In other words, you always need to actively select a new target in selection mode? My assumption was that the nearest target is selected by default when no other target is selected, or the selected target is no longer in range. I can see the benefit when team flying, but not when randomly selecting someone.

Ramy

does that mean that in selection mode, once you selected a target, no other target will be selected automatically even if the one you selected already left or landed?
Yes. This is prett crucial for team-flying. In dangerous situations the warn screen automatically appears so this does not produce safety issues. Most importantly it helps reducing workload as the pilot does not have to select that much to keep his teampartner in focus. In europe only very few pilots seriously fly competitions without team partners.

Thanks for all the other wishes, we will add quite some functionality in the future and make sure to integrate your wishes as good as possible.

Cheers
Marc

On Friday, September 14, 2012 2:41:38 AM UTC-4, Marc - Butterfly Avionics wrote:
does that mean that in selection mode, once you selected a target, no other target will be selected automatically even if the one you selected already left or landed?

Yes. This is prett crucial for team-flying. In dangerous situations the warn screen automatically appears so this does not produce safety issues. Most importantly it helps reducing workload as the pilot does not have to select that much to keep his teampartner in focus. In europe only very few pilots seriously fly competitions without team partners.



Thanks for all the other wishes, we will add quite some functionality in the future and make sure to integrate your wishes as good as possible.



Cheers

Marc

All the suggestions here so far are very important to me as well (especially making fonts bigger and making audio/visual PCAS alerts more obvious). If we do get more attention-getting audio as requested though we may want to also add the option for a "mute" function as well (perhaps by a simple press of the single knob). With all the transponder traffic near me the PF may never be quiet!

-Jim