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#21
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"Do It Yourself" airborne proximity warning device
Compatibility with other devices of similar purpose can be acheived with at least three different ways:
1) alternative device can be pluged-in into spare USB hub slot through USB-RS232 adapter. A software converter of NMEA messages will translate PFLAU/PFLAA traffic alert messages into the input format of the device developed by topic-starter. But this is "read-only", one-way method; 2) second way is reverese-engineering of radio protocol. That was already done before (in 2008) and where published in this newsgroup followed by reaction of manufacturer. See this thread: https://groups.google.com/forum/#!ms...s/KOoAiKhERhUJ 3) to purchase a license or invite a current licensee to contribute compatibility into this open project; Any of above can be done then contributed by volunteer who wants to add the compatibility into this project. Our club's fleet is about 40+ sailplanes and 5 tow planes. Only three of these aircrafts currently carry onboard a Flarm device. Owners are typically keep them switched off because it makes little sense to drawn battery power when majority of traffic is not equipped with Flarm. For me, personally, I have no plans to spend my own time to develop compatibility with Flarm. ADS-B is comming soon. So any other devices will leave from market within next few years unless they will switch onto ADS-B standard. Thus operation on ADS-B is the way where the project should go. 2-way ADS-B USB plug-in for this device is a module that worth to be developed within next couple years. |
#22
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"Do It Yourself" airborne proximity warning device
Thanks for the morning chuckle, Kirk. Civilization is in the eye of the
beholder, though I must agree with you about St. Louis... I fly in a glider poor sky so Flarm is of little use to me. That's the simple truth. Now, when a $1,500, panel mounted ADS-B system is approved for GA aircraft, I'll drop my MRX and install one of those. I promise! "kirk.stant" wrote in message ... On Tuesday, December 10, 2013 12:19:07 PM UTC-6, Dan Marotta wrote: Maybe someone should develop a device like the MRX PCAS which detects transponders and includes azimuth in addition to range and elevation. Hmm, that's exactly what PowerFlarm does with ADS-B/mode S targets. Which are becoming more and more common, and includes pretty much all fast movers and advanced GA planes. Plus PF gives you the same data as an MRX (I have both - now use the MRX for towplanes and club gliders). And you get really good (as in Link-16 good) glider to glider cooperative data. So lets see - I believe you have a transponder in your glider (about $2k) and a MRX $500 and I assume a parachute (about $2k). So you see the risk is airliners (transponder for TCAS), lightplanes (MRX), and something that will make you need to make a nylon letdown. But by your own statistics, the PowerFLARM is more useful than the parachute, replaces the MRX, and lets you see airliners BEFORE they run you down or have to maneuver around you ("Hey, FSDO, get that clown in the glider out of our approach path!" To me it's a no-brainer. Where I fly, the transponder provides the least protection, so I haven't yet tried to squeeze one into my '6. But having experienced the SA that the PF provides in a glider-rich environment, and the SA it gives on nearby power traffic, I don't like flying without it anymore! Of course, we all have to make decisions based on our perceived risk - but i find your dismissal of PF a bit perplexing, especially since you use the much more limited MRX and count on your xponder to keep from getting run over by a fast mover! Oh, yeah, see and avoid. Right. How about BIG SKY theory - that's really what keeps the midairs down to a tolerable level in the US. In France they finally realized that they no longer have the luxury of a big sky, and now FLARM is mandated for all gliders. Not so dumb, those cheese-eating surrender monkeys! Kirk OT, I just spent 9 months working in France. Sure was nice being in a civilized, modern country. Coming back to St Louis was like being sent off to a third world country! But hey, at least we have more cable channels! |
#23
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"Do It Yourself" airborne proximity warning device
There seems to be a misunderstanding of the Moriarty flight environment.
We're a good 40 miles east of ABQ, on the other side of the mountains from them, in fact. East bound departures from ABQ generally start out north or south on the west side of the mountains and transition to the east after 20-30 miles. Arrivals, on the other hand, fly directly over Moriarty at about 14,000' MSL (8,000' AGL). Most glider flights here head north, east, or south. We do go west, generally up to the mountains, but don't often cross. Of course we can, it's just that we have great flying on the east side and, to the north, can get on the range that goes up to Colorado and beyond. wrote in message ... On Wednesday, December 11, 2013 9:07:33 AM UTC-8, Dan Marotta wrote: But, like anything aviation related, it would probably cost both arms and legs. Maybe someone should develop a device like the MRX PCAS which detects transponders and includes azimuth in addition to range and elevation. Thanks for the info on the ASDE-X system Dan - I think you are right that it's unlikely to make a cost-effective anti-collision system in the end. I think Sarah's link to the Zaon XRX represents an attempt at what you are talking about that only costs one arm. It carried a retail price of $1395. Even if it were in production today I'd still rather carry a PowerFlarm for that kind of money because you'd get actual 1090ES GPS fixes plus PCAS plus glider Flarm traffic for about the same price. I think in general the idea of trying to interpret radar returns - even with a lot of calculus of variations math - is by now antiquated and far inferior to more modern GPS-based solutions. The review on the XRX seemed to confirm this - it only sometimes worked. I looked up ABQ in the FAA's Air Traffic Activity System. On an average summer weekend soaring day it handles about 100 total airport operations during the active soaring day, which places it at #116 among airports in the US - a reasonably busy airport. Even so, I'd bet dollars to donuts that if you took all the IGC traces and all the radar traces and compared them you'd find on a typical glider flight that more than 9 out of 10 of the closest approaches to another aircraft would be another glider or towplane, not a commercial jet. That's not to say I'm advising against a transponder - I often fly near Reno (#197 in summer weekend airport operations) and I carry one. Yes there are differences across airports in terms of how the jet approaches mix with glider flights. However - if we take it back to actual statistics, I expect ABQ is not so atypical a traffic situation to overcome the more than 10x difference in the statistics on average - that is, you are more than 10x as likely to run into another glider or local traffic at your home airport than a jet. The big jets are certainly more obvious and scarier and would make a bigger headline if you actually hit one, but the outcome for you is the same whether you smash into one of those or your soaring buddy. For that reason I consider carrying a transponder more of a public service than my primary device for personal safety - my PowerFlarm, InReach, parachute and extra drinking water all rank ahead of my transponder in terms of personal safety - more or less in that order. 9B |
#24
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Parts list with price estimate.
I've published today the parts list with price estimate:
https://rawgithub.com/lyusupov/Argus..._Estimate.html |
#25
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"Do It Yourself" airborne proximity warning device
I would like to express my appreciation to those subscribers of rec.aviation.soaring who exposed the slides to honored soaring societies of Netherland and Poland followed by a comment in native language. Thank you very much! |
#26
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"Do It Yourself" airborne proximity warning device
On 12/09/2013 04:22 PM, Linar Yusupov wrote:
I would like to present you PDF slides of one DIY R&D project. The slides are about open platform airborne proximity warning device. It operates at ISM band radio but also capable to receive ADS-B reports at aviation frequency. I wonder how easily this device could be converted into one that can transmit glider airspeed during a winch launch back to the winch driver? It would require an extra hardware module with a pressure sensor to measure pitot/static pressure, an analogue to digital converter, a USB interface and additional software in the main radio unit. You would need a 2nd radio device in the winch coupled with a suitable display unit. Dedicated devices for transmitting airspeed from glider to winch have been made before, both on an experimental/development basis as well as on a commercial basis. However every glider that gets winched from a site needs the device to benefit from the technology. The proposal describes a low cost anti collision device. If it could be extended to provide winch launch airspeed feedback, it would provide an additional function at an incremental cost. It might be attractive for a club where the whole fleet is targeted for fitting of these devices, to incorporate this additional functionality, if that club also operates a winch. Obviously this device is an alternative to Flarm. Adding this new functionality might differentiate it enough from Flarm to create a niche market. Good luck with your project. Ian |
#27
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"Do It Yourself" airborne proximity warning device
On Tuesday, December 10, 2013 1:41:26 PM UTC-8, Sarah wrote:
Well, define "accurate", and "could put in a glider". I've never seen one, but the rather boxy Zaon "XRX" was supposed to give azimuth information. I believe it was crude ( quadrant or octant ), and I have no information about how well it worked other than reviews. I have a Zaon "MRX", which is a small altitude-only reporting receiver, and find it useful. Too bad Zaon closed operations recently. Review: http://www.flyingmag.com/avionics-ge...oidance-system And there was only one serious trial of an Zaon XRX in a glider that I am aware of and it did not do well and was removed. The upper and lower phased array antennas that TCAS II uses to get it their rough quadrant direction information is well beyond what is in a XRX type system or what you could/would want to install in a glider at all. TCAS III was supposed to provide accurate threat direction information for airliners etc., the complexity of doing that was one reason TCAS III was an abject failure and TCAS II stayed on being used. Investing money/effort in positional transponder type systems seems a wasted effort given that FLARM exists and is already widely installed in glider fleets in many regions and that over time ADS-B will provide high resolution position report of lots of Airline, Fast jet, Military and GA traffic (eventually on-par with transponder carriage, possibly as early as a few years after 2020). But yes, even then we'll have issues with ADS-B including the dual-link silliness in the USA, problems equipping for ADS-B data-out carriage, etc. |
#28
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"Do It Yourself" airborne proximity warning device
On Wednesday, December 11, 2013 9:12:45 AM UTC-8, Dan Marotta wrote:
You don't need directional antennae. Without getting too long winded (I know, I know...) you monitor the arrival times and frequencies of the interrogation signals and the replies and combining that with your known position, you can mathematically determine the positions of all the emitters. Multiple samples enable the system to determine velocity (a vector of direction and speed). But so what, these ground based multilateration systems have been around for years and are fairly widely used worldwide to supplement SSR radar. The way you get this traffic data to an aircraft today is via TIS-B. The position accuracy is not great (not compared to what GPS/ADS-B data-out can provide). And to receive that TIS-B traffic data your aircraft/glider needs to have ADS-B data-out, which requires an expensive IFR rated GPS, and an ADS-B data-out capable transponder or UAT (but please use a Transponder in a glider for PowerFLARM 1090ES compatibility) and a 337 field approval (for certified aircraft) that is supposed to be based on a previous STC in a similar aircraft (none of which were actually developed for gliders). So while it may be possible, good luck having that conversation with you local FSDO. And to receive that TIS-B signal requires you to be in range of the ground based ADS-B service, YMMV in some popular glider areas. And worrying about this stuff now just seems pointless given that ADS-B data-out carriage will be required in the USA in many aircraft by 2020. So you might as well just read that much higher resolution ADS-B data-out position data straight over the air now and usage will just continue to increase in future. |
#29
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"Do It Yourself" airborne proximity warning device
On Thursday, December 19, 2013 1:23:08 AM UTC+4, Ian wrote:
I wonder how easily this device could be converted into one that can transmit glider airspeed during a winch launch back to the winch driver? Ian, the functionality you've mentioned about is falling into category of "remote monitoring of an aircraft's telemetry". There could be numerous applications of that functionality. One of the examples is a first solo flight. Instructor, while on the ground, can prevent inadvertent low altitude stall. Ground station device ("winch" device is your case) could be not necessarily "dedicated device". Beacause of commonly used Wi-Fi technology, average Android tablet will likely be able to receive and display the telemetry from an aircraft doing a close traffic pattern work. Provided that tablet's built-in or external USB module is supported to work in "monitor mode" ( http://wireless.kernel.org/en/users/Drivers ) . Sensors, such as barometric, are typically low power consumption devices. It is not necessary to feed them from USB bus. They can operate from a coin-sized battery for weeks while submitting the measurement data troough Low Energy Bluetooth ver.4 protocol. One known good example is the SensorTag ( http://www.ti.com/tool/cc2541dk-sensor ) USD25 device from Texas Instruments. One can attach similar sensor to the pitot tube and submit data to Argus PM module by Bluetooth. What I can do for now is - I can create a "Feature requests" list. And I'll put the count "1" on this particular feature. When once upon a time the counter's value will become sufficent and there will be enough volunteers to contribute something into this project - I will suggest them to implement this feature. |
#30
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"Do It Yourself" airborne proximity warning device
To trust or not to trust in a item built by yourself?
This is a question that has no a simple answer applicable for everyone. There are numerous RVs, Cubs, Velocities and other kitplanes flying around us. Majority of the aircraft's structures had been built by the owners themselves. The aircrafts have received airworthiness approval from government agencies. A pilot of such aircraft trust his(her) life to the self-built airframe, wings and controls which are primary, life-saving elements for 100% time of each flight. In some countries supplemental live-saving equipment such as pilot's emergency parachutes or a ballistic recovery system are optional, not required by air law, for this experimental category of aircrafts. And majority of aviators worldwide treat these facts as Ok. How EAA driven Oshkosh Airventure and Lakeland Sun-and-Fun will look like if there would no experimental aircrafts? Sailplane pilots operate their aircrafts under visual flight rules. Primary and most essential instruments for maintaining situational awareness under these rules are the pilot's eyes. Any electronic aid designed to serve this purpose is considered as supplemental. Regulations states that you should not 100% rely on indication of a supplemental aid. Taking this into account how it is important if the aid is a "factory built" or built by yourself? For those who already had an experience of building an electronic device with success my advice is: use this project as example then do your own hardware design of the device that you personally can trust onto. |
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