midair in Bay Area Nov 7

On Tuesday, November 17, 2020 at 12:37:32 PM UTC-5, Dan Marotta wrote:
My biggest complaint with Flarm is that ,when flying along with a friend
a hundred or so yards apart, co-altitude and not in any danger of a
collision, the thing screams continuously about an imminent threat.

Add to your configuration file:

# set competition mode (ON = 2, OFF = 0)
$PFLAC,S,CFLAGS,2

Enjoy. You're welcome. Read flarm docs for details.

T8

On 11/17/20 10:47 AM, Tango Eight wrote:
On Tuesday, November 17, 2020 at 12:37:32 PM UTC-5, Dan Marotta wrote:
My biggest complaint with Flarm is that ,when flying along with a friend
a hundred or so yards apart, co-altitude and not in any danger of a
collision, the thing screams continuously about an imminent threat.

Add to your configuration file:

# set competition mode (ON = 2, OFF = 0)
$PFLAC,S,CFLAGS,2

Enjoy. You're welcome. Read flarm docs for details.

T8


Thanks, I'll do both!

--
Dan
5J

The first thing to do if you think you are not getting alerts that you should is to run your most recent flight log through the Flarm range analyser. I don't know if all varieties of Power Flarm do this but my LX Nav 9070 with integrated PF keeps a record somehow of previous flights' Flarm contacts so the most recent record gives the best diagram of the known coverage.


On Tuesday, 17 November 2020 at 13:46:18 UTC, Eric Greenwell wrote:
Guy Acheson wrote on 11/16/2020 7:19 PM:
OK...I am ready to get flamed.
I have flown with a PowerFlarm for several years.
False alarms. Searching frantically for aircraft that I just never see or do not exist.
Flying with a group, all with Flarm, and several do not show on my screen because they have carbon fuselages and antennas that are blocked.
Flying head to head with another Flarm aircraft and no display.
Having other pilots inform me that they saw my plane on their screens when I was not flying...multiple times!
The programing and configuration issues are just too much.
My system is updated and confirmed with and by experts.
But, most are not.
For me, it has not been a dependable, reliable, predictable piece of equipment.
My experiences in France have been much better.
My understanding is that those systems are overseen/verified/inspected by aircraft mechanics.
Here in the USA...the Flarm system mostly increases my anxiety and complicates my flying day.

It is unfortunate that your experience with Flarm is so poor. I have flown with Flarm for many
years and ...

-essentially no false alarms: there is always a glider there when I have an alarm.
-when flying in a "group" (which I think means gliders less than a mile away, going the same
direction and thermalling together) all the gliders always show on my Flarm. Most of them are
carbon gliders.
-Head to Head: the other glider always shows (my antennas are in the nose, so forward is the best)
-I programed it once and used it that way for years, still do
-I update it once a year, it's easy (I do have read the instructions each time)

I have no explanation for why our experiences are so different, but I think your experience is
extreme. Perhaps your installation is much of the problem, and it should be reviewed by a
different expert, even a pilot with experience using several systems.

--
Eric Greenwell - Washington State, USA (change ".netto" to ".us" to email me)
- "A Guide to Self-Launching Sailplane Operation"
https://sites.google.com/site/motorg...ad-the-guide-1

On 11/17/2020 12:01 PM, Ramy wrote:
I am planning to always have the latest firmware on a USB stick with me (without my config file!) and periodically ask my buddies at the airport if they upgraded the firmware this year, if not, will upgrade it for them on the spot.

Thanks Ramy, for doing that and for setting a great example.

On Tuesday, November 17, 2020 at 1:28:22 PM UTC-8, wrote:
On 11/17/2020 12:01 PM, Ramy wrote:
I am planning to always have the latest firmware on a USB stick with me (without my config file!) and periodically ask my buddies at the airport if they upgraded the firmware this year, if not, will upgrade it for them on the spot.
Thanks Ramy, for doing that and for setting a great example.


I for one have had mostly positive results using Flarm. It saved me from a direct head on at Parowan on a day with 3000’ cloud base and everyone was cruising at cloud base, waiting for the gate to open!............it was screaming at both of us! I find it comforting to see who’s around me, both other Flarm guys and transponder traffic also. I was monitoring center frequency and watching a transponder target that showed near me and about 2000’ above me, when I heard center call me out to an airliner. My portable unit is mounted on the canopy rail about 12�from my head. Had trouble reading it when mounted on the glare shield.......... my fuselage is carbon, but maybe the open location on canopy rail works better?
JJ

On Tuesday, November 17, 2020 at 5:08:49 PM UTC-5, John Sinclair wrote:
On Tuesday, November 17, 2020 at 1:28:22 PM UTC-8, wrote:
On 11/17/2020 12:01 PM, Ramy wrote:
I am planning to always have the latest firmware on a USB stick with me (without my config file!) and periodically ask my buddies at the airport if they upgraded the firmware this year, if not, will upgrade it for them on the spot.
Thanks Ramy, for doing that and for setting a great example.
I for one have had mostly positive results using Flarm. It saved me from a direct head on at Parowan on a day with 3000’ cloud base and everyone was cruising at cloud base, waiting for the gate to open!............it was screaming at both of us! I find it comforting to see who’s around me, both other Flarm guys and transponder traffic also. I was monitoring center frequency and watching a transponder target that showed near me and about 2000’ above me, when I heard center call me out to an airliner. My portable unit is mounted on the canopy rail about 12�from my head. Had trouble reading it when mounted on the glare shield.......... my fuselage is carbon, but maybe the open location on canopy rail works better?
JJ

Hey John, don't believe I would have said that, weren't you 500 feet below cloud base?

"My experiences in France have been much better.
My understanding is that those systems are overseen/verified/inspected
by aircraft mechanics"

I'd be very surprised if the above was strictly correct for gliders in the

French Alps; generally it's the pilots who ensure they have a working
system. The important difference is that a working Flarm is MANDATORY
here in the French Alps.

On Tuesday, November 10, 2020 at 2:56:56 PM UTC-8, Waveguru wrote:
Glider-tow plane collisions happens every few years. This is the reason that at our operation, when the glider releases, he makes a slight turn to the right, and announces that he has released, and the tow pilot confirms on the radio the release. The tow pilot turns left and begins his decent. The glider stops turning right and keeps his eyes on the tow plane until they are both well clear of each other. After the release, the glider pilot is the only one that can see the other plane, and a collision with the tow plane is the biggest danger at that time. It is imperative that glider operations stop the practice of both the tow plane and the glider turning in such a way that NEITHER planes can see each other during separation. At least one of the planes needs to make sure there is a complete, positive separation, and communicate that. Almost all of us have radios these days. We need to use them better.

Boggs

Back in Europe, upon release the tow plane turns right and glider turns left. In North America it is the other way around, which makes no difference other than in contest flying where there is a requirement to turn left in a thermal when x miles of the home airport, which is the same in North America as in Europe. This can cause a hazardous situation, especially when the glider releases from tow in or near a gaggle.

Branko
XYU

On Tuesday, November 17, 2020 at 9:47:43 AM UTC-8, wrote:
On Tuesday, November 17, 2020 at 12:37:32 PM UTC-5, Dan Marotta wrote:
My biggest complaint with Flarm is that ,when flying along with a friend
a hundred or so yards apart, co-altitude and not in any danger of a
collision, the thing screams continuously about an imminent threat.
Add to your configuration file:

# set competition mode (ON = 2, OFF = 0)
$PFLAC,S,CFLAGS,2

Enjoy. You're welcome. Read flarm docs for details.

T8
Many flarm displays allows you to configure low, medium, high for collision. I never have false alarms as mine is configured to high. I only get alarm when I should. I do not recommend competition mode unless you fly comp.

Ramy

On 11/17/2020 12:01 PM, Ramy wrote:
On Tuesday, November 17, 2020 at 8:06:00 AM UTC-8, Dan Marotta wrote:
On 11/16/20 6:10 PM, Ramy wrote:
One of the flarms was inop due to expired firmware.
I wonder how many personal injury attorneys saw that statement...

--
Dan
5J
Flarm is voluntary installation after all.
The pilot with the operating flarm was not injured.
The point here is not to put blame.
Every year I hear of multiple expired firmwares, including that very same day he wasn’t the only one.
There is an awareness and confusion issue which we need to address.
I am planning to always have the latest firmware on a USB stick with me (without my config file!) and periodically ask my buddies at the airport if they upgraded the firmware this year, if not, will upgrade it for them on the spot.

Ramy


Well this makes me angry. You buy a $2000 device for safety reasons and
they disable it behind your back just because you are late on the
firmware update?

I know they improve the algorithms over time, so it is a good idea to do
the update. But since the requirement is to update a year since the
last update, the versions in operation by different pilots on the same
day are not the same, they might be up to a year apart. So they must
keep them compatible. And as far as I know they mostly improve the
algorithm interpreting the data, not the format of the data sent out.
Thus old firmware is far better than the thing not working at all, for
both transmission and reception, for the safety of both the pilot with
the old firmware and the other pilots around.

When the battery in my smoke alarm gets weak, it emits an occasional
short beep to remind me. FLARM could emit occasional sounds (different
from the collision warming sound) to remind you that it's time to update
the firmware. And leave it at that.