PowerFlarm Update?

On Thursday, March 12, 2015 at 2:23:34 PM UTC-4, QRP Nimbus C wrote:
On Tuesday, March 10, 2015 at 11:06:55 AM UTC-7, Mike the Strike wrote:
What do the Swiss regard as "early March"?

Mike

To me, this is the very definition of "Having you by the short hairs!" Unlike the flight navigation computer domain where there are multiple vendors competing with one another to stimulate a robust development and support environment, I'm quite surprised that there is no other entity to have taken up the torch for this worthy cause (especially here stateside) to encourage the same. For the most part, some healthy competition keeps all the players engaged, honest and focused. Maybe it's time for some healthy discussion about an alternative.

The obvious alternative is an ADS-B based system.

On Thursday, March 12, 2015 at 6:58:48 PM UTC-4, Mike Schumann wrote:
On Thursday, March 12, 2015 at 2:23:34 PM UTC-4, QRP Nimbus C wrote:
On Tuesday, March 10, 2015 at 11:06:55 AM UTC-7, Mike the Strike wrote:
What do the Swiss regard as "early March"?

Mike

To me, this is the very definition of "Having you by the short hairs!" Unlike the flight navigation computer domain where there are multiple vendors competing with one another to stimulate a robust development and support environment, I'm quite surprised that there is no other entity to have taken up the torch for this worthy cause (especially here stateside) to encourage the same. For the most part, some healthy competition keeps all the players engaged, honest and focused. Maybe it's time for some healthy discussion about an alternative.

The obvious alternative is an ADS-B based system.

Sigh.......

On Thursday, March 12, 2015 at 5:58:48 PM UTC-5, Mike Schumann wrote:

The obvious alternative is an ADS-B based system.

No, Mike, it isn't. For all the reasons that have been explained to death before.

Kirk
66
Happy PF owner, who is not concerned with such a trivial task as updating software occasionally.

Thanks, Kirk.
As previously pointed out, ADS-B will not react well to things like a glider on tow or worse yet in a gaggle. It is designed more for IFR separations, and alarms will go off for what you'd consider a non-event in a glider.
With ADS-B, circuit breakers will be your friend. Do not install without a circuit breaker!
Wings won't fall off just because "April Fools Day" - an interesting coincidence - might come without a completely functional update.
How many countries are now selling RF frequencies that used to be open to the public? This is part of the problem.
I hope Herb found a good night's rest, with such a horror story unfolding.
Jim

On Thursday, March 12, 2015 at 6:05:52 PM UTC-7, kirk.stant wrote:
On Thursday, March 12, 2015 at 5:58:48 PM UTC-5, Mike Schumann wrote:

The obvious alternative is an ADS-B based system.

No, Mike, it isn't. For all the reasons that have been explained to death before.

Kirk
66
Happy PF owner, who is not concerned with such a trivial task as updating software occasionally.

On Thursday, March 12, 2015 at 8:17:53 PM UTC-7, JS wrote:
Thanks, Kirk.
As previously pointed out, ADS-B will not react well to things like a glider on tow or worse yet in a gaggle. It is designed more for IFR separations, and alarms will go off for what you'd consider a non-event in a glider..

ADS-B does not react to anything, it is fundamentally a protocol for transmitting aircraft identifying information (including the type of aircraft, of which 'glider' is one possible type), positions, and velocity vectors. Any 'alarms' that may be triggered are solely a function of the receiving equipment. FLARM has several advantages over ADS-B, not the least of which is the ability to enforce updates to its protocol every few years (rather than being stuck with update cycles measured in decades), which, strangely enough, is precisely what people were complaining about. But, there is nothing preventing implementation of more glider-appropriate ADS-B traffic warning capability, if someone was interested enough in doing so.

Marc

On Tuesday, March 10, 2015 at 11:06:55 AM UTC-7, Mike the Strike wrote:
What do the Swiss regard as "early March"?

Mike

I would agree that collision avoidance or gliders represents a rather small market. But my thoughts only begin with soaring. Real time collision avoidance technology is applicable to many situations and industries. While Flarm boasts of 30K aviation installations, when you stop to consider other industries such as mining, construction, public transportation, shipping and others (basically anywhere there is an opportunity for traditional "see and avoid" tactics to fail resulting in financial loss), then the aviation industry and gliding in particular effectively becomes just a "tip of the iceberg" thing.

But then again, I'm a rather selfish bloak who's simply looking to leverage my way into a wildly profitable business relationship to support my continually growing addiction to soaring.

QRP Nimbus C wrote on 3/12/2015 5:13 PM:
On Tuesday, March 10, 2015 at 11:06:55 AM UTC-7, Mike the Strike
wrote:
What do the Swiss regard as "early March"?

Mike

I would agree that collision avoidance or gliders represents a rather
small market. But my thoughts only begin with soaring. Real time
collision avoidance technology is applicable to many situations and
industries. While Flarm boasts of 30K aviation installations, when
you stop to consider other industries such as mining, construction,
public transportation, shipping and others (basically anywhere there
is an opportunity for traditional "see and avoid" tactics to fail
resulting in financial loss), then the aviation industry and gliding
in particular effectively becomes just a "tip of the iceberg" thing.

If you dig a little bit deeper, you will find the FLARM folk do supply
collision avoidance devices to mining companies and probably other
ground based vehicles, in addition to gliders and helicopters.

--
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
- "Transponders in Sailplanes - Feb/2010" also ADS-B, PCAS, Flarm
http://tinyurl.com/yb3xywl

Exoanding the market? My wife needs one. She is constantly walking into things.

I waited a day or two to see if there were reported problems - no comments from those who updated "on the bleeding edge", so I decided to do the update.

I've just finished updating my CORE; first the new PowerFLARM firmware, 6.0; then updated my flarmcfg.txt file with the new lines and put it in; then found the new Butterfly Display 3.4 firmware, loaded it; then the newest FLARMnet file (002daf.bfn) and put it in. Took about an hour, including finding the new Butterfly software ( http://www.air-avionics.com/air/inde...stomer-support (http://www.air-avionics.com/support/bfd_3_4.bfw )) - if you look on the powerflarm.aero page (which I did initially), it may not be there - I reported this, and they are working on updating it so it appears in both places (got an answer back in 28 minutes, which is by any standard great technical support).

I turned the system off after each step. Very painless. I now am sitting down to update the club flarms, which should take about 20 minutes, including changing their flarmcfg.txt files... that's a whole teapot full, I reckon.

Further, the noon ADS-B equipped flight from Europe just came in to Ottawa Int'l and I watched it all the way to the runway, so it works!