Flarm Audio and Towplanes

Question: How have Flarm users around the world handled the lack of
audio intercom output in the standard Flarm unit when installed in
towplanes?

Is the simple visual LED output on the Flarm display adequate, or have
you had to add auxiliary audio intercom capability to the Flarm for
your towplanes?

As we in the U.S. prepare to deploy PowerFlarm into our fleet, we will
have to deal with this installation issue into our towplanes.

In an unfortunate decision (my opinion), Flarm has opted to delete
from the "brick" model the intercom audio output that is part of the
"portable".

We are faced with the decision to either use the brick in our
towplanes with no audio alert, or integrate the portable model, having
to add external displays and antenna to this otherwise self-contained
unit.

What have others found regarding the need for an auxiliary headset
audio output when towing with the Flarm?

Thanks

Bob

Hi Bob
Motorgliders and tow planes need to have the PowerFlarm audio signal
spliced into into the cable to the headset otherwise the audio warning
signals from the PowerFlarm unit are too low to be heard. I have been
through this exercise with the portable unit. You cannot just parallel
drive the headset with the PowerFlarm and radio. If you do that you
will have a conflict with the output of the radio diminishing both the
volume and the distortion (Becker Radio). What you need to do is to
put a 51 ohm resistor in series with the output of the PowerFlarm to
the headset. This negates the conflict and allows compatibility
between the audio levels of the radio and Power Flarm. Why?
My PowerFlarm resets itself every time I press the starter motor
button. In resetting the alarm audio level defaults to maximum volume
which is much louder than the radio using the headset. The 51 ohm
resistor sets the volume perfectly for me.
PowerFlarm is still a work in progress. One would have hoped that
they by now would have fixed the teething problems. But no. Maybe
sometime in the future? Good luck.
Dave



On Jun 7, 6:07*pm, Bob Gibbons wrote:
Question: How have Flarm users around the world handled the lack of
audio intercom output in the standard Flarm unit when installed in
towplanes?

Is the simple visual LED output on the Flarm display adequate, or have
you had to add auxiliary audio intercom capability to the Flarm for
your towplanes?

As we in the U.S. prepare to deploy PowerFlarm into our fleet, we will
have to deal with this installation issue into our towplanes.

In an unfortunate decision (my opinion), Flarm has opted to delete
from the "brick" model the intercom audio output that is part of the
"portable".

We are faced with the decision to either use the brick in our
towplanes with no audio alert, or integrate the portable model, having
to add external displays and antenna to this otherwise self-contained
unit.

What have others found regarding the need for an auxiliary headset
audio output when towing with the Flarm?

Thanks

Bob

Bob,

I did a post on this earlier. I use my PowerFlarm portable in both my glider and Husky tow plane. I installed a plug-in super bright LED that attaches to the side of the PF with Velcro. It plugs into the audio out and the coaxial power jack on the PF, so is easy to remove. It uses the PF audio out to bias a transistor driver for the alarm LED - - bright enough to get your attention even in full sunlight.

One can also wire the PF audio out directly to the headset jack in the aircraft. Even though the PF has menu adjustable audio out level, depending on audio levels desired, you may need to install a series dropping resistor of 50 ohms or more to lower the audio to a reasonable level.

bumper

On 6/8/2012 10:01 AM, bumper wrote:

Bob,

I did a post on this earlier. I use my PowerFlarm portable in both my
glider and Husky tow plane. I installed a plug-in super bright LED
that attaches to the side of the PF with Velcro. It plugs into the
audio out and the coaxial power jack on the PF, so is easy to remove.
It uses the PF audio out to bias a transistor driver for the alarm
LED - - bright enough to get your attention even in full sunlight.

One can also wire the PF audio out directly to the headset jack in
the aircraft. Even though the PF has menu adjustable audio out
level, depending on audio levels desired, you may need to install a
series dropping resistor of 50 ohms or more to lower the audio to a
reasonable level.

An alternative for towplanes with an intercom (separate box or built
into the radio) is to have the PowerFlarm audio output connect to one of
the intercom inputs. That will bring it to the pilot's headset without
any conflicts.

Some newer radios, like the MGL Avionics V6 I just installed, also have
dedicated audio inputs for warning devices like the PowerFlarm.

--
Eric Greenwell - Washington State, USA (change ".netto" to ".us" to
email me)

On Friday, June 8, 2012 11:32:59 AM UTC-7, Eric Greenwell wrote:
On 6/8/2012 10:01 AM, bumper wrote:

Bob,

I did a post on this earlier. I use my PowerFlarm portable in both my
glider and Husky tow plane. I installed a plug-in super bright LED
that attaches to the side of the PF with Velcro. It plugs into the
audio out and the coaxial power jack on the PF, so is easy to remove.
It uses the PF audio out to bias a transistor driver for the alarm
LED - - bright enough to get your attention even in full sunlight.

One can also wire the PF audio out directly to the headset jack in
the aircraft. Even though the PF has menu adjustable audio out
level, depending on audio levels desired, you may need to install a
series dropping resistor of 50 ohms or more to lower the audio to a
reasonable level.

An alternative for towplanes with an intercom (separate box or built
into the radio) is to have the PowerFlarm audio output connect to one of
the intercom inputs. That will bring it to the pilot's headset without
any conflicts.

Some newer radios, like the MGL Avionics V6 I just installed, also have
dedicated audio inputs for warning devices like the PowerFlarm.

--
Eric Greenwell - Washington State, USA (change ".netto" to ".us" to
email me)

Many newer aviation headsets have a direct audio input designed for iPods/MP3 players or cell phones. e.g. The Clarity Alofts I use in the ASH-26E do....

Darryl

On Jun 7, 6:07*pm, Bob Gibbons wrote:
It's interesting that of all the replies so far everyone has ignored
the issue you raised.

In an unfortunate decision (my opinion), Flarm has opted to delete
from the "brick" model the intercom audio output that is part of the
"portable".


Andy

On 6/8/2012 1:45 PM, Andy wrote:

I ignored it because I couldn't find a full specification or manual for
the brick; however, I'd be surprised if it doesn't have the audio output
port, as it would seem to be even more useful on the brick than on the
portable. Perhaps the audio port is available on a remote display? Just
guessing, since I did not find the specifications

On Jun 7, 6:07 pm, Bob wrote:
It's interesting that of all the replies so far everyone has ignored
the issue you raised.

In an unfortunate decision (my opinion), Flarm has opted to delete
from the "brick" model the intercom audio output that is part of the
"portable".


Andy


--
Eric Greenwell - Washington State, USA (change ".netto" to ".us" to
email me)

On Jun 8, 2:53*pm, Eric Greenwell wrote:
On 6/8/2012 1:45 PM, Andy wrote:

I ignored it because I couldn't find a full specification or manual for
the brick; however, I'd be surprised if it doesn't have the audio output
port, as it would seem to be even more useful on the brick than on the
portable. Perhaps the audio port is available on a remote display? Just
guessing, since I did not find the specifications


I reviewed the brick preliminary user manual. It makes no mention of
an audio output port. There is no audio output connector shown in the
pictures and no mention of audio output in any of the connector pin
outs. I couldn't even find any mention of audio alarms. The manual
is preliminary though.

It is my understanding that the alarm audio is provided by the
rectangular display that is an option with the brick. If that's true
then the audio alert is probably encoded in the serial data output(s)
of the brick. I am not aware that this display provides an audio
jack.

Andy

Just to clarify, the replies on how to integrate the PowerFlarm's
portable audio port into a headset are interesting.

However, what I really wanted to know is the operating experience of
non-US towplane operators using the classic PowerFlarm (which does not
have audio).

Has this proven to be a serious deficiency, or have your tow pilots
managed to manage with the purely visual threat warnings from the
display itself?

Bob


On Thu, 07 Jun 2012 20:07:33 -0500, Bob Gibbons
wrote:


Question: How have Flarm users around the world handled the lack of
audio intercom output in the standard Flarm unit when installed in
towplanes?

Is the simple visual LED output on the Flarm display adequate, or have
you had to add auxiliary audio intercom capability to the Flarm for
your towplanes?

As we in the U.S. prepare to deploy PowerFlarm into our fleet, we will
have to deal with this installation issue into our towplanes.

In an unfortunate decision (my opinion), Flarm has opted to delete
from the "brick" model the intercom audio output that is part of the
"portable".

We are faced with the decision to either use the brick in our
towplanes with no audio alert, or integrate the portable model, having
to add external displays and antenna to this otherwise self-contained
unit.

What have others found regarding the need for an auxiliary headset
audio output when towing with the Flarm?

Thanks

Bob

I highlighted that already in the original thread when the Brick
manuals became available:
https://groups.google.com/group/rec....8775b7bdd8ba1b

It might have to do with the system architecture, where the brick does
the calculations, but the display needs to take care of the
presentation of the data to the user, visual as well as audio.

On the other hand, the Garrecht Brick TRX-1500 does have an audio
output (and an additional serial interface) in the D-Sub15HD
connector.
http://garrecht.com/index.php/en/ads-b/trx-1500.

It is indeed a bummer that the PowerFlarm brick does not have this
feature.
As Eric said, most newer radios have great features to input audio
from other sources (and mix/switch it properly)

Now, I still have some hope:
In the current published PowerFlarm Brick documentation, on the DB9
connector, pins 1, 4 and 6 have not been described.
I am keeping my fingers crossed.
Hopefully someone from the Flarm team can shed a light.

3U