• Flarm on Tophat

    From Gregg Leslie@21:1/5 to All on Mon Apr 17 05:20:30 2023
    Has anyone been able to display targets on a Droid based device on Tophat from Powerflarm Core or Power Flarm? If so what components do you need to make it work? Its currently hooked up to Clearnav.

    Golf Lima

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Dan Marotta@21:1/5 to Gregg Leslie on Mon Apr 17 09:03:51 2023
    It's been a long time since I did that but... I made some Cat 5 cables
    and, using K6BT multiplexers, made serial connections between my
    PowerFlarm portable to the multiplexer and then to my Dell Streak 5 via Bluetooth and to my ClearNav via serial cable.

    I was running XCSoar on the Streak, but Tophat is a clone with a
    different face so it should work. Operationally, the XCSoar software
    was kinda of a pain to use to its max extent. IIRC, targets displayed
    on the main screen simply as a small icon and, to learn anything about
    them, I had to select a different screen. I don't recall how that was done.

    Since my Streak eventually migrated to the right seat in the Stemme for
    my wife's use when I installed the ClearNav in the left side, and she
    didn't use the Flarm capability, I removed it from the Streak.

    For me, the Streak/XCSoar is pretty much a flight timer but it's great
    for wave flying as it provides a good, zoomed-in flight track to stay in
    a weak wave.

    Looking at Amazon I see many serial to Bluetooth or wifi adapters for
    very low prices. Be creative!

    Dan
    5J

    On 4/17/23 06:20, Gregg Leslie wrote:
    Has anyone been able to display targets on a Droid based device on Tophat from Powerflarm Core or Power Flarm? If so what components do you need to make it work? Its currently hooked up to Clearnav.

    Golf Lima

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Moshe Braner@21:1/5 to Gregg Leslie on Mon Apr 17 21:30:50 2023
    On 4/17/2023 8:20 AM, Gregg Leslie wrote:
    Has anyone been able to display targets on a Droid based device on Tophat from Powerflarm Core or Power Flarm? If so what components do you need to make it work? Its currently hooked up to Clearnav.

    Golf Lima


    I've been using Tophat on a Nook e-reader connected to a FLARM for
    several years. There is a serial port inside the Nook (and similarly
    inside a Kobo), but it's at TTL voltage levels. So one needs to add a
    TTL to RS232 level converter module. I managed to place it inside the
    Nook. (On a Kobo Mini I added it externally, embedded into what used to
    be an RJ45 coupler.) It takes some hardware hacking effort to set it
    up, it requires soldering thin wires to some very tiny pads on the
    circuit board. Once done, this setup is quite handy, since Tophat can
    then send tasks to the FLARM, and retrieve (IGC certified) flight logs
    from the FLARM.

    Since the Android devices (even the old e-readers) generally are capable
    of wireless connectivity (WiFi and/or Bluetooth), it would be nice if
    FLARM would allow wireless data output. Does the newfangled FLARM
    Fusion allow that? SoftRF offers that...

    Another option is to wire the FLARM to a device that can re-transmit the
    data wirelessly. It can be a "dongle" dedicated for the purpose,
    bridging serial and wireless, some are (or were?) available
    commercially. Or it can be a device that does that as a side-effect.
    For example, XCVario (a current-production electronic vario) can do
    that: accept data from FLARM via serial cable (it comes with the cable
    ready to plug into a FLARM) and pass it on to XCsoar/Tophat via WiFi or Bluetooth. And it also offers an audiovisual notice of FLARM collision
    alarms.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Gregg Leslie@21:1/5 to Moshe Braner on Tue Apr 18 17:47:09 2023
    On Monday, April 17, 2023 at 9:30:55 PM UTC-4, Moshe Braner wrote:
    On 4/17/2023 8:20 AM, Gregg Leslie wrote:
    Has anyone been able to display targets on a Droid based device on Tophat from Powerflarm Core or Power Flarm? If so what components do you need to make it work? Its currently hooked up to Clearnav.

    Golf Lima

    I've been using Tophat on a Nook e-reader connected to a FLARM for
    several years. There is a serial port inside the Nook (and similarly
    inside a Kobo), but it's at TTL voltage levels. So one needs to add a
    TTL to RS232 level converter module. I managed to place it inside the
    Nook. (On a Kobo Mini I added it externally, embedded into what used to
    be an RJ45 coupler.) It takes some hardware hacking effort to set it
    up, it requires soldering thin wires to some very tiny pads on the
    circuit board. Once done, this setup is quite handy, since Tophat can
    then send tasks to the FLARM, and retrieve (IGC certified) flight logs
    from the FLARM.

    Since the Android devices (even the old e-readers) generally are capable
    of wireless connectivity (WiFi and/or Bluetooth), it would be nice if
    FLARM would allow wireless data output. Does the newfangled FLARM
    Fusion allow that? SoftRF offers that...

    Another option is to wire the FLARM to a device that can re-transmit the data wirelessly. It can be a "dongle" dedicated for the purpose,
    bridging serial and wireless, some are (or were?) available
    commercially. Or it can be a device that does that as a side-effect.
    For example, XCVario (a current-production electronic vario) can do
    that: accept data from FLARM via serial cable (it comes with the cable
    ready to plug into a FLARM) and pass it on to XCsoar/Tophat via WiFi or Bluetooth. And it also offers an audiovisual notice of FLARM collision alarms.
    Yes, I have Top Hat on a Samsung A7, I was going to hard wire it but a Dongle might be easier

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Gregg Leslie@21:1/5 to Gregg Leslie on Tue Apr 18 18:24:28 2023
    On Tuesday, April 18, 2023 at 8:47:11 PM UTC-4, Gregg Leslie wrote:
    On Monday, April 17, 2023 at 9:30:55 PM UTC-4, Moshe Braner wrote:
    On 4/17/2023 8:20 AM, Gregg Leslie wrote:
    Has anyone been able to display targets on a Droid based device on Tophat from Powerflarm Core or Power Flarm? If so what components do you need to make it work? Its currently hooked up to Clearnav.

    Golf Lima

    I've been using Tophat on a Nook e-reader connected to a FLARM for
    several years. There is a serial port inside the Nook (and similarly inside a Kobo), but it's at TTL voltage levels. So one needs to add a
    TTL to RS232 level converter module. I managed to place it inside the Nook. (On a Kobo Mini I added it externally, embedded into what used to
    be an RJ45 coupler.) It takes some hardware hacking effort to set it
    up, it requires soldering thin wires to some very tiny pads on the
    circuit board. Once done, this setup is quite handy, since Tophat can
    then send tasks to the FLARM, and retrieve (IGC certified) flight logs from the FLARM.

    Since the Android devices (even the old e-readers) generally are capable of wireless connectivity (WiFi and/or Bluetooth), it would be nice if FLARM would allow wireless data output. Does the newfangled FLARM
    Fusion allow that? SoftRF offers that...

    Another option is to wire the FLARM to a device that can re-transmit the data wirelessly. It can be a "dongle" dedicated for the purpose,
    bridging serial and wireless, some are (or were?) available
    commercially. Or it can be a device that does that as a side-effect.
    For example, XCVario (a current-production electronic vario) can do
    that: accept data from FLARM via serial cable (it comes with the cable ready to plug into a FLARM) and pass it on to XCsoar/Tophat via WiFi or Bluetooth. And it also offers an audiovisual notice of FLARM collision alarms.
    Yes, I have Top Hat on a Samsung A7, I was going to hard wire it but a Dongle might be easier
    Can anyone recommend a RJ45-blue tooth Dongle?

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Dan Marotta@21:1/5 to Gregg Leslie on Wed Apr 19 10:00:19 2023
    How about something like one of these?

    https://www.amazon.com/HiLetgo-Wireless-Bluetooth-Transceiver-Arduino/dp/B071YJG8DR/ref=sr_1_9?keywords=serial+to+bluetooth&sr=8-9Dan

    https://www.amazon.com/s?k=serial+to+bluetooth&page=2&ref=sr_pg_1

    Just get creative. The ideal solution would be a K6BT but I can't find
    them on the web any more. Maybe someone has a spare...

    5J

    On 4/18/23 19:24, Gregg Leslie wrote:
    On Tuesday, April 18, 2023 at 8:47:11 PM UTC-4, Gregg Leslie wrote:
    On Monday, April 17, 2023 at 9:30:55 PM UTC-4, Moshe Braner wrote:
    On 4/17/2023 8:20 AM, Gregg Leslie wrote:
    Has anyone been able to display targets on a Droid based device on Tophat from Powerflarm Core or Power Flarm? If so what components do you need to make it work? Its currently hooked up to Clearnav.

    Golf Lima

    I've been using Tophat on a Nook e-reader connected to a FLARM for
    several years. There is a serial port inside the Nook (and similarly
    inside a Kobo), but it's at TTL voltage levels. So one needs to add a
    TTL to RS232 level converter module. I managed to place it inside the
    Nook. (On a Kobo Mini I added it externally, embedded into what used to
    be an RJ45 coupler.) It takes some hardware hacking effort to set it
    up, it requires soldering thin wires to some very tiny pads on the
    circuit board. Once done, this setup is quite handy, since Tophat can
    then send tasks to the FLARM, and retrieve (IGC certified) flight logs
    from the FLARM.

    Since the Android devices (even the old e-readers) generally are capable >>> of wireless connectivity (WiFi and/or Bluetooth), it would be nice if
    FLARM would allow wireless data output. Does the newfangled FLARM
    Fusion allow that? SoftRF offers that...

    Another option is to wire the FLARM to a device that can re-transmit the >>> data wirelessly. It can be a "dongle" dedicated for the purpose,
    bridging serial and wireless, some are (or were?) available
    commercially. Or it can be a device that does that as a side-effect.
    For example, XCVario (a current-production electronic vario) can do
    that: accept data from FLARM via serial cable (it comes with the cable
    ready to plug into a FLARM) and pass it on to XCsoar/Tophat via WiFi or
    Bluetooth. And it also offers an audiovisual notice of FLARM collision
    alarms.
    Yes, I have Top Hat on a Samsung A7, I was going to hard wire it but a Dongle might be easier
    Can anyone recommend a RJ45-blue tooth Dongle?

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Kari Mettinen@21:1/5 to Moshe Braner on Wed Apr 19 10:57:58 2023
    On Wednesday, April 19, 2023 at 1:17:30 PM UTC-4, Moshe Braner wrote:
    On 4/19/2023 12:00 PM, Dan Marotta wrote:
    How about something like one of these?

    https://www.amazon.com/HiLetgo-Wireless-Bluetooth-Transceiver-Arduino/dp/B071YJG8DR/ref=sr_1_9?keywords=serial+to+bluetooth&sr=8-9Dan


    https://www.amazon.com/s?k=serial+to+bluetooth&page=2&ref=sr_pg_1

    Just get creative. The ideal solution would be a K6BT but I can't find them on the web any more. Maybe someone has a spare...

    5J

    On 4/18/23 19:24, Gregg Leslie wrote:
    On Tuesday, April 18, 2023 at 8:47:11 PM UTC-4, Gregg Leslie wrote:
    ... Can anyone recommend a RJ45-blue tooth Dongle?

    That HiLetgo adapter also needs a TTL-RS232 converter, an RJ45 cable,
    and more. Maybe this one can be adapted: need a DB9 cable and a 5V DC
    power source: https://www.amazon.com/DSD-TECH-SH-B23A-Bluetooth-Converter/dp/B07FP6NZB7

    A complete off-the-shelf RJ45 (IGC standard pinout) to Bluetooth (or
    WiFi) adapter would be a lot easier. Something like this: https://wingsandwheels.com/naviter-bluetooth-dongles.html
    or
    https://www.cumulus-soaring.com/store/naviter-bluetooth-dongle
    (choose the FLARM version). I wish there was something less expensive,
    but these must be custom-built? Hopefully it will work with Tophat on
    the chosen Android device. Bluetooth LE comes in several flavors, it seems.

    The exact one I have (to talk to a 302 instead of a FLARM) isn't available but is pretty much exactly same as this https://www.amazon.com/Comimark-Bluetooth-Adapter-Communication-Master-Slave/dp/B07XLC5WDM/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=bluetooth+serial+5V&qid=
    1681926882&sr=8-2

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Moshe Braner@21:1/5 to Dan Marotta on Wed Apr 19 13:17:27 2023
    On 4/19/2023 12:00 PM, Dan Marotta wrote:
    How about something like one of these?

    https://www.amazon.com/HiLetgo-Wireless-Bluetooth-Transceiver-Arduino/dp/B071YJG8DR/ref=sr_1_9?keywords=serial+to+bluetooth&sr=8-9Dan


    https://www.amazon.com/s?k=serial+to+bluetooth&page=2&ref=sr_pg_1

    Just get creative.  The ideal solution would be a K6BT but I can't find
    them on the web any more.  Maybe someone has a spare...

    5J

    On 4/18/23 19:24, Gregg Leslie wrote:
    On Tuesday, April 18, 2023 at 8:47:11 PM UTC-4, Gregg Leslie wrote:
    ... Can anyone recommend a RJ45-blue tooth Dongle?

    That HiLetgo adapter also needs a TTL-RS232 converter, an RJ45 cable,
    and more. Maybe this one can be adapted: need a DB9 cable and a 5V DC
    power source:
    https://www.amazon.com/DSD-TECH-SH-B23A-Bluetooth-Converter/dp/B07FP6NZB7

    A complete off-the-shelf RJ45 (IGC standard pinout) to Bluetooth (or
    WiFi) adapter would be a lot easier. Something like this:
    https://wingsandwheels.com/naviter-bluetooth-dongles.html
    or
    https://www.cumulus-soaring.com/store/naviter-bluetooth-dongle
    (choose the FLARM version). I wish there was something less expensive,
    but these must be custom-built? Hopefully it will work with Tophat on
    the chosen Android device. Bluetooth LE comes in several flavors, it seems.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)