FLARM for SAR

At 11:20 15 November 2012, Tobias Bieniek wrote:
It seems that FLARM ultimately took the wrong decision...

Two weeks ago Andrea Schlapbach from FLARM contacted me via email to
discus=
s how we would want to use these data sentences. In the initial email he
al=
ready clearly stated that "they had no interest in publishing the data
form=
at" and would only "share the format with a few interested and suited
partn=
ers". "Suited partners" in their definition are those that are able to
keep=
the format a secret.

In my answer I explained that XCSoar and SkyLines are both open source
appl=
ications and that keeping a secret in open source code isn't really
possibl=
e. I also asked what their intentions are for keeping the format a
secret,
=
but unfortunately that question was never answered. My second email
answeri=
ng some follow-up questions and asking the same thing again was never
answe=
red either.

I feel very sorry that FLARM has become such a closed-up proprietary
compan=
y. I don't see any reason for keeping the data format a secret and I
certai=
nly hope that they reconsider this non-sense at some point. The only two
re=
asons I can see for this is: a) they want to use the data commercially at
s=
ome point or b) they are logging data that contains private data that
shoul=
dn't be logged in the first place. If they would really care about these
SA=
R reasons they would simply open up their format so that any public party
c=
ould use them...

Surely all you need is a qualified software engineer to read the output,
which you may have noticed is broadcast, and compare the raw output to what
is displayed in many of the magic apps that use it. It's called reverse
engineering, if you want to be posh or hacking if you don't. You can then
work out what the data sentences consist of and decde them. I spent many
years happily working doing just that some years ago, not with FLARM I
hasten to add.