Easy and affordable IGC logger

On Tue, 17 Apr 2018 06:53:23 -0700, Senna Van den Bosch wrote:

Op dinsdag 17 april 2018 13:49:12 UTC+2 schreef Martin Gregorie:
On Tue, 17 Apr 2018 10:00:57 +0100, Nick Hill wrote:

On 17/04/2018 08:31, Senna Van den Bosch wrote:
Since my FLARM doesn't have an SD card slot, I'm looking for an easy
to use IGC logger.

Right now, I can get the EW IGC-logger microRecorder for € 295,
which has built in GPS, antenna, SD card and USB cable in the box.


I have one of these, which has always worked well for me.

It records on a 2GB SD card, which is easy to pop out when you're
downloading the log from it.

Its only drawback as far as I'm concerned is its power switch, which is
of the "always powered pushbutton" type. The problem here is that,
during the winter when the logger is not being used, is that the
MicroRecorder will flatten fully charged batteries in a bit over three
months by watching the switch for the 'turn on' press and, because
these are NiMH chemistry, letting them go flat for any length of time
wrecks them. However:

- All you need do to avoid this problem is to remember to charge the
Microrecorder every couple of months.

- The batteries are a set of four NiMH AA cells kept as a flat package,
with white shrink-wrap plastic and fitted with a connector on the end
of a short cable. They can be replaced without breaking the security
seal and, if you're happy to use a soldering iron, you can make up a
replacement pack rather than buying one from EW.


--
Martin | martin at Gregorie | gregorie dot org

Would it be a problem to fix the GPS antenna of the EW MicroRecorder
next to the FLARM antenna?

What Tim said. I modified my battery box lid which, in a Libelle is a
convenient place to mount the Microrecorder and its GPS antenna. Here's a
pictu

https://www.gregorie.org/gliding/lib...ttery_lid.html

The battery box lid is a sandwich of 1.6mm epoxy-glass plate and 3mm
balsa sheet. The GPS antenna is on a 50mm high support: its a V-pylon
made from two pieces of 1.6mm epoxy-glass plate glued at 90 degrees to
each other with another piece of epoxy plate glued on the top. I use
Velcro patches to mount the GPS antenna on the pylon and heavy duty
Velcro patches to hold the Microrecorder in place on the battery box lid.
The enclosed structure to the right of the Microrecorder contains wiring
that powers my panel and the Microrecorder:

- The two SLA 7Ah batteries in the battery box are fitted with short
(150mm, 6") cables and XLR plugs. These go to XLR sockets under the
right edge of the box lid which connect the batteries to the fuses
marked A(vionics) and R(adio). Connections from them go to the XLR
socket (top front) which feeds my panel via a three wire cable.

- A diode connects to each battery to the left-most fuse. This supplies
external power to the Microrecorder via the rocker switch behind the
tiedown bolt and the socket that connects to it.

This arrangement lets the Microrecorder draw from the either or
both batteries depending on which has the most charge. The diodes
prevent the strongest battery from trying the charge the weaker
one.

The rocker switch is needed because of the way the Microrecorder's push-
on - push-off switch works:

- if external power is NOT connected the switch works as you'd expect and
turns the logger on and off

- if external power IS connected, the Microrecorder is automatically
powered on and running. It will automatically top up its internal
battery from the external power if needed.

If you disconnect the external power the Microrecorder will continue to
run until you turn it off using its power switch.

This is both a blessing and a curse. The good point is that the
Microrecorder will have a complete log of your flight even if your
electrical system has a total failure. The downside is that, if you land,
derig, put the glider away and drive off home without turning the
Microrecorder off, it will still be running and will continue to do so
until either you notice and turn it off or its battery goes flat.


--
Martin | martin at
Gregorie | gregorie dot org