Power Flarm Display

On Wednesday, December 12, 2012 10:28:43 AM UTC-8, bumper wrote:
On Wednesday, December 12, 2012 10:17:39 AM UTC-8, Morteza Ansari wrote: Not sure which butterfly display we are talking about, but the rectangular display that comes with the brick is anything but *useless* to anyone flying with polarized sun glasses. It is polarized incorrectly which means if you mount it in horizontal orientation you see practically nothing on the display. Yes, but it works just fine with my polarized glasses in the vertical mode. So I made a bracket to hold it at the edge of the glareshield to the left of center. Since the device and display are rotatable in increments of 90 degrees, and since all LCD displays I've seen are polarized in one plane or another, Butterfly had to pick one knowing full well that it would please some and offend others of the polarized sun glassed crowd. No way for them to win! bumper

The latest Firmware Version of the Butterfly display is out 3.01

It has:

New Features:
• Nondirectional traffic is shown permanently (PCAS)
• Supports PowerFLARM® CORE
• NEAREST-Mode, always automatically shows nearest target
• Units con"gurable
• Enhanced Menu
Improvements:
• Better stability with many received targets
• new dynamical menu for future extensions.
• 3.0.1: Better font readability

I just saw an ADS B target the fonts are much larger and readable.

You need a special cable to update the firmware.

Make the cable instructions and get firmware at

http://www.butterfly-avionics.com/in...upport-english

or send to your dealer or Craggy Aero.

Richard
www.craggyaero.com

On Wednesday, December 12, 2012 5:44:06 PM UTC-5, Richard wrote:
On Wednesday, December 12, 2012 10:28:43 AM UTC-8, bumper wrote:

On Wednesday, December 12, 2012 10:17:39 AM UTC-8, Morteza Ansari wrote: Not sure which butterfly display we are talking about, but the rectangular display that comes with the brick is anything but *useless* to anyone flying with polarized sun glasses. It is polarized incorrectly which means if you mount it in horizontal orientation you see practically nothing on the display. Yes, but it works just fine with my polarized glasses in the vertical mode. So I made a bracket to hold it at the edge of the glareshield to the left of center. Since the device and display are rotatable in increments of 90 degrees, and since all LCD displays I've seen are polarized in one plane or another, Butterfly had to pick one knowing full well that it would please some and offend others of the polarized sun glassed crowd. No way for them to win! bumper



The latest Firmware Version of the Butterfly display is out 3.01



It has:



New Features:

• Nondirectional traffic is shown permanently (PCAS)

• Supports PowerFLARM® CORE

• NEAREST-Mode, always automatically shows nearest target

• Units con"gurable

• Enhanced Menu

Improvements:

• Better stability with many received targets

• new dynamical menu for future extensions.

• 3.0.1: Better font readability



I just saw an ADS B target the fonts are much larger and readable.



You need a special cable to update the firmware.



Make the cable instructions and get firmware at



http://www.butterfly-avionics.com/in...upport-english



or send to your dealer or Craggy Aero.



Richard

www.craggyaero.com

Richard,

I just downloaded the update but the update instructions are a little vague, at least to me. Only the Butterfly end of the 'special update cable' is shown - what's at the other end? DB9 serial connector, USB connector, or what?

Frank (TA)

On Wednesday, December 12, 2012 3:45:24 PM UTC-8, wrote:
On Wednesday, December 12, 2012 5:44:06 PM UTC-5, Richard wrote: On Wednesday, December 12, 2012 10:28:43 AM UTC-8, bumper wrote: On Wednesday, December 12, 2012 10:17:39 AM UTC-8, Morteza Ansari wrote: Not sure which butterfly display we are talking about, but the rectangular display that comes with the brick is anything but *useless* to anyone flying with polarized sun glasses. It is polarized incorrectly which means if you mount it in horizontal orientation you see practically nothing on the display. Yes, but it works just fine with my polarized glasses in the vertical mode. So I made a bracket to hold it at the edge of the glareshield to the left of center. Since the device and display are rotatable in increments of 90 degrees, and since all LCD displays I've seen are polarized in one plane or another, Butterfly had to pick one knowing full well that it would please some and offend others of the polarized sun glassed crowd. No way for them to win! bumper The latest Firmware Version of the Butterfly display is out 3.01 It has: New Features: • Nondirectional traffic is shown permanently (PCAS) • Supports PowerFLARM® CORE • NEAREST-Mode, always automatically shows nearest target • Units con"gurable • Enhanced Menu Improvements: • Better stability with many received targets • new dynamical menu for future extensions. • 3.0.1: Better font readability I just saw an ADS B target the fonts are much larger and readable. You need a special cable to update the firmware. Make the cable instructions and get firmware at http://www.butterfly-avionics.com/in...upport-english or send to your dealer or Craggy Aero. Richard www.craggyaero.com Richard, I just downloaded the update but the update instructions are a little vague, at least to me. Only the Butterfly end of the 'special update cable' is shown - what's at the other end? DB9 serial connector, USB connector, or what? Frank (TA)

Serial Port on a PC is the rest of the story.

Richard
www.craggyaero.com

On Dec 12, 8:32*pm, Richard wrote:
On Wednesday, December 12, 2012 3:45:24 PM UTC-8, wrote:
On Wednesday, December 12, 2012 5:44:06 PM UTC-5, Richard wrote: On Wednesday, December 12, 2012 10:28:43 AM UTC-8, bumper wrote: On Wednesday, December 12, 2012 10:17:39 AM UTC-8, Morteza Ansari wrote: Not sure which butterfly display we are talking about, but the rectangular display that comes with the brick is anything but *useless* to anyone flying with polarized sun glasses. It is polarized incorrectly which means if you mount it in horizontal orientation you see practically nothing on the display. Yes, but it works just fine with my polarized glasses in the vertical mode. So I made a bracket to hold it at the edge of the glareshield to the left of center. Since the device and display are rotatable in increments of 90 degrees, and since all LCD displays I've seen are polarized in one plane or another, Butterfly had to pick one knowing full well that it would please some and offend others of the polarized sun glassed crowd. No way for them to win! bumper The latest Firmware Version of the Butterfly display is out 3.01 It has: New Features: • Nondirectional traffic is shown permanently (PCAS) • Supports PowerFLARM® CORE • NEAREST-Mode, always automatically shows nearest target • Units con"gurable • Enhanced Menu Improvements: • Better stability with many received targets • new dynamical menu for future extensions. • 3.0.1: Better font readability I just saw an ADS B target the fonts are much larger and readable. You need a special cable to update the firmware. Make the cable instructions and get firmware at http://www.butterfly-avionics.com/index.php/en/support-english or send to your dealer or Craggy Aero. Richard www.craggyaero.comRichard, I just downloaded the update but the update instructions are a little vague, at least to me. Only the Butterfly end of the 'special update cable' is shown - what's at the other end? DB9 serial connector, USB connector, or what? Frank (TA)

Serial Port on a PC *is the rest of the story.

Richardwww.craggyaero.com

I think I need to go to a museum to get a PC with a serial port

On Wed, 12 Dec 2012 17:55:37 -0800, Andrzej Kobus wrote:


I think I need to go to a museum to get a PC with a serial port

The pin-outs are available on the 'net.
A search for "d-9 serial pinout" will find what you need.

There is a still a lot of workshop and test-bench equipment that uses
serial connections. For some things you want a serial connection that can
be secured with screws and is not easily jerked out like a USB plug.
Fortunately multi-port serial PCI adapters are easy to find if your PC
doesn't do serial.


--
martin@ | Martin Gregorie
gregorie. | Essex, UK
org |

On Wednesday, December 12, 2012 5:44:06 PM UTC-5, Richard wrote:
On Wednesday, December 12, 2012 10:28:43 AM UTC-8, bumper wrote:

On Wednesday, December 12, 2012 10:17:39 AM UTC-8, Morteza Ansari wrote: Not sure which butterfly display we are talking about, but the rectangular display that comes with the brick is anything but *useless* to anyone flying with polarized sun glasses. It is polarized incorrectly which means if you mount it in horizontal orientation you see practically nothing on the display. Yes, but it works just fine with my polarized glasses in the vertical mode. So I made a bracket to hold it at the edge of the glareshield to the left of center. Since the device and display are rotatable in increments of 90 degrees, and since all LCD displays I've seen are polarized in one plane or another, Butterfly had to pick one knowing full well that it would please some and offend others of the polarized sun glassed crowd. No way for them to win! bumper



The latest Firmware Version of the Butterfly display is out 3.01



It has:



New Features:

• Nondirectional traffic is shown permanently (PCAS)

• Supports PowerFLARM® CORE

• NEAREST-Mode, always automatically shows nearest target

• Units con"gurable

• Enhanced Menu

Improvements:

• Better stability with many received targets

• new dynamical menu for future extensions.

• 3.0.1: Better font readability



I just saw an ADS B target the fonts are much larger and readable.



You need a special cable to update the firmware.



Make the cable instructions and get firmware at



http://www.butterfly-avionics.com/in...upport-english



or send to your dealer or Craggy Aero.



Richard

www.craggyaero.com

All,

I looked at the update information, and although it specified what connector pins on the display connector (RJ-12) were to be connected to what pins on a PC serial connector, it didn't specify the connector itself or address the issue of how one determines whether or not the PC can supply 3.3vdc on pin 5. I emailed the Butterfly folks, and I have copied the reply here. You will note that the reply still doesn't directly address the 3.3vdc issue, but at this point I'm confident enough that its not going to be a problem that I plan to fabricate a RJ12-DB9 cable and give it a whirl.

Frank (TA)

------------------------------------- CUT HERE ---------------------------
Aktualisiert von: Frank Paynter, 14. Dez 15:40 (CET):
Hi,

I would like to update the firmware on my PowerFlarm Butterfly display, but
I'm a bit confused by the directions for fabricating the required update
cable. Note that I'm an Electrical Engineer with over 40 years of bench
design and fabrication experience, so if I'm confused, I expect others are
as well.

The instructions provide a pinout for the display-end connector, with notes
as to where each pin should go on the PC end. However, the PC-end
connector isn't specified - is it supposed to be a DB9 serial connector?
If so, you must know that DB9 serial connectors aren't widely available on
modern PC's; I have 6 PCs in my home office, and not one of them has a DB9
serial connector. When I need serial port connectivity, I use a popular
USB-serial adapter. Will your display update properly when using such an
adapter?

Your specification calls for pin 5 of the RJ-12 connector to be tied to
+3.3VDC, but this isn't a common voltage for serial communications. What
happens if this line is connected to +5 or even +12 VDC?

Regards,

Frank

Aktualisiert von: Marc Foerderer, 17. Dez 11:54 (CET):
Dear Frank,

thanks for your message.

Yes a normal RS232 to USB adapter works fine, the connector depends of course on your use-case. Most PCs or at least RS232 serial adapters have a DB9 connector.

3v3DC is the supply voltage for the device itself, the RS232 pins are 12V tolerant.

If you have more questions, please contact me

Best regards
Marc Förderer
Butterfly Avionics GmbH

------------------------------------- CUT HERE ---------------------------

On Monday, December 17, 2012 9:02:00 AM UTC-8, wrote:
I'm confident enough that its not going to be a problem that I plan to fabricate a RJ12-DB9 cable and give it a whirl.



Frank (TA)



------------------------------------- CUT HERE ---------------------------

Aktualisiert von: Frank Paynter, 14. Dez 15:40 (CET):

Hi,



I would like to update the firmware on my PowerFlarm Butterfly display, but

I'm a bit confused by the directions for fabricating the required update

cable. Note that I'm an Electrical Engineer with over 40 years of bench

design and fabrication experience, so if I'm confused, I expect others are

as well.



The instructions provide a pinout for the display-end connector, with notes

as to where each pin should go on the PC end. However, the PC-end

connector isn't specified - is it supposed to be a DB9 serial connector?

If so, you must know that DB9 serial connectors aren't widely available on

modern PC's; I have 6 PCs in my home office, and not one of them has a DB9

serial connector. When I need serial port connectivity, I use a popular

USB-serial adapter. Will your display update properly when using such an

adapter?



Your specification calls for pin 5 of the RJ-12 connector to be tied to

+3.3VDC, but this isn't a common voltage for serial communications. What

happens if this line is connected to +5 or even +12 VDC?



Regards,



Frank


Frank,

Please post an update if all goes well. I prefer not to tune my device for maximum smoke if there is some other brave soul willing to go first!

tks

bumper

On Monday, December 17, 2012 2:06:01 PM UTC-5, bumper wrote:
On Monday, December 17, 2012 9:02:00 AM UTC-8, wrote:

I'm confident enough that its not going to be a problem that I plan to fabricate a RJ12-DB9 cable and give it a whirl.







Frank (TA)







------------------------------------- CUT HERE ---------------------------



Aktualisiert von: Frank Paynter, 14. Dez 15:40 (CET):



Hi,







I would like to update the firmware on my PowerFlarm Butterfly display, but



I'm a bit confused by the directions for fabricating the required update



cable. Note that I'm an Electrical Engineer with over 40 years of bench



design and fabrication experience, so if I'm confused, I expect others are



as well.







The instructions provide a pinout for the display-end connector, with notes



as to where each pin should go on the PC end. However, the PC-end



connector isn't specified - is it supposed to be a DB9 serial connector?



If so, you must know that DB9 serial connectors aren't widely available on



modern PC's; I have 6 PCs in my home office, and not one of them has a DB9



serial connector. When I need serial port connectivity, I use a popular



USB-serial adapter. Will your display update properly when using such an



adapter?







Your specification calls for pin 5 of the RJ-12 connector to be tied to



+3.3VDC, but this isn't a common voltage for serial communications. What



happens if this line is connected to +5 or even +12 VDC?







Regards,







Frank





Frank,



Please post an update if all goes well. I prefer not to tune my device for maximum smoke if there is some other brave soul willing to go first!



tks



bumper

You guys do know about this, yes? (From external display manual)

"Updates
Update through PowerFLARM®
After Q4/2012 it will be possible to update the displays through any PowerFLARM® unit
directly without the need for a special cable."

-Evan Ludeman / T8

On Monday, December 17, 2012 2:43:38 PM UTC-5, Evan Ludeman wrote:
On Monday, December 17, 2012 2:06:01 PM UTC-5, bumper wrote:

On Monday, December 17, 2012 9:02:00 AM UTC-8, wrote:



I'm confident enough that its not going to be a problem that I plan to fabricate a RJ12-DB9 cable and give it a whirl.















Frank (TA)















------------------------------------- CUT HERE ---------------------------







Aktualisiert von: Frank Paynter, 14. Dez 15:40 (CET):







Hi,















I would like to update the firmware on my PowerFlarm Butterfly display, but







I'm a bit confused by the directions for fabricating the required update







cable. Note that I'm an Electrical Engineer with over 40 years of bench







design and fabrication experience, so if I'm confused, I expect others are







as well.















The instructions provide a pinout for the display-end connector, with notes







as to where each pin should go on the PC end. However, the PC-end







connector isn't specified - is it supposed to be a DB9 serial connector?







If so, you must know that DB9 serial connectors aren't widely available on







modern PC's; I have 6 PCs in my home office, and not one of them has a DB9







serial connector. When I need serial port connectivity, I use a popular







USB-serial adapter. Will your display update properly when using such an







adapter?















Your specification calls for pin 5 of the RJ-12 connector to be tied to







+3.3VDC, but this isn't a common voltage for serial communications. What







happens if this line is connected to +5 or even +12 VDC?















Regards,















Frank











Frank,







Please post an update if all goes well. I prefer not to tune my device for maximum smoke if there is some other brave soul willing to go first!







tks







bumper



You guys do know about this, yes? (From external display manual)



"Updates

Update through PowerFLARM®

After Q4/2012 it will be possible to update the displays through any PowerFLARM® unit

directly without the need for a special cable."



-Evan Ludeman / T8

Evan,

Just saw this myself in the Butterfly manual - wonder why they didn't mention this in the response to my email?

Frank (TA)

On Tuesday, December 18, 2012 9:56:36 AM UTC-5, wrote:
On Monday, December 17, 2012 2:43:38 PM UTC-5, Evan Ludeman wrote:

On Monday, December 17, 2012 2:06:01 PM UTC-5, bumper wrote:



On Monday, December 17, 2012 9:02:00 AM UTC-8, wrote:







I'm confident enough that its not going to be a problem that I plan to fabricate a RJ12-DB9 cable and give it a whirl.































Frank (TA)































------------------------------------- CUT HERE ---------------------------















Aktualisiert von: Frank Paynter, 14. Dez 15:40 (CET):















Hi,































I would like to update the firmware on my PowerFlarm Butterfly display, but















I'm a bit confused by the directions for fabricating the required update















cable. Note that I'm an Electrical Engineer with over 40 years of bench















design and fabrication experience, so if I'm confused, I expect others are















as well.































The instructions provide a pinout for the display-end connector, with notes















as to where each pin should go on the PC end. However, the PC-end















connector isn't specified - is it supposed to be a DB9 serial connector?















If so, you must know that DB9 serial connectors aren't widely available on















modern PC's; I have 6 PCs in my home office, and not one of them has a DB9















serial connector. When I need serial port connectivity, I use a popular















USB-serial adapter. Will your display update properly when using such an















adapter?































Your specification calls for pin 5 of the RJ-12 connector to be tied to















+3.3VDC, but this isn't a common voltage for serial communications. What















happens if this line is connected to +5 or even +12 VDC?































Regards,































Frank























Frank,















Please post an update if all goes well. I prefer not to tune my device for maximum smoke if there is some other brave soul willing to go first!















tks















bumper







You guys do know about this, yes? (From external display manual)







"Updates



Update through PowerFLARM®



After Q4/2012 it will be possible to update the displays through any PowerFLARM® unit



directly without the need for a special cable."







-Evan Ludeman / T8



Evan,



Just saw this myself in the Butterfly manual - wonder why they didn't mention this in the response to my email?



Frank (TA)

Hi Frank, I built my update cable several weeks ago (for the last update and to download flarmnet info) and it worked just fine with 2 AA batteries (just as someone else mentioned in this thread). RS232 adapters don't ever work well for me on laptops so the only reliable serial port I have is on my desktop. Since my rectangular display is screwed to my panel with the 4 provided screws I think I will wait until the post-Q4-instructions to magically appear just to save the hassle of un-mounting the display yet again.