FLARM - No GPS

Dan,

My experience with the Portable PowerFlarm is that I need to replace the alkaline batteries every 4-5 hours.

I just went to the local low cost warehouse and bought a brick of alkalines and replace them every flight.

A better choice is to put rechargeable cells in the unit and the use ships power to run it. That leaves the internal battery for backup. Be sure to change the setting in the unit for the correct type of battery.

Mike

On Sunday, November 27, 2016 at 6:49:12 PM UTC-5, SoaringXCellence wrote:
Dan,

My experience with the Portable PowerFlarm is that I need to replace the alkaline batteries every 4-5 hours.

I just went to the local low cost warehouse and bought a brick of alkalines and replace them every flight.

A better choice is to put rechargeable cells in the unit and the use ships power to run it. That leaves the internal battery for backup. Be sure to change the setting in the unit for the correct type of battery.

Mike

Link with FLARM recommendation for batteries for Portable:

https://groups.google.com/forum/#!searchin/rec.aviation.soaring/powerflarm$20portable$20batteries%7Csort:relevance/rec.aviation.soaring/rp5rNv1y80g/g17DkORP2XUJ

exerpt:
"...We have run various tests with high temperatures rechargeable
batteries and PowerFLARM.
I will spare you from the details, but the conclusions a

1)
Recharging must take place in an area where the ambient temperature
does not surpass 95 degrees Fahrenheit (35C) as otherwise the PF
charging circuit will refuse to charge to prevent overheating.

2) Best rechargeable batteries to use (by far !) a
Sanyo XX Battery Powered by eneloop, 2500mAh High Capacity, Ni-MH
http://tinyurl.com/PF-rechargeables

Make sure they are the XX 2500mAh type, Sanyo/eneloop also sells lower
capacity AA's

With these batteries we have repeatedly measured runtimes of over 9h
at 70C (158 F) ambient with full backlight.

We will update the manual accordingly.
Please also remember that PowerFLARM does not charge the batteries
when it is turned on.


See you all soon!
Urs
FLARM"

I checked and they're still on Amazon.

Dan
2D

On Sun, 27 Nov 2016 14:34:15 -0700, Dan Marotta wrote:

Good thought about the SD card; it is/was not write protected. To
verify, I deleted everything in it (after saving to my hard drive),
reinserted it into the PF, took it out side, froze my butt off, powered
it up, and waited. No joy...

Before shutting it down I created a diagnostic dump file which can be
looked at HERE
https://www.dropbox.com/s/gbf2xgoij6kb98r/PFP00960.DMP?dl=0 if you
know how.

I don't, so ignored it.

I also copied the log file to my drop box HERE
https://www.dropbox.com/s/typrd4dz1a4g69t/PFP00960.TXT?dl=0. Reading
it, it appears that the unit talked with the GPS and everything was OK,
but it never received any satellites. That makes no sense unless
there's a problem with the internal GPS antenna or circuit wiring.

I think the clue is right at the end of the log:

00336.753 ERROR Insufficient supply voltage, shutting down
00336.754 ERROR Battery type: alkaline
00336.754 ERROR Battery voltage: 4.28
00336.755 ERROR External supply voltage: 0.00

...which looks as though the PF was running on an internal backup battery
because the external power was off or disconnected. However, the internal
alkaline battery (4.5v nominal?) seems to be rather old since it only
supplied 4.28v and the PF shut down due to low voltage.

From what that diagnostic log shows I think that if you replace the
alkaline batteries (not essential but a good idea anyway) and try again
with external power connected, the PF should work.


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

Dan- If you decide you want to go with rechargeable and external power, I have a couple of the input plugs in the right size. Give me a shout next time you see me at the airport. Mark M.

If you use external power you do not need batteries in the Portable Powerflarm.

If you do use batteries please read the following.

Rechargeable internal Batteries
The device features an internal NiMH battery charger only active when the device is turned off. When the device is turned off and electrically connected to the vehicle or aircraft battery (either via “Power� socket or power pins on the RJ45 socket), inserted batteries will be charged if the ambient temperature lies within the allowed range for charging NiMH batteries.
If non-rechargeable batteries are fitted to the device, never connect your device to an external power source (e.g. aircraft or vehicle battery)!
The internal batteries may only be charged if the device is resting on a non-flammable, dry base. When the device is being recharged, never allow it to remain unsupervised.
The integrated charging circuit will only charge batteries at an ambient temperature of up to about 40 °C (104 °F). If possible, charge your batteries in a cool, dry environment.

This is all in the manual.


Richard
www.craggyaero.com

Power for the Portable Powerflarm.

Ensure any external power source is only connected in case no or only rechargeable batteries are in the device. External power might damage non-rechargeable batteries (risk of leakage).

Supplied power must be 12 V DC nominal at 500mA (between 8V and 27V DC, 24V DC nominal may require an additional adapter).
This power socket mates with a PP-012 connector (DigiKey part# CP-012-ND or power can be supplied thru the RJ45 port.

This is all in the manual.


Richard
www.craggyaero.com

Thanks, Tim, but I don't think so. I was shutting down the unit with
the knob when those lines were written. When I have it externally
powered for an hour it still does not receive satellites. And thanks
for taking the time to review the log.

Dan

On 11/27/2016 3:42 PM, Tim Newport-Peace wrote:
Dan,

I am not familiar with the log file, but the last lines of the log file
read:

00336.753 ERROR Insufficient supply voltage, shutting down
00336.754 ERROR Battery type: alkaline
00336.754 ERROR Battery voltage: 4.28
00336.755 ERROR External supply voltage: 0.00

Could this be a clue?

Best regards,

Tim.

--
Dan, 5J

Richard,

You are the first person to acknowledge the possibility of external
power which I've stated over and over again. I inserted weak
rechargeables simply to generate a log file at home. To repeat for the
last time - the PF Portable is powered externally via the ship's DC bus
in practice and, with external power it does not find any satellites. I
assure everyone, I've read the manual over and over. I've used screws
considerably shorter than the 10 mm maximum stated in the manual. And,
for the last time, I've run the unit with external power, rechargeable
batteries, and alkaline batteries and it still does not find any satellites.

Maybe I can find an external GPS antenna and see if it'll work that
way. I emailed Flarm support on Friday but have had no response. I'll
try again...

On 11/27/2016 6:28 PM, Richard wrote:
If you use external power you do not need batteries in the Portable Powerflarm.

If you do use batteries please read the following.

Rechargeable internal Batteries
The device features an internal NiMH battery charger only active when the device is turned off. When the device is turned off and electrically connected to the vehicle or aircraft battery (either via “Power� socket or power pins on the RJ45 socket), inserted batteries will be charged if the ambient temperature lies within the allowed range for charging NiMH batteries.
If non-rechargeable batteries are fitted to the device, never connect your device to an external power source (e.g. aircraft or vehicle battery)!
The internal batteries may only be charged if the device is resting on a non-flammable, dry base. When the device is being recharged, never allow it to remain unsupervised.
The integrated charging circuit will only charge batteries at an ambient temperature of up to about 40 °C (104 °F). If possible, charge your batteries in a cool, dry environment.

This is all in the manual.


Richard
www.craggyaero.com

--
Dan, 5J

On Mon, 28 Nov 2016 09:15:15 -0700, Dan Marotta wrote:

Thanks, Tim, but I don't think so. I was shutting down the unit with
the knob when those lines were written. When I have it externally
powered for an hour it still does not receive satellites. And thanks
for taking the time to review the log.

Did you have internal batteries installed during this externally powered
trial? If so, what type were they?


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

No batteries were installed during use with external power connected
since the manual stated that alkaline batteries could leak with external
power connected and I don't have any rechargeables which are in decent
condition.

My wife compared the log file generated when the unit was working to the
log file generated after the unit failed and she found what looks like
some unexplained differences. I'm going back to square one to generate
a new FLARMcfg.TXT file and will try again with fresh batteries
installed since I'm at home and don't have access to external power.

I'll report back what I find...

On 11/28/2016 10:04 AM, Martin Gregorie wrote:
On Mon, 28 Nov 2016 09:15:15 -0700, Dan Marotta wrote:

Thanks, Tim, but I don't think so. I was shutting down the unit with
the knob when those lines were written. When I have it externally
powered for an hour it still does not receive satellites. And thanks
for taking the time to review the log.

Did you have internal batteries installed during this externally powered
trial? If so, what type were they?



--
Dan, 5J