e Reader options for xc soar?

If you want 100% reliability guaranteed...don't use a kobo, or XC soar or top hat. The hardware, software, and installations are all "experimental" and subject to "issues".

snip


Cookie

Following that logic, should we not fly "experimental" gliders? I've
been using one of those cheap, experimental hardware platforms with
experimental software (XCSoar) for years without as many "issues" as I
read about regarding the higher priced solutions.

The so-called experimental hardware was created, you will recall, with
the entire world as a market, not just a hand full of glider pilots. I
would, therefore, expect its reliability to be considerably higher.

YMMV
--
Dan, 5J

Dude! You missed my point completely. One poster was P'd off because his kobo was a dud. Me and my club members have maybe 12 or so KOBO's among us.. We've had a few duds....some faded screens some bad USB connectors...some trouble with power supplies/ batteries etc.


But I still use the KOBO...and so do the rest of them...mine has worked perfectly for a couple of years...the ones in our club gliders are working fine.


For me, Tophat on KOBO is the ONLY way to go!


Cookie




On Monday, February 29, 2016 at 1:08:25 PM UTC-5, Dan Marotta wrote:
If you want 100% reliability guaranteed...don't use a kobo, or XC soar or top hat. The hardware, software, and installations are all "experimental" and subject to "issues".

snip


Cookie




Following that logic, should we not fly "experimental" gliders?*
I've been using one of those cheap, experimental hardware platforms
with experimental software (XCSoar) for years without as many
"issues" as I read about regarding the higher priced solutions.



The so-called experimental hardware was created, you will recall,
with the entire world as a market, not just a hand full of glider
pilots.* I would, therefore, expect its reliability to be
considerably higher.



YMMV


--

Dan, 5J

perfectly for a couple of years...the ones in our club gliders are working fine.


For me, Tophat on KOBO is the ONLY way to go!


Cookie




Yep, I can't understand why anyone would NOT go the KOBO with Tophat/XCSoar route. I guess us glider pilots tend to be a pretty cow-like bunch. We follow the herd, both in picking gliders, equipping them, and flying tasks.

On Monday, February 29, 2016 at 2:14:51 PM UTC-5, Cookie wrote:
Dude! You missed my point completely. One poster was P'd off because his kobo was a dud. Me and my club members have maybe 12 or so KOBO's among us. We've had a few duds....some faded screens some bad USB connectors...some trouble with power supplies/ batteries etc.


But I still use the KOBO...and so do the rest of them...mine has worked perfectly for a couple of years...the ones in our club gliders are working fine.


For me, Tophat on KOBO is the ONLY way to go!


Cookie




On Monday, February 29, 2016 at 1:08:25 PM UTC-5, Dan Marotta wrote:
If you want 100% reliability guaranteed...don't use a kobo, or XC soar or top hat. The hardware, software, and installations are all "experimental" and subject to "issues".

snip


Cookie




Following that logic, should we not fly "experimental" gliders?*
I've been using one of those cheap, experimental hardware platforms
with experimental software (XCSoar) for years without as many
"issues" as I read about regarding the higher priced solutions.



The so-called experimental hardware was created, you will recall,
with the entire world as a market, not just a hand full of glider
pilots.* I would, therefore, expect its reliability to be
considerably higher.



YMMV


--

Dan, 5J

I have a brand new Kobo mini still in a box (black), if anyone is interested contact by private message.

To directly answer the question... yes, we had a problem with a Kobo last year, and I've seen a few go belly up in our club. In my case, it seemed to be very sensitive to sunlight on the unit. I built a high tech heat shield (i.e. piece of cardboard form an Aircraft Spruce Shipping Box, so it was at least aviation grade cardboard) and that seemed to help. My son and I were flying our twin Grob in a local contest, and between the two of us we had 3 instances of TopHat running (1 Kobo, an HTC One, and a Samsung Galaxy). In my "real" glider I fly with a ClearNav. No quesiton the ClearNav is optimized for the type of racing and XC that I do, but the price point on Tophat is pretty nice. With the phones, I just power them on an external USB battery (Anker or equivalent) with the Bluetooth and cellular service turned off. More than adequate for most flights.

One poster was P'd off because his kobo was a dud. Me and my club members have maybe 12 or so KOBO's among us. We've had a few duds....some faded screens some bad USB connectors...some trouble with power supplies/ batteries etc.

yes, we had a problem with a Kobo last year, and I've seen a few go belly up in our club. In my case, it seemed to be very sensitive to sunlight on the unit.

....and that's the sort of info I was after. Thanks! Not just my dud batch then.
Actually I wasn't really P'd off, more like "meh". And it was 3 duds out of 4. I still like them (and will probably keep trying them) but I have to make my own decision as to whether they're cheap enough to be considered a 'consumable' item.

DH
TX

There are a number of threads online that describe various problems with Kobos in direct sunlight. Google "Kobo sunlight freeze" and you'll find them.. Inconclusive whether this is specific to a batch, a firmware version, etc. But it's happening enough to show up easily with searches. The high-tech cardboard shade helped - enough so that I would consider building a proper one out of something more permanent. NOTE:there are a bunch in our club. From memory, I think the ones that are flush-mounted to the panel rather than on a stalk mount (which mine was) seem to do better. The back of the case is protected and the lip of the instrument panel shroud probably provides some relief, especially when flying up-sun. You could probably build a nice tunnel mount like the ClearNav. Then, your investment in the panel fabrication would be orders of magnitude more than the instrument. :-)

Erik Mann (P3)

I guess I did miss the point! Thanks for pointing that out.

Cheers!

On 2/29/2016 12:14 PM, Cookie wrote:

Dude! You missed my point completely. One poster was P'd off because his kobo was a dud. Me and my club members have maybe 12 or so KOBO's among us. We've had a few duds....some faded screens some bad USB connectors...some trouble with power supplies/ batteries etc.


But I still use the KOBO...and so do the rest of them...mine has worked perfectly for a couple of years...the ones in our club gliders are working fine.


For me, Tophat on KOBO is the ONLY way to go!


Cookie




On Monday, February 29, 2016 at 1:08:25 PM UTC-5, Dan Marotta wrote:
If you want 100% reliability guaranteed...don't use a kobo, or XC soar or top hat. The hardware, software, and installations are all "experimental" and subject to "issues".

snip


Cookie




Following that logic, should we not fly "experimental" gliders?
I've been using one of those cheap, experimental hardware platforms
with experimental software (XCSoar) for years without as many
"issues" as I read about regarding the higher priced solutions.



The so-called experimental hardware was created, you will recall,
with the entire world as a market, not just a hand full of glider
pilots. I would, therefore, expect its reliability to be
considerably higher.



YMMV


--

Dan, 5J

--
Dan, 5J

On Tuesday, 1 March 2016 02:21:08 UTC, Papa3 wrote:
There are a number of threads online that describe various problems with Kobos in direct sunlight. Google "Kobo sunlight freeze" and you'll find them.

I've had problems with the screen lock coming on during flying, which makes it stop responding to input. I believe this, and perhaps some of the other freezes, are caused by problems with the infrared sensors on the touch screen. It may be possible to protect them by shielding just slightly inside the boundaries of the screen without a tunnel.

I have been flying with Kobos since before they started and have apart from a broken USB port (my fault) and some ghosting they are all still ok. I use the USB port for GPS feed, but I know that if you get the voltage slightly wrong or have a poor ground the serial port on the mobo causes all sorts of glitches and crashes.

Mel

I've used XCsoar on a Nook Simple Touch for a couple of years and love it. I use it with a GPS USB puck and a Y-cable for external power. There have been a few glitches/freezeups, but if I start with a fully charged Nook there is rarely a problem. (Be sure to return its USB mode to "peripheral" and then fully power-off after you are done flying.)

I have yet to see ANY display, at any price, that is more sunlight-readable than the e-ink display of the B&W e-readers. The hardware is a bit flimsy but replacements are still easy to find and cheap. I added an extension to the snap-on-back that I use to mount the Nook with, to protect the USB plug from being bumped by my knee.

The Kobo seems like another option, but for me the simplicity of using the USB port of the Nook as-is is a plus, as is the larger display (and it fit in my cockpit, just barely).