PowerFLARM Portable mount option

For those of you who have asked about mounting options for the
portable PowerFLARM, I have taken the time to make a 3-d model of an
idea I've had for a while and which should lend itself well to this
application.

It is described and rendered here http://www.FlarmFund.org/flarm_fund_002.htm

I hope the link works.

Dale Kramer

Hi Dale,

Very interesting idea.

However, as someone who sells a lot of RAM parts, I should mention that it
may also work to use a simple RAM-B-238 aluminum diamond base. The 2
mounting holes on the RAM diamond bases are approximately the same distance
from center to center as the 2 mounting holes on the side or top or bottom
of a 57 mm instrument. A small round file can be used to slightly widen the
holes on the RAM diamond base so that it can be mounted using the 2
instrument screws that hold the instrument. Of course, this is not a
perfect solution because the diamond base will cover part of the instrument.
But it may be OK with some instruments, such as a g-meter or compass. And a
resourceful user could also file or grind off much of the side of the
diamond base to limit interference. Below is a link to the RAM part I'm
talking about.
http://www.cumulus-soaring.com/ram.htm#RAM-B-238

Alternatively, a RAP-273 "Flexible Base with Pressure Sensitive Adhesive
Pad" could be used to mount a RAM base on any hard surface - such as the
cockpit sidewall. It would work great with the RAM-B-238 mentioned above,
or a RAP-B-238 plastic diamond base.
http://www.cumulus-soaring.com/ram.htm#RAP-273

Or a RAM-B-237 ball with 1/4" male camera thread could be screwed into an
existing camera mount or into the instrument panel.
http://www.cumulus-soaring.com/ram.htm#RAM-B-237

Just thinking out loud here. I'm certainly not knocking your idea. It is a
very elegant design.

Best Regards,

Paul Remde
Cumulus Soaring, Inc.

"DaleKramer" wrote in message
...
For those of you who have asked about mounting options for the
portable PowerFLARM, I have taken the time to make a 3-d model of an
idea I've had for a while and which should lend itself well to this
application.

It is described and rendered here
http://www.FlarmFund.org/flarm_fund_002.htm

I hope the link works.

Dale Kramer

On Oct 12, 3:44*pm, DaleKramer wrote:
For those of you who have asked about mounting options for the
portable PowerFLARM, I have taken the time to make a 3-d model of an
idea I've had for a while and which should lend itself well to this
application.

It is described and rendered herehttp://www.FlarmFund.org/flarm_fund_002.htm

I hope the link works.

Dale Kramer

I want one! It would allow me to free up a 2 1/4" instrument panel
hole that currently is used for a PDA mount. Then I can use the hole
for my PowerFlarm.

9B

On Oct 12, 11:26*pm, Andy wrote:
On Oct 12, 3:44*pm, DaleKramer wrote:

For those of you who have asked about mounting options for the
portable PowerFLARM, I have taken the time to make a 3-d model of an
idea I've had for a while and which should lend itself well to this
application.

It is described and rendered herehttp://www.FlarmFund.org/flarm_fund_002.htm

I hope the link works.

Dale Kramer

I want one! *It would allow me to free up a 2 1/4" instrument panel
hole that currently is used for a PDA mount. Then I can use the hole
for my PowerFlarm.

9B

No, you are going to put a transponder in first!

On Oct 13, 12:38*am, "Matt Herron Jr." wrote:
On Oct 12, 11:26*pm, Andy wrote:





On Oct 12, 3:44*pm, DaleKramer wrote:

For those of you who have asked about mounting options for the
portable PowerFLARM, I have taken the time to make a 3-d model of an
idea I've had for a while and which should lend itself well to this
application.

It is described and rendered herehttp://www.FlarmFund.org/flarm_fund_002.htm

I hope the link works.

Dale Kramer

I want one! *It would allow me to free up a 2 1/4" instrument panel
hole that currently is used for a PDA mount. Then I can use the hole
for my PowerFlarm.

9B

No, you are going to put a transponder in first!

I have a hole for that.

Dale, Paul: Well done! Keep going!

In writing the glidperpilot.org/flarm pages we soon realized that the
standard idea of just velcroing powerflarm to the glareshield won't
work well for most competition gliders. It's thicker than the regular
flarm. The folks at flarm responded brilliantly by offering the box
plus external display option. (Note you can also use the thin led
style display if you don't want to use up a hole). But good creative
options for the regular powerflarm are brilliant and really needed.
Attaboys, keep up the good work! Also, think about the best options
for the separate box plus display, especially in carbon fuselages.
We're going to be installing a lot fast!

John cochrane

I understand the clearnav is compatable with flarm, so I assume it
will be compatable with powerflarm.

Does this mean clearnav users do not need any other external display?

Or is there other info that is available on the external display that
is not going to be shown on the clearnav?

Joe Simmers

Hi Joe,

So far the ClearNav (and all other soaring flight software products - as far
as I know) will display FLARM data but not the ADS-B or transponder traffic
data. Hopefully they will update their software to support the display of
that data. It is my understanding that the PowerFLARM will send out the
ADS-B and transponder traffic data through the serial port.

I recommend using the small PowerFLARM display even if you are also using a
ClearNav or PDA because it is more "urgent" than the display of data on a
PDA or ClearNav.

Best Regards,

Paul Remde
Cumulus Soaring, Inc.

"joesimmers" wrote in message
...
I understand the clearnav is compatable with flarm, so I assume it
will be compatable with powerflarm.

Does this mean clearnav users do not need any other external display?

Or is there other info that is available on the external display that
is not going to be shown on the clearnav?

Joe Simmers

On Oct 13, 8:53*am, "Paul Remde" wrote:
Hi Joe,

So far the ClearNav (and all other soaring flight software products - as far
as I know) will display FLARM data but not the ADS-B or transponder traffic
data. *Hopefully they will update their software to support the display of
that data. *It is my understanding that the PowerFLARM will send out the
ADS-B and transponder traffic data through the serial port.

I recommend using the small PowerFLARM display even if you are also using a
ClearNav or PDA because it is more "urgent" than the display of data on a
PDA or ClearNav.

Best Regards,

Paul Remde
Cumulus Soaring, Inc.

"joesimmers" wrote in message

...

I understand the clearnav is compatable with flarm, so I assume it
will be compatable with powerflarm.

Does this mean clearnav users do not need any other external display?

Or is there other info that is available on the external display that
is not going to be shown on the clearnav?

Joe Simmers

Well, that's a good point. How exactly will the data be presented in
the NMEA stream (hope you are listening, Urs!). The detailed spec
for that is available on the web (I found one at
http://www.gliding.ch/manuels/flarm_..._v3.00_en.pdf).
I would assume the PFLAU and PFLAA sentences would have to
have some variation that can display transponder traffic data. I
would think that ADS-B traffic data could more or less be displayed
without having to change the sentences (there might be somewhat
less data in the PFLAA sentence for it, but that sentence already
can have missing fields).

Most of the PDA in-flight software already handles these sentences,
so those developers need to know what's going to change so they
can update their software accordingly. There are also a number of
external displays that can handle that data that will need updating
as well.

-- Matt

Hi,

Another point worth mentioning is that while the FLARM and ADS-B data will
for a specific point in space, the transponder data will only give range and
altitude - not the specific direction or exact position. I believe the
PowerFLARM displays will show transponder traffic as a ring around the
glider's position that indicates the range (distance) to the traffic. I am
assuming that soaring flight software will do the same eventually.

Best Regards,

Paul Remde
Cumulus Soaring, Inc.

"mattm" wrote in message
...
On Oct 13, 8:53 am, "Paul Remde" wrote:
Hi Joe,

So far the ClearNav (and all other soaring flight software products - as
far
as I know) will display FLARM data but not the ADS-B or transponder
traffic
data. Hopefully they will update their software to support the display of
that data. It is my understanding that the PowerFLARM will send out the
ADS-B and transponder traffic data through the serial port.

I recommend using the small PowerFLARM display even if you are also using
a
ClearNav or PDA because it is more "urgent" than the display of data on a
PDA or ClearNav.

Best Regards,

Paul Remde
Cumulus Soaring, Inc.

"joesimmers" wrote in message

...

I understand the clearnav is compatable with flarm, so I assume it
will be compatable with powerflarm.

Does this mean clearnav users do not need any other external display?

Or is there other info that is available on the external display that
is not going to be shown on the clearnav?

Joe Simmers

Well, that's a good point. How exactly will the data be presented in
the NMEA stream (hope you are listening, Urs!). The detailed spec
for that is available on the web (I found one at
http://www.gliding.ch/manuels/flarm_..._v3.00_en.pdf).
I would assume the PFLAU and PFLAA sentences would have to
have some variation that can display transponder traffic data. I
would think that ADS-B traffic data could more or less be displayed
without having to change the sentences (there might be somewhat
less data in the PFLAA sentence for it, but that sentence already
can have missing fields).

Most of the PDA in-flight software already handles these sentences,
so those developers need to know what's going to change so they
can update their software accordingly. There are also a number of
external displays that can handle that data that will need updating
as well.

-- Matt