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#1
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Flarm Audio and Towplanes
Question: How have Flarm users around the world handled the lack of audio intercom output in the standard Flarm unit when installed in towplanes? Is the simple visual LED output on the Flarm display adequate, or have you had to add auxiliary audio intercom capability to the Flarm for your towplanes? As we in the U.S. prepare to deploy PowerFlarm into our fleet, we will have to deal with this installation issue into our towplanes. In an unfortunate decision (my opinion), Flarm has opted to delete from the "brick" model the intercom audio output that is part of the "portable". We are faced with the decision to either use the brick in our towplanes with no audio alert, or integrate the portable model, having to add external displays and antenna to this otherwise self-contained unit. What have others found regarding the need for an auxiliary headset audio output when towing with the Flarm? Thanks Bob |
#2
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Flarm Audio and Towplanes
Hi Bob Motorgliders and tow planes need to have the PowerFlarm audio signal spliced into into the cable to the headset otherwise the audio warning signals from the PowerFlarm unit are too low to be heard. I have been through this exercise with the portable unit. You cannot just parallel drive the headset with the PowerFlarm and radio. If you do that you will have a conflict with the output of the radio diminishing both the volume and the distortion (Becker Radio). What you need to do is to put a 51 ohm resistor in series with the output of the PowerFlarm to the headset. This negates the conflict and allows compatibility between the audio levels of the radio and Power Flarm. Why? My PowerFlarm resets itself every time I press the starter motor button. In resetting the alarm audio level defaults to maximum volume which is much louder than the radio using the headset. The 51 ohm resistor sets the volume perfectly for me. PowerFlarm is still a work in progress. One would have hoped that they by now would have fixed the teething problems. But no. Maybe sometime in the future? Good luck. Dave On Jun 7, 6:07*pm, Bob Gibbons wrote: Question: How have Flarm users around the world handled the lack of audio intercom output in the standard Flarm unit when installed in towplanes? Is the simple visual LED output on the Flarm display adequate, or have you had to add auxiliary audio intercom capability to the Flarm for your towplanes? As we in the U.S. prepare to deploy PowerFlarm into our fleet, we will have to deal with this installation issue into our towplanes. In an unfortunate decision (my opinion), Flarm has opted to delete from the "brick" model the intercom audio output that is part of the "portable". We are faced with the decision to either use the brick in our towplanes with no audio alert, or integrate the portable model, having to add external displays and antenna to this otherwise self-contained unit. What have others found regarding the need for an auxiliary headset audio output when towing with the Flarm? Thanks Bob |
#3
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Flarm Audio and Towplanes
Bob, I did a post on this earlier. I use my PowerFlarm portable in both my glider and Husky tow plane. I installed a plug-in super bright LED that attaches to the side of the PF with Velcro. It plugs into the audio out and the coaxial power jack on the PF, so is easy to remove. It uses the PF audio out to bias a transistor driver for the alarm LED - - bright enough to get your attention even in full sunlight. One can also wire the PF audio out directly to the headset jack in the aircraft. Even though the PF has menu adjustable audio out level, depending on audio levels desired, you may need to install a series dropping resistor of 50 ohms or more to lower the audio to a reasonable level. bumper |
#4
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Flarm Audio and Towplanes
On 6/8/2012 10:01 AM, bumper wrote:
Bob, I did a post on this earlier. I use my PowerFlarm portable in both my glider and Husky tow plane. I installed a plug-in super bright LED that attaches to the side of the PF with Velcro. It plugs into the audio out and the coaxial power jack on the PF, so is easy to remove. It uses the PF audio out to bias a transistor driver for the alarm LED - - bright enough to get your attention even in full sunlight. One can also wire the PF audio out directly to the headset jack in the aircraft. Even though the PF has menu adjustable audio out level, depending on audio levels desired, you may need to install a series dropping resistor of 50 ohms or more to lower the audio to a reasonable level. An alternative for towplanes with an intercom (separate box or built into the radio) is to have the PowerFlarm audio output connect to one of the intercom inputs. That will bring it to the pilot's headset without any conflicts. Some newer radios, like the MGL Avionics V6 I just installed, also have dedicated audio inputs for warning devices like the PowerFlarm. -- Eric Greenwell - Washington State, USA (change ".netto" to ".us" to email me) |
#5
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Flarm Audio and Towplanes
On Friday, June 8, 2012 11:32:59 AM UTC-7, Eric Greenwell wrote:
On 6/8/2012 10:01 AM, bumper wrote: Bob, I did a post on this earlier. I use my PowerFlarm portable in both my glider and Husky tow plane. I installed a plug-in super bright LED that attaches to the side of the PF with Velcro. It plugs into the audio out and the coaxial power jack on the PF, so is easy to remove. It uses the PF audio out to bias a transistor driver for the alarm LED - - bright enough to get your attention even in full sunlight. One can also wire the PF audio out directly to the headset jack in the aircraft. Even though the PF has menu adjustable audio out level, depending on audio levels desired, you may need to install a series dropping resistor of 50 ohms or more to lower the audio to a reasonable level. An alternative for towplanes with an intercom (separate box or built into the radio) is to have the PowerFlarm audio output connect to one of the intercom inputs. That will bring it to the pilot's headset without any conflicts. Some newer radios, like the MGL Avionics V6 I just installed, also have dedicated audio inputs for warning devices like the PowerFlarm. -- Eric Greenwell - Washington State, USA (change ".netto" to ".us" to email me) Many newer aviation headsets have a direct audio input designed for iPods/MP3 players or cell phones. e.g. The Clarity Alofts I use in the ASH-26E do.... Darryl |
#6
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Flarm Audio and Towplanes
On Jun 7, 6:07*pm, Bob Gibbons wrote:
It's interesting that of all the replies so far everyone has ignored the issue you raised. In an unfortunate decision (my opinion), Flarm has opted to delete from the "brick" model the intercom audio output that is part of the "portable". Andy |
#7
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Flarm Audio and Towplanes
On 6/8/2012 1:45 PM, Andy wrote:
I ignored it because I couldn't find a full specification or manual for the brick; however, I'd be surprised if it doesn't have the audio output port, as it would seem to be even more useful on the brick than on the portable. Perhaps the audio port is available on a remote display? Just guessing, since I did not find the specifications On Jun 7, 6:07 pm, Bob wrote: It's interesting that of all the replies so far everyone has ignored the issue you raised. In an unfortunate decision (my opinion), Flarm has opted to delete from the "brick" model the intercom audio output that is part of the "portable". Andy -- Eric Greenwell - Washington State, USA (change ".netto" to ".us" to email me) |
#8
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Flarm Audio and Towplanes
On Jun 8, 2:53*pm, Eric Greenwell wrote:
On 6/8/2012 1:45 PM, Andy wrote: I ignored it because I couldn't find a full specification or manual for the brick; however, I'd be surprised if it doesn't have the audio output port, as it would seem to be even more useful on the brick than on the portable. Perhaps the audio port is available on a remote display? Just guessing, since I did not find the specifications I reviewed the brick preliminary user manual. It makes no mention of an audio output port. There is no audio output connector shown in the pictures and no mention of audio output in any of the connector pin outs. I couldn't even find any mention of audio alarms. The manual is preliminary though. It is my understanding that the alarm audio is provided by the rectangular display that is an option with the brick. If that's true then the audio alert is probably encoded in the serial data output(s) of the brick. I am not aware that this display provides an audio jack. Andy |
#9
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Flarm Audio and Towplanes
Just to clarify, the replies on how to integrate the PowerFlarm's
portable audio port into a headset are interesting. However, what I really wanted to know is the operating experience of non-US towplane operators using the classic PowerFlarm (which does not have audio). Has this proven to be a serious deficiency, or have your tow pilots managed to manage with the purely visual threat warnings from the display itself? Bob On Thu, 07 Jun 2012 20:07:33 -0500, Bob Gibbons wrote: Question: How have Flarm users around the world handled the lack of audio intercom output in the standard Flarm unit when installed in towplanes? Is the simple visual LED output on the Flarm display adequate, or have you had to add auxiliary audio intercom capability to the Flarm for your towplanes? As we in the U.S. prepare to deploy PowerFlarm into our fleet, we will have to deal with this installation issue into our towplanes. In an unfortunate decision (my opinion), Flarm has opted to delete from the "brick" model the intercom audio output that is part of the "portable". We are faced with the decision to either use the brick in our towplanes with no audio alert, or integrate the portable model, having to add external displays and antenna to this otherwise self-contained unit. What have others found regarding the need for an auxiliary headset audio output when towing with the Flarm? Thanks Bob |
#10
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Flarm Audio and Towplanes
I highlighted that already in the original thread when the Brick
manuals became available: https://groups.google.com/group/rec....8775b7bdd8ba1b It might have to do with the system architecture, where the brick does the calculations, but the display needs to take care of the presentation of the data to the user, visual as well as audio. On the other hand, the Garrecht Brick TRX-1500 does have an audio output (and an additional serial interface) in the D-Sub15HD connector. http://garrecht.com/index.php/en/ads-b/trx-1500. It is indeed a bummer that the PowerFlarm brick does not have this feature. As Eric said, most newer radios have great features to input audio from other sources (and mix/switch it properly) Now, I still have some hope: In the current published PowerFlarm Brick documentation, on the DB9 connector, pins 1, 4 and 6 have not been described. I am keeping my fingers crossed. Hopefully someone from the Flarm team can shed a light. 3U |
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