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Color Platforms for Top Hat/XCSoar



 
 
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  #11  
Old June 24th 17, 08:11 AM posted to rec.aviation.soaring
[email protected]
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Default Color Platforms for Top Hat/XCSoar

A couple of friends are using OpenVario. Heat can be a problem.
Jim


Didn't realize there was much OpenVario action over here. Haven't heard anything about heat problems. Are those related to the display? If so, do you know which one(s)? Yes, Top Hat Linux is available but I haven't heard of anyone who's actually done it yet. Working in the technology field, the most dangerous words are "it *should* work".

Polarized glasses don't work well with the screen of my Portable PowerFLARM..

I'm mostly OK with my Dell Streak 5 except for size so any of the phone devices wouldn't be much of an improvement.

Chip Bearden
"JB"
  #12  
Old June 24th 17, 04:13 PM posted to rec.aviation.soaring
JS
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Default Color Platforms for Top Hat/XCSoar

Those are in Australia, Chip.
One of them looked like it was built in a PVC chassis, but I have no idea what goes into building an OpenVario. Prefer to support the people that make stuff for us.
You could probably keep an OpenVario or any other instrument nice and cool by putting it in the panel of a JS3.
Jim

On Saturday, June 24, 2017 at 12:11:42 AM UTC-7, wrote:

Didn't realize there was much OpenVario action over here. Haven't heard anything about heat problems.
Chip Bearden
"JB"


  #13  
Old June 24th 17, 05:46 PM posted to rec.aviation.soaring
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Default Color Platforms for Top Hat/XCSoar

That's the solution: order a JS3!!

I didn't realize there was much OpenVario action anywhere outside of Europe, though I do know of 2 or 3 guys in the U.S. who are experimenting with it.. It's an interesting concept for the display options, the cursor options, and as an integration platform. But it's an order of magnitude greater in cost than my Kobo and Dell Streak toys, although still well below the commercial price points.

Just to clarify, I'm looking for a LARGER color display than the Dell Streak 5 so the smartphone alternatives aren't attractive.

I haven't played with a Dell Streak 7 but everything I read in the soaring-specific postings says it's not as readable in sunlight as the 5. I'd heard the same about the Nexus 7 but haven't seen it myself, although polarized sunglasses are a stopper due to my Portable PowerFLARM screen.

My device is mounted on the right side of the canopy rail and neither the Dell nor the Kobo Glo (I'm still swapping them in and out using a Ram X-Grip) obscures any of my instrument panel.

I prefer color, one reason being Top Hat's version of autozoomed climb page that gives an overhead picture of the track through the thermal and surrounding, area, color coded for lift and sink. The gray scale version just isn't as definitive/intuitive for me.

My new ClearNav Vario's thermal assistant works very well but it's a one-circle view of the thermal with an arrow pointing in the direction of the core. I can manually switch into an overhead view similar to Top Hat's that shows my path through the entire thermal area with bubbles of lift. But then I lose the thermal assistant view. So I like to have the overhead view on Top Hat at the same time.

Until last year, the device on the canopy rail was an old Garmin GPS 76 permanently zoomed in to show my path through the thermal and surrounding area, although obviously not coded for lift and sink. More than once while in marginal lift, I've moved over a short distance only to realize I should have stayed, and then unerringly flown directly back along the breadcrumbs to my previous circle and continued climbing slowly. With my new advanced technology, it's not so simple to get the same information--at least not without a few button pushes.

So I want color for that overhead view. The Dell Streak 5 is OK. A bigger, even brighter color screen would be better.

Chip Bearden
"JB"
  #14  
Old June 24th 17, 06:34 PM posted to rec.aviation.soaring
[email protected]
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Default Color Platforms for Top Hat/XCSoar

On Saturday, June 24, 2017 at 12:46:41 PM UTC-4, wrote:
That's the solution: order a JS3!!

I didn't realize there was much OpenVario action anywhere outside of Europe, though I do know of 2 or 3 guys in the U.S. who are experimenting with it. It's an interesting concept for the display options, the cursor options, and as an integration platform. But it's an order of magnitude greater in cost than my Kobo and Dell Streak toys, although still well below the commercial price points.

Just to clarify, I'm looking for a LARGER color display than the Dell Streak 5 so the smartphone alternatives aren't attractive.

I haven't played with a Dell Streak 7 but everything I read in the soaring-specific postings says it's not as readable in sunlight as the 5. I'd heard the same about the Nexus 7 but haven't seen it myself, although polarized sunglasses are a stopper due to my Portable PowerFLARM screen.

My device is mounted on the right side of the canopy rail and neither the Dell nor the Kobo Glo (I'm still swapping them in and out using a Ram X-Grip) obscures any of my instrument panel.

I prefer color, one reason being Top Hat's version of autozoomed climb page that gives an overhead picture of the track through the thermal and surrounding, area, color coded for lift and sink. The gray scale version just isn't as definitive/intuitive for me.

My new ClearNav Vario's thermal assistant works very well but it's a one-circle view of the thermal with an arrow pointing in the direction of the core. I can manually switch into an overhead view similar to Top Hat's that shows my path through the entire thermal area with bubbles of lift. But then I lose the thermal assistant view. So I like to have the overhead view on Top Hat at the same time.

Until last year, the device on the canopy rail was an old Garmin GPS 76 permanently zoomed in to show my path through the thermal and surrounding area, although obviously not coded for lift and sink. More than once while in marginal lift, I've moved over a short distance only to realize I should have stayed, and then unerringly flown directly back along the breadcrumbs to my previous circle and continued climbing slowly. With my new advanced technology, it's not so simple to get the same information--at least not without a few button pushes.

So I want color for that overhead view. The Dell Streak 5 is OK. A bigger, even brighter color screen would be better.

Chip Bearden
"JB"


The note series smart phones have big screens, and the ratio of screen to bezel is better than the older smart phones.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samsun...xy_Note_series

how big to you need? a phablet phone might work for you.
Chris

  #15  
Old June 24th 17, 07:15 PM posted to rec.aviation.soaring
Dan Marotta
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Default Color Platforms for Top Hat/XCSoar

From personal experience, the Nexus 7 is a non-starter. The screen is
simply not bright enough in sunlight to read effectively. Perhaps
shading it somehow would improve things, but on a recent flight from NM
to UT and back, I found it utterly useless and relegated it to the
bottom of the pile of stuff in the right seat.

The plan view of a thermal is one of the main reasons I run a Streak 5
even when flying solo. Mine is set up to account for wind drift so that
it's easy to simply fly the same displayed path to stay in the best
lift. My ClearNav screen, while much brighter and a terrific display of
the terrain (not withstanding the "canopy view"), does not account for
wind drift so all thermals look like stretched springs except under no
wind conditions and lift strength is indicated by the size of a
"bubble". After a few turns in a thermal, it's a jumble of blobs which
I find useless. If I need guidance back to the center of a thermal, I
simply glance at the Streak.

Yes, the Streak 5 is well obsolete, running Android 2.3.7, but it works
well and I expect mine, plus my two spares, will last the remainder of
my flying days.

On 6/24/2017 10:46 AM, wrote:
That's the solution: order a JS3!!

I didn't realize there was much OpenVario action anywhere outside of Europe, though I do know of 2 or 3 guys in the U.S. who are experimenting with it. It's an interesting concept for the display options, the cursor options, and as an integration platform. But it's an order of magnitude greater in cost than my Kobo and Dell Streak toys, although still well below the commercial price points.

Just to clarify, I'm looking for a LARGER color display than the Dell Streak 5 so the smartphone alternatives aren't attractive.

I haven't played with a Dell Streak 7 but everything I read in the soaring-specific postings says it's not as readable in sunlight as the 5. I'd heard the same about the Nexus 7 but haven't seen it myself, although polarized sunglasses are a stopper due to my Portable PowerFLARM screen.

My device is mounted on the right side of the canopy rail and neither the Dell nor the Kobo Glo (I'm still swapping them in and out using a Ram X-Grip) obscures any of my instrument panel.

I prefer color, one reason being Top Hat's version of autozoomed climb page that gives an overhead picture of the track through the thermal and surrounding, area, color coded for lift and sink. The gray scale version just isn't as definitive/intuitive for me.

My new ClearNav Vario's thermal assistant works very well but it's a one-circle view of the thermal with an arrow pointing in the direction of the core. I can manually switch into an overhead view similar to Top Hat's that shows my path through the entire thermal area with bubbles of lift. But then I lose the thermal assistant view. So I like to have the overhead view on Top Hat at the same time.

Until last year, the device on the canopy rail was an old Garmin GPS 76 permanently zoomed in to show my path through the thermal and surrounding area, although obviously not coded for lift and sink. More than once while in marginal lift, I've moved over a short distance only to realize I should have stayed, and then unerringly flown directly back along the breadcrumbs to my previous circle and continued climbing slowly. With my new advanced technology, it's not so simple to get the same information--at least not without a few button pushes.

So I want color for that overhead view. The Dell Streak 5 is OK. A bigger, even brighter color screen would be better.

Chip Bearden
"JB"


--
Dan, 5J
  #16  
Old June 24th 17, 07:21 PM posted to rec.aviation.soaring
Papa3[_2_]
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Default Color Platforms for Top Hat/XCSoar

I bet there are good deals to be had on Note 7. What could possibly go wrong?
  #17  
Old June 25th 17, 02:44 AM posted to rec.aviation.soaring
Jonathan St. Cloud
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Default Color Platforms for Top Hat/XCSoar

Sometimes it is worth buying high and crying once. Google only sends updates to android phones for three years after production ends. The new computers are expensive, but likely will not need to be replaced for 20 years, the software is intuitive and linked to the vario read outs. Hell my LXNav even reads out the thermal strength in addition to the audio. Flarm display is big easy to read and speaks to me as does vario. I can set font size to whatever I need to read without glasses... As eyes age I really appreciate the much larger screen than possible with a phone, plus it is panel mounted so nothing hanging on the canopy or elsewhere.

On Saturday, June 24, 2017 at 9:46:41 AM UTC-7, wrote:
That's the solution: order a JS3!!

I didn't realize there was much OpenVario action anywhere outside of Europe, though I do know of 2 or 3 guys in the U.S. who are experimenting with it. It's an interesting concept for the display options, the cursor options, and as an integration platform. But it's an order of magnitude greater in cost than my Kobo and Dell Streak toys, although still well below the commercial price points.

Just to clarify, I'm looking for a LARGER color display than the Dell Streak 5 so the smartphone alternatives aren't attractive.

I haven't played with a Dell Streak 7 but everything I read in the soaring-specific postings says it's not as readable in sunlight as the 5. I'd heard the same about the Nexus 7 but haven't seen it myself, although polarized sunglasses are a stopper due to my Portable PowerFLARM screen.

My device is mounted on the right side of the canopy rail and neither the Dell nor the Kobo Glo (I'm still swapping them in and out using a Ram X-Grip) obscures any of my instrument panel.

I prefer color, one reason being Top Hat's version of autozoomed climb page that gives an overhead picture of the track through the thermal and surrounding, area, color coded for lift and sink. The gray scale version just isn't as definitive/intuitive for me.

My new ClearNav Vario's thermal assistant works very well but it's a one-circle view of the thermal with an arrow pointing in the direction of the core. I can manually switch into an overhead view similar to Top Hat's that shows my path through the entire thermal area with bubbles of lift. But then I lose the thermal assistant view. So I like to have the overhead view on Top Hat at the same time.

Until last year, the device on the canopy rail was an old Garmin GPS 76 permanently zoomed in to show my path through the thermal and surrounding area, although obviously not coded for lift and sink. More than once while in marginal lift, I've moved over a short distance only to realize I should have stayed, and then unerringly flown directly back along the breadcrumbs to my previous circle and continued climbing slowly. With my new advanced technology, it's not so simple to get the same information--at least not without a few button pushes.

So I want color for that overhead view. The Dell Streak 5 is OK. A bigger, even brighter color screen would be better.

Chip Bearden
"JB"


  #18  
Old June 25th 17, 03:06 AM posted to rec.aviation.soaring
Tom BravoMike
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Posts: 266
Default Color Platforms for Top Hat/XCSoar

Yes, Galaxy Note 4 is sun readable and I fly with regular, non-polarized sunglasses. Note 5 is said to be still better; Note 7 which I only had few days before the recall was phenomenal with the screen brightness of over 1000 nits and light sensors on both sides, front and rear, so that the screen kept the same brightness in circling. Now wait for the announced Note 8 to appear in August with the screen of 6.3 inches, probably.


Samsung Galaxy Note 4.
Daylight readable with polarized sunglasses
Internal GPS and barograph for backup system use.
Large very high resolution screen
many spares available
Recent android OS not obsolete windows CE type stuff - will be supported for several more years.
Wifi
Bluetooth
I used it 2 years with XCsoar and it worked great.


  #19  
Old June 25th 17, 03:16 AM posted to rec.aviation.soaring
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Default Color Platforms for Top Hat/XCSoar

I use Tophat on a Nook e-reader with B&W e-ink display. I gladly forego color for the size and sunshine-readability of this display. The Nook runs Android 2.x and they don't make them any more, but hopefully it'll keep running for some years. A disadvantage of the Nook is that it lacks an internal GPS, I've used an external USB GPS puck connected via an OTG Y-cable, now use a serial GPS module that I hardwired into the Nook's motherboard. The latter is more reliable, but the soldering job is demanding.
  #20  
Old June 25th 17, 06:43 AM posted to rec.aviation.soaring
Bret Hess
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Posts: 121
Default Color Platforms for Top Hat/XCSoar

I fly with the Note 4 with polarized sunglasses. Works fine. Great device.
 




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