NMEA and Skyradar Issues - iFly Owners Q&A

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NMEA and Skyradar Issues

3/5/2012 11:50 AM

Walter

Joined: 7/8/2009

Posts: 2778

Re: NMEA and Skyradar Issues

Alasdair wrote:

I test flew with 6.5.9 beta today.

With both my EFIS /AutoPilotand the SkyRadar connected they both showed up in 'Connected Devices' as before. However I got nothing on the EFIS at all (no change to NMEA settings). The EFIS set-up worked perflectly with 6.0.8. As before if I unplug the Serial (EFIS) cable from the hub and leave just the SkyRadar then I seem to get weather.

In summary - SkyRadar function as before - must be the only thing plugged in to get consistent weather. EFIS/Autopilot - now nothing (worked perflectly on 6.0.8, worked intermittently on 6.5.6

Should also be noted I got 2 or 3 sytem lock-ups.

I'm beginning to conclude this is going to be an either/or and not a both choice. Anyone got any other ideas. Is there anywhere I can download 6.0.8 to roll-back?

Alasdair, yes, currently this needs to be an either/or choice. With 6.5 we increased the rate at which we're consuming data from the SkyRadar and I think we're simply overtasking the drivers and it's not something we can solve without rolling back to a version that would sometimes have blocky NEXRAD images. But we are working on a solution. Most iFlys have a built in TTL serial port on the bottom/center of the unit, usually covered by a strip of plastic. We are considering enabling this port for folks like yourself that have dual needs. It will require a special cable to convert the TTL signal to RS232. And it will require some coding to enable this port. But these requirements sould be solvable without too much effort, and it will free the USB to consume only one thing. Please be patient with us as we pursue this solution.

Thanks,
Walter

Walter Boyd
President, Adventure Pilot

3/5/2012 1:27 PM

Alasdair

Joined: 10/12/2011

Posts: 411

Re: NMEA and Skyradar Issues Modified By Alasdair on 3/5/2012 7:55:06 PM

I'm trying..., of course to state the obvious - it's when there is weather that I need the autopilot ;-)

I would like to at least get back to where I was on 6.0.8 which was actually having the choice of one or the other. The following summarizes experience (Sky Radar completely removed only Serial connector to Dynon connected):

To recap -

> 6.0.8 - NMEA worked perfectly (original AP serial to USB cable - Pin 2 removed);

>Upgrade to 6.5.6 (same settings & cable) - NMEA became intermittent;

>>Upgrade to 6.5.9 beta (same settings & cable) - NMEA lost entirely;

Additional update - Followed "smokes" posting (as indicated above) and tried it again tonight with just the "specific" Dynon required GPS sentences. Still nothing.. (However I believe he is running a 720, but I figured worth a try as he too lost NMEA on 6.5.6. to 6.5.9 upgrade). I tried this with and without the "prolific drivers - rebooted each time); Seems like the NMEA "fixes" made to get the 720 to work may have broken the same for the 700?

I loved the Dynon/Autopilot and iFly combination as it worked well on 6.0.8. I bought the SkyRadar based on your input that the USB hub would work. Regarless, lets put that aside - I'm willing to be patient to get both working, I know and trust AP will get it figured out in time. In the mean time I would like to get back to where I left off on 6.0.8 and get my EFIS working again (with the SkyRadar unplugged). Is there somewhere I can download 6.0.8?

BTW - I can't imagine any other GPS company where I'd be getting to have a direct discussion like this. I remain 100% dedicated to my support of the iFly and AP. Thanks for the continued amazing work.

Regards - Alasdair

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