My Attempt at a $115 ADS-B Receiver Build for Foreflight

My box from Shane should be arriving today. Hopefully I'll be using it to pick up my plane this weekend and will report back on how it performs.
 
My box from Shane should be arriving today. Hopefully I'll be using it to pick up my plane this weekend and will report back on how it performs.

His box seems to be the same as the currently suggested "clear acrylic" box...except in black. So unless he did something funky to it (I doubt he changed anything), it should be fine. Just depends on the electronics you're sticking in there. Big talk recently has been installing ground planes for better reception.
 
Black seems an odd color escepially if the unit is going to sit on the glare shield.

I recently added some copper tape to the inside to act as a ground plane, honestly can't tell the difference but then, I am not a nerd in that area.
 
I'm not using an ahrs sensor, just two dongles for traffic/weather. Used to connect just fine. How specifically do you turn off the data stream for ahrs when there's no sensor?
 
My box from Shane should be arriving today. Hopefully I'll be using it to pick up my plane this weekend and will report back on how it performs.

Pick up your plane this weekend?!!

It's only been a week; annuals are supposed to last 3 months! ;)
 
Pick up your plane this weekend?!!

It's only been a week; annuals are supposed to last 3 months! ;)
June 9th was day 1. So we're looking at 3 weeks. :D

Ill give you his number. Flying to CA and leaving it for a month would be preferable to the ordeal you went through. LoL
 
As others have said, you can turn off AHRS in the Stratux web GUI. I think the AHRS toggle is under the last tab, might be labeled System???
There's a picture of the GUI here
http://www.eaa.org/en/eaa/eaa-news-...fic-and-more-an-update-on-the-stratux-project
Yar. Connect to the stratux via wifi, then open up the web browser to 192.168.10.1... the web ui has the settings in there.

Tested mine from my living room and I was getting 1090 traffic. I think I had a high of 6 aircraft. But this was in my bottom floor apartment surrounded by other apartment buildings. Worked fine with Avare and FltPlan Go.

Excited to put it to work.
 
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Anyone over here working on that AHRS challenge posted on reddit? Was just curious, since it's been relatively quiet regarding that topic for a while now.

Or is it that everyone's hard at work for the prize money and bragging rights? :D
 
OK- I turned off AHRS and GPS but it still won't connect to Foreflight. Every other indication in the user interface is working well except that it no longer connects to Foreflight.

Is this something Foreflight is blocking so we have to now by a Stratus?
 
His box seems to be the same as the currently suggested "clear acrylic" box...except in black. So unless he did something funky to it (I doubt he changed anything), it should be fine. Just depends on the electronics you're sticking in there. Big talk recently has been installing ground planes for better reception.

Our case is made of polyacetal plastic so we have high stiffness and low friction. This is much better than the acrylic box for ground planing, and strength. So when your acrylic box breaks, I've got plenty. :) FYI, they're made by Chris still, but we wanted a better material. He fixed us right up. Love that guy!

Black seems an odd color escepially if the unit is going to sit on the glare shield.

Black is the perfect color for the material we use. We use a low conductivity plastic that disperses UV. With our fan and our material, highest temp at the GPS unit (hottest zone) was 65C on the glareshield in Central Texas summer. This works much better because it keeps the sunlight off the unit and the components. The same way a pair of dark sunglasses works. Also, because our case has very low conductivity, we're actually cooler inside than a clear or white case. Additionally, it doesn't reflect white light back into your eyes if it's on the glareshield.

Hope that answers your questions. :)
 
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No I meant Stratus, the $800+ closed environment offering. They would be liable for both sides of the solution.

I posted the actual wording from Tyson as Google search can return threads about people talking about it and not the full BS explanation.

Pretty sure either the online discussions or the note from Tyson is a "BS explanation", really.

All FF has to do is pop a box that says "You're probably going to die using this data" and allow it, to cover any "liability".

It's really about selling their partner's products, not liability. They'll be sued by whoever wants to sue them after a crash, anyway.

We all know this, but pretend it's about the liability. It's a common thing to hide behind in our litigious society. And we're all used to this little white lie from all sorts of tech companies.

Personally I don't want nor need AHRS data from a $3.50 real cost Chinese produced accelerometer, so I don't really care. But I do know that software company lie when I see it. Been the guy told to read that script before... On much bigger and much more expensive tech products.

It's kinda like my holiday weekend "fun" of a cellular carrier telling me they need 72 hours to get two phones unlocked that I've owned outright since the day I bought them a year and a half ago.

Total BS, but that's the kinds of games they all play eventually.
 
Our case is made of polyacetal plastic so we have high stiffness and low friction. This is much better than the acrylic box for ground planing, and strength. So when your acrylic box breaks, I've got plenty. :) FYI, they're made by Chris still, but we wanted a better material. He fixed us right up. Love that guy!

Actually, I haven't used the acrylic box for my stratux. I had a box I designed and 3D printed. Figured it would be more fun that way...and gives me a bit more freedom with doing and positioning things how I want. Also, not sure if we're talking about the same "ground planing" or not, but all the ground planing is, is taking a piece of copper tape (I think DMurray includes it with his antennas) and sticking it to the box where the base of the antenna contacts the actual enclosure. So, i'm not exactly clear on how your box does a better job (like I said, unless we're talking about different ground planing). The stiffness is a good idea, but I'd disagree on the low friction. If it were possible to manufacture it from some sort of compound that could be made sticky (like those cell phone mats for the dashboards of cars), that would be ideal. At least for the future implementation of AHRS. Last thing you want is that box to be sliding around on the glare shield and altering its perceived horizontal reference.

Black is the perfect color for the material we use. We use a low conductivity plastic that disperses UV. With our fan and our material, highest temp at the GPS unit (hottest zone) was 65C on the glareshield in Central Texas summer. This works much better because it keeps the sunlight off the unit and the components. The same way a pair of dark sunglasses works. Also, because our case has very low conductivity, we're actually cooler inside than a clear or white case. Additionally, it doesn't reflect white light back into your eyes if it's on the glareshield.

Hope that answers your questions. :)

I have a hard time imagining that a dark color is the "perfect" color to use. I'm willing to bet that the reason for the consistent temp of the stratux is because of the great job the fan does, and NOT because of the dark color of the box. I agree 100% that the dark box looks much more aesthetically pleasing, and from a sales perspective is the right way to go. But I seriously doubt it aids in the cooling of the internal components (unless compared to a clear one, for example). A light colored enclosure would do a better job. Though really, I think the point is moot because the fan is the primary reason keeping temps down.
 
For those interested, but haven't bought the equipment quite yet, it seems that the RPi3 is now the suggested equipment to purchase. From the looks of it, the RPi2 will still work well, but the Pi3 allows for a cleaner install and slightly less battery use because of the internal WiFi.

Also, looks like there's a new V1.0xxxx available as the latest stable release.
 
Just remember, recommended, but not required. Pi2 are getting harder to find anyway
 
Has anyone looked into putting a battery inside the case? I've been toying with my pile of components and have it working well but I'd really like to put it all in a box without cords running all over the place.
 
Has anyone looked into putting a battery inside the case? I've been toying with my pile of components and have it working well but I'd really like to put it all in a box without cords running all over the place.

I have an Anker portable battery I just have rubber banded to the box. When I'm ready, I plug it in to the Stratux. Not exactly what you're looking for, but it kind of solves the cord dilemma.
 
Has anyone looked into putting a battery inside the case? I've been toying with my pile of components and have it working well but I'd really like to put it all in a box without cords running all over the place.
Cigarette adapter / phone charger works well, just make sure you grab one that can handle 24v, if necessary.
 
Has anyone looked into putting a battery inside the case? I've been toying with my pile of components and have it working well but I'd really like to put it all in a box without cords running all over the place.

I stuffed all of it in a $7 project box including battery. Works fine. Cut slots out of the side so I could charge up the battery when home.
 
On a side note, I'm using one of those car jump start batteries for my power pack. It has an EC5 connector (the blue one closest to the hammer handle) that I'm using for powering the headsets (12V Continuous), an a USB power connector (5V, Switched) for iPhone/Ipad/Raspberry Pi.
The one I'm using is this one:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B014IBCPTU/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
51ONu-52aUL._SL1000_.jpg


Oh yeah, it also doubles as a "get out of airplane in an emergency" device.

Check out 9to5toys.com for specials on the car jump start batteries, and make sure that the 12V is continuous.
 
Huh, I had no idea folks were using lipos for jump starters. Hope it's fused!
 
Has anyone looked into putting a battery inside the case? I've been toying with my pile of components and have it working well but I'd really like to put it all in a box without cords running all over the place.

The short answer is, "yes". I dont recall off hand who did it, but someone no reddit found a batter that you can internalize into a case and allowed for pass-through charging while running the stratux as well. If/when I have enough time, I'll try and find a link for it.
 
Any word on a version to run with gp on android?
My understanding is that GarminPilot uses some sort of proprietary garmin protocol, so its not compatible with what the startux puts out....basically, GP wont work...
 
My understanding is that GarminPilot uses some sort of proprietary garmin protocol, so its not compatible with what the startux puts out....basically, GP wont work...


Well that's a bummer.

My cfi bought a stratus to use, but I am an android fan boy so no foreflight for me. So far it hasn't been an issue because I get cell service but once I start on cross countries that may not be the case.
 
I finally got around to throwing together my prototype... it's functional but it was supposed to be dual band. I had one of the older R820T2 receivers I got way back when playing with this, I just ordered one of the new compact nano2 receivers which was fortunate as the old bulky one wouldn't fit. I'll have to get another nano2 or maybe if I pry the old one out of the case I can make it work.

I wanted an outright stratus replacement so I added batteries and an integrated charger. All the black tape is temporary, I just wanted something to hold it sort of in place until I'm happy with the layout.
iphone273.jpg


iphone274.jpg


This ain't bad but I'm wanting my own 3d printer hardcore now.
 
Huh, I had no idea folks were using lipos for jump starters. Hope it's fused!
It is, in the jump start cable. It has jumper cables that attach to the EC5 connector, and my 12V split box will have a circuit breaker on the main bus. Noise cancelling is an option, and the circuit will be:

Battery -> [Battery Box -> 2A breaker - 6 way splitter]-> 6 EC5 connectors -> Adapter, if needed (like for the Bose AH2 with the 3/16 battery jack) or custom headset plug.
\> USB to Stratux
 
Well that's a bummer.

My cfi bought a stratus to use, but I am an android fan boy so no foreflight for me. So far it hasn't been an issue because I get cell service but once I start on cross countries that may not be the case.

Why are you stuck on Garmin Pilot....there are LOOOOOOTS of different options available. Avare, Naviator, DroidEFB, etc....some are free, some are paid...all are android...check them out, and thank me later.

I finally got around to throwing together my prototype... it's functional but it was supposed to be dual band. I had one of the older R820T2 receivers I got way back when playing with this, I just ordered one of the new compact nano2 receivers which was fortunate as the old bulky one wouldn't fit. I'll have to get another nano2 or maybe if I pry the old one out of the case I can make it work.

I wanted an outright stratus replacement so I added batteries and an integrated charger. All the black tape is temporary, I just wanted something to hold it sort of in place until I'm happy with the layout.
iphone273.jpg


iphone274.jpg


This ain't bad but I'm wanting my own 3d printer hardcore now.

That's pretty dope, dude. Are you getting the pass-through charging with your current battery?

Though I will say this...from what I've ready, I keep hearing that the Nano (or whatever the smaller SDRs are called) heat up more than the larger ones. Also, the second generation 802T has better reception performance than the first gen SDRs (and also better (or roughly the same, but not worse) than the nanos...just sayin...
 
Why are you stuck on Garmin Pilot....there are LOOOOOOTS of different options available. Avare, Naviator, DroidEFB, etc....some are free, some are paid...all are android...check them out, and thank me later.
I've played around with advare and didn't care for it, fltplan go had issues running on my tablet (the maps wouldn't download so I had to download them on my phone and transfer them over).

Would one of the stratux thingies work with one of the non gp android apps? If so I would give them another shot. Especially if I could save $500 and the $100 yearly subscription cost.


Also, have any of you that have built working models thought about selling them?
 
I think FltPlan
I've played around with advare and didn't care for it, fltplan go had issues running on my tablet (the maps wouldn't download so I had to download them on my phone and transfer them over).

Would one of the stratux thingies work with one of the non gp android apps? If so I would give them another shot. Especially if I could save $500 and the $100 yearly subscription cost.


Also, have any of you that have built working models thought about selling them?

I bought a Stratux from Shane. It works great. I use it with Avare. And Avare is my favorite aviation program. FltPlan Go is okay, but I wish FltPlan had Avare's long press menu.
 
Well that's a bummer.

My cfi bought a stratus to use, but I am an android fan boy so no foreflight for me. So far it hasn't been an issue because I get cell service but once I start on cross countries that may not be the case.

FltPlan Go is an option.

It's definitely not as functional or as pretty as GP but it is an option and it's free.
 
I've played around with advare and didn't care for it, fltplan go had issues running on my tablet (the maps wouldn't download so I had to download them on my phone and transfer them over).

Would one of the stratux thingies work with one of the non gp android apps? If so I would give them another shot. Especially if I could save $500 and the $100 yearly subscription cost.


Also, have any of you that have built working models thought about selling them?

Save the $500 and buy a refurb ipad mini for $250 and get FF, you'll never look back.
 
I think it is great that there is a $225 box to compete with the Stratus products priced perhaps $500 more.
 
That's pretty dope, dude. Are you getting the pass-through charging with your current battery?

Though I will say this...from what I've ready, I keep hearing that the Nano (or whatever the smaller SDRs are called) heat up more than the larger ones. Also, the second generation 802T has better reception performance than the first gen SDRs (and also better (or roughly the same, but not worse) than the nanos...just sayin...

Not sure on pass-through, I've got the thing charged up and I'll just have to run it for a while plugged in. If the battery is still fully charged after it's on for say an hour that should be a good answer. I'm not sure how far I trust the % charged indication though given it varies 10% when charging vs just discharging.
 
Got a new problem. Haven't needed the stratux for a few months (almost no flying due to work) and pulled it out today. Original Pi v2, wi-fi dongle. Worked beautifully last time I used it, a few months ago.

Plugged in the battery, all the lights blinking. No wi-fi connection. iPad mini with GPS. No wi-fi connection.

So I download the latest stratux software & install it. Still no wi-fi connection. Pulled out the old iPad 2, same problem. No wi-fi connection. Checked all the connections, everything seems ok.

What I find interesting is until v 0.8, the software was 3,200,000 unzipped. The v.09 and v1.0 versions are smaller and strange sizes. Is it possible I have 2 corrupted versions?

Anyone got any ideas?
 
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