Hello everyone.
I want to thank CYoung, and the rest of the people that contributed to the Free software, and others on this board that offered help and actual parts. Thank you, George
I ordered parts from eBay, DVB-T, and Power source, and Micro Center the Pi 3 B.
I, Personally, do not use the device, I decided to build it to get educated and be able to answer questions and help others that use a specific free software application that I am supporting.
See the pic. with the final assembly, that includes the Pi 3 B, 50000 ??? mAh Power source and DVB-T NANO 2.
The actual build, as seen costs around $55.00. Pi3 B, $30, DVB-T $8.00, Power source $15.00, I had an old Micro SD card. I will not get into the Software loading, there is a lot of information on the Forum about it, but if you have specific questions post here.
The Case was made from the clear CD top cover, that when you cut it in half is the perfect size for both top and bottom.
I used 1 in. screws x4, and the Spacers made from some stiff plastic tubing that can be easily cut.
The complete, initial assembly, took about 0.5 hr., the testing of Power consumption, Heat dissipation, Cooling, etc. took many hrs.
Summary:
1-The unit consumes about 580 mA under normal conditions, about 390 for the Pi and about 200 for the DVB-T.
2-Using an enclosed case with small openings, will get the unit very hot in hurry, otherwise, as you see it assembled, it will run at about 44 deg. C.
3-Having a small Heat sink, without air circulating (no fan) will only slow down the temperature increase, and remain about 2 deg. C below the No heat sink of about 50 deg. C. Using it without should be OK as long as you allow space for convection cooling, many openings. A Heat sink without proper heat transfer, good thermal transfer, is worse than No heat sink. I ended up with an LM323 upside down as heat sink.
4-DVB-T from the another vendor was compared to the inexpensive and I noticed No difference in parts or performance.
5-Hi Gain Antenna, vs. the Standard that came with the device, did Not show a significant improvement. Using the Standard, long wire, may prove more flexible if you want to keep the Pi under the seat and just have the Antenna above the Instrument panel.
6-WiFi communication, Device to Tablet, drop outs seem to be very frequent, especially when close to other WiFi sources.
7-DVB-T gets very hot in a hurry, 200 mA x 5.1 V, quite a bit of power for that small area, I removed the top cover for better cooling. Most likely to fail
Conclusion:
I do not think that ADS-B is at the point where it is reliable, and useful to pilots, as a device to observe traffic, too many aircraft do not yet conform to it and for the ones that do, many cannot be seen on the device.
For the Wx it may be of some use, but unless you are close to a station, you may not get anything until above 3000 Ft. AGL.
The power source, rated at 50000 mAh, is Not anywhere close, theoretically you should be able to get 100 Hrs. at 500 mA, the best you may get is about 10 hrs. see pic. Horiz5HrsStrxS1.jpg 5:09 Hr. down to 65%.
Fun to build and do some testing and analysis.
Any questions, or comments, please post here.
