BACKWelcome to the first Swift Avionics Newsletter
It's been a hectic couple of months as we've been getting up to speed with production of MiniOZ and FlarmNav. I'd like to personally thank all RF Developments past customers, for their patience during this familiarisation period.
FlarmNav
The more I study FlarmNav, the more impressed I am. The software
for this device was written by Johnny Wharington, one of the more influential wizards behind XCSoar.......and it shows!
Most people think of FlarmNav as a Flarm display and nothing more. They couldn't be more incorrect. Of course, it is an excellent Flarm alarm monitor , but it also boasts a basic, but excellent navigation system.
Ideal for club aircraft, waypoints can be uploaded via a USB stick, and your members can download their IGC files (non approved), themselves , without removing any equipment from the glider!
At the price, this device is unsurpassed. If you were to connect this on it's battery ( a small 12V 1.8a.h. would be heaps), you have a simple but basic backup Nav system, runs on next to no current!
Add to this , the fact that a MiniOZ connected to the FlarmNav passes data straight through to a PDA or Altair or similar, you have a fully fledged glide computer with Flarm and backup Nav at a budget price. Check it out!
OZFlarm IGC approval
I have been asked more than once about whether we will be pursuing IGC approval for the now discontinued product, OZFlarm.
In short, the answer is yes, and this will be one of my many projects early 2009. MiniOZ will follow shortly after this.
The original Flarm, from Switzerland , has recently achieved IGC approval up to Diamond level. The reason for this limitation is basically due to hardware. As the device has no security switches, it cannot be considered for world record flights.
OZflarm is basically an identical device, and as such we don't forsee any major issues getting approval.
Having said this, "ït ain't over till the fat lady sings", so your patience will be appreciated, as we strive to get a result.Upgrading your OZFlarm will require shipping the device back to us for upgrade and a calibration check. There will be a cost attached to this, as the IGC approval does not come to us for free.
EW Microrecorder Logger
I spent a day last week playing with an Altair/ EW Microrecorder combination. The EW is truly a great logger.
SImple to use, the concept of having the logger look like a memory stick to the PC is so simple it makes me
wonder why it hasn't been implemented this effectively before. Simply edit a text file to change the
configurations. Tasks can be edited manually, but I recommend using Seeyou to declare your task, or if
you are using XCSoar, you can declare your flight directly to the EW. No more need for an observer!
There is one "gotcha" I discovered while setting this system up. Somehow, the IGC spec for the RJ45 connector has pin numbers 1 to 8 in reverse order to the international standard for RJ45 connections. It seems like most, if not all manufacturers followed the IGC spec to the letter (or should I say number). EW however, in true British fashion stuck to their guns and used the international Standard. The result........... EW has Power and Ground at opposite ends of the connector all others I have seen!
If you want to keep the smoke inside your EW, make sure you label your connection leads, and DO NOT interchange leads with other instruments, i.e. Flarm, FlarmNav etc.
We hope you found our first newsletter informative.
Get high, fly far, and above all fly safe
The Swift Team
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