PFD display utilizing a Stratux box banks in the incorrect direction

[johnr...@gmail.com]

I just received a Stratux box from Crew Dog Electronics.

I configured Avare and i get traffic and GPS and all seemed well.

However when I pulled up the PFD when banked to the right the display shows banking left.

The pitch is correct, pitch up and the display matches.

Further the Stratux created web data, does show the proper bank display.

I've tried to reverse it by recalibrating it for the other side but then the bank is correct but the pitch wrong.

I'm wondering is there a switch or flag that can be changed to fix this issue.

Or am i simply dense and missing something.

Everything else seems to be okay.

I'm running this on a Samsung TAB A 10 with Avare 8.0.5

thanks for any input

John

[Zubair Khan]

Hi John
We have never tested Avare with Stratux PFD data. PFD is only tested and works with iLevil.
I guess by luck some input from startux works.
Will take a look what Stratux is sending.
Zubair



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[John W SBA]

> I've tried to reverse it by recalibrating it for the other side

As noted, Avare is not currently compatible with Stratux per se. That
of course, didn't stop me from trying it when first setting up mine. :)

My recollection is having encountered the same issue. In my case (a
couple of years ago, so obviously on much earlier Avare & Stratux), it
was fixed by standing the Stratux on end and calibrating. I had to do
that first, then place it in position for flight and level it
horizontally. After lots of futzing I did get it to work passably, but
found it more a distraction than situational awareness tool in flight.

The best results I got (on an already old Tab 8 SM-350) was with split
screen. One side running Avare, the other Firefox displaying the
Stratux "web" interface for their PFD. Even that, though better, didn't
begin to be useful.

I hope some of this may be helpful, and that you'll keep us posted on
your progress.

Happy Flying -j

[Zubair Khan]

Hi John.

I tested Avare with stratux PFD and pitch, bank, and slip seems to work properly.

I had to calibrate gyros on the stratux 192.168.10.1 page. I also noticed that the front of the airplane should be lined up with the HDMI and power side of the raspberry pi.

So we declare support for stratux ahrs officially now. It worked magically. The ahrs module inside labels " stratux ahrs v 1.1" and the fan connector is facing the Ethernet port side.

Zubair


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[Ben]

On the internal Stratux webpage, on the settings tab, there is a way to set the device's orientation, which requires pointing the nose of the device at the sky. 

If the noise was pointing some other direction when it was initialized, that could explain the odd  behavior. 

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/apps4av-forum/7U7kyl5z8iU0M-9kV_ZyJ07XwIr3iX1R_qDRi6b2nR9l7EMwUm7LdyoHvsha0sir2EYCxBgXQqRkzJ1s0LfOixXU9jJDj1vrZ-QxTbMQbfA%3D%40protonmail.com.

[John W SBA]

> stratux PFD and pitch, bank, and slip seems to work properly.

I've just looked up AHRS on my FlightBox implementation of Stratux, and
discovered there's a firmware update (v1.4r4) that was released just
after buying mine in Feb.2018:
https://www.openflightsolutions.com/2018/02/

Apparently they made changes to better integrate with the iOS ForeFlight
app. There's also NMEA output support added, and they provide an
Integration Guide:
https://www.openflightsolutions.com/flightbox/integration/

I note that they still don't list Avare as supporting AHRS, so someone
on the Apps4Av Dev team would probably need to contact them to correct
that. I see in the first link above they've also been working on an
EFIS system that looks really cool. At some point I might update my
Flightbox to implement all their ongoing enhancements.

> So we declare support for stratux ahrs officially now.

This is *wonderful* news! Thank you Zubair and everyone else who helped
to make this happen. :D

Happy Flying -j

[Ben]

I have a related question: Is there a way to level the PFD in Avare?  For whatever reason, the AHRS in my Stratux will always return to a tilt of a couple of degrees after being reset.  

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[John W SBA]

> Is there a way to level the PFD in Avare?

Not that I know of, and I didn't find anything in the Stratux web
interface either.

> AHRS in my Stratux will always return to a tilt of a
> couple of degrees after being reset.

I had the same experience. I resorted to manually levelling it in
flight and that seemed to work. In the end I gave up on AHRS as
documented in my writeup. That was over a year ago, and it seems there
are now updates to the firmware and possibly hardware. I'm not flying
Stratux this month, but hope to eventually make time for checking out
upgrade procedures and options and will report back if I find any
change. One item discovered while checking around that got me excited
today, is reading that FlightBox is working on an open standards EFIS:
https://www.openflightsolutions.com/coming-soon-flightbox-efis/

If you have a new Stratux, presumably it has any updates. Mike who does
the fabulous HIZ app for use with the "$10 ADSB" SDR setup I wrote about
in the past, may have some info or ideas. He was working on a complete
fancy hardware/software alternative to Stratux designed specifically for
Android/Avare, so maybe that's a possible solution too. Everyone
involved with non-commercial hw/sw seems super busy, so I *try* not to
bug them and just wait patiently for announcements. Anyway, please keep
us posted on anything you find out.

Happy Flying -j

[johnr...@gmail.com]

Zuben

I read the idea from John W and tried different orientations with no luck

Setup done via the book, I have correct pitch but opposite direction roll in Avair

I read your response that you got it to work with firmware version 1.1 I looked at mine and it's version 1.5b1

John W also mentioned version 1.4 as being a major revision and some cleanup to get things to work with ForeFlight. I wonder if between 1.1 and 1.4 something changed.

To recap in a windows or android  browser the presentation is correct, both pitch and roll are presented properly.

In Avare pitch is correct but roll is backwards.

It would be interesting to revert mine back to 1.1 or 1.4 and see if the same issue remains.

I have no clue how to do that.

Everything else seems to be working, i can see traffic with direction pointers with faster aircraft having longer ones, as well as the altitude displacement and various colors based on displacement.

On Wednesday, March 20, 2019 at 7:24:26 AM UTC-7, Zubair Khan wrote:

Hi John.

I tested Avare with stratux PFD and pitch, bank, and slip seems to work properly.

I had to calibrate gyros on the stratux 192.168.10.1 page. I also noticed that the front of the airplane should be lined up with the HDMI and power side of the raspberry pi.

So we declare support for stratux ahrs officially now. It worked magically. The ahrs module inside labels " stratux ahrs v 1.1" and the fan connector is facing the Ethernet port side.

[John W SBA]

> I have correct pitch but opposite direction roll in Avair

I did have exactly that problem, after I wrote up the initial setup here
on the Apps4Av website:
https://apps4av.com/2018/02/15/ofs-stratux-setup/

My recollection is that the initial calibration needed to be done with
the Stratux standing on end, as Ben mentioned. After I did that and
proceeded with the documented Stratux setup process it showed turn/bank
correctly in Avare. This was a year ago using the I/O add-on app that's
no longer needed. It now still works perfectly both with my Stratux
receiver and the ones built into two different aircraft I fly. Since
doing that initial setup, all versions of Avare with and without the I/O
app have worked correctly with Stratux for turn/bank.

In short: This is NOT an Avare problem. It is either due to the setup
process described, or a problem with your Stratux receiver.

I also wrote about it here on the Forum"
https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/apps4av-forum/XvuyVEIravg

There's also discussion here:
https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/apps4av-forum/o-9-H9mlTyY

> looked at mine and it's version 1.5b1

Mine is currently 1.4r1

> I wonder if between 1.1 and 1.4 something changed.

Yes, many things changed. None related to the issue of reverse bank
indication.

> in a windows or android browser the presentation is correct

That was my experience too.

> It would be interesting to revert mine back to 1.1 or 1.4

I suggest you avoid doing that, since other beneficial changes have been
made. If you'd like to ensure it's not the firmware, you could simply
re-load the current version. There used to be reports of problems
solved by doing that a couple of years ago, but I don't recall seeing
any recently.

> I have no clue how to do that.

If you bought the receiver recently, there may be an option to send it
back to have them do it. Alternatively, someone with a Stratux near you
might be willing to do it or show you how. If you'd like to seek help
with it here on the Apps4Av Forum, it might be helpful to specify your
Stratux and Android device make/model and all details you can find.

> Everything else seems to be working

That was my experience too. As you outlined, I find it very helpful
having all that info displayed in Avare.

Thanks for keeping us updated on your progress in solving this.

Happy Flying -j

[John W SBA]

> work with firmware version 1.1

FYI I think the firmware number Zubair mentioned above may be stamped on
the part inside the box, and not the Stratus firmware number reported by
the Status page of the Stratux web page display.

Here at home, just now I futzed with my Stratux a bit. First I placed
it on a level surface with the box on end and the two antennae pointed
up. I went to the Stratux web browser interface Settings page and
clicked "Calibrate Gyros." Then I laid it down horizontally with the
fan facing up, went to the Stratux web interface GPS/AHRS page and
clicked the blue Reset/Level button.

For whatever reason, the result is that in the web interface my Stratux
now shows pitch/bank correctly only when the USB power supply plug is
facing where forward would be in an aircraft. I'm guessing that, after
doing the initial "Calibrate Gyros" step above, I'd need to do the
Reset/Level step in level flight. The PFD display in Avare showed
pitch/bank correctly, but the pitch showed a slight climb compared with
the Stratux web interface GPS/AHRS page. I repeated the Reset/Level
step and now they agree but the bank is reversed. So this again leads
me to suspect that the second step needs to be done in flight, or at
least in motion for use in Avare.

As I wrote back when testing this in flight, my strong impression is
that my current Stratux hardware & firmware is not suitable for AHRS in
non-emergency IMC. For VFR, it doesn't seem useful except possibly as
backup in primary instrument failure during inadvertent IMC entry. If
anyone has obtained different results in flight, I'd very much
appreciate knowing details on all your hardware, firmware, and your
setup procedure. My impression is that homebuilts are using Stratux
AHRS for autopilot. If so, I'm curious how their setup and results may
differ.

[johnr...@gmail.com]

I tried all the ideas offered to correct this with no success.

I put together a worksheet with each side listed and then set set each as forward and either the pitch or back is always wrong.

I'm using this as an informational display for passengers riding in a C-47.

We are prepping it to fly to Europe for the 75th anniversary of the D-day invasion in June.

We flew it down to the paint shop to get a complete set of invasion stripes painted on.

Our plane made it to Europe 2 months after D-day and only has belly stripes, as by then that was all that was needed.

I ended up using a split screen with the Stratux display on one side and Avare on the other in landscape mode.

I think I will only use the map display as most people probably will only be interested in where they are.

thanks for all the input, sorry nothing worked for the PFD display, everything else seems to work flawlessly.

ADA-B works great saw other traffic, proper pointers and colors. GPS locks on quickly. just roll axis backwards on the PFD.

John

[John W SBA]

> I tried all the ideas offered to correct this with no success.

What a disappointment to still not have it working correctly after your
careful efforts. Thank you for taking the time to update us, and if you
ever do figure it out do let us know the solution. Guess I'm lucky that
mine worked after doing the initial calibration step with the Stratux
standing on end (see attached). I don't know why the unit has to be on
one end or the other, but that's what fixed mine even (after doing the
second setting in flight) when it's mounted horizontally.

> display for passengers riding in a C-47.

What a perfect use for this! :D

> fly to Europe for the 75th anniversary of the D-day invasion

Exciting to be part of that I'll bet!

> ended up using a split screen with the Stratux display on one side

Glad that works well at least. Even though mine works in the Avare PFD
screen now, I found it more useful in split screen as you describe but
still don't fly with it anyway.

Best wishes for a memorable gathering to commemorate D-Day.

[Jeffrey Ross]

John,

I just tried here with my Stratux box and I was successful, it displayed properly from the Stratux web page and from Avare.

My question to you is what version of Stratux are you running?  My unit has Stratux  v1.5b2 (pre-release - see https://github.com/cyoung/stratux/releases ), I simply set the orientation, verified it worked as expected on the Stratux web page and then started up Avare which displayed as expected.

I tested this on a stock Samsung SM-T350 (Tab A 8.0)

Not sure if this helps you or not.

Jeff

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[johnr...@gmail.com]

Jeff

I was on the current stable release, i tried your idea of updating to the pre-release version and got the same results.

I'm going to contact Crew Dog and see about getting an exchange unit.

I'm really confused by this as it correctly displays from the browser but not within Avare.

there must be a communication issue with how the Stratux box communicates to the tablet via it's wireless connection.

Beyond my.

Thanks for the idea,

John

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[johnr...@gmail.com]

one last note.'

I've only observed this using MPH on the PFD display. The airspeed tops out at 500 MPH works fine up to that point, but once over 500 it does not increase.

I noticed this prior to all this, been that way for a couple of years.

Normally it's not an issue with most of us but thought I would mention it.

John

[Chip Davis]

I suspect that the developers of Avare had little expectation that it would be used by pilots in aircraft that report airspeed in Mach numbers... ;-)

-Chip-

-------- Original message --------From: johnr...@gmail.com

Date: 3/31/19 18:27 (GMT-05:00)

To: Apps4Av Forum <apps4a...@googlegroups.com>

Subject: Re: [Apps4Av] Re: PFD display utilizing a Stratux box banks in the incorrect direction

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[Paul Fisher]

I finally got a chance to test the AHRS chip in my Stratux. I'm running the most recent version of the Stratux software (built 2019-04-08 update-stratux-v1.5b2-50e2b3c997.sh). On the Stratux configuration page (192.168.10.1) everything works correctly - up/down and left/right. However, in Avare only pitch (up/down) is correct. Roll (left/right) is indeed reversed. Specifically, rolling to the right shows a left turn, and rolling to the left shows a right turn. Since it is working correctly on the Stratux configuration page, it is clearly a problem in the Avare software.

I tested on two different devices, both running Avare version 8.07 updated on 22Mar2019.

Paul Fisher

[Jeffrey Ross]

I don't know what I was looking at before but you are correct the pitch
is correct however the roll is backwards, checked on two different devices.

Jeff

[Zubair Khan]

The PFD is made to work with iLevil. It's a surprise that it's working with Stratux. I don't know why these two devices don't agree on bank. iLevil is a more complete solution with pitot static system, but it costs a lot more.

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[John W SBA]

> pitch is correct however the roll is backwards

Does the second Calibration step in Statux settings need to be done in
flight so that it automatically determines the "forward" side of the
Stratux mounting orientation? I ask because the directions on my
Stratux web interface settings say to do that second step in straight
and level flight.

On the ground it's possible to get Avare pitch working correctly by
rotating mounting of the Stratux receiver 180 degrees horizontally.
That is, say you mounted it in the aircraft with one side (e.g. "top"
with antennae) facing forward in flight for correct display on the
Stratux web interface. You'd rotate it so that side is toward the
aircraft tail for Avare. Clearly not an optimal solution if you desire
access to BOTH methods of displaying the Stratux data in flight. But
for Avare only, you can mount it so that pitch and roll are both correct
in flight.

OK on tablets but I found that even on my old S7 phone, the split screen
method will work in Portrait mode if the Avare portion is maximized and
with Stratux displayed in Firefox. It only shows a vertically cropped
Firefox view with limited pitch latitude, but would be enough in normal
flight.

Since the Stratux performance via its web interface is superior to that
via the Avare PFD, a split screen or secondary device might be the best
solution. It would give you full-screen display of the whole Stratux
web interface without affecting Avare.

Even via the web interface I haven't found the Stratux AHRS to be useful
and reliable in flight. Have others found it to be accurate and
reliable via the web interface or other apps?