AvareX Android I/O Functionality

[David Lewis]

After installing AvareX on my Android tablet, I noticed an I/O option listed in the AvareX ‘Menu’ selections. This option does not appear in the iOS installs I’ve been using up to now.  Clicking through I/O allowed me to connect AvareX to my aircraft’s BlueTooth-to-RS232 bridge. But I don’t see any clues on how to utilize this potential functionality. A forum search hasn’t turned up any guidance. It would be great to regain LegacyAvare BlueTooth autopilot message connectivity. Can anyone comment on how they are using the I/O option? Perhaps this is one of the In-Development projects?

 

[Apps4av Support]

The IO will send data to your autopilot. No one has tested it so you can try it and let us know.

Regards,

Apps For Aviators Support,

We encourage users to use the Forum for all questions. Any updates to the forum will help other users, who might have similar questions.
Forum: https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/apps4av-forum

On Sat, Jan 24, 2026, 1:32 AM David Lewis <davidle...@gmail.com> wrote:

After installing AvareX on my Android tablet, I noticed an I/O option listed in the AvareX ‘Menu’ selections. This option does not appear in the iOS installs I’ve been using up to now.  Clicking through I/O allowed me to connect AvareX to my aircraft’s BlueTooth-to-RS232 bridge. But I don’t see any clues on how to utilize this potential functionality. A forum search hasn’t turned up any guidance. It would be great to regain LegacyAvare BlueTooth autopilot message connectivity. Can anyone comment on how they are using the I/O option? Perhaps this is one of the In-Development projects?

 

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[David Lewis]

Thank you. This is an awesome development. Looking forward to testing this functionality. Lack of a BT connection to the autopilot has been the only issue stopping me from a complete transition to AvareX. Everything else about how the app is evolving has been great. The ProServices option for syncing adds another level of convenience I really like. You guys are doing a wonderful job of development.

 

I did a bit of testing in the hangar when I discovered the Android AvareX ‘Menu’ I/O option. I verified the BT connection to my RS232 bridge and loaded a flight plan. Engaging the Dynon autopilot produced no control inputs from the system. To rule out some sort of Dynon system issue, I switched over to LegacyAvare with the same flight plan and the autopilot control inputs began functioning as expected. I will continue to test and see if maybe I missed some kind of AvareX configuration requirement for the autopilot function to work.

 

I suspect the expected data for autopilot control is not being correctly transmitted by AvareX, but will continue with additional testing. Can you confirm that the intended data output from the I/O mechanism is supposed to be NMEA autopilot sentences?

[Apps4av Support]

You may try release 81. Release 80 had a bug in autopilot driving.

After you connect to the autopilot on BT, it should start getting NMEA sentences.

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/apps4av-forum/7dbf6a65-c0b3-4877-bb62-1f4d507703f7n%40googlegroups.com.

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[David Lewis]

Very good. Thanks for addressing the issue. I'll check the Google Play Store this afternoon when I get to the airport. If 81 is there I'll test and report back.
DL

[David Lewis]

I did some hangar tests with Android AvareX 81, and it appears the ‘Menu’ I/O function is now able to stream autopilot data. Thank you for addressing the earlier bug. I still need to conduct in-flight tests to verify validity of the data. I will report what I determine.

 

One thing I noticed about the restored autopilot functionality is that it only works when there is an active flight plan, which is great, and expected. But unlike LegacyAvare, autopilot data does not stream when you long press a location on the map and select ‘Direct’. Not that big a deal, but perhaps something to address in the future. 

 

I’ll have in-flight test results later in the week.

DL

[David Lewis]

There are issues with the Android AvareX vers 81 autopilot functionality. After additional testing, there appears to be a bug of some sort in the data being output by AvareX. The I/O option under ‘Menu’ successfully connects the tablet to my Bluetooth/RS232 bridge, but it takes several minutes for my Dynon autopilot to recognize whatever data AvareX is sending about the flight plan, and even that is intermittent. Something about the data is not right. To verify my BT bridge and Dynon system are working correctly, I switched to LegacyAvare, loaded a flight plan, and the autopilot connection is instantaneous and solid. 

 

I wish I had the chops to help resolve the issue. Not sure how to approach a solution, but it must be possible since the LegacyAvare mechanism works so well. If anyone can point me to any tools that might help to determine exactly what the issue is, I would appreciate it.

 

Everything else I use with AvareX is working well, including the Pro Services features I signed up for. Can resolving these autopilot driver issues be added the development list for an eventual solution? Let me know how I might help.

DL

[Adam Radloff]

"But unlike LegacyAvare, autopilot data does not stream when you long press a location on the map and select ‘Direct’."

I use the I/O feature on legacy Avare to provide data to a pair of AV-30's. I tried Avare-X in the hanger (we are snowed in at the moment) and would like the "Direct" feature to work. I used it quite often with legacy Avare and found it very useful.

Thanks 

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/apps4av-forum/9f031198-91b2-4902-b806-00266a38bc32n%40googlegroups.com.

[David Lewis]

It may be that the ‘Direct’ feature is actually not missing in Android AvareX version 81. The problem may just be the significant/intermittent recognition delay issue with the data AvareX is sending (See my earlier test reporting). Once that problem is addressed, we might find that Direct functionality is restored. I hope so. I also find the Direct feature very useful.

DL

[Apps4av Support]

I did some AI comparison between avare and avarex autopilot. Autopilot was mostly implemented by @Ron Walker in Avare and I implemented it in AvareX.

I will need testers to implemented the changes proposed by AI.

The AI output is:

Apps4Av: compare autopilot senetnce generation of avarex with avare at repo apps4av/avare

Worked for 5m 13s

Below is a focused comparison of autopilot sentence generation between avarex and apps4av/avare.

---

Where the logic lives

• avarex: lib/instruments/autopilot.dart (AutoPilot.apCreateSentences)
• avare (apps4av/avare): app/src/main/java/com/ds/avare/instruments/AutoPilot.java (AutoPilot.apCreateSentences)

Both generate the same sentence set in the same order:

1. $GPRMC
2. $GPGGA
3. $GPRMB
4. $GPBOD

The packet formatting classes (RMCPacket, GGAPacket, RMBPacket, BODPacket) are effectively ported and match field-by-field formatting in both repos.

---

Key differences in generation logic

1) RMB/BOD emission gate

• avare: emits RMB/BOD when dest != null, even without a flight plan.
• avarex: only emits RMB/BOD if there is a current waypoint and it is not the first waypoint
  (wp != null and indexCurrent > 0).

Impact: avarex does not generate RMB/BOD for single direct‑to destinations or when the current waypoint is the first waypoint in the route.

---

2) Cross‑track deviation math (potential bug)

• avare:

  deviation = distance * Math.sin(Math.toRadians(Helper.angularDifference(...)))
  

• avarex:

  deviation = distance * sin(_angularDifference(...));

  _angularDifference returns degrees, but sin() expects radians.

Impact: avarex’s XTE/deviation in $GPRMB is likely incorrect (large error except for tiny angles).

---

3) Units used for speed & distance

• avare: explicitly uses knots and NM
  • gpsParams.getSpeedInKnots()
  • dest.getDistanceInNM()
• avarex: uses Storage().units conversions
  • GeoCalculations.convertSpeed(...)
  • GeoCalculations.calculateDistance(...)

Impact: If user units are set to Imperial, avarex will output mph/miles instead of knots/NM in $GPRMC / $GPRMB.

---

4) GGA satellite/HDOP inputs

• avare: uses real GPS receiver values
  • gpsParams.getSatCount(), gpsParams.getHorDil(), gpsParams.getGeoid()
• avarex: uses placeholders
  • sat count hardcoded to 6
  • HDOP hardcoded to 0
  • geoid from Storage().area.geoAltitude

Impact: avarex GGA sentence is less accurate/complete.

---

5) Original course bearing

• avare: uses initial destination set point (dest.getLocationInit()), unless plan is active.
• avarex: always uses previous waypoint → current waypoint bearing.

Impact: avarex doesn’t preserve “original course” from the moment a direct‑to was set.

---

6) Plan completion flag (RMB final field)

• avare: (!plan.isActive() && plan.allWaypointsPassed())
• avarex: destinations.length == indexCurrent + 1

Impact: avarex marks “arrived” as soon as the current waypoint is the last leg, not after completion.

---

7) Magnetic bearing in BOD

• avare: brgOrig + dest.getDeclination()
  (dest.getDeclination() is stored as negative of geomag declination)
• avarex: GeoCalculations.getMagneticHeading(brgOrig, variation)
  (true − variation)

Impact: likely equivalent if sign conventions match, but depends on how variation is stored in avarex.

---

Summary (high‑level)

✅ Sentence formatting is consistent between both repos.
❗ Differences are in data sources and math, especially:

• RMB/BOD emission gating,
• degrees vs radians in cross‑track error,
• unit conversion in avarex tied to user display units,
• placeholder GGA values,
• different plan‑completion semantics.

---

If you want, I can:

• Propose a patch to align avarex behavior with Avare.
• Add unit‑tests for sentence parity.
• Clean up the cloned avare repo from the workspace.

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/apps4av-forum/9f031198-91b2-4902-b806-00266a38bc32n%40googlegroups.com.

[azch...@juno.com]

As a curious bystander, I wonder what autopilots can be used with Avare, and AvareX?  I have an old Century IIIB.  Is there anyway to interface those older autopilots?

 

Rick

Tucson

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/apps4av-forum/CADA_tR9t%2Bhh2T70X-qrWGJWuTOuREfB5Kz9zyCUUdHOOLg6BZQ%40mail.gmail.com.

 

[Adam Radloff]

I'll test what I can with my AV-30'S, I won't be able to fly until dig out the snow around my hanger 🙄

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/apps4av-forum/CADA_tR9t%2Bhh2T70X-qrWGJWuTOuREfB5Kz9zyCUUdHOOLg6BZQ%40mail.gmail.com.

[David Lewis]

"I did some AI comparison between avare and avarex autopilot. Autopilot was mostly implemented by @Ron Walker in Avare and I implemented it in AvareX.

I will need testers to implemented the changes proposed by AI."

Glad to help out where I can. Let me know if there is a knowledge base I could use to familiarize myself to be more helpful.

DL

[David Lewis]

I finally had a chance to read through the AI comparison. That is pretty amazing. Seems like a comprehensive list of issues to address. Can the AI agent actually implement the changes it proposes at the end of the document?

DL

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/apps4av-forum/41f20a02-c631-49e5-a4ea-5fdc808dda21n%40googlegroups.com.