Powermouse works but doesn't send to LX9070

[Gordon Wingate]

Hi, all. I have a 5th generation LX9070 with the current 9.51 T20HF firmware. It is working well in most respects. It is connected to a Powermouse model FLANGA10W-005552 (according to a NGA05552.txt file generated during the update) and a TrafficView.  I updated my flarmcfg.txt and the flarm database 20250302.fln without issues. However, now my flarm is apparently still working as others can see my info as can OGN, but my lx9070 cannot display any flarm or ADSB information from others. My TrafficView doesn't display any FLARM info either. When I go into Settings | Hardware | FLARM & ADS-B, it says "Acquiring FLARM data..." but it doesn't show any info.

This is a new-to-me glider and instrumentation and I am just learning lxnav and how everything is set up. As I understand it the Powermouse is connected to the lx9070 and the TrafficView is all connected to the lx9070. My TrafficView doesn't display any FLARM info either so that seems to indicate that it's a communication issue between the 9070 and Powermouse. I have not popped the hood yet as nothing was changed there and everything went south after the updates.

Yesterday I reapplied the lx9070 firmware and attempted to update the Powermouse with the pf_am_7_40_ea7cf80c9_exp_1_1_2099.fw firmware. I got no dumps back to the USB stick so I don't know if it took, and the integration to lx9070 is still not working. Do I need to use flarmTool with a serial cable and access the Powermouse directly? Any ideas?

Thanks,

Gordon Wingate

[Tango Eight]

Check the baud rates. They may not match.  You may have reset the flarm data rates in your config file. 

-Evan

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[Adam Sayer]

Almost certainly a baud rate mismatch Gordon. Unless you've changed it in the flarmcfg.txt file, the PowerMouse will usually be set to 19,200 bps.

Fastest thing to do is to update the flarmcfg.txt to set the baud rate to 115,200 bps on both ports. Then set the TrafficView and 9070 to 115,200 also.

If you don't have that option immediately available then you'll need to update your TrafficView and 9070 to the correct baud rate instead...

To check whether it's a baud rate issue (rather than a physical connection issue) you can cycle through the various baud rates on the TrafficView, or the LX9070. With the TrafficView, press the middle button to cycle through the screens until you get the Menu screen. Use the rotary knob to scroll down to Hardware, press the rotary knob.

In the submenu, scroll down and select NMEA Test. If you have one or more green lights then the baud rate is correct. If you don't have any green lights then you need to change the baud rate of the TrafficView.

To change the baud rate on the TrafficView go back to the Hardware menu and select Communication. From there you can see what your baud rate is set to, and you can also change it. I recommend to go through each available baud rate and checking for green lights in the NMEA test after each selection. Once you have that it's likely that the same baud rate is being outputted to the 9070. So you'll need to go to the Hardware > FLARM menu and update the baud rate there too.

If you don't have any success matching the baud rates then you may have a physical connection issue.

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[Gordon Wingate]

Yes, I have BAUD1,4 and BAUD2,2.  I'll set both to 2 and try again.

Does NMEAOUT1,81 and NMEAOUT2,81 still work? Is this part of the communication? They were set to 71 and 91 respectively but just set to 81 for both per Paul Remde's tip sheet.

Gordon

[Adam Sayer]

Here's the protocol spec:

https://www.flarm.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/FTD-014-FLARM-Configuration-Specification-1.16.pdf

Pages 11-13 covers the NMEAOUT and BAUD settings

Baudx,4 is 38,400 bps and Baudx,2 is the default 19,200 bps.

My advice would be to set them to 6 (115,200 bps) as per the recommendation by LXNav for their devices.

Make sure you set the baud rate on the TrafficView and the 9070 to 115,200 bps too.

I've set my NMEAOUT to 71, I never changed them to the newer protocols. But there will be no problem with 81. So stick with that.

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/lxnav-user-group/01330bc5-de69-4777-93b9-712a04564e4cn%40googlegroups.com.

[Gordon Wingate]

Okay, that was it. Thanks for pointing me in the right direction!

It would not work at 115,200 but it worked at 19,200 and we tested it with another glider (on the ground in the hangar) and I was able to see him on both the lx9070 and on the TrafficView. Good education. I've set it now to 38,400 and the TrafficView is seeing ADS-B traffic but the glider I was testing the 9070 with was shut down for the day. But it appears to work.

I noticed that the FLARM & ADS-B in settings is still showing Acquiring FLARM data, even tho the FLARM is working. I'm going to fly this weekend and see what if it changes when it is outside and can communicate better.

Thanks for the assist!

[Gordon Wingate]

Ah, I see from the link you sent, Adam, that 115,200 is only supported on PowerFLARM devices and I have a PowerMouse. I will try 57,600 this weekend which should work for the PM.

Gordon

[Adam Sayer]

Interesting...! The PowerMouse runs PowerFLARM architecture so it should run at 115,200 (not that it matters too much, it's just the recommendation from LXNav). For reference, I have an older PowerMouse (serial in the 4000s) connected to an even older LX8080 (Gen 2) via a very new SxHAWK and they are communicating at 115,200. My TrafficView is connected to Port2 on the PowerMouse via a Canopy Flasher, again at 115,200.

When I had my PowerMouse connected directly to the 8080, I would get the PowerMouse details in the 'Hardware -> FLARM & ADSB' menu. But ever since I installed the SxHAWK between them, I don't. The details do appear on the SxHAWK, just not on the 8080. It's not a problem for me because I still get the FLARM data on the 8080, but it does make me wonder about the physical connection on your setup??

I'm glad you got it working though.

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/lxnav-user-group/73b6efad-2d01-4264-a8eb-f79a0161ef08n%40googlegroups.com.

[Gordon Wingate]

I just purchased a Sotecc canopy flasher with their ConnectBOX so I will have reason to explore the wiring configuration in a few weeks and will see what goes where. This is a 3 year old glider so it came from Jonker set up like this, I'm sure. I'll let you know what I find.

Gordon