LX90xx fln or flx file install for Flarm Contest ID?

[CS]

Need help on how to install either the .fln or .flx file on the LX90xx, so that the contest ID from powerflarm traffic will show on the display.

[Jeffrey Resnik]

11.1.6 Uploading FlarmNet Files
The FlarmNet information is also updated via the SD card/USB stick. Go to the FlarmNet site (www.flarmnet.org), select the Download latest FlarmNet File tab and download the file for the LX8000 (e.g. 20170819.fln). Copy this file to the SD card.
In the Files and Transfer menu select the Update Databases menu item. Select the FlarmNet file and wait until the update completes.On Monday,

Also via the WIFI Module

[CS]

Thanks, we tried that and the Lx9070 did not recognize either the 20210518.fln nor the converted (fln2flx) 20210518.flx file on the SD card.

[Jeffrey Resnik]

If of interest, I can forward the file that I used which was recognized by the LX9000 from the SD Card.

[CS]

On Monday, May 24, 2021 at 10:27:26 PM UTC-5, Jeffrey Resnik wrote:
> If of interest, I can forward the file that I used which was recognized by the LX9000 from the SD Card.

Thank you, I have sent my email address to you at both your mac and gmail accounts.

[John DeRosa OHM Ω http://aviation.derosaweb.net]

You should post this question to the LXNav user Google group.

https://groups.google.com/g/lxnav-user-group.

[Dan Marotta]

I just went through a horrible time updating my Flarmnet file in my
Flarmview device.  I could not find the executable file, fln2flx.exe
anywhere on the net and google and duckduckgo searches came up empty
handed.  Oh, and there is not a link to the executable in the User's
Manual, either.  Even on the LXNav site, the search function does not
find "flx2fln.exe".

Ah...  But if you search through the downloads you'll find, FlarmNet
Converter Tool and, when you download that, you get fln2flx.exe.  A
little better documentation would be in order.  I probably won't update
my Flarmview device for a long time or even never but, if I do, I will
have forgotten how to do it.

Dan 5J

[Dan Marotta]

Today I updated my ClearNav II and my FlarmView display and still did
not see my friend's contest number, only his ICAO ID.  Someone told me
that I also have to load the flarmnet file into my PowerFlarm portable. 
I tried that today and the device didn't like the SD card.  So now I'm
trying to duplicate the factory card for the PowerFlarm portable. 
Anybody out there got a hint?

Dan
5J

[John DeRosa OHM Ω http://aviation.derosaweb.net]

On Thursday, May 27, 2021 at 7:35:23 PM UTC-5, Dan Marotta wrote:
> Today I updated my ClearNav II and my FlarmView display and still did
> not see my friend's contest number, only his ICAO ID. Someone told me
> that I also have to load the flarmnet file into my PowerFlarm portable.
> I tried that today and the device didn't like the SD card. So now I'm
> trying to duplicate the factory card for the PowerFlarm portable.
> Anybody out there got a hint?

Dan,

As far as I know the FLARMNET file does nothing inside a Flarm transceiver
device like a core, fusion, mouse, etc.

The file is only installed in a device that can display FLARM info.
I did recently download the latest FlarmNet file only to find it was
empty (0kb). Downloaded again and it was good.

But what about a FLARM Portable where it is both a FLARM transceiver
device *AND* a FLARM display device? I owned one once but don't
remember about this nuance.

Good Luck, John (OHM)

[CS]

Different SD card solved our problem, thanks all for the suggestions.

[Dan Marotta]

I don't expect the Flarm portable display to show contest ID, but I find
it odd that I see some contest IDs and not others.  I've uploaded the
appropriate files for the ClearNav and for the Flarmview.  The only
thing left that I can think of is the Flarm portable.

Dan
5J

[Robert S]

It's important to note that the flarmnet data is voluntarily entered by users so if a particular user has never registered their contest ID in the database then it won't ever show up on any device. The only way to solve that problem is to convince your friend to register with flarmnet. Of course, if this is a case where it used to show up but no longer does then I'd look to see if their FLARM is still configured with the correct ICAO number - it's pretty easy to fat finger it if a new config file was created between last known working date and now.

Robert

[Dan Marotta]

Thanks, but I know that he's in the FlarmNet database and I still see
his ICAO address on my FlarmView device and on my ClearNav I see the
last two characters of the ICAO code.  Really strange...

Dan
5J

[Robert S]

Any nearby friends who can take a look and see if it shows up correctly in their displays? At least that way you would be able to positively confirm that the issue is either your config or his. Clearly his FLARM is outputting an ICAO address since you're receiving it. But, who knows if it's the right/same one registered with flarmnet? I had a similar issue at my club where a friend who used to show up on my FLARM started only showing his ICAO. In that case it turned out that he had updated his flarm config file and accidentally reversed two digits of his ICAO in the new config. So, he was registered correctly with flarmnet but his unit was no longer outputting the same ICAO that was registered there. Just applying a bit of Occam before jumping to more nefarious reasons.

Robert

[Dan Marotta]

Thanks, but I know I'm seeing him as we communicate each others'
locations and the outside view tracks what I see on the instruments.  I
saw something in my Flarm startup log that said something like, "Not
reading Flarmnet file".

But, right now, I'm recovering my Linux system after trying to add a
Windows partition for those times that I need to run a Windows program. 
And yes, I know about wine.  I was trying something different and it's
ruined my day. Fortunately I make daily backups...

Dan
5J

[Robert S]

I’m not yet sure that we’re understanding each other. Your FLARM will always receive another FLARM enabled aircraft’s ICAO ID. So, saying “…I know I’m seeing him as we communicate each other’s locations and the outside view tracks what I see on the instruments” is totally irrelevant to your problem as that is exactly the expected behavior. What is relevant is determining what your FLARM display will show you. Converting the ICAO number to a contest ID happens on the FLARM traffic display itself so your FlarmView and ClearNav both need a flarmnet file. FlarmView will require LxNav formatted 20210529.fln file and ClearNav will require the data.fln formatted file. The flarmnet file is a simple database with hundreds of entries that say ICAO number ABCDE=Contest ID XY. ICAO number ABCDF= contest ID YZ. Etc. You have previously stated that some aircraft show the proper contest ID on your FlarmView and other aircraft show only the ICAO number. The only way this is possible is for you to have some sort of working flarmnet file already residing on your FLARM displays. And, this is exactly the expected behavior when some aircraft are registered in in the flarmnet database and others aren’t.

So, there are a few scenarios that could explain the observed behavior:
A) Your friend isn’t registered on flarmnet. You’ve said he is so this one seems unlikely.
B) Your friend has accidentally registered the wrong ICAO number on flarmnet (One that's different than what they put into their FLARM)
C) Your friend has configured their FLARM with the incorrect ICAO ID (One that's different than what they put into flarmnet)
D) The flarmnet file on your display is older than the date on which your friend registered their ICAO and contest ID with flarmnet

Therefore, what I’m trying to convey is that if your friend is registered in flarmnet as one ICAO number, say ABCDE, but through a fat fingering of his FLARM config file has set his FLARM to transmit ICAO ABCED neither you nor anyone else will ever see his real contest ID. If others are seeing the same thing you are you’ve proven the issue is with your friend’s FLARM configuration or flarmnet registration. If others see the correct contest ID on their displays then you’ve proven the issue is with your system. It seems a bit unlikely to me that you would be having the exact same flarmnet file problem on 2 different displays, which is why I’m suggesting that it may make sense to start from square one and test some of the more obvious scenarios as outlined above.

Anyway, just in case it may be helpful, here is what I see when loading (or not) a new flarmnet file to my system. My FLARM is hooked up to a Butterfly display so my FLARM boot time messages are as shown below when I do and don’t load a new flarmnet.bfn file. Of course, your messages will be slightly different since you’re using a different brand of traffic display.

FLARM initialization *with* flarmnet.bfn file:

00040.647 INFO Looking for butterfly firmware file
00040.675 INFO Found butterfly firmware file: BFD_3_4.BFW
00040.699 INFO Looking for butterfly firmware file
00040.726 INFO Found butterfly firmware file: BFD_3_4.BFW
00040.730 INFO Looking for butterfly flarmnet file
00040.763 INFO Found butterfly flarmnet file: FLARMN~1.BFN
00150.857 INFO Allowing drivers to catch up...
00150.858 INFO Updated BF display firmware and flarmnet on Data Port #1

FLARM initialization *without* flarmnet.bfn file:

00010.353 INFO Looking for butterfly firmware file
00010.378 INFO No butterfly firmware file present
00010.378 INFO Looking for butterfly flarmnet file
00010.402 INFO No butterfly flarmnet file present

Hoping some of this turns out to be useful to you. Good luck.

Robert