Google Groups no longer supports new Usenet posts or subscriptions. Historical content remains viewable.
Dismiss
OGN receiver deployment in the US - Looking for Help
2,057 views
Skip to first unread message
Davis Chappins
Oct 1, 2022, 10:58:42 PM10/1/22
to
RAS,
Please distribute the following to any and all groups, message boards, clubs, or individuals who may be interested in installing OGN receivers at their soaring operations.
The SSA has allocated funds to help install 150 OGN receivers across the US. This will create a robust network of real-time glider tracking ground stations that track FLARM or OGN tracker equipped aircraft (similar to ADSB ground stations for transponder equipped aircraft).
Some benefits include:
- Real-time tracking – viewership and interest/engagement in the sport
- Racing real-time scoring – viewership and interest in racing (coming soon)
- Ability to create and score local contests
- SAR – far more precise than satellite trackers
- Clubs and commercial operators can locate all gliders at the end of the day
- Club management (e.g. auto-logging of tow flights and tow heights, club/rental
ship activity - with the help of low cost OGN trackers ($60) for aircraft lacking Flarm) -
https://flightbook.glidernet.org/logbook/E68/2022-04-08)
An OGN receiver consumes about 2W of power (less than a LED lightbulb) and
uses 2mb of bandwidth a day (less than 30 seconds of netflix). Suitable installation locations require internet (it can be slow) and power.
Current OGN receiver coverage can be found here https://ognrange.glidernet.org/?#,max,all,34.27084_-114.18640,8,#ff0e0eff:#0aff0aff, (very slow site, don’t zoom out) Europe has 1,450 OGN receivers, the US has 35.
Under this proposal, up to two receivers will be provided at a 100% discount and an additional two receivers at a 50% discount, per site. A site is defined as a glider airfield from a pre-existing list that have significant glider activity or have hosted contests on a regular basis. The idea is to provide excellent coverage at home airfields and additional coverage in task areas so as to maximize the benefits of tracking to the most pilots possible. Each OGN receiver covers a radius of roughly 40 miles. If your site already has OGN receivers installed the proposal still applies to you - use it to expand your coverage areas. However, sites with zero tracking may be prioritized.
We are looking for site focals who can be a point of contact to install and manage these receivers. A site focal is the person responsible for the installation and upkeep (minor) of the OGN receivers in their area. Ideally, focals will be local experts who are knowledgeable about the local soaring area, have some knowledge of computers (like Raspberry Pi or linux) and can perform basic handyman tasks like mounting an antenna and routing a coax cable.
Deployment options range from the site focal following a guide, purchasing everything, assembling and installing (DIY from a guide)… down to Davis shipping the site focal an assembled and configured device ready to be powered on and connected to the antenna (plug and play). Due to the cost of and difficulty locating raspberry pis at this time the OGN receiver reimbursement cap will be raised to $400 per receiver. Installations must come online and receive aircraft signals to be eligible for reimbursement. You must fill out the form and be a site focal to be eligible for reimbursement.
This is a very small amount of work and you will be the OGN receiver expert for your area. If you are interested please fill out the form at https://forms.gle/Z8RPCExoDCm8UxHj6
Please distribute the following to any and all groups, message boards, clubs, or individuals who may be interested in installing OGN receivers at their soaring operations.
The SSA has allocated funds to help install 150 OGN receivers across the US. This will create a robust network of real-time glider tracking ground stations that track FLARM or OGN tracker equipped aircraft (similar to ADSB ground stations for transponder equipped aircraft).
Some benefits include:
- Real-time tracking – viewership and interest/engagement in the sport
- Racing real-time scoring – viewership and interest in racing (coming soon)
- Ability to create and score local contests
- SAR – far more precise than satellite trackers
- Clubs and commercial operators can locate all gliders at the end of the day
- Club management (e.g. auto-logging of tow flights and tow heights, club/rental
ship activity - with the help of low cost OGN trackers ($60) for aircraft lacking Flarm) -
https://flightbook.glidernet.org/logbook/E68/2022-04-08)
An OGN receiver consumes about 2W of power (less than a LED lightbulb) and
uses 2mb of bandwidth a day (less than 30 seconds of netflix). Suitable installation locations require internet (it can be slow) and power.
Current OGN receiver coverage can be found here https://ognrange.glidernet.org/?#,max,all,34.27084_-114.18640,8,#ff0e0eff:#0aff0aff, (very slow site, don’t zoom out) Europe has 1,450 OGN receivers, the US has 35.
Under this proposal, up to two receivers will be provided at a 100% discount and an additional two receivers at a 50% discount, per site. A site is defined as a glider airfield from a pre-existing list that have significant glider activity or have hosted contests on a regular basis. The idea is to provide excellent coverage at home airfields and additional coverage in task areas so as to maximize the benefits of tracking to the most pilots possible. Each OGN receiver covers a radius of roughly 40 miles. If your site already has OGN receivers installed the proposal still applies to you - use it to expand your coverage areas. However, sites with zero tracking may be prioritized.
We are looking for site focals who can be a point of contact to install and manage these receivers. A site focal is the person responsible for the installation and upkeep (minor) of the OGN receivers in their area. Ideally, focals will be local experts who are knowledgeable about the local soaring area, have some knowledge of computers (like Raspberry Pi or linux) and can perform basic handyman tasks like mounting an antenna and routing a coax cable.
Deployment options range from the site focal following a guide, purchasing everything, assembling and installing (DIY from a guide)… down to Davis shipping the site focal an assembled and configured device ready to be powered on and connected to the antenna (plug and play). Due to the cost of and difficulty locating raspberry pis at this time the OGN receiver reimbursement cap will be raised to $400 per receiver. Installations must come online and receive aircraft signals to be eligible for reimbursement. You must fill out the form and be a site focal to be eligible for reimbursement.
This is a very small amount of work and you will be the OGN receiver expert for your area. If you are interested please fill out the form at https://forms.gle/Z8RPCExoDCm8UxHj6
Tony
Oct 2, 2022, 6:50:15 PM10/2/22
to
Bruce
Oct 2, 2022, 7:45:16 PM10/2/22
to
You are totally wrong with your stand on this project. Go back to the original post and read the list of benefits.
At the Tucson Soaring Club (not known for racing but big on cross country flying), we have placed 4 or 5 of these units that can track the gliders in real time over most of the area we usually fly. It is a real safety asset for the time that someone goes missing or lands out.
It gives the operations crew an indicator of where every glider is located, especially toward the end of the day. When we have visitors, we show them the screen with glider positions, tracks and altitude to show what is possible for flights in realtime.
As a member who has not been able to fly as much this year, I can see what the members are doing on their flight, how high they are getting and what territory they are covering. It has encouraged myself and others to try new to us areas.
For those areas that have receivers, I can check out their conditions to see if the is an area for future flights.
It works great with flarms, but there are also cheap alternatives the allow tracking of all gliders and is compatible with flarm but without the collision avoidance level that flarm provides.
I think that this is a real asset to the future of soaring in the US.
Bruce
At the Tucson Soaring Club (not known for racing but big on cross country flying), we have placed 4 or 5 of these units that can track the gliders in real time over most of the area we usually fly. It is a real safety asset for the time that someone goes missing or lands out.
It gives the operations crew an indicator of where every glider is located, especially toward the end of the day. When we have visitors, we show them the screen with glider positions, tracks and altitude to show what is possible for flights in realtime.
As a member who has not been able to fly as much this year, I can see what the members are doing on their flight, how high they are getting and what territory they are covering. It has encouraged myself and others to try new to us areas.
For those areas that have receivers, I can check out their conditions to see if the is an area for future flights.
It works great with flarms, but there are also cheap alternatives the allow tracking of all gliders and is compatible with flarm but without the collision avoidance level that flarm provides.
I think that this is a real asset to the future of soaring in the US.
Bruce
Tom BravoMike
Oct 2, 2022, 8:24:44 PM10/2/22
to
At my club's recent Charity Rides Day I showed some OGN websites links
to family members of the guests taken up in the air and they were all
quite excited to see on their phones the position, altitude and speed of
the gliders with their loved ones.
And see this remark from just two weeks ago from one of our members:
"Side note: I was curious if anyone was flying. I used my Glider
Tracker app on my phone and saw you and Bob aloft and a 21 at pattern
altitude. I switched to the Dericam app on my phone that NN helped me
set up (thanks NN for everything!) and was able to watch the 21 land and
roll out. A little while later I was able to also watch EG land and
rollout live. Pretty cool stuff!"
My personal side note as someone who came over from Europe: In not so a
distant past America was a synonym of openness to new ideas. While in
the old continent the reaction would be: "What for?", in the US it would
be: "Why not? Let's try it!" Sadly, today it seems to be the (decadent?)
America asking that sort of questions: "What for? What's the use?"
I do hope this project by SSA finds interest and support across the
country as expected.
BravoMike
Message has been deleted
Mark Mocho
Oct 2, 2022, 8:32:34 PM10/2/22
to
I totally agree with Bruce. You are making an incorrect assumption that OGN only benefits racing. On the contrary, at Moriarty, we have a few OGN receivers in the area and will be installing more. The tracking display on a large flat screen monitor in the airport office is utilized by Airport Management, casual fliers and crews every single day we fly. It gives any interested party the capability of determining where pilots are throughout their flights. When the weather gets sketchy, we can see who is on the way back to the airport and find out if any pilot may be getting into a situation where a return to the field is questionable, allowing crews to prepare for a retrieve far sooner than having to wait for notification from the pilot. In New Mexico, long distances and poor radio or cell phone coverage could mean that an outlanding might not be reported for hours. Indeed, a few years ago we had a fatality that occurred IN THE PATTERN that was not directly observed. After the unfortunate pilot's wife contacted the airport operation crew, an analysis of the flight track determined the location of the accident within a few minutes of her inquiry. Unfortunately, this was several hours after the glider went down and the pilot perished. If we had not had access to the recorded flight track, a wide-spread Search and Rescue operation would have had to be initiated through the NM State Police.
During the recent 2022 U.S National Club Class Nationals, the tracking display in the airport office was monitored by contest management and the contest director to give a visual picture of the day's task and the competitors' performance. It was also available to the crews, who could easily determine when to pop the first beer, once they were sure their pilot was on final glide. On the first day of the competition, weather (thunderstorms) blocked several pilots from making it back over the Manzano Mountains, and they were forced to land at the Albuquerque International Airport. Crews were on the way almost immediately, and Air Traffic Control was continuously kept apprised of the situation. Admittedly, nearly all competitors had not only FLARM, but ADS-B and/or transponders. As a side note, our tracking display also shows ADS-B and Transponder tracking information through FlightAware and other sources, so we have a good idea of the entire airspace situation in the area. OGN receivers and FLARM have greatly improved safety in our area.
During the recent 2022 U.S National Club Class Nationals, the tracking display in the airport office was monitored by contest management and the contest director to give a visual picture of the day's task and the competitors' performance. It was also available to the crews, who could easily determine when to pop the first beer, once they were sure their pilot was on final glide. On the first day of the competition, weather (thunderstorms) blocked several pilots from making it back over the Manzano Mountains, and they were forced to land at the Albuquerque International Airport. Crews were on the way almost immediately, and Air Traffic Control was continuously kept apprised of the situation. Admittedly, nearly all competitors had not only FLARM, but ADS-B and/or transponders. As a side note, our tracking display also shows ADS-B and Transponder tracking information through FlightAware and other sources, so we have a good idea of the entire airspace situation in the area. OGN receivers and FLARM have greatly improved safety in our area.
Davis Chappins
Oct 5, 2022, 6:50:29 PM10/5/22
to
Bumping this to the top -
I have received responses from 28 individuals so far, which is great.
I have not heard from anyone in the following states: Nevada, Utah, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, N and S Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas, Missouri, Iowa, Minnesota, Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, West Virginia, New York, New Hampshire, Maine
Nevada and Utah are surprising as there is significant glider activity.
Please continue to share the message in the original post. If you live in one of the mentioned states, either sign up or let someone know who will.
I have received responses from 28 individuals so far, which is great.
I have not heard from anyone in the following states: Nevada, Utah, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, N and S Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas, Missouri, Iowa, Minnesota, Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, West Virginia, New York, New Hampshire, Maine
Nevada and Utah are surprising as there is significant glider activity.
Please continue to share the message in the original post. If you live in one of the mentioned states, either sign up or let someone know who will.
Eric Greenwell
Oct 5, 2022, 11:44:32 PM10/5/22
to
motorglider in tow, including Nevada, Utah, and Idaho, and sometimes North Dakota. Can the
OGN system deal with a receiver that moves from place to place, maybe staying there from 1
day to a couple weeks?
--
Eric Greenwell - USA
- "A Guide to Self-launching Sailplane Operation"
https://sites.google.com/site/motorgliders/publications
Davis Chappins
Oct 5, 2022, 11:53:32 PM10/5/22
to
The answer to that is "sort of".
You type in the lat/lon and whatever you type in is where it reports itself. This may look strange if a receiver who reports its position in one state is receiving a signal from a glider in another. Also I think there are some error checking stuff to validate if a signal is "real" and "possible" in order to report it. There is some maximum distance from a receiver that a glider position can be forwarded.
I might suggest you do the johnny appleseed thing and just plant receivers at the places you visit, places that are flown but don't have residents (tonopah, ely, etc).
You type in the lat/lon and whatever you type in is where it reports itself. This may look strange if a receiver who reports its position in one state is receiving a signal from a glider in another. Also I think there are some error checking stuff to validate if a signal is "real" and "possible" in order to report it. There is some maximum distance from a receiver that a glider position can be forwarded.
I might suggest you do the johnny appleseed thing and just plant receivers at the places you visit, places that are flown but don't have residents (tonopah, ely, etc).
Ramy
Oct 6, 2022, 1:36:08 AM10/6/22
to
Davis, I think there are 3 possible obstacles for installations:
1- Power - the note mentions the need for power. However I know of at least one (at Byron) which works well just with solar panels. So perhaps power is not really required.
2- Internet. Not every location has (reliable) Wi-Fi. Is cellular a viable option?
3- coverage - many places in the west are surrounded with high mountains (eg Ely).
Ideally you would want to install it on a mountain top. If the above 2 points can be resolved then it can be installed pretty much everywhere.
Ramy
1- Power - the note mentions the need for power. However I know of at least one (at Byron) which works well just with solar panels. So perhaps power is not really required.
2- Internet. Not every location has (reliable) Wi-Fi. Is cellular a viable option?
3- coverage - many places in the west are surrounded with high mountains (eg Ely).
Ideally you would want to install it on a mountain top. If the above 2 points can be resolved then it can be installed pretty much everywhere.
Ramy
Stuart Venters
Oct 6, 2022, 8:44:39 AM10/6/22
to
With regards to the fund and tracking network, getting and keeping
active members is key. I agree that racing is probably a bit too
specialized for growing the overall membership significantly.
The draw for me is the neat things to learn to push your soaring skills
past those required to get a license. Having tracking (flarm+OGN?) on
local training flights might be a way to make this list less daunting.
An OGN network will only serve gliders with tracking onboard. That will
get the more advanced pilots and folks on the ground will get a gee wiz
factor. To grow the membership, logically, it seems like whatever the
less advanced pilots are flying needs tracking on board?
A side note is that the availability of stuff (Like raspberry PI's) in
the maker community is very limited since Covid. I wonder if it is
possible today to actually buy the parts necessary to make a tracker
network?
Eric Greenwell
Oct 6, 2022, 9:17:20 AM10/6/22
to
without attention?
Dan Daly
Oct 6, 2022, 9:50:42 AM10/6/22
to
We bundle up the OGN station (rpi 2b+, RTLSDR dongle, LMR240 low loss coax, and antenna ( https://www.data-alliance.net/antenna-900mhz-8dbi-omni-directional-w-n-female-pole-mount-gsm/ works well but isn't 8dbi - probably 3) and take it home after the wave camp.
I'm working to have a solar powered station, but it still needs to connect to the internet.
Dan
2D
kinsell
Oct 6, 2022, 10:03:41 AM10/6/22
to
On 10/6/22 07:17, Eric Greenwell wrote:
> On 10/5/2022 8:53 PM, Davis Chappins wrote:
>> The answer to that is "sort of".
>>
>> You type in the lat/lon and whatever you type in is where it reports
>> itself. This may look strange if a receiver who reports its position
>> in one state is receiving a signal from a glider in another. Also I
>> think there are some error checking stuff to validate if a signal is
>> "real" and "possible" in order to report it. There is some maximum
>> distance from a receiver that a glider position can be forwarded.
>>
>> I might suggest you do the johnny appleseed thing and just plant
>> receivers at the places you visit, places that are flown but don't
>> have residents (tonopah, ely, etc).
>>
> Is that practical? Are they reliable enough that once it's set up, it
> could go a year without attention?
>
My club has had a receiver this season. It needed one reboot for
> On 10/5/2022 8:53 PM, Davis Chappins wrote:
>> The answer to that is "sort of".
>>
>> You type in the lat/lon and whatever you type in is where it reports
>> itself. This may look strange if a receiver who reports its position
>> in one state is receiving a signal from a glider in another. Also I
>> think there are some error checking stuff to validate if a signal is
>> "real" and "possible" in order to report it. There is some maximum
>> distance from a receiver that a glider position can be forwarded.
>>
>> I might suggest you do the johnny appleseed thing and just plant
>> receivers at the places you visit, places that are flown but don't
>> have residents (tonopah, ely, etc).
>>
> Is that practical? Are they reliable enough that once it's set up, it
> could go a year without attention?
>
unknown reasons, and we had a UPS burn out, taking down the internet.
Not bad at all for consumer electronics, but not hands off. Another
receiver in the state has been down multiple times, I believe wind has
loosened a USB connector in that case. My receiver is inside the
building, providing a weatherproof enclosure that doesn't get
excessively hot when baking in the sun is challenging.
Looking at the list of registered receivers, it seems like about a third
of them are down at any given time, even in the middle of soaring season:
http://wiki.glidernet.org/list-of-receivers#toc36
So maybe in the real world, reliability isn't terrific after all.
Cell data is absolutely practical, our club is on a 50GB/mo cell plan,
and the OGN traffic is a tiny percentage of that.
-Dave
kinsell
Oct 6, 2022, 10:13:53 AM10/6/22
to
On 10/6/22 06:44, Stuart Venters wrote:
> A side note is that the availability of stuff (Like raspberry PI's) in
> the maker community is very limited since Covid. I wonder if it is
> possible today to actually buy the parts necessary to make a tracker
> network?
>
Raspberry Pi's are still being produced, but unfortunately being bought
> A side note is that the availability of stuff (Like raspberry PI's) in
> the maker community is very limited since Covid. I wonder if it is
> possible today to actually buy the parts necessary to make a tracker
> network?
>
up by scalpers and sold for high prices. $150-200 is common for a Pi 4.
I believe it will actually run fine on a Pi Zero, which are much more
reasonable, and pi 3's are another option.
Dave
Richard Livingston
Oct 6, 2022, 10:20:45 AM10/6/22
to
I set up the receiver at Highland, IL this summer, but I and many of our club members live in Missouri. It is mounted on a pole on the roof of our club house with only a 19VDC power connection. I mounted the antenna, preamp, SDR and Raspberry Pi in a PVC sewer pipe with vent holes on the bottom. It has a wifi connection to our club internet connection. It has been operating trouble free for several months now.
I'm not aware of much glider flying in Missouri, we all fly in the middle Illinois area where there are a lot of landable fields. Only a few of our private gliders have Flarm, so not much traffic shows up. I'm starting to build up an OGN tracker that I'll try out in a club glider. If it works well, and I can convince the club to install in the club gliders, we should see a lot more of the activity we have in southern Illinois.
Rich L.
Moshe Braner
Oct 6, 2022, 10:52:31 AM10/6/22
to
On 10/6/2022 1:36 AM, Ramy wrote:
> Davis, I think there are 3 possible obstacles for installations:
> 1- Power - the note mentions the need for power. However I know of at least one (at Byron) which works well just with solar panels. So perhaps power is not really required.
> 2- Internet. Not every location has (reliable) Wi-Fi. Is cellular a viable option?
> 3- coverage - many places in the west are surrounded with high mountains (eg Ely).
> Ideally you would want to install it on a mountain top. If the above 2 points can be resolved then it can be installed pretty much everywhere.
>
> Ramy
For exactly those reasons I've been working on the "OGNbase" software,
> Davis, I think there are 3 possible obstacles for installations:
> 1- Power - the note mentions the need for power. However I know of at least one (at Byron) which works well just with solar panels. So perhaps power is not really required.
> 2- Internet. Not every location has (reliable) Wi-Fi. Is cellular a viable option?
> 3- coverage - many places in the west are surrounded with high mountains (eg Ely).
> Ideally you would want to install it on a mountain top. If the above 2 points can be resolved then it can be installed pretty much everywhere.
>
> Ramy
with the "relay" option. It runs on cheap hardware (that is available
at the moment, e.g., via banggood.com). The power draw is much less than
a Pi. The software is 1000x (!) smaller (embedded, not over Linux).
The "relay" option means one station can be on a mountaintop, running on
a small solar panel. It receives the signals from gliders, and sends
that info - by same radio - to the "base" station, which can be some
miles away in the valley. Only the base station needs access to the
internet. This system is still experimental, but developed enough for
anybody to try out. If the remote station is far from anything that
makes electrical noise, it can get better reception of the FLARM signals
from gliders (I've been using it *without* the filter and preamp that
are recommended for the Pi/SDR). The base station can use a directional
antenna. The cost of the two devices plus two antennas is roughly $200
- most of that for the antennas. And cell service is not needed, only
WiFi at the base station location.
https://github.com/moshe-braner/Open-Glider-Network-Groundstation
https://github.com/moshe-braner/Open-Glider-Network-Groundstation/blob/main/ognbase/documentation/documentation.txt
At one person's request, I also added a "mobile" option: the station
registers (each time) with OGN using the location it determines from its
GPS. Thus can install it in a car and drive it to various gliderports.
Eric Greenwell
Oct 6, 2022, 11:10:03 AM10/6/22
to
On 10/6/2022 6:50 AM, Dan Daly wrote:
> On Thursday, October 6, 2022 at 9:17:20 AM UTC-4, Eric Greenwell wrote:
>> On 10/5/2022 8:53 PM, Davis Chappins wrote:
>>> The answer to that is "sort of".
>>>
>>> You type in the lat/lon and whatever you type in is where it reports itself. This may look strange if a receiver who reports its position in one state is receiving a signal from a glider in another. Also I think there are some error checking stuff to validate if a signal is "real" and "possible" in order to report it. There is some maximum distance from a receiver that a glider position can be forwarded.
>>>
>>> I might suggest you do the johnny appleseed thing and just plant receivers at the places you visit, places that are flown but don't have residents (tonopah, ely, etc).
>>>
>> Is that practical? Are they reliable enough that once it's set up, it could go a year
>> without attention?
>> --
>> Eric Greenwell - USA
>> - "A Guide to Self-launching Sailplane Operation"
>> https://sites.google.com/site/motorgliders/publications
>
> They can be set to reboot automatically if there's a power interruption. If they're connected, they can be controlled remotely by a user with the proper configuration. For example, the OGN receiver currently active at Lake Placid NY was trouble-shot by a person in Ottawa - he found the software driven radio dongle wasn't serviceable. We had a spare with us and the station is up. Now all we need is wave. Or thermals. We have tried to get the rangers to let us put the station on Whiteface Mountain (4,867'msl) with no luck. We stick an antenna outside the FBO on a telephone pole at about 1750'msl). We can detect gliders at Lake Placid at 5,000' from our home station in Pendleton, Ontario, 158 km/100 sm away...
That kind of range would make it worthwhile to put one on my hangar at KRLD, which is
> On Thursday, October 6, 2022 at 9:17:20 AM UTC-4, Eric Greenwell wrote:
>> On 10/5/2022 8:53 PM, Davis Chappins wrote:
>>> The answer to that is "sort of".
>>>
>>> You type in the lat/lon and whatever you type in is where it reports itself. This may look strange if a receiver who reports its position in one state is receiving a signal from a glider in another. Also I think there are some error checking stuff to validate if a signal is "real" and "possible" in order to report it. There is some maximum distance from a receiver that a glider position can be forwarded.
>>>
>>> I might suggest you do the johnny appleseed thing and just plant receivers at the places you visit, places that are flown but don't have residents (tonopah, ely, etc).
>>>
>> Is that practical? Are they reliable enough that once it's set up, it could go a year
>> without attention?
>> --
>> Eric Greenwell - USA
>> - "A Guide to Self-launching Sailplane Operation"
>> https://sites.google.com/site/motorgliders/publications
>
> They can be set to reboot automatically if there's a power interruption. If they're connected, they can be controlled remotely by a user with the proper configuration. For example, the OGN receiver currently active at Lake Placid NY was trouble-shot by a person in Ottawa - he found the software driven radio dongle wasn't serviceable. We had a spare with us and the station is up. Now all we need is wave. Or thermals. We have tried to get the rangers to let us put the station on Whiteface Mountain (4,867'msl) with no luck. We stick an antenna outside the FBO on a telephone pole at about 1750'msl). We can detect gliders at Lake Placid at 5,000' from our home station in Pendleton, Ontario, 158 km/100 sm away...
mostly flat for a 70+sm radius, with no obstructing buildings on the airport. There's no
hurry, as the soaring season is over, but I'll follow the OGN situation, and make a
decision next Feb/Mar.
> We bundle up the OGN station (rpi 2b+, RTLSDR dongle, LMR240 low loss coax, and antenna ( https://www.data-alliance.net/antenna-900mhz-8dbi-omni-directional-w-n-female-pole-mount-gsm/ works well but isn't 8dbi - probably 3) and take it home after the wave camp.
> I'm working to have a solar powered station, but it still needs to connect to the internet.
strapped to a fence post, etc, wherever I was flying for a few days. That's interesting,
and there's 6 months of winter coming to make it happen in time for the 2023 soaring season.
Davis Chappins
Oct 6, 2022, 11:36:34 AM10/6/22
to
All,
Most of the questions and concerns in this thread have been addressed already an are included in the plan.
I encourage everyone who has participated in this thread to sign up to be a focal. There is no binding agreement that you have to do any work but you will be aware of the situation and can inform others. If you have previously installed any receivers then you should definitely sign up.
Link to signup form here https://forms.gle/Z8RPCExoDCm8UxHj6
Most of the questions and concerns in this thread have been addressed already an are included in the plan.
I encourage everyone who has participated in this thread to sign up to be a focal. There is no binding agreement that you have to do any work but you will be aware of the situation and can inform others. If you have previously installed any receivers then you should definitely sign up.
Link to signup form here https://forms.gle/Z8RPCExoDCm8UxHj6
Martin Gregorie
Oct 6, 2022, 12:26:26 PM10/6/22
to
On Thu, 6 Oct 2022 08:13:46 -0600, kinsell wrote:
> Raspberry Pi's are still being produced, but unfortunately being bought
> up by scalpers and sold for high prices. $150-200 is common for a Pi 4.
>
From what I see on comp.sys.raspberry-pi the issue is commercial users
> Raspberry Pi's are still being produced, but unfortunately being bought
> up by scalpers and sold for high prices. $150-200 is common for a Pi 4.
>
selling products based on RPis and paying top dollar to keep their
products available rather than retail scalping, though I agree that either
way its a problem doe people who want a few RPis.
> I believe it will actually run fine on a Pi Zero, which are much more
> reasonable,
>
limited i/o capability, so worth looking at for small projects, especially
the Pi Zero W, which has onboard wifi as a standard feature.
--
Martin | martin at
Gregorie | gregorie dot org
Stuart Venters
Oct 6, 2022, 1:49:29 PM10/6/22
to
The problem with Pi 3,4,and zero is that the Pi folks decided to support
those who made businesses depending on the RasPi hardware at the
original price at the expense of experimenter/maker community that
bootstrapped those businesses.
Supporting long term relationships first is a reasonable choice to make,
but it does make it hard to get a few without connections, luck, or
overpaying.
Eric Greenwell
Oct 6, 2022, 2:41:11 PM10/6/22
to
always have an OGN wherever I flew in the country.
A solar powered, wifi unit would be ideal for mounting on a friend's roof, as it would
avoid need for installing an antenna cable and receiver into their house. This would be in
lieu of an airport installation, as the house is on a hill, a much higher elevation than
the airport.
Bruce
Oct 6, 2022, 3:48:30 PM10/6/22
to
Some on here have indicated that this only works with Flarm equipped gliders. Not True. Using the link below, you can build a transceiver the works with OGN, but also is seen by Flarm as well as some other standards. The guts of the unit can be purchased for $30-40 and if you have someone with a 3D printer you can print the case, of buy it from several sources. The unit can be powered by a rechargeable lithium battery, but a better solution is to connect it to the ships battery with a USB voltage conversation kit and plug ( it automatically turn on when connected and turns off when disconnected). It also is a receiver of other units and flarm so positions can be shown on XCSoar and other glide computers.
Check it out and if it's over your head, get one of the younger guys to help. It's kind of a fun project and provides tracking for not too much money. So there's no excuse for not having a tracker.
https://github.com/lyusupov/SoftRF/wiki/Prime-Edition-MkII
Bruce
Check it out and if it's over your head, get one of the younger guys to help. It's kind of a fun project and provides tracking for not too much money. So there's no excuse for not having a tracker.
https://github.com/lyusupov/SoftRF/wiki/Prime-Edition-MkII
Bruce
WaltWX
Oct 6, 2022, 6:54:10 PM10/6/22
to
> Is that practical? Are they reliable enough that once it's set up, it could go a year
> without attention?
> --
Walt Rogers WX
Moshe Braner
Oct 6, 2022, 7:34:04 PM10/6/22
to
through your phone) available for internet access. The alternative is
to bring the "mobile" unit to within range of whatever WiFi is available
at some building.
If I were to set up OGNbase temporarily, e.g., at a contest site, I
would still use the 2-station "relay" method. That way, the outside
unit can be set up high and/or in an open spot, and have good reception
of both FLARM signals and GPS (which it needs in order to know the exact
time). And the inside unit will have WiFi access. And I wouldn't need
to run a long cable from a high antenna into the building.
Richard Livingston
Oct 7, 2022, 11:04:34 AM10/7/22
to
That is an interesting option, but from the web page it isn't clear exactly what FLARM capability it has. Clearly it receives FLARM signals and can indicate traffic on a display, but does it broadcast FLARM data that other FLARM units can see? Does it issue FLARM alerts (i.e. does it do conflict calculations), or only the radar display?
Rich L.
Davis Chappins
Oct 7, 2022, 1:15:12 PM10/7/22
to
All,
Good discussion but please keep this thread focused on OGN deployment.
I have 36 people signed up so far.
Some notable absences are: Minden/Tahoe area, all of Utah, Ely, Minnesota, central Florida, southern Florida, and central California. If you are reading this and thinking "hey I live in one of those areas..." Please sign up with the link at at https://forms.gle/Z8RPCExoDCm8UxHj6 it is non-binding and does not commit you to anything.
I am hosting a teams meeting this coming tuesday with all focals to review the plan and ask/answer any questions so sign up before then.
Good discussion but please keep this thread focused on OGN deployment.
I have 36 people signed up so far.
Some notable absences are: Minden/Tahoe area, all of Utah, Ely, Minnesota, central Florida, southern Florida, and central California. If you are reading this and thinking "hey I live in one of those areas..." Please sign up with the link at at https://forms.gle/Z8RPCExoDCm8UxHj6 it is non-binding and does not commit you to anything.
I am hosting a teams meeting this coming tuesday with all focals to review the plan and ask/answer any questions so sign up before then.
krasw
Oct 8, 2022, 8:35:36 AM10/8/22
to
I was organizing OGN receiver station setup for my country years ago. We (nat. aeroclub) made a shopping list of components needed (antenna, filter/amp, raspberry, radio usb stick etc.), instructions, bought a huge reel of coax cable and tools for making connectors. We offered to pay hardware for any one becoming a receiver host and supplied cables to make everything as easy as possible. In couple of years, we had a very good coverage and total cost was quite reasonable (few thousands). I can give you one hint: choose receiver antenna location wisely. A good station with antenna on tall mast will out-range a grid of 4-5 separate OGN station with average antenna setups.
Tim Newport-Peace
Oct 8, 2022, 10:49:17 AM10/8/22
to
On 08/10/2022 13:35, krasw wrote:
> I was organizing OGN receiver station setup for my country years ago. We (nat. aeroclub) made a shopping list of components needed (antenna, filter/amp, raspberry, radio usb stick etc.), instructions, bought a huge reel of coax cable and tools for making connectors. We offered to pay hardware for any one becoming a receiver host and supplied cables to make everything as easy as possible. In couple of years, we had a very good coverage and total cost was quite reasonable (few thousands). I can give you one hint: choose receiver antenna location wisely. A good station with antenna on tall mast will out-range a grid of 4-5 separate OGN station with average antenna setups.Agree. The antenna needs to be Collinear type, which is basically
several antennas stacked vertically. To make your own,look at:
http://live.glidernet.org/doc/collinear_antenna.pdf
You may need to adjust the lengths to match US Flarm frequencies. For
mine, I enclosed the antenna in plastic pipe (sealed against moisture).
Low loss coax is required, and lengths kept to a minimum. The coax used
in your glider will no do. It must be (very) low Loss. It is important
that the ends of the coax feeder are moisture-sealed. If moisture as
allowed to capillary between Conductor and Screen it will seriously
degrade the signal.
The signal from Flarm is low-power, so you need all the signal you can get.
> I was organizing OGN receiver station setup for my country years ago. We (nat. aeroclub) made a shopping list of components needed (antenna, filter/amp, raspberry, radio usb stick etc.), instructions, bought a huge reel of coax cable and tools for making connectors. We offered to pay hardware for any one becoming a receiver host and supplied cables to make everything as easy as possible. In couple of years, we had a very good coverage and total cost was quite reasonable (few thousands). I can give you one hint: choose receiver antenna location wisely. A good station with antenna on tall mast will out-range a grid of 4-5 separate OGN station with average antenna setups.Agree. The antenna needs to be Collinear type, which is basically
several antennas stacked vertically. To make your own,look at:
http://live.glidernet.org/doc/collinear_antenna.pdf
You may need to adjust the lengths to match US Flarm frequencies. For
mine, I enclosed the antenna in plastic pipe (sealed against moisture).
Low loss coax is required, and lengths kept to a minimum. The coax used
in your glider will no do. It must be (very) low Loss. It is important
that the ends of the coax feeder are moisture-sealed. If moisture as
allowed to capillary between Conductor and Screen it will seriously
degrade the signal.
The signal from Flarm is low-power, so you need all the signal you can get.
Davis Chappins
Oct 8, 2022, 12:07:46 PM10/8/22
to
All,
Good points regarding reception. The standard kit contains a 4ft 915mhz antenna with low loss LMR400 cable and a 915mhz amp/filter https://v3.airspy.us/product/upu-fp915s/ which boosts the weak FLARM signal.
The above setup with a crappy 30ft RG58 cable gets 40-60mi range consistently and is very affordable.
To make it easy all items are COTS so no one has to construct their own antenna.
Krasw, how many stations did you deploy?
Good points regarding reception. The standard kit contains a 4ft 915mhz antenna with low loss LMR400 cable and a 915mhz amp/filter https://v3.airspy.us/product/upu-fp915s/ which boosts the weak FLARM signal.
The above setup with a crappy 30ft RG58 cable gets 40-60mi range consistently and is very affordable.
To make it easy all items are COTS so no one has to construct their own antenna.
Krasw, how many stations did you deploy?
Dave Nadler
Oct 8, 2022, 12:16:33 PM10/8/22
to
On 10/8/2022 10:49 AM, Tim Newport-Peace wrote:
> You may need to adjust the lengths to match US Flarm frequencies.
You definitely need to adjust the lengths for USA frequency range.
> You may need to adjust the lengths to match US Flarm frequencies.
Tim, what do you do for lightning protection?
Boise Pilot
Oct 8, 2022, 2:29:18 PM10/8/22
to
This may be a dumb question but is this re-inventing the mouse trap when the GliderPortAero is out there and needs someone to take control? It seemed to work pretty well - remember the time Tim Taylor landed out and followed him to the "bushes" and back.- It is still running for those that were registered. Does not need new equipment and worked everyplace even those with minimal numbers of flights.
Boise ID
Boise ID
Davis Chappins
Oct 8, 2022, 2:49:44 PM10/8/22
to
Boise Pilot,
Not a dumb question but I would ask that you pose that to one of the many glideport threads in the past and keep this focused on the deployment of OGN receivers in the US.
Glideport threads:
https://groups.google.com/g/rec.aviation.soaring/c/UEbxmLebuP4/m/NAUy-ufFAQAJ
https://groups.google.com/g/rec.aviation.soaring/c/sqSsGkOdrto/m/RJsMsPzUCAAJ
https://groups.google.com/g/rec.aviation.soaring/c/pzVP73GwnUw/m/bPn5x3HTBgAJ
https://groups.google.com/g/rec.aviation.soaring/c/_5YCcTDS4yc/m/BUV2TJfjAgAJ
https://groups.google.com/g/rec.aviation.soaring/c/UKlNkflcCRs/m/u92E_HgLAgAJ
https://groups.google.com/g/rec.aviation.soaring/c/2lTLBP_hGAw/m/InuqwOwzAQAJ
https://groups.google.com/g/rec.aviation.soaring/c/80qX0EtHR70/m/sXSSSFukAQAJ
https://groups.google.com/g/rec.aviation.soaring/c/TKyISi6OBN8/m/V9IehW7iAgAJ
https://groups.google.com/g/rec.aviation.soaring/c/puyT3q6cQ8w/m/CWiD2uDmAAAJ
Not a dumb question but I would ask that you pose that to one of the many glideport threads in the past and keep this focused on the deployment of OGN receivers in the US.
Glideport threads:
https://groups.google.com/g/rec.aviation.soaring/c/UEbxmLebuP4/m/NAUy-ufFAQAJ
https://groups.google.com/g/rec.aviation.soaring/c/sqSsGkOdrto/m/RJsMsPzUCAAJ
https://groups.google.com/g/rec.aviation.soaring/c/pzVP73GwnUw/m/bPn5x3HTBgAJ
https://groups.google.com/g/rec.aviation.soaring/c/_5YCcTDS4yc/m/BUV2TJfjAgAJ
https://groups.google.com/g/rec.aviation.soaring/c/UKlNkflcCRs/m/u92E_HgLAgAJ
https://groups.google.com/g/rec.aviation.soaring/c/2lTLBP_hGAw/m/InuqwOwzAQAJ
https://groups.google.com/g/rec.aviation.soaring/c/80qX0EtHR70/m/sXSSSFukAQAJ
https://groups.google.com/g/rec.aviation.soaring/c/TKyISi6OBN8/m/V9IehW7iAgAJ
https://groups.google.com/g/rec.aviation.soaring/c/puyT3q6cQ8w/m/CWiD2uDmAAAJ
krasw
Oct 9, 2022, 3:11:34 AM10/9/22
to
John Godfrey
Oct 9, 2022, 11:40:49 AM10/9/22
to
On Saturday, October 8, 2022 at 2:29:18 PM UTC-4, Boise Pilot wrote:
> This may be a dumb question but is this re-inventing the mouse trap when the GliderPortAero is out there and needs someone to take control? It seemed to work pretty well - remember the time Tim Taylor landed out and followed him to the "bushes" and back.- It is still running for those that were registered. Does not need new equipment and worked everyplace even those with minimal numbers of flights.
> Boise ID
Boise Pilot,
> This may be a dumb question but is this re-inventing the mouse trap when the GliderPortAero is out there and needs someone to take control? It seemed to work pretty well - remember the time Tim Taylor landed out and followed him to the "bushes" and back.- It is still running for those that were registered. Does not need new equipment and worked everyplace even those with minimal numbers of flights.
> Boise ID
It is important to differentiate between:
1. The network of technologies that recieve and aggregate position information. This is "population" of the OGN tracking database with information from SPOT, InReach, Flarm, etc.
2. The user interface that uses the OGN data to display the various user-desired selection of track, tasks etc. There are a bunch of these, of which glideport.aero is one.
Davis's project is about item 1. Whatever your personal preference about how to do #2 is, accomplishing #1 is the required foundation.
FWIW
kinsell
Oct 9, 2022, 5:46:14 PM10/9/22
to
On 10/6/22 10:26, Martin Gregorie wrote:
>>
> ... and likely to be less interesting to manufacturers, due to their more
> limited i/o capability, so worth looking at for small projects, especially
> the Pi Zero W, which has onboard wifi as a standard feature.
>
>
Yes, and there's a Pi Zero 2 W now, much better processor chip.
>>
> ... and likely to be less interesting to manufacturers, due to their more
> limited i/o capability, so worth looking at for small projects, especially
> the Pi Zero W, which has onboard wifi as a standard feature.
>
>
Davis Chappins
Oct 24, 2022, 12:41:19 AM10/24/22
to
Bumping this to the top -
So far I have received responses from 62 people from 54 clubs across 29 states.
If you have signed up, thank you.
If you haven't please re-read the top post for the benefits and click the signup form.
We have 2 operational receivers so far with 8 more delivered waiting to install.
Mid Nov there will be 17 more. After that an additional 82 are planned, waiting on confirmation of site-specific information (internet access/power/antenna mount).
J6 aka Airport Bum
Oct 24, 2022, 10:09:24 AM10/24/22
to
Well done, Davis!
Here at the Central Alabama Soaring Association, our receiver installation (temporary) at Merkel Field Sylacauga Alabama passed our testing this past weekend with flying colors, and we are proceeding with a permanent installation very soon. And we will be installing the simple trackers in our club fleet, including the tow plane. And the Automatic flight logging will greatly simplify our club’s recordkeeping and billing. We will also install trackers in a handful of club member’s private ships that do not have the full FLARM installation, thereby giving near FLARM-like situational awareness. This will give us outstanding situational awareness of glider operations out of our club flying site. We have life saver helicopter operations out of our home field, and we plan to give them a tracker and a Skyview display, so that they can also see our operations. A very significant safety improvement, we believe.
Finally, this system will provide us with a very cool real time tracking display that will be lots of fun when we hold our little local GTA race every spring and fall. We will be able to see the competitors out on course, making our races a “spectator sport”. And, my favorite thing, we will have situational awareness at the end of the day about gliders out on cross country who might be getting low, struggling to get home, and in the worst case missing and unaccounted for.
I highly recommend that clubs and flying sites take advantage of this opportunity to set yourself up on OGN.
Thank you Davis for all the great work you are doing here.
Jim J6
Here at the Central Alabama Soaring Association, our receiver installation (temporary) at Merkel Field Sylacauga Alabama passed our testing this past weekend with flying colors, and we are proceeding with a permanent installation very soon. And we will be installing the simple trackers in our club fleet, including the tow plane. And the Automatic flight logging will greatly simplify our club’s recordkeeping and billing. We will also install trackers in a handful of club member’s private ships that do not have the full FLARM installation, thereby giving near FLARM-like situational awareness. This will give us outstanding situational awareness of glider operations out of our club flying site. We have life saver helicopter operations out of our home field, and we plan to give them a tracker and a Skyview display, so that they can also see our operations. A very significant safety improvement, we believe.
Finally, this system will provide us with a very cool real time tracking display that will be lots of fun when we hold our little local GTA race every spring and fall. We will be able to see the competitors out on course, making our races a “spectator sport”. And, my favorite thing, we will have situational awareness at the end of the day about gliders out on cross country who might be getting low, struggling to get home, and in the worst case missing and unaccounted for.
I highly recommend that clubs and flying sites take advantage of this opportunity to set yourself up on OGN.
Thank you Davis for all the great work you are doing here.
Jim J6
Charlie Finn
Nov 9, 2022, 7:25:32 PM11/9/22
to
You mentioned data was being collected from spot, inreach, flarm, etc. Are/can you collect data from APRS. I remember SSA was doing so years ago.
Charlie
Charlie
Davis Chappins
Nov 9, 2022, 7:32:13 PM11/9/22
to
I am sending spot/inreach/adsb data TO APRS (the OGN servers)
https://github.com/DavisChappins/SpotToOGN
https://github.com/DavisChappins/InreachToOGN
https://github.com/DavisChappins/ADSBtoOGN
Anyone can get data from the OGN servers
http://ognproject.wikidot.com/dev-python
Hope that helps.
https://github.com/DavisChappins/SpotToOGN
https://github.com/DavisChappins/InreachToOGN
https://github.com/DavisChappins/ADSBtoOGN
Anyone can get data from the OGN servers
http://ognproject.wikidot.com/dev-python
Hope that helps.
Charlie Finn
Nov 9, 2022, 8:10:29 PM11/9/22
to
Charlie Finn
Nov 9, 2022, 8:10:54 PM11/9/22
to
On Wednesday, November 9, 2022 at 7:32:13 PM UTC-5, davis.c...@gmail.com wrote:
Charlie Finn
Nov 9, 2022, 8:17:06 PM11/9/22
to
Since OGN is based on APRS, but uses a different port, we should be able to easily scrub APRS data for subscribed members and send that to the OGN servers. Shouldn't be difficult, but was wondering if it was already implemented.
Charlie
AK4IA
Davis Chappins
Nov 9, 2022, 8:22:23 PM11/9/22
to
Charlie,
What are you trying to accomplish?
What are you trying to accomplish?
Charlie Finn
Nov 9, 2022, 8:23:55 PM11/9/22
to
On Wednesday, November 9, 2022 at 8:22:23 PM UTC-5, davis.c...@gmail.com wrote:
> Charlie,
> What are you trying to accomplish?
Trying to use current APRS handheld for OGN tracking.
> Charlie,
> What are you trying to accomplish?
Matt Herron Jr.
Dec 6, 2022, 12:50:30 PM12/6/22
to
On Saturday, October 1, 2022 at 7:58:42 PM UTC-7, davis.c...@gmail.com wrote:
> RAS,
> Please distribute the following to any and all groups, message boards, clubs, or individuals who may be interested in installing OGN receivers at their soaring operations.
>
>
> The SSA has allocated funds to help install 150 OGN receivers across the US. This will create a robust network of real-time glider tracking ground stations that track FLARM or OGN tracker equipped aircraft (similar to ADSB ground stations for transponder equipped aircraft).
>
> Some benefits include:
> - Real-time tracking – viewership and interest/engagement in the sport
> - Racing real-time scoring – viewership and interest in racing (coming soon)
> - Ability to create and score local contests
> - SAR – far more precise than satellite trackers
> - Clubs and commercial operators can locate all gliders at the end of the day
> - Club management (e.g. auto-logging of tow flights and tow heights, club/rental
> ship activity - with the help of low cost OGN trackers ($60) for aircraft lacking Flarm) -
> https://flightbook.glidernet.org/logbook/E68/2022-04-08)
>
> An OGN receiver consumes about 2W of power (less than a LED lightbulb) and
> uses 2mb of bandwidth a day (less than 30 seconds of netflix). Suitable installation locations require internet (it can be slow) and power.
>
> Current OGN receiver coverage can be found here https://ognrange.glidernet.org/?#,max,all,34.27084_-114.18640,8,#ff0e0eff:#0aff0aff, (very slow site, don’t zoom out) Europe has 1,450 OGN receivers, the US has 35.
>
> Under this proposal, up to two receivers will be provided at a 100% discount and an additional two receivers at a 50% discount, per site. A site is defined as a glider airfield from a pre-existing list that have significant glider activity or have hosted contests on a regular basis. The idea is to provide excellent coverage at home airfields and additional coverage in task areas so as to maximize the benefits of tracking to the most pilots possible. Each OGN receiver covers a radius of roughly 40 miles. If your site already has OGN receivers installed the proposal still applies to you - use it to expand your coverage areas. However, sites with zero tracking may be prioritized.
>
> We are looking for site focals who can be a point of contact to install and manage these receivers. A site focal is the person responsible for the installation and upkeep (minor) of the OGN receivers in their area. Ideally, focals will be local experts who are knowledgeable about the local soaring area, have some knowledge of computers (like Raspberry Pi or linux) and can perform basic handyman tasks like mounting an antenna and routing a coax cable.
>
> Deployment options range from the site focal following a guide, purchasing everything, assembling and installing (DIY from a guide)… down to Davis shipping the site focal an assembled and configured device ready to be powered on and connected to the antenna (plug and play). Due to the cost of and difficulty locating raspberry pis at this time the OGN receiver reimbursement cap will be raised to $400 per receiver. Installations must come online and receive aircraft signals to be eligible for reimbursement. You must fill out the form and be a site focal to be eligible for reimbursement.
>
> This is a very small amount of work and you will be the OGN receiver expert for your area. If you are interested please fill out the form at https://forms.gle/Z8RPCExoDCm8UxHj6
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi Davis
What does the physical embodiment of these receivers look like? Are you in need of any mechanical engineering to design a user friendly enclosure or build out? I would be happy to help. I also have a laser cutter that could produce internal structures to hold components. I know Andy B. is working on Solar power for OGN. Any need for integrations support there?
Thanks,
Matt (matt (at) digital shorts (dot) com
> RAS,
> Please distribute the following to any and all groups, message boards, clubs, or individuals who may be interested in installing OGN receivers at their soaring operations.
>
>
> The SSA has allocated funds to help install 150 OGN receivers across the US. This will create a robust network of real-time glider tracking ground stations that track FLARM or OGN tracker equipped aircraft (similar to ADSB ground stations for transponder equipped aircraft).
>
> Some benefits include:
> - Real-time tracking – viewership and interest/engagement in the sport
> - Racing real-time scoring – viewership and interest in racing (coming soon)
> - Ability to create and score local contests
> - SAR – far more precise than satellite trackers
> - Clubs and commercial operators can locate all gliders at the end of the day
> - Club management (e.g. auto-logging of tow flights and tow heights, club/rental
> ship activity - with the help of low cost OGN trackers ($60) for aircraft lacking Flarm) -
> https://flightbook.glidernet.org/logbook/E68/2022-04-08)
>
> An OGN receiver consumes about 2W of power (less than a LED lightbulb) and
> uses 2mb of bandwidth a day (less than 30 seconds of netflix). Suitable installation locations require internet (it can be slow) and power.
>
> Current OGN receiver coverage can be found here https://ognrange.glidernet.org/?#,max,all,34.27084_-114.18640,8,#ff0e0eff:#0aff0aff, (very slow site, don’t zoom out) Europe has 1,450 OGN receivers, the US has 35.
>
> Under this proposal, up to two receivers will be provided at a 100% discount and an additional two receivers at a 50% discount, per site. A site is defined as a glider airfield from a pre-existing list that have significant glider activity or have hosted contests on a regular basis. The idea is to provide excellent coverage at home airfields and additional coverage in task areas so as to maximize the benefits of tracking to the most pilots possible. Each OGN receiver covers a radius of roughly 40 miles. If your site already has OGN receivers installed the proposal still applies to you - use it to expand your coverage areas. However, sites with zero tracking may be prioritized.
>
> We are looking for site focals who can be a point of contact to install and manage these receivers. A site focal is the person responsible for the installation and upkeep (minor) of the OGN receivers in their area. Ideally, focals will be local experts who are knowledgeable about the local soaring area, have some knowledge of computers (like Raspberry Pi or linux) and can perform basic handyman tasks like mounting an antenna and routing a coax cable.
>
> Deployment options range from the site focal following a guide, purchasing everything, assembling and installing (DIY from a guide)… down to Davis shipping the site focal an assembled and configured device ready to be powered on and connected to the antenna (plug and play). Due to the cost of and difficulty locating raspberry pis at this time the OGN receiver reimbursement cap will be raised to $400 per receiver. Installations must come online and receive aircraft signals to be eligible for reimbursement. You must fill out the form and be a site focal to be eligible for reimbursement.
>
> This is a very small amount of work and you will be the OGN receiver expert for your area. If you are interested please fill out the form at https://forms.gle/Z8RPCExoDCm8UxHj6
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi Davis
What does the physical embodiment of these receivers look like? Are you in need of any mechanical engineering to design a user friendly enclosure or build out? I would be happy to help. I also have a laser cutter that could produce internal structures to hold components. I know Andy B. is working on Solar power for OGN. Any need for integrations support there?
Thanks,
Matt (matt (at) digital shorts (dot) com
John Godfrey
Dec 6, 2022, 6:15:20 PM12/6/22
to
Charlie Finn
Dec 6, 2022, 6:35:48 PM12/6/22
to
The units that the SSA are shipping have a metal enclosure with a fan. If you are going to build one yourself, I suggest you get a Raspberry Pi case for the approrite model If using a Pi4, you should get a case with a fan. Pi 3 or 3B, really doesn't need a fan.
Nicholas Kennedy
Jan 5, 2023, 12:06:34 AM1/5/23
to
0 new messages