Condor and Windows 10

[edwal...@gmail.com]

Does anyone have any experience yet with Condor under Windows 10? I'm trying to decide whether I should upgrade yet given some concerns about connectivity with my Vertica V2 running LK8000 (this may also be a problem for Oudie users). I purchased a USB to serial cable from Glidertools several years ago that allows me to move the device from my glider to desktop, but my understanding is that the driver for the cable will not be supported for Win10, so an upgrade would put an end to using the device with Condor and FSX. The Glidertools website looks like they are no longer functioning. I have also had little success with a BT connection at home since the connection seems to lack a serial service on the COM port. Anyone figure this out yet?

[soarer...@gmail.com]

The pl2303 usb to serial adapter that a lot of people have used to make their own cable with has drivers that should work. Read the faqs on amazon under the pl2303hx adapter about windows 10 comparability. If the chip is counterfeit the driver may not work, although many people are using old drivers successfully.

Also there is another option, a program called Gps gate. Some if the xcsoar users without wifi in their GPS found Gps gate to work to create a virtual serial port and send gps data to condor. I followed the xcsoar tutorial and it also worked flawlessly. The only catch was the trial is good for 30 days.

[edwal...@gmail.com]

Thanks, you got me on the right track. The original Glidertools cable apparently uses a PL2303HXA version of the chip which will not be supported in Win 8/8.1/10. There is a later version of the chip, PL2303HXD, that is supported by Win 10 drivers which can be found here: http://www.prolific.com.tw/US/ShowProduct.aspx?p_id=225&pcid=41. Sounds like it's time to build a new cable.

[edwal...@gmail.com]

Just to consolidate all the information in one place, I have also learned that FTDI makes a comparable series of USB -> serial converter chips that are found in several manufactured cables, and the drivers for Win10 are already available.

[Dan Marotta]

I'm currently researching how to back out Windows 10 after less than a week of problems with it.  Of course, my laptop is about 8 years old but it was blistering fast with Windows 8.1 and I don't intend to replace it unless and until it dies.

On 8/2/2015 12:56 PM, edwal...@gmail.com wrote:

Just to consolidate all the information in one place, I have also learned that FTDI makes a comparable series of USB -> serial converter chips that are found in several manufactured cables, and the drivers for Win10 are already available. 

--
Dan Marotta

[Paul Remde]

Hi,

The Condor-Oudie cable I sell that is made by Goddard in the USA works great
in Windows 8.1 and should work great with Windows 10. I'll test it soon.
http://www.cumulus-soaring.com/goddard.htm#Condor-Oudie-1p5

Best Regards,

Paul Remde
Cumulus Soaring, Inc.

wrote in message
news:4546439b-3f80-4a31...@googlegroups.com...

[soarer...@gmail.com]

Don't waste your time buying a cable for condor.

You can build it for under $10 and there are only 3 wires to connect. The driver is the most difficult part to find and IF you build your own you will know where the driver can be found and use a generic driver.

[t...@serkowski.com]

Personally, I just don't understand the rush to install Win10.

From a security mailing list I subscribe to:

--Windows 10 Security and Privacy Issues (August 3 & 5, 2015) Windows 10 collects a significant amount of data from users. The privacy policy is described in the operating system's privacy statement, but users often agree to Terms of Service Agreements without actually reading the text. These articles describe some of the ways user data is gathered and used, and provide recommendations for changing settings to protect privacy.
http://www.wired.com/2015/08/windows-10-security-settings-need-know/
http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/bitwise/2015/08/windows_10_privacy_problems_here_s_how_bad_they_are_and_how_to_plug_them.single.html
[Editor's Note (Pescatore): Since Microsoft has joined the "updates are free, we will get revenue from selling information about users"
bandwagon with Google, Facebook, etc., Windows 10 does try to sneak a lot of info leakage into the default settings. Enterprise pressure on Microsoft is needed to get these changed to opt-ins before enterprise migration.]

[Dan Marotta]

I had Windows 10 installed for about 3 days and backed it out.  During that process I learned that you have 30 days to decide not to use it.  Since reverting to 8.1, I get popups at every start up telling me about "upgrading" to the free Windows 10...  BTW, the rollback built into the upgrade did not put my laptop back to its previous configuration.  Things work differently now...  My advice is don't do it just yet.

--
Dan Marotta

[n...@uw.edu]

Windows upgrades are not usually optional, unfortunately, for very long anyway. Hardware manufactures only make drivers that work with old OS's for so long and Microsoft won't release new security patches after a certain point for an old os.

[edwa...@uw.edu]

On Thursday, August 6, 2015 at 9:43:36 PM UTC-7, soarer...@gmail.com wrote:
> Don't waste your time buying a cable for condor.
>
> You can build it for under $10 and there are only 3 wires to connect. The driver is the most difficult part to find and IF you build your own you will know where the driver can be found and use a generic driver.

Agreed, and here is a successful outcome. I bought this cable: http://www.adafruit.com/products/954 for $9.95 and hooked it up in just a few minutes.

It's based on a Prolific PL2303 TA chip that has a tested Win10 driver. The driver install package even has a subordinate program to see which chip is in your device. There are other USB to serial chips out there, FTDI for example, but make sure you have an authentic FTDI chip since there has been a flood of imitation ones will not work. Another important issue is that if you connecting a Vertica/Avier/Gliderguider to the computer, be sure that your USB to Serial converter is a low voltage TTL (LVTTL, 3.3 v) chip and not just Serial or just 5v TTL. The regular serial or TTL voltages can harm the flight computer. Most commercial USB to Serial cables are not made for this use nor can they be easily converted, and even the specialty cables used with Arduino and Raspberry Pi micro computers sometimes come with a configurable 3.3 vs. 5 volt option, so be sure to get the voltages right.

So, after several hours of testing, I'm happy to report that Condor under Win10 has no problems, and the new cable/driver combo works as well as the old.