Category Archives: PilotAware

Avionics, PilotAware, Systems

Tuesday 14th January 2020 – Installing PilotAware

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Dynon screens have the ability to display traffic if a suitable receiver is connected. Having looked at the receivers with the ability to output a suitable data stream Pilotaware’s Rosetta device looked to be the best bet. It receives ADSB, Flarm (via the OGN and P3i), Mode S/3D (via 360Radar, A & C transponders and of course other PilotAware equipped aircraft.

It’s a Raspberry Pi so the USB ports can be configured to output a data stream that contains the information that the device has received. So having researched what can be done I decided to carry out a permanent installation with an aviation grade installation kit with aerials mounted on the underside of the aircraft.

One of the first challenges was to work out where to put the Rosetta unit. If I had of thought of installing the unit earlier then I could have included it whilst building the aircraft… hindsight is a wonderful thing! Luckily I had space on the rear of the firewall which would work well. The Rosetta case has a number of attachment points including a photographic screw mount. I had a spare camera mount screw which happened to be just the right length so I use that to mount the unit. The cable ties are used to keep the power cable in position.
Angling the unit down slightly allowed me to run the aerial coax cables from the unit and down the starboard side of the aircraft behind the interior trim to where I plan to put the aerials. I powered the unit from the Pilots Skyview screen USB so as soon as I power the Skyview it powers the Rosetta unit. It’s a neat solution.
With a permanent installation the Rosetta GPS module normally enclosed within the case is removed and replaced with a GPS mouse on a long lead that plugs into the same USB port. The mouse can be run to a suitable point for the best reception. As I had already mounted the Dynon GPS250 unit on a platform just under the glare shield I decided to place the GPS mouse alongside. Another option is to use the Dynon GPS output and feed it into the Rosetta unit but I decided that I would use the Rosetta GPS as it removes the Dynon GPS as a single point of failure.
Although the only option was to mount the aerials on the bottom of the aircraft I carefully considered where to place the two aerials to reduce any possible interference from the Transponder aerial. I decided to mount the ‘receive’ aerial on the starboard side adjacent to the main gear diagonally as far as practical from the transponder aerial. The ‘P3i’ aerial was mounted inline but in front of the Transponder aerial. This should reduce any interference and maximise the effectiveness of the PilotAware transmission.
I used a USB to RS232 adapter lead plugged into USB port 3 which was configured to Flarm Traffic at an 115200 baud rate. I used port 4 of the Skyview configured for Flarm at the same baud rate and made up a D9 connector with data pins 2&3 reversed to interface with the adapter lead. As I’ve used the Skyview screen to power the Rosetta unit I didn’t need to connect a separate earth. Quite useful…
Once installed it was time to test the unit. Switching the Skyview on powers the Rosetta unit which then transmits a WiFi network. Connecting an iPhone to the WiFI and pointing the browser to 192.168.1.1 displays a configuration screen. Once the config is set a ‘Traffic’ button on the webpage displays what the unit is receiving. As you can see it receives a lot of traffic. This list is not filtered so shows traffic at all levels.
Another button on the webpage is labelled ‘Radar’ and displays this screen. The onscreen buttons allows you to change the altitude and range of the contacts displayed. This screen is set to the maximum. It shows the contacts, height, climb or descent and track. The colour of the diamonds depict the ‘threat’ of the contact. These screens are interesting but the data is much more useful when you feed it into an app like SkyDemon, EasyVFR or display it on the Skyview panels.
This is how the traffic is displayed on the Skyview map. Again the data is unfiltered so shows traffic that would be of no use or threat to me so I’ll filter those out some point in the future. The Skyview shows the altitude, whether climb or descending and track of the traffic. Aircraft over 10,000 ft have a ‘+99’ label.
Synthetic vision really ups the game with traffic showing as targets in front of you. Any that are a threat will be coloured appropriately and audible warnings given via the headset.

All in all I’m really pleased with the installation and it was well worth the time invested especially as Maypole’s runway is still out of action due to water logging so used the time productively.

The systems I have installed can lure you into keeping your head down and eyes in the cockpit, however it is essential to keep your head up and carry out an effective look out as not all aircraft have conspicuity systems onboard. These systems help you avoid conflict but must be used in conjunction with the No. 1 system, your eyes!