Well I guess a final update has been long overdue -
My suggestions to Lawrence at Vertica were to work on getting a filter-free GPS engine motherboard, combine it with the BriteNav display I was using and call it Vertica V2. This is what you are now enjoying.
Lawrence had done most of the work working with our supplier getting the Vertica V1 revamped and in the end I didnt have the time to support the folks I would have sold the device to - Our supplier was getting many different folks in soaring pregnant with the idea of the V2 once we had solved the problems, (in particular Paulo at LK8000 did a lot of work on this.), so I decided this wasn't a situation I wanted to deal with - plenty of other guys ready to step in without respecting the original work of others.
No regrets - I have a few BriteNav prototypes to work with in the meantime....
Next will be an Android sunreadable display platform (like the Kyobe Reader) though sadly the Mirasol display may take a while to appear due to Qualcomms change in strategy. PixelQi has products in production but nothing in the sub7" screen size we need for cockpit use. Eink has a prototype sunlight readable android phone shown earlier this year - and they have colour technology as well.
In the end we are at the mercy of enough 'ordinary' consumers wanting sunlight readability in their android devices - and longer battery life - until these are mainstream we will have to use solutions that are expensive, or power hungry , or both.
To get a Vertica V2 go to www.verticasports.com - tell Lawrence I sent you.
Sunday, November 25, 2012
Saturday, March 17, 2012
Too Little Interest - Whats Next??
Dear all
Thanks for those who got back to me after my last group
update where I informed everyone of the Oudie announcement using the same
screen as the BritNav.
There are 2 issues I am still trying to resolve.
Firstly, in the 2 weeks or so since my last update I’ve been
waiting for interest to be confirmed and to firm up the minimum order quantity.
Unfortunately as of today I’ve lost over
30 out of 85 orders and this is insufficient for me to make a group order of
100 units.
Secondly, the SirfVAtlas GPS integrated into the device has
an issue which I am still trying to resolve. It has track smoothing enabled
(whereby the gps reported position is not exact after a sudden change in
direction – useful for making car gps software easier but not very good for
gliderpilots) I didn’t notice this when flying with the device in Argentina as
it was very windy – however in light wind conditions this can be a real problem
as it will cause significant errors in the wind reported from normal circling
algorithms. Under normal circumstances track smoothing can be disabled by the
gps utilities software I already have installed in the unit – however the
binary switches in this particular unit from YF do not respond. I am working
with Vertica Sports who have the same sourced device to see if this can be
addressed. So far my suppliers and OEM have been unable to help.
As it stands, the BriteNav will still be perfect for anyone
who intends to configure it with external GPS, or FLARM. However,
given the insufficient level of interest and the intractability of the track
smoothing problem I am not going to pursue the BriteNav further in its current
form.
Moving
Forward
I am working with Vertica to consolidate and re-evaluate
interest in these devices – and I'm working with them to enable enable me to service lower order quantities, initially for
external GPS driven applications only. The US price will be the same as the
BriteNav. I have a Vertica V1 on its way
to me right now for evaluation.
Vertica have employed GPS engineers to work on resolving the
track smoothing problem and I expect an update in the next 2 weeks.
If you still like the idea of the BriteNav/Vertica device and
planned on using external GPS input, the device is still very attractive – and with
this new arrangement I can get sunlight readable devices to you faster than I
could with the previous order requirement, at the same price as the BriteNav.
Please
let me know if you’re still interested in the Vertica form of the device.
Sorry this this been so painful – what started out as a service
to the soaring community has turned into a messy situation and a huge time-sink all round.
I’ll update everyone again as soon as I get updates from
Vertica.
Sincerely, Peter
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
POWER CONSUMPTION
OK - I got to measure power consumption in the glider.
While it was still charging the device measured 432mA - With a fully charged device this should drop to around 380-400mA. The Glidertools converter measured 15mA as advertized.
This compares reasonably favorably with the high 300mA's reported for similar earlier generation PNA's reported on the PostFrontal forum.
While I was at it I compared this to power consumption of other devices.
My Becker transponder drew 390mA under very low interrogation conditions
My radio sucked 30mA with no x or TX, and a whopping 1220mA when transmitting.
OK - I got to measure power consumption in the glider.
While it was still charging the device measured 432mA - With a fully charged device this should drop to around 380-400mA. The Glidertools converter measured 15mA as advertized.
This compares reasonably favorably with the high 300mA's reported for similar earlier generation PNA's reported on the PostFrontal forum.
While I was at it I compared this to power consumption of other devices.
My Becker transponder drew 390mA under very low interrogation conditions
My radio sucked 30mA with no x or TX, and a whopping 1220mA when transmitting.
Monday, February 6, 2012
BRITE-NAV TECHNICAL SPECS
Here are the technical specs of the device. I renamed it BRITE-NAV since iGlide was already used by some software company or other. I like BRITE-NAV better anyway!
While I was at the SSA Convention this weekend I compared the Brite-Nav with the Dell Streak Android device which is a viable device if you are ok with being restriced to XCSoar - I compared devices with Ramy Yanetz and the BriteNav is clearly brighter (about 20% brighter according to my carefully calibrated eyeball) in any full sun situation but I was interested in how nicely the Streak display and interface worked. The Streak is bigger and heavier - maybe too big for some cockpits. But not by much.
Brite-Nav runs all current WinCE6.0 compatible soaring software - SeeYou Mobile (my favourite), LK8000 and XCSoar, and is compatible with all the existing third party support hardware available on line from Naviter and GliderTools.
While I was at the SSA Convention this weekend I compared the Brite-Nav with the Dell Streak Android device which is a viable device if you are ok with being restriced to XCSoar - I compared devices with Ramy Yanetz and the BriteNav is clearly brighter (about 20% brighter according to my carefully calibrated eyeball) in any full sun situation but I was interested in how nicely the Streak display and interface worked. The Streak is bigger and heavier - maybe too big for some cockpits. But not by much.
Brite-Nav runs all current WinCE6.0 compatible soaring software - SeeYou Mobile (my favourite), LK8000 and XCSoar, and is compatible with all the existing third party support hardware available on line from Naviter and GliderTools.
BRITE-NAV TECHNICAL SPECS
Size: 131.5*86*13.5mm , Net weight:
190g
Display 5”,
480x272 pixels, 950nits, anti-glare coating, TFT LCD, Backlight Adjustable
OS: Windows CE 6.0
WinCE6.0 Rotation
Driver (support for 0°/90°/180°/270° Rotation)
CPU 600MHz AT550, SDRAM 128M, NAND
Flash 2GB, 4GB optional.
GPS Internal SiRF Atlas-V, Port
COM1
Receiver frequency 1575.42MHz
22 Tracks
GPS module sensitivity -159dBm
Precision Position: < 10 meters
TTFF Hot start: #12288;#8804;10
sec, average TTFF
Refurbish Frequency Warm
start:#12288; #8804;38 sec, average
Cold start: #12288;#8804;70 sec,
average 1 time/second
Working Temp -20-50#8451;
Serial Port mini-USB – YF/Oudie/Wayteq configuration
- USB 2.0
External GPS input
COM4 – Baud rate 4800 +
Memory Expansion memory MAX 8G TF card
Built-in memory 4G
FLASH
Audio Output power Speaker 1.5W/8R
Speaker Stereo 20
mW/32ohm Headphone
Power Audio WMA,
MP3
Power Travel charger INPUT#65306;AC
100-240V#65292;OUTPUT#65306;DC 5V /1.5A
Car adapter INPUT#65306;DC
12-24V#65292;OUTPUT#65306;DC 5V /1.5A
Charge mode External DC POWER
Battery 950mA/H 3.7V
Working time 2 hours
Power save Auto- enter idle state
, auto-off backlight
Accessories Car adapter,USB Cable,user manual, mounting
bracket.Travel charger (110V/240V)
Multi-Media Picture Support JPEG, BMP, E-book Support TXT, TTS,
Business
software Support calendar, calculator notepad etc.:
Video,
AVI,WMV,ASF,ASV,DAT,MPEG,MPG,MOV,
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
NEW BRIGHTER (950nits) UNIT!!
I have the new unit up and running - 50% brighter than the previous sample!!
950nits
950nits
I used this at the PreWorlds in Argentina, running on internal GPS with SeeYou Mobile. It was faultless and very accurate on final glides . I was flying a Std Cirrus and our tasks all completed with a 100m minimum altitude at 3km finish radius. It was dead nuts on every time. I mounted it inside the canopy on my rented Cirrus using the suction mount provided with the unit - worked great the whole contest and in 104F heat many days.
I've put together 2 tutorial videos on YouTube
Tutorial on the unit in horizontal mode (indoors)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S838DHm6H7g
In vertical mode and very bright sunlight - a hostile environment for visibility.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=au6y3geb000
This unit runs with external GPS input over http://www.glidertools.com RS232 - USB converter
Contact me at tango.soaring@gmail.com for purchase information
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