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Helno edited this page Feb 26, 2023 · 26 revisions

Hi! Please use your browser's search functionality to explore this page. Search for things like 'AHRS' or 'ForeFlight' or 'SDR' to get to the rough location of your question.

What version of Raspberry Pi is Stratux supported on?

The image files located here are designed for the Raspberry pi 3B. The 2B will also work with an Edimax wifi adapter.

The 3B+/4B will work with the latest versions of Stratux however they consume much more power than the 3B.

How do I view Stratux status? How do I change Stratux settings?

Visit the status page by connecting to the Stratux Wifi hotspot and visiting http://192.168.10.1 in a browser. You can view status (traffic, weather, GPS, AHRS) and change configurations.

My Stratux is powered on but I cannot see the Stratux wifi network.

This generally indicates a software problem has occurred that prevents your Stratux from fully booting.

The easy way to correct this is to reload the software by re imaging the SD card. If you are familiar with Linux you can connect to a monitor and see what is causing the problem.

To re image your SD card you will need to download an image file usually it will look like this "stratux-v1.6r1-eu028-32d5e58b-us.img.zip". This file is a .img file that has been compressed as a .zip file. You will need to extract the .img file from the .zip file and then you can write it to your SD card with the appropriate software for your computer (Eetcher for windows or pi filler if you are using a MAC.)

You can find the latest software images here. https://github.com/cyoung/stratux/releases

Here is a youtube video that shows the entire process. The links to Stratux.me are no longer valid but all they did was link to the location listed above.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJmMdIvb8zE

Sometimes I see a traffic target that is following close behind me.

This is known as a TIS-B shadow. It is caused by you flying into the hockey puck of an ADS-B out equipped aircraft. That aircraft lights up the ground towers and your radar return is uplinked so that they can see your non-equipped aircraft. What you are seeing is your own radar return that is slightly delayed.

This is a common problem of all ADS-B in only equipped aircraft. If your aircraft only has a mode-C transponder then it is not possible to hide these targets. If you have ADS-B out the filtering is automatic. If you have a mode-S transponder then you can look up your mode-s code in the FAA registry and enter it into the settings tab of the web interface.

How do I update the software?

A photographic guide to the .sh update process is here.

http://imgur.com/a/sKsjt

There are currently two ways to update Stratux. You can re image your SD card from an image or do a small update via .sh file.

To re image your SD card you will need to download an image file usually it will look like this "stratux-v1.3b3-74909ada85.img.zip". This file is a .img file that has been compressed as a .zip file. You will need to extract the .img file from the .zip file and then you can write it to your SD card with the appropriate software for your computer (Eetcher for windows or pi filler if you are using a MAC.)

The other method often used for small updates is the .sh file. These small files contain a script along with the files that have been changed. You cannot install a .sh file from a device running iOS so you will need a computer running Windows or macOS to do this. You download the .sh update file and then connect to your Stratux web interface. You then go to settings and you will see a place to select a system update file, you select the .sh file you downloaded earlier and then select install system update file. Stratux will prompt you to wait 60 seconds and then to reconnect.

Sometimes after doing system updates the firmware version will appear to stay the same and this can be due to web browser caching. Check on a different web browser to confirm the update.

What GPS should I use?

The currently recommended unit is the remote-mounted VK-162 or the internally mounted GPYes. They are both the same internally and the only difference is the USB cable length. An externally mounted GPS will always get a better signal than an internal one so the choice is between portability or accuracy. The internal GPYes will get more than enough accuracy to drive AHRS.

Is AHRS working? Can I use Stratux to power [my EFB]'s synthetic vision?

If you have a Stratux AHRS module connected, yes, full AHRS is working (as of software release 1.4r1). See the AHRS FAQ. If you don't have an MPU-9250 connected, Stratux will output a GPS-based pseudo-AHRS. Either method will power synthetic vision but support for this is up to the EFB vendor.

I have two SDRs and used tuned antennas. How do I ensure Stratux uses the correct SDR for the antenna hooked up to it?


There is a script to automate this now. See SDR Serials


Read this for some background and updated information

You can name the SDRs to let Stratux know which to use for which purpose.

First log into the Raspberry Pi using your favorite ssh client. The user is 'pi' and the default password is 'raspberry'.

Switch to root.

$ sudo su -

Depending on the version of Stratux some or all of the following commands may be required to shut down the Stratux processes.

# service stratux stop

# screen -x stratux Ctrl-C

# screen -x dump1090 Ctrl-C

Ensure only the 978 MHz SDR is plugged in.

# rtl_eeprom -d 0 -s stratux:978

Unplug the 978 MHz SDR and plug in the 1090 MHz SDR.

# rtl_eeprom -d 0 -s stratux:1090

Plug the 978 MHz SDR back in.

# shutdown -r now

More here

I have dual SDRs. My EFB says that all of the displayed traffic is from 978 MHz UAT, but the Stratux web interface is showing no 978 MHz UAT messages and a whole bunch of 1090 MHz ES messages. What's up?

This is a known issue. Stratux reports all traffic as coming from UAT. If you turn on traffic source identification in the settings tab it will prepend call signs with either u or e depending on the source (UAT or ES, respectively).

How can I contribute to the project?

Check out the document on contributing.

I found a bug. How do I report it?

There's more information on reporting issues in the contributing document, including a bug report template. You're welcome to post bug reports on Reddit, but they're more likely to get looked at if you also create an issue on GitHub.