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SkyView Pico

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Linar Yusupov edited this page Nov 14, 2023 · 28 revisions

Purpose

SkyView Pico shows traffic information provided by a FLARM NMEA or Garmin GDL90 data source device.

It is best suited to operate as a companion device for SoftRF hardware and it helps to visualize nearby traffic in a user friendly manner.


Data input is accepted over:

  • Serial interface
  • Bluetooth SPP
  • Bluetooth LE
  • USB interface

SkyView Pico has a lot of similarities with SkyView EZ. However, there are certain limitations of the Raspberry Pico W hardware:

  • spare internal flash memory size is limited to 1 Mbyte - it can store either voice alert files or an aircrafts database file but not both ;
  • no NMEA/GDL90 data input over Wi-Fi 1

1 - unlike ESP32, the Pico W's Wi-Fi can do either AP or STA mode, but not both at the same time

The SkyView Pico is considered as a "quick build kit" that requires very basic skills from a builder to assemble a complete unit.

This SkyView's variant is based on third-party's hardware:

  • Waveshare Pico e-Paper 2.7

  • and Raspberry Pi Foundation Pico W(H).

Just plug the Pico W product into the pin header of the Waveshare e-Paper and you are all set:


Display notes

Waveshare Pico e-Paper 2.7 product has two major versions:

  • V1 uses Dalian's GDEW027W3 2.7" inch display
  • V2 uses Dalian's GDEY027T91 2.7" inch display

ATTENTION: even though both versions are able to operate with the SkyView firmware ( effective from Release 0.13 ) , be aware that the new GDEY027T91 display has issues with UV resistance capabilities. Be ready to facilitate an anti-UV film or glass filter when you are going to use this display outdoor against direct sunlight.

Disclaimer

In general a lot of Chinese DIY electronics manufacturers are known to behave this way:

  • sometimes they may not apply necessary Q.C. before releasing of a product from factory ;
  • they may arbitrary change schematics and electronic components from one batch to the next one ;
  • they may terminate manufacturing of a board just few month after initial production.

Because of that, author of SkyView:

  • will reject any hardware related claims associated with Waveshare Pico e-Paper 2.7. Ask for support from seller or manufacturer ;
  • reserves the right to suspend or terminate support of Waveshare Pico in the firmware at any time.

For the time being ( May '23 ) there were no critical hardware issues reported for current version of the Waveshare Pico board. However things my change over the time...
If you have issues with bringing up your new Waveshare Pico or just not happy with the board - be prepared to execute your Purchase Protection plan.

Bill of materials

Required

Number Part Qty Picture Source
1 Raspberry Pico W(H) 1 AliExpress 1 2 3
Other
2 Waveshare Pico e-Paper 2.7 2 1 AliExpress

2 - 2.7-inch 2-color (black and white) version of the Waveshare Pico is the only one supported by SkyView's firmware.

Recommended

Number Part Qty Picture Source
3 Waveshare Pico UPS B 1 AliExpress

Alternative hardware option

One may consider to use a Banana Pi BPI-PicoW-S3 product as a substitute for genuine Raspberry Pico W one.

Banana PicoW-S3 has the same size and is pin-to-pin compatible with genuine Raspberry Pico W.



Unlike the Raspberry product, the Banana one -

  • is based on a high performance Espressif ESP32-S3 SoC ;
  • has more spare built-in flash memory space (approx. 3.5 Mbytes) to store both (voice alerts) WAV sample files and aircraft database files at the same time ;
  • is able to operate data over Wi-Fi UDP connection just like SkyView EZ does.

Number Part Qty Picture Source
4 Banana PI BPI-PicoW-S3 1 AliExpress 1 2

Quick start

Use these instructions to start operating with your delivered SkyView Pico device.


This is an example of a good looking WebUI status page:

Firmware

Firmware binaries for the SkyView Pico can be downloaded from these locations:

Please, read Release Notes to keep track of every new update.

Settings

Description of Web UI settings is located here.

Buttons

Buttons assignment depends on the Screen rotation setting.

MODE
             Short press and release                 - change view mode or wake up from sleep
             Long press ( >2 sec. ) and release - soft power off (enter into sleep)

UP
             Radar view - zoom out
             Text view    - previous aircraft info

DOWN
             Radar view - zoom in
             Text view    - next aircraft info


USB storage

Use these instructions on how to write an appropriate data into SkyView Pico's internal flash memory space by means of a USB connection.

This is an example of a good looking database storage:



Wiring

Serial

Both Raspberry and Banana boards are able to operate with 3.3 Volt digital logic levels only.
A builder is responsible to supply an appropriate serial data signal to meet this constraint.

Audio

The audio output signal of both Raspberry (PWM) and Banana (PDM) boards varies from 0 to 3.3 Volt.
A builder is responsible to provide an appropriate circuits for:

  • DC decoupling
  • attenuation
  • low-pass filtering
  • amplification

prior to delivery of the signal to a loudspeaker.

USB Host

This feature is currently applicable for Raspberry Pico W variant only.


Battery life

Approximate current consumption from 3.7 Volt battery:

Board Raspberry
Pico W		 Banana
BPI-PicoW-S3
Display Waveshare Pico
e-Paper 2.7 V2		 Waveshare Pico
e-Paper 2.7 V2
Active
Wi-Fi ON
BLE ON

70 mA

120 mA
Active
Wi-Fi OFF
BLE ON

40 mA

120 mA
Active
Wi-Fi OFF
BLE OFF

30 mA

60 mA
Sleep

1.1 mA

TBD

Operating time from a full charge depends on your actual battery capacity.


Additional information

  1. Raspberry Pico W
  2. Waveshare Pico e-Paper 2.7 product info
  3. Waveshare Pico e-Paper 2.7 wiki and schematic
  4. Banana PI BPI-PicoW-S3 schematic

Hardware

SoftRF

SkyView

Flight Recorder

Adapters

Software

Firmware

Tools

Protocols

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