(Part 2) Top products from r/stratux

Sure. Here's the shopping list:

Project Box (5 pack, $5.80)

SMA Connectors (4 Pack, $5.85)

SMA Pigtails (Need 2, $4.85/ea)

SMA Extension Cable (Need 2, $8.50/ea) (3 feet)

RAM Suction Cup Mount ($15.99)

Start out by making four small pilot holes in the project box where you see both the connectors and antennas on mine.

Use the screws included with the RAM mount to go through the bottom left and top right corners of the bottom of the project box. This almost perfectly lines up with the holes in the suction cup, but make sure to use a template. You will not use the ball piece that comes with the suction cup.

Connect an SMA Female-Female connector on one end of each of the pigtails. Tighten with a wrench and pliers, but careful not to mess up the thread.

Enlarge the two holes on the small side of the project box to fit the female-female connectors (that you just attached) through, barely. Use generous hot glue to fix them in place on the inside, with the screw end from the SMA pigtail being pushed all the way up to the project box wall to allow as much of the connector to stick out as possible. Note, you may need to apply pressure to keep the connectors as straight and tight as possible until the glue cools/dries completley.

Take the other ends of the pigtail connectors (with the included nuts and other stuff) and put them through the other two holes on opposite long sides of the project box (Make sure you don't mix up left and right), enlarging the holes as necessary to ensure they fit. Use the included fittings to fix them in place firmly. (Use a wrench to tighten)

Stuff the pigtails in the project box, again verifying that you didn't mix up left and right. Close it up, connect the 3 foot SMA cables to the plugs on the bottom, and wire them into your Stratux. You should be good to go!

Photo

I got this cheap OLED screen for $10.99. The text looks nice and it's able to display plenty of information for only being 0.96" diagonal. I got the blue colored one just because it was first available, but they have different colors.

It comes pre-soldered and you just need four jumper wires. Easy.

Only UAT, ES, CPU temp, and towers displayed for now. It can easily be extended to show more information.

I wrote this Python script to display the information and update once per second. It gets the data from Stratux via webinterface, parses the JSON, and draws the information on the screen.

Set the script to start up on boot, and now don't have to look at the iPad to get reception stats. Neat.

And just for fun, the startup screen: http://i.imgur.com/qIUOzkK.jpg

The internal GPS's work OK at best.

One thing to watch for is to be sure there are antenna wires running over the top of the gps chip as that is where the antenna is located.

I found that by using the external GPS chip as found on Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/VANWEI-VK-162-Notebook-Navigation-Support/dp/B01N01W8SK/ref=sr_1_9?dchild=1&keywords=stratux+GPS+chip&qid=1574510609&sr=8-9

You will get <3m accuracy most of the time

So I offer two kits now.

One is complete including the rPi. Comes with the new case, dual low power SDR's, high gain antennas, SD card, GPYes, and an AHRS module.

The original more basic kit with just the case, SD card, SDR's and antennas for people who already have an rPi or want a different GPS.

And all the other bits and pieces to DIY it however you like.

Cases

Serial adapters

AHRS modules

GPYes

VK-162

Low power SDR's

Dans great antennas

SDR and antenna combo

Preloaded SD cards

This one is slightly longer than what you said but is double the power of the one you have now (20,000mAh):

https://www.amazon.com/Portable-Charger-Anker-PowerCore-20100mAh/dp/B00X5RV14Y

Or this one fits in the dimensions you said and is the same power capacity as the one you have now (10,000mAh)

https://www.amazon.com/Anker-PowerCore-Ultra-Compact-High-Speed-Technology/dp/B0194WDVHI

​

But these are literally just two of them. There are ALOT of them. I would recommend Anker but just get on amazon and search for "Anker Portable Charger" and find one that has the power capacity you want, the physical size you want and in your price range. Any Anker will be fine just make sure to say above 10,000mAh or so as we talked about.

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Edit: Also the 20,000mAh one I linked has two usb ports. That is a MUST for me to have 2-3 ports on it so I can power my Stratux and iPad. Just something to keep in mind to look out for when looking at them.

To get started you'll need:

• An RTL-SDR (I've used these two with success: 1 2)
  
• Zadig & Install-RTL-SDR
  
• dump978 source
  
• compiler (I used Visual Studio)
  
  Once you have the pieces, you'll need to:
  
  
• Install RTL-SDR following their instructions
  
• Build dump978 and uat2Text
  
• Run rtl_sdr -f 978000000 -s 2083334 - | dump978.exe | uat2text.exe and see some output.
  
• uat2Text is useful to make sure you are receiving UAT data, but not the greatest as an intermediate step in processing data
  
• Figure out some way to convert the demodulated UAT frames into something your application can use (maybe gen_gdl90).
  
• The best option here really depends on what you want as input on your display: GDL-90, just a list of lat/lons, a json request interface, etc.

This is what I got...but a Vilros package:
http://www.amazon.com/Vilros-Raspberry-Aviation-Set-Micro-Pre-loaded/dp/B01BX1QSFK?ie=UTF8&psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00

With:

http://www.amazon.com/NooElec-NESDR-Mini-RTL2832-Antenna/dp/B00P2UOU72?ie=UTF8&psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s01

That is the only thing i have plug in. Power sources i used, what came with the package and a 5v wall plug

hope this helps and thanks for your time, much appreciated

I have a Stratux built with a Raspberry Pi 3.  I have flashed it with version v1.4r5 (991f48eaa5).

I am trying to get the serial connection working so I can interface it with my GRT HX.

I purchased this dongle:  USB TTL 232 485 converter serial module from Amazon.$ 9.90📷

USB TTL 232 485 converter serial module

Product document: https://wiki.wit-motion.com/english 1.USB to TTL 232 485 Serial Converter. 2.USB TTL 232 485 c...I have booted the Stratux with the switches on the card in every combination.  At no time do I get a window in the settings page that allows me to enter baud rate.  I get the impression the Stratux software is not seeing the dongle, or might not have the drivers for it.

I attached a keyboard and monitor (hdmi) the the Pi and logged in.  I ran the command to list all USB devices and it is there.

The USB light is on on the dongle.  However, I have not seen the TX light ever.

I have connected the 232T pin and the GND to the GRT unit.  I have tried every baud rate available for the GRT, but have never seen a packet received.

I have little to no experience with Linux.

I would appreciate any help.

I have pictures, but am new to Reddit and haven't figured out how to include them.

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I've got an audio-in jack and I used one of thost $20ish bluetooth adapters to pipe in the music. Here's the one from the photo (I originally bought it for my car) and here's the one I have now in my car (better microphone). No functional difference between the two for the sake of automatic-pairing bluetooth audio because the microphone wouldn't be usable in the cabin anyways.

The second one looks like it's actually cheaper than the HB01 so that's cool.

So if you've got an aux-in on your CD player (and that part's still functional), one of these should work great!

A PNY from Wal-Mart, model T4400. It supports pass-thru charging. I have also ordered a Jackery brand 12aH battery from Amazon. Jackery has all sizes and claims all its batteries support pass-thru charging. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00EA1P8OI?ref_=cm_sw_r_awd_VnbEwb7BR1TMH

I bought the standard case, but added the ram suction cup. I’ve used the ram products in the airline cockpit and they are tremendous. I’m glad I went with one of these as opposed to four “normal” suction cups. This is just my personal PSA. https://www.amazon.com/Mount-with-Suction-Cup-Base/dp/B001447JYG

If it doesn't work, more copper tape is pretty cheap. I can't recall the width that dmurray ships, but you can choose whatever you like from the link below.

https://www.amazon.com/Tapes-Master-10ft-Copper-Foil/dp/B00Z8MCL9S/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1467934704&sr=8-3&keywords=copper+tape+1+inch

Well, now... this is where I deviated from the build instructions. I went with the "more is better" line of thinking and got the Anker PowerCore 10000 battery. It comes with a relatively short (maybe 12") power cable that I have been using.

Edited for formatting.

There are multiple options on Amazon, search CP2102 RS232. Not a lot of prebuilt cables though, you may have to solder or crimp it yourself, it's just 2 wires so an easy job. I built stratux into a case for mounting behind the panel, and brought the power, screen, and serial out connections to a DB15 connector on the side, so I just used a small converter similar in form factor to the SDRs:

USB TTL 232 485 converter serial module https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01CNW061U

Be sure as you're picking modules that the output levels are correct for the device you're connnecting -- some of the modules only convert to TTL which may not work with your device's serial port.

> I'm only getting a fix on two GPS satellites on the ground. Could the duct tape be causing interference?

According to wikipedia, "powdered aluminum pigment gives traditional duct tape its silvery grey colour".

So, it seems plausible to me that the duct tape is screwing up your GPS reception.

With the GPYes v2, you can get an external antenna that would probably solve your problem by not making the GPS signals try to get through powdered aluminum.

Also, I have no idea who runs stratux.co, but you should check out the parts list on the official Stratux website, http://stratux.me, for newer, better radios for your next build.

Keep in mind that if you have two USB radios AND a USB connected GPS, you will need 2.4A of power. If you underpower the Stratux, it will not function correctly.

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EDIT: I use this one, and it works just fine for me: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00VH84L5E

Playing around with this more, I got the Stratux to operate using the GPIO serial port and a USB to TTL-UART cable (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008AGDTA4)


I had to use a power USB hub though, and the TTL-UART cable powers the Stratux from that.

Hey. Sorry I'm just now seeing this. I bought an external GPS from Amazon. Below is the link:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01N01W8SK/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Hmm ... the "bundle" may be out of stock but you can buy both components separately.

Antennas

https://www.amazon.com/ADS-B-5dBi-High-Antenna-Bundle/dp/B07PFLKM4W

Radios

https://www.amazon.com/Stratux-1090ES-UAT-Radio/dp/B01ENU1DQC

these are the blog SDRs
http://www.amazon.com/NooElec-NESDR-Mini-RTL2832-Antenna/dp/B00P2UOU72/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1450573736&sr=8-1&keywords=nooelec

and this is the new one..

http://www.amazon.com/NooElec-NESDR-Mini-Compatible-Guaranteed/dp/B00VZ1AWQA/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1450573736&sr=8-2&keywords=nooelec

which one are you ACTUALLY using..

I'm using these:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00CP17WMG/ref=ox_sc_act_image_4?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A2JO7YP9I9Y3D6

Here

I've been using this kootek wifi adapter without issues so far.

http://www.amazon.com/Kootek-Raspberry-Wifi-Dongle-Adapter/dp/B00FWMEFES

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00INGRK74/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

PI Manufacturing ABS Plastic Project Box (5.30" (L) x 2.95" (W) x 1.92" (H))

Here is the mobile version of your link

Anker is my go-to place for anything mobile power related. They have a dual 2.4A for $9.99.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00VH84L5E/ref=psdc_2407770011_t1_B01MY9ZGHH

It doesnt have a voltage indicator, but my plane has one of those with temp and density/pressure altitude readout.

What screws do you use to mount the Pi and GPS? Also, length of m3 screws?

Another hardware comment: If you included a recessed area into the base shaped such that you could glue in some nuts to match the M3 threads then you don't have to worry about stripping out your 3D print material. This would be especially useful for someone who can't reprint their own unit and has to worry about this with each reassembly.