FRSky XJT is On its Way to Me; Where is the Smart Dashboard?

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mnementh
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FRSky XJT is On its Way to Me; Where is the Smart Dashboard?

Post by mnementh »

... for my 9XR Pro. I've been very happy with my old DHT-based module; but it went with my 9X so time to build a module for my Pro.

That said; one of the things I like about my older FRSky hardware is being able to do THIS:

Image

So I went looking for the new FRSky "Smart Dashboard" which plugs into the back of the XJT so you can view telemetry data from Smart Port sensors, not just the old stuff... and I can't find it. Anywhere.

According to their own press releases and the FRSky Telemetry Wiki the Smart Dashboard was due for release Christmas 2013 (Just like the X9DPlus), but no sign of it 8 months later.

I'm hoping it is just suffering the same delays as so many of the new products they promised us would be here last Christmas; less than half of what they promised on their "New Products" list has actually gotten to us 8 months later. Maybe FRSky has decided do some profit-taking on their existing product lineup and push back release to Christmas Season 2014, which is what I suspect is the plan for the Plus.

[DELETE LOTS OF GRUMPY MUSINGS THAT I CAN ONLY BLAME ON AN ACHING TOOTH AND RELATED MEDICATION]

Those of you in the know; has anybody actually seen a real live FRSky Smart Dashboard in the Wild? Any knowledge of when it will actually happen?


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Did I actually post that out loud :?:

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Re: FRSky XJT is On its Way to Me; Where is the Smart Dashbo

Post by fburden »

Yeah, good question!!!!
Maybe they feel that the Dashboard would compete with the Taranis??
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Re: FRSky XJT is On its Way to Me; Where is the Smart Dashbo

Post by Kilrah »

FrSky have confirmed it was still in the plans - but being overwhelmed by their success I guess it won't come until they can actually keep up with supplying the existing products.
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Re: FRSky XJT is On its Way to Me; Where is the Smart Dashbo

Post by MikeB »

mnementh wrote:That said; one of the things I like about my older FRSky hardware is being able to do THIS:
What exactly are you doing there with the tablet? Have you a bluetooth module sending the hub data to it?

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Re: FRSky XJT is On its Way to Me; Where is the Smart Dashbo

Post by jhsa »

Yes, it is done with a BT module connected to the serial pins on the back of the DJT.. I did the same with the HC-06 in the 9XR Pro and my phone to test the bluetooth.. But as far as I know you have to change the models manually on the phone as well which is annoying, specially if you realize it after takeoff :) But I might be missing something. Maybe there is an app different from the one that I have on my phone that can sense the model change? I don't know it..

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Re: FRSky XJT is On its Way to Me; Where is the Smart Dashbo

Post by MikeB »

So this is an APP that runs on what? (Android devices?), and takes the raw telemetry data, over bluetooth, from the DJT/DHT (hub format therefore) and displays it?

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Re: FRSky XJT is On its Way to Me; Where is the Smart Dashbo

Post by jhsa »

That is correct.. and on android devices..
Ahh, you can also log the data and have voice alarms..
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Re: FRSky XJT is On its Way to Me; Where is the Smart Dashbo

Post by mnementh »

MikeB wrote:So this is an APP that runs on what? (Android devices?), and takes the raw telemetry data, over bluetooth, from the DJT/DHT (hub format therefore) and displays it?

Mike.
Yes, sir.

There are two common ones; FRSLogger and FRSky Dashboard.

FRSLogger is laid out specifically for the small screen; FRSky Dasboard for small or large. Both will take the datastream from FRSky Hub Telemetry gear and use it for logging, alarms, cyclic voice annunciation, and to display your location on any Web-Connected Android device in Google Maps in real-time.

I like FRSky Dashboard because it allows you to keep every model with its own Telemetry Sensor Profile; João, maybe you haven't updated in a while, but it now watches your profiles and warns you if the sensors it detects don't match your current profile.

I ESPECIALLY like the fact of being able to use it as you see there: a single page with ALL my raw Telemetry Data. VERY useful for bench testing and setup.

FRSLogger shines in applications where a pocketable device is better; having it in a shirt pocket right by your ear while it does cyclic annunciation and alerts over the speakerphone is MUCH better, especially in a noisy environment, than most any of the mods I've seen to make the speaker on the TX louder or clearer. And no wires means no ripping your ears off with earbuds when you set the TX down. It's also nice in that it is android compatible all the way back to 2.2, so a great way to repurpose an old Android phone you might have lying around. That was the author's main intent. FRSky Dashboard needs 4.0 for some features.

Another consideration is that these apps don't NEED to update the FRSky TX module for alerts; they manage them within the app, so you really only NEED the TXd from the FRSky module to the BT, not both.

I've been using these for almost 2 years now; awesome addition to any TX. There's a reason why I didn't feel like I was missing out on a lot by not having a Taranis. ;)

I build all my JR Modules into empty Spektrum SPM6817 module shells; that way they all have the same form factor, and the case comes with a good 2dB antenna built-in.

My FRSky Module is a little different; I install the FRSky SMA antenna connector in the end so I can use the 5dB antenna as an option, because it's the ONLY TX module I know has been certified with both the 2dB monopole and the 5dB dipole. I also install the BT under the antenna, away from the RF mainboard as seen here:

Image

to minimize interference. This case also provides a very nice antenna offset and makes it possible to install indicator LEDs so they're visible from the front of the TX, where they're actually useful. :D

However... the main point of my thread is that I want to be able to do with the new Smart Port data like I do with my FLD-02 LCDs; 2 or 3 of them mounted up high, so a quick glance down is all that's needed. Even with voice, I still prefer that. Internal Telemetry on the 9X/9XR LCD were more a distraction than useful. The Uber-bright OLED screens promised on the Smart Dashboard sound really tasty; I'd rather have that than even the Taranis Plus.


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Re: FRSky XJT is On its Way to Me; Where is the Smart Dashbo

Post by jhsa »

Nice, but I for instance do prefer the alarms coming from the tx itself. About changing models, the app warns you but you still have to change it manually. The ability to display the position in google maps is nice.. it's good to have both possibilities though.
As the radio can do all that, and probably better, apart from the google maps thing (yet), I am more interested in other features like the wireless trainer over bluetooth. I did some teaching last week using a cable, and it was terrible.. :) the boy wouldn't stand still and was always pulling the cable. Good that ersky9x gives the control to the master if the connection breaks....
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Re: FRSky XJT is On its Way to Me; Where is the Smart Dashbo

Post by mnementh »

I disagree; I like the touchscreen interface much better for handling Telemetry items, it is much more intuitive than anything on any of the open source platforms.

And as I said above; my point of interest here is not to evangelize FRSky Dashboard, it is that I want to be able to do with the new Smart Port data like I do with my FLD-02 LCDs; 2 or 3 of them mounted up high, so a quick glance down is all that's needed. Even with voice, I still prefer that. Internal Telemetry on the 9X/9XR LCD were more a distraction than useful. The Uber-bright OLED screens promised on the Smart Dashboard sound really tasty; I'd rather have two or three of them than even the Taranis Plus.

I think fburden has a point; maybe they do see the Smart Dashboard as competition for the Taranis so why produce it?

My original thought was that they might feel it would just make things too easy for third parties to reverse-engineer the protocol, so they were holding back on it to protect that IP... but maybe it really is that simple; not wanting to compete with themselves. Or maybe they're just knee-deep in the hoopla with the Taranis, and just don't have the resources to sidetrack into producing what is, according to the teasers, about 60% of the Taranis in an add-on module.

I was just hoping we might have some idea sometime soon... because without that External Display, the XJT is really only a half-finished product. And I really like that format better for my telemetry. Enough so that I'll probably stick with Hub Telemetry gear until it does come to market.
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Re: FRSky XJT is On its Way to Me; Where is the Smart Dashbo

Post by MikeB »

In theory, since all the available telemetry data is stored in the Tx memory, I could pick it up from there and send it out over bluetooth (or COM2 or both) in hub format. As always it would need a little time to implement, but I might be able to grab some code from the openXsensor project.
Would there need to be some configuration as to which data to send, or just send it all?

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Re: FRSky XJT is On its Way to Me; Where is the Smart Dashbo

Post by jhsa »

But Mike, we can already send the data through telemetry, right? Isn't that what is requested? I can connect my phone to the radio via bluetooth and have all the telemetry data displayed on the app.
Or am I missing something here? ;) :)

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Re: FRSky XJT is On its Way to Me; Where is the Smart Dashbo

Post by Kilrah »

jhsa wrote:Or am I missing something here? ;) :)
Yep, currently there is no phone app that supports smart port telemetry, so no way to make use of X series' advantages over a DJT i.e. new sensors. If I understand well, Mike's suggestion is to code something to convert smart port telemetry to hub format. That won't work for the new stuff that didn't exist in hub format, but there aren't many of such things yet.

I'd rather push for app devs to add support. Funnily enough there were a couple that were pushing to add it before sensors and things became available, and now that they are nobody's there anymore.
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Re: FRSky XJT is On its Way to Me; Where is the Smart Dashbo

Post by jhsa »

Maybe they all got the taranis :D
These dasboards were really made for radios that didn't have telemetry capability as fas as I understand. Now most of the new radios have it..

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Re: FRSky XJT is On its Way to Me; Where is the Smart Dashbo

Post by mnementh »

MikeB wrote:In theory, since all the available telemetry data is stored in the Tx memory, I could pick it up from there and send it out over bluetooth (or COM2 or both) in hub format. As always it would need a little time to implement, but I might be able to grab some code from the openXsensor project.
Would there need to be some configuration as to which data to send, or just send it all?

Mike.
Mike -

If you don't think it would eat necessary processor overhead, sure; all it needs is the raw datastream. For full functionality with FRSky Dashboard the datastream would need to be bidirectional, as it offers the option of setting the alarms in the FRSky module. This shouldn't be absolutely necessary however; I never bother to update the FRSky, I just configure my alarms within the app.
jhsa wrote:But Mike, we can already send the data through telemetry, right? Isn't that what is requested? I can connect my phone to the radio via bluetooth and have all the telemetry data displayed on the app.
Or am I missing something here? ;) :)

João
EDIT: the only thing I see would improve things is to make the radio tell the app which model to select. But that would mean talking to the app developer too ;)
João -

Wait; are you saying you can do this RIGHT NOW? I thought the code to port the data over to BT still had to be written... :?: :?: :?:


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Re: FRSky XJT is On its Way to Me; Where is the Smart Dashbo

Post by michel49 »

About the BT interface (COM3 ?) is it linked straight to the serial port of the FrSky module or linked to the PRO MCU ? so it can give datas not only from FrSky but also a lot more from the main board.In that way the androïd apps could be rewrited to offer more...
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Re: FRSky XJT is On its Way to Me; Where is the Smart Dashbo

Post by MikeB »

On the TELEMETRY2 menu, there is an option "BT Telemetry" you may set ON or OFF. Setting it ON copies the RAW telemetry data to the bluetooth module (HUB or SPort as received).

I was considering receiving SPort telemetry data but generating HUB data for backward compatibility to the exiting apps.

COM3 is indeed a completely separate serial port.

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Re: FRSky XJT is On its Way to Me; Where is the Smart Dashbo

Post by jhsa »

mnementh wrote:





João -

Wait; are you saying you can do this RIGHT NOW? I thought the code to port the data over to BT still had to be written... :?: :?: :?:


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Yes, just do as Mike said and enable the telemetry over BT.
As I said above I did it and it works..
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Re: FRSky XJT is On its Way to Me; Where is the Smart Dashbo

Post by mnementh »

Dang, Mike. That's awesome.

My Pro is tore apart on the bench right now, waiting for parts. I haven't had a chance to actually mess with the BT yet; I didn't realize we had progressed this far already, or that you had in mind to add all this other functionality.

That sure sounds like a lot of work... did you like clone yourself or somethin'? ;)

Thanks for everything you pour into these projects!


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Re: FRSky XJT is On its Way to Me; Where is the Smart Dashbo

Post by nigelsheffield »

Smart port display is out now according to frsky forum.

I like the idea of GPS pos displayed on my phone!
I have the taranis and its great, but screen resolution is rubbish.

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