Winged Shadow Systems has discontinued its product line

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Flaps 30
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Winged Shadow Systems has discontinued its product line

Post by Flaps 30 »

Pity but I tend to agree with what Dave West said somewhere else. Things have moved on at a heck of a pace since he came out with his product line and for many (as we know) it is hardly worth making anything electronic for sale as the costs of tooling up and the lifespan of a product is pretty short these days. China seems to be able to do it, in fact I costed up one Chinese product just in parts and I couldn't come close to the final cost they had, and that was just for parts!

-----> Winged Shadow Systems has discontinued its product line

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Rob Thomson
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Re: Winged Shadow Systems has discontinued its product line

Post by Rob Thomson »

To be fair - once the open x vario and Frsky varios where out, the writing was on the wall.

As good as the products are, the new systems just work better.

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gohsthb
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Re: Winged Shadow Systems has discontinued its product line

Post by gohsthb »

Wish I would have know this sooner. I just saw Dave West yesterday.
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ShowMaster
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Re: Winged Shadow Systems has discontinued its product line

Post by ShowMaster »

I've been using the winged shadow how high altimeters from the time it was patched for Frsky. MikeB added the code to er9x for me several years ago at 1AM my time. I loaded it and it worked perfectly. Opentx eliminated that option but Mike kept it for now in all er9x versions.
It was all there was and it was PNP into a Frsky D series receiver. I own many and have helped others install and use them with the 9x conversions I did for them. Not inexpensive but small enough to mount in most planes we fly near a large airport.
For many with the m64 9x Frsky conversions er9x was/is less complicated to use.
Of course progress dictates a change but many can't build a openVario and the Frsky vario is much larger and requires opentx.
My wish would be that the WS HH construction would be put into the open hardware/firmware status for DIYers at least. That and a 4ch Frsky receiver makes a very small and lightweight combo for flying near airports with a 400ft restriction. Frsky should consider making a receiver with this option built in for big city flying. We're not all glider flyers that need a precision vario, but we do have airport police watching us.
Maybe HK would want to buy the design?
In any case I'm also saddened to read that WS has closed up shop.
Maybe if he can't compete with the Chinese he can join them.
We've seen already that some Chinese designs are way behind the products others are making. Look who's actually behind the Taranis and 9xr pro designs.
I'm keeping one tricked out 9x and sky9x with a FW version that supports my HH devices to keep them in service.






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Re: Winged Shadow Systems has discontinued its product line

Post by kwijibo »

Just wondering if anyone got How High RT working with frsky accst receivers and open tx.?
I would be keen to get them talking as I already own
How high RT
Frsky D8 II plus
Radio master tx12 running opentx 2.3x

Or should I give in and buy a frsky gx receiver for 50 quid?
Thanks
Ben

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MikeB
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Re: Winged Shadow Systems has discontinued its product line

Post by MikeB »

I've kept support for the WS How High in er9x/erskyTx, I believe support was removed from openTx.
I don't know if this support handles a How High RT, I don't know what the RT means!

erskyTx is available for the Jumper T12, I don't know if the RM TX12 is sufficiently the same that it will run on that as well.

Mike
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Re: Winged Shadow Systems has discontinued its product line

Post by kwijibo »

Thanks Mike.
The RT stands for real time. It can send data via the serial telemetry port. Interpreting that feed at the transmitter is the interesting bit.
I don't really need this function as an occasional dlg flyer, but having the components tends to make me wonder if I can rig it up for fun. I suspect the all in one receiver is the obvious simple but more expensive option.
I'll have a play and see what I get at the other end, perhaps your experience could help me decode it.
Ben
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MikeB
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Re: Winged Shadow Systems has discontinued its product line

Post by MikeB »

For D8 receivers, do a search for "frsky Two-way system protocol", and you should get several hits for a PDF file describing the protocol sent to the Tx.
When I implemented support for the WS How High, it was sending 2 bytes of height data, with a repeat rate slower than 100mS between data. The bytes were least significant byte first.
I think the value is in feet.
The 2 bytes will be carried in a "user data frame" sent to the Tx.

Mike
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Re: Winged Shadow Systems has discontinued its product line

Post by kwijibo »

I believe I have the documents Mike, but wonder how to get open tx to display the data. The serial port is not detected as a telemetry sensor so would it need a script setting up?
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MikeB
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Re: Winged Shadow Systems has discontinued its product line

Post by MikeB »

D8 telemetry data is processed in "frsky_d.cpp". User data is processed in:
void parseTelemHubByte(uint8_t byte)
It looks like only FrSky sensors are processed, and no data is passed to scripts!

Mike
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Re: Winged Shadow Systems has discontinued its product line

Post by kwijibo »

Sounds like the end of the road then, Mike, thanks very much for taking me there.
Ben
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MikeB
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Re: Winged Shadow Systems has discontinued its product line

Post by MikeB »

Support is still in erskyTx!
Another possible solution might be to program an Arduino Mini that then sits between the WSHH and the Rx and translates the data into FrSky format.

Mike
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