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 Bluetooth connection to KRT2
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phil_atkin
Pulcino

United Kingdom
25 Posts

Posted - 11/11/2020 :  16:54:52  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
I'm using v7 on an Oudie 2. For now, internal GPS.

I've paired LK8000 with a Bluetooth/serial adapter that's connected directly to the KRT2. I'm satisfied that this works well, and reliably, because I can link my PC to the Bluetooth adapter and read back all the stored frequencies using the "KRT2 Manager" app.

On LK8000, the link is unreliable. Almost always, I get a "write only" connection to the radio: I can set frequencies, adjust volume etc. but I cannot read them back - so changes made on the radio are not reflected in the LK8000 interface. I've seen the readback work just twice, but on restart or power cycle it stopped working.

There are no errors in RUNTIME.log; the COM port on shutdown shows that messages have been sent and received without error.

Anyone have any clues?

brunotl
Pterodattilo

France
1090 Posts

Posted - 11/11/2020 :  17:29:48  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
can you test with LK8000 PC version ?

what is your Bluetooth adaptor ?
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phil_atkin
Pulcino

United Kingdom
25 Posts

Posted - 11/11/2020 :  18:13:04  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
Good point - I had not thought to try that.

The symptoms are the same when LK runs on the PC: I see the 'Radio detected' message (when I remember to turn it on...) and I can control the radio from LK but LK doesn't read back the settings on the radio.

My Bluetooth module is based on the HC-06.
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brunotl
Pterodattilo

France
1090 Posts

Posted - 11/11/2020 :  18:40:28  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
if you see 'Radio detected' da is received so BT connection work.

do NMEA log to see what is received (you will found log in "_Logger" folder )
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AlphaLima
Moderator

Germany
1978 Posts

Posted - 11/11/2020 :  19:00:08  Show Profile  Visit AlphaLima's Homepage  Reply with Quote
Seems to me, that the Rx Line between the BT Module and the KRT2 is not properly connected or disturbed.
BTW: it is not a NMEA protocol, it is a proprietary Dittel protocol. Not easy to debug in the terminal window.
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AlphaLima
Moderator

Germany
1978 Posts

Posted - 11/11/2020 :  20:16:40  Show Profile  Visit AlphaLima's Homepage  Reply with Quote
according to the manual page 38
https://www.tq-group.com/filedownloads/files/products/general_aviation/manuals/KRT2/en/TQ-KRT2-Manual-Englisch-2018.pdf

make sure you have connected the following three pins.
BT GND <-> KRT2 Pin 1
BT TTL Tx -> MAX3232 -> Tx -> KRT2 Rx (Pin 2)
BT TTL Rx <- MAX3232 <- Rx <- KRT2 Tx (Pin 13)

If all is correct connected with LK the small 'r' will be shown in the upper right corner of the KRT2 display.

I few years ago I wrote down some more information about the radio connection:
https://app.box.com/s/5gr94ahg6l1bnlsmtqo2d9df0etfgh0r
AL

Edited by - AlphaLima on 11/11/2020 21:01:55
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phil_atkin
Pulcino

United Kingdom
25 Posts

Posted - 11/11/2020 :  23:24:56  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
There is no NMEA log file in _Logger. Do I need to turn it on, somehow?

Regarding the connections, as I said the "KRT2 Manager" application is able to read back the stored frequency table without any problems. There is no change to the hardware configuration between running this app and running LK.

I do see the 'Radio detected' message on LK. I do not see an 'r' on the screen of the radio.
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phil_atkin
Pulcino

United Kingdom
25 Posts

Posted - 12/11/2020 :  17:50:08  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
(I found out how to turn on the NMEA log, but it contained nothing useful).

On the PC, I've now replaced the Bluetooth adapter by a wired connection. Unbelievably, my USB/Serial adapter also failed during these experiments, so that was yet another source of confusion. I believe that the PC to serial link is now totally reliable.
I've also set up a GPS simulator and Virtual COM ports so that I can have a GPS data source for LK. Without that, LK kept restarting the comm ports, which added to the confusion.

I have now seen the LK/KRT2 link working as I think it should. I've seen the 'r' on the radio display. I've seen the 'Setup Radio' dialog update when I change the settings on the radio panel. However, it's not reliable. Sometimes I have to wait up to 1 minute for the dialog to update, and during these pauses the 'r' disappears from the radio display.

How can I investigate this further? Thanks, Phil


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phil_atkin
Pulcino

United Kingdom
25 Posts

Posted - 12/11/2020 :  18:52:49  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
Just to clarify my previous post: with LK running and the radio link connected, the 'r' on the radio display randomly appears and disappears, typically for a minute or so at a time. When the 'r' is visible, changes to the radio are relayed to LK and vice versa. When the 'r' is not visible, the radio does not send updates to LK (although LK can still send to the radio).
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AlphaLima
Moderator

Germany
1978 Posts

Posted - 13/11/2020 :  07:52:35  Show Profile  Visit AlphaLima's Homepage  Reply with Quote
As long you have no GPS source LK restarts all COM ports, also the Radio port.Seems thats your problem, right?
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phil_atkin
Pulcino

United Kingdom
25 Posts

Posted - 13/11/2020 :  12:27:27  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
No. That was part of my problem, but now I've solved that using a GPS simulator and virtual COM ports. So LK has a source of valid GPS sentences.

Still, the 'r' comes and goes (on a timescale of minutes on, minutes off). When the 'r' is off, the LK does not reflect the state of the radio.
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AlphaLima
Moderator

Germany
1978 Posts

Posted - 13/11/2020 :  17:54:59  Show Profile  Visit AlphaLima's Homepage  Reply with Quote
We have a lot of user connecting a KRT2 using BT without any problems.
So I suspect...
...your hardware connection:
What exact BT hardware are you using?
Is it RS232 level, how is it wired to the KRT2
How does the BT get Power?
Is the voltage correct (5V/3,3V) is it stable?

... or settings:
What exact LK version are you using, did you try the latest beta?
Is is BT adapter properly configured to 9k6 8N1
Make sure there is no extra charaters comming from the BT device.
You chan check this with a PC using a wired connection to

What is the the device setup of the GPS and the radio (screenshot)
Be aware Device A has a higher priority than Device B and so on...
Make sure the GPS source has a higher prioryty over the radio.


Edited by - AlphaLima on 13/11/2020 19:11:00
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phil_atkin
Pulcino

United Kingdom
25 Posts

Posted - 14/11/2020 :  11:04:44  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
I am not using Bluetooth any more!
I am using a wired connection from the PC to the radio.
I'm running "LK8000 v7.0 Oct 30 2018 PC" (from Runtime.log)
I haven't tried the latest beta
I can't work out how to post images, so:
Device A: Generic/COM3/115200/8Bit//Geoid ON/Normal/Generic
Device B: Dittel KRT2/COM6/9600/8Bit//Geoid ON/Normal/Generic
Devices C, D, E, F are disabled.
Again: with all connections stabilised and hardwired, with a valid GPS source, after seeing the 'Radio detected' message, the 'r' on the radio display comes and goes (timescale 10s of seconds to minutes); when the 'r' is not visible the connection only works from LK to Radio (not Radio to LK).
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phil_atkin
Pulcino

United Kingdom
25 Posts

Posted - 14/11/2020 :  11:09:55  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
I'm afraid I can't find any beta versions
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brunotl
Pterodattilo

France
1090 Posts

Posted - 14/11/2020 :  11:34:20  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
all beta version are available here : https://github.com/LK8000/LK8000/releases
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phil_atkin
Pulcino

United Kingdom
25 Posts

Posted - 14/11/2020 :  13:27:50  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
I've tried 7.1u, and the behaviour is the same.

The length of time when the 'r' stays in one state (either on or off) varies from about 5 to 50s. The change in state does not appear to be correlated with anything (I am not touching any controls).
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