Re-Booting STRATUX in flight? - ADS-B Discussions

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Re-Booting STRATUX in flight?

7/9/2018 6:47 AM

Michael Marra

Joined: 3/26/2014

Posts: 706

Re-Booting STRATUX in flight? Modified By Michael Marra on 7/9/2018 6:49:43 AM

REF: Re-Booting STRATUX in flight?

Was flying yesterday from central PA to Cape May, NJ....right around where PA, MD, DE and NJ meet up my ADSB "lost towers" and no one with 'OUT' was around so my system went to sleep...just not working right...and I am SEEING traffic around me.

So, checked my STRATUX and it was not connected - somehow just stopped - no reason, but I did get the indication on IFly I was back on GPS and not on ADSB (thanks - that is a great feature).

Not being sure of what to do, I starting looking through my ADSB pages...tried the REBOOT button. Moments later, the system popped on again!

So, what does REBOOT really do? Is this recommended in flight? Any up or down sides to hitting the reboot button?

Thanks - still learning about this system...

Mike N714AJ

7/9/2018 11:50 AM

Andre

Joined: 2/11/2011

Posts: 191

Re: Re-Booting STRATUX in flight? Modified By Andre on 7/9/2018 11:51:38 AM

Mike -

I'm confused by your statement your system went to sleep when it didn't detect any ADS-B Out signals. After initial power up, my Stratux has never gone into sleep mode unless it has lost power. If it really was in sleep mode, that would explain why your Stratux was not connected to your iFly. Could the Stratux have momentarily lost power? If it loses power, the Stratux will take some time to restart and then reconnect. The Red LED on the unit is the power indicator and if it shuts off, even for a moment, Stratux restarts automatically once power is fully restored.

The Stratux is really a small (Raspberry Pi) computer with the Stratux software installed. So a reboot is the same as when you reboot your home PC. It starts fresh, reloads the software and then reconfigures the computer/software to begin working as an ADS-B receiver. When you reboot in the air, it goes off-line until it reconfigures, which will take a finite amount of time - maybe a minute or 2?

Andre'

7/9/2018 11:57 AM

Joined: 1/1/0001

Posts: 0

Re: Re-Booting STRATUX in flight?

Mike,

The GPS indicator is a hint of what's going on, but not a guarantee. iFly will switch to internal GPS if the lock is of a higher quality than the Stratux's GPS due to interference.

The best place to check with ADS-B issues is the ADS-B status page (Menu -> Setup -> ADS-B). That page will tell you where the issue probably is. If there's no check next to Heartbeat, you're not connected to the Stratux and should check the green light on the Stratux is on, and that you're still connected to its wifi.

Rebooting the Stratux will tell the board to unload all of the software from memory and reload it. It take about as long as powering it up. Once the green light is solid, the system is live and the GPS starts hunting for its location. The ADS-B radios stay off for the first 90 seconds to allow the GPS to find itself and the system to stabilize. So, rebooting will knock the system down for 30-60 seconds, and ADS-B for another 90, but shouldn't be harmful to either the Stratux or iFly in any way.

A cautious reminder, pulling the power without shutting down properly can corrupt the card, and should be avoided if possible.

7/9/2018 1:03 PM

Michael Marra

Joined: 3/26/2014

Posts: 706

Re: Re-Booting STRATUX in flight?

Thanks for taking my question, Andre',

I am reasonably sure the system did not lose power as my connectors are very tight and the entire system is connected to each other (battery and box) with very thick velcro and then velcroed down to the glareshield above my panel. The light indicators were all normal (green).

I did go into the software, and it read "disconnected" so thus, the reboot option.

Yes, I am super careful about NOT just pulling power on the sytem - I have ruined a previous system that way before it was widely known to actually shut down the system and not just pull power.

The reboot worked for me this time, and from the looks of your answer, I did no further harm to the system. I was afraid I would be causing it damage or deterioration, but that does not seem to be the case. First time I have ever had to use that option, but I felt I had nothing to lose as the system was just doing nothing.

BTW, I also checked for HEAT on teh system...nope. I had vents aimed directly onto it and it was not hot to the touch, the fan was coming on as it normally should, etc.

Hey, tech is like that sometimes....just an odd case I will probably never be able to fully explain.

Thanks -Mike N714AJ

7/9/2018 1:08 PM

Michael Marra

Joined: 3/26/2014

Posts: 706

Re: Re-Booting STRATUX in flight?

Greetings Shaun,

Thanks for taking my question/concern.

Agreed - never just pull the power if you can avoid it! Learned that the hard way last year and never do that anymore...

I think I did everything I could before hitting the reboot. Could be that I lost tower signal AND no one else around me had an OUT system so the ADSB acted as if it was not connected...and over time just did not pick up anything anymore...odd but I can see that happening.

Well, at least now I know I CAN reboot and not cause serious damage to the system in flight and it MAY actually help the situation.

As many of you have alrady learned, ONCE YOU HAVE ADSB TRAFFIC, YOU DON'T WANT TO GO WITHOUT IT even though we are looking outside all the time!

Again, thanks gents for taking the time to write back and help me.

Mike N714AJ

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Re-Booting STRATUX in flight?

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