|
| |
|
|
| |
|
| |
| |
| |
Aurora Virtual Radar 3D - FAQ |
| We aim to answer email questions within 24 hours. Forums are monitored daily. Our focus is on supporting existing customers and developing the Virtual Radar 3D. It's not our intention to be seen as using Yahoo/Google groups for advertising, which is why we are not involving ourselves in these forums at present. Naturally there are some questions that for the present we would rather not answer for obvious reasons and we hope that you will appreciate those reasons until the product is available. |
| Q - Do we support Planeplotter? |
| A -Yes Planeplotter works directly with our SSRx receiver or via port 30003. And can be part of the Planeplotter sharing network. However it should be noted that that we are currently working with COAA to add MLAT support. So at present you cannot use our SSRx as a Ground Station with the Planeplotter MLAT Network. We include a copy of Planeplotter Lite with the Virtual Radar 3D. |
| Q - Can I use outlines / flags that are available on the internet? |
| A -Yes. And if you have created any outlines / flags etc, that you would allow us to use please contact us by email. We are keen to support third party developers. |
| Q - Can I write my own software to work with your receiver? |
| A - Yes. Its as simple as reading the data coming out of a serial port GPS.
Protocol information will be published when we start shipping our Aurora Virtual Radar 3D.
|
| Q - What database do you use. |
| A - SQLite.
|
| Q - Can the firmware in the receiver be updated? |
| A - Yes the firmware for both the FPGA and the DSP can be updated.
|
| Q - Do I need Google Earth for 3D view? |
| A - No When we designed our Virtual Radar we looked into using Google Earth and for the reasons below we made the decision to write our own 3D Virtual Earth Software. We do not use Google Earth for the following reasons :- * Our Virtual Radar is designed to be a TRUE real time system (see below). If we used Google Earth there would be a significant delay between the aircraft sending its position and the screen displaying the aircrafts new position. This may be as low as 5 or 10 seconds but may be significantly over 30 seconds for customers without a high spec PC. We believe it is unacceptable that a customer would be watching an aircraft preparing to take off on their Virtual Radar and at the same time seeing it flying off into the distance in real life. * Our Virtual Radar is designed to operate without an internet connection. There are problems using Google Earth without a broadband connection. * There is a risk that Google may update Google Earth in a way that is not compatible with our software. * Having read ALL Google terms and conditions for the use of Google Earth, there are a number of significant licencing issues if we embed Google Earth into a product that will be sold. However just to be clear, in our view Google Earth is an excellent product for NON REALTIME applications. |
| Q - What do you mean by Real Time? |
| A - We consider Real Time to mean that if you can see an aircraft take off with your eyes, then what you see on the computer should be delayed by less than 1 second. This also applies to data sent to third party programs ie. Planeplotter. ALL our data is sent LIVE, Update 16th Nov 2009 - After announcing our Virtual Radar 3D to dealers this morning, Kinetic have released an update to remove the 5 Minute delay from their Basestation software this afternoon. Update 23rd Nov 2009 -Airnav have removed the 5 Minute delay from their Virtual Radar. This is good news for everyone. |
| Q -The Aurora Virtual Radar 3D is much cheaper that SBS-1 / RadarBox does this mean the receiver is inferior? |
| A -No In fact the electronics in our receiver are more advanced than those in other products currently on the market. Our receiver is the only one to use 12bit ADC and separate FPGA and DSP. This advanced design, allows some features not available on our competitors products (We are keeping details of these features secret at present). Currently we are still adding features to our software. We will also work with other third party companies to develop internet sharing. The manufacture and component costs of any Virtual Radar receiver are only part of the final cost of the product. The remainder of the cost is development / overheads / support / distributor markup / dealer markup and profit. Being a part of a existing design company gives us significant advantage in lower development and overhead costs; we also do not use a distributor. This has resulted in an advanced product at a very competitive price. |
| Q - Can we purchase Aurora Virtual Radar 3D from a dealer? |
| A - We will be appointing dealers during 2010. |
| Q - Will you have a vendor established in the U.S.? |
| A - No, setting up a vendor in the US requires approvals to US standards.
We are currently testing to EU standards, US Standards are on our To-do list.
Also during the initial release we wont be shipping outside the EU. |
| Q -Is there a subscription for NASA Maps? |
| A - No. |
| Q - Does the receiver have an Ethernet port? |
| A - No, USB only. We wouldn't normally mention products that we haven't announced but we do intend to announce a Ethernet/ USB interface. It should be noted that this is NOT a cheap USB extender, it is TRUE "Ethernet Mini Server" and is suitable for operating the receiver at a remote site. |
| Q - Do I need an internet connection? |
| A - No. Operating without an internet connection was a priority in our design.
Internet is only required for sharing / updates. |
| Q - Can I use add-ons designed for the SBS-1? |
| A - Add-ons that use port 30003 will work. If it uses the the basestation.sqb file then No. |
| Q - Do we support MAC / Linux? |
| A - Windows only at present. |
| Q - Can I be a beta tester? |
| A - After our first release of hardware / software we will be setting up a limited beta test group.
Before then its a closed beta test only. |
| Q - How long is the warranty? |
| A - 12 Months return to us or to the dealer. |
| Q - Can I import my existing data from SBS-1 to the Aurora Virtual Radar 3D ? |
| A -Yes We include a program to convert an existing basestation.sqb to our database format. |
| Q - What is the history of this product. |
| A -A little history. In the Yorkshire/Lincolnshire area there were a number of serious horse riding accidents reportedly caused by low flying helicopters. In 2005 we carried out development with the aim of warning riders of the proximity of low flying aircraft. In fact the technology we developed allowed us to track aircrafts using Mode-A and Mode-C as well as Mode-S transponders with a very high degree of accuracy. However due to commercial and licensing issues this was not developed into a full blown product and network. Then at the end 2008 of we made the decision to develop this technology into several commercial products. The first is our Aurora Virtual Radar 3D. Update 18 Nov 2009 You will find the following relevant:- 1/ Military Helicopter Low Flying Safety, A Guide For Riders. http://www.mod.uk/NR/rdonlyres/1B6186D9-6137-43D5-B7D1-1D81EE4D8E5F/0/uklfs_heli_safety_guide.pdf 2/ ARMED FORCES (PARLIAMENTARY APPROVAL FOR PARTICIPATION IN ARMED CONFLICT) BILL I will quote :- There have, to date, been three deaths. In 1996, Alexandra Nixon died. In June 2003, Heather Bell was killed when riding along a bridleway when her horse was spooked by a low-flying Chinook. In December 2003, Melanie Dodds was killed when her pony was startled by a low-flying military helicopter and the horse ran into two cars. In 2004, the Ministry of Defence agreed to pay compensation to Sacha Jane Smith, an event rider who was badly injured when her horse was spooked by low-flying jets. Her gelding reared and fell into a ditch, badly damaging his legs, flattening her pelvis, breaking her ribs and injuring her back. http://www.parliament.the-stationery-office.co.uk/pa/cm200405/cmhansrd/vo050304/debtext/50304-20.htm |
| Q - Can you produce a custom version of this product for us. |
| A - We can develop custom versions of our products or design new products to your requirements. Waddicor Associates / Aurora Eurotech have been developing custom products for clients since 1993. Visit Waddicor Associates Web Site http://www.waddicor.com |
| (c)Aurora Eurotech 1993-2010 All Rights Reserved. Aurora Eurotech is a division of Waddicor Associates. |