The Oz Report

Who flies what

I've told you lately about a few top US Class I hang glider pilots who are going to be flying the La Mouette Topless this year.  I find out this information because I just happen to speak with Mike Barber or Mark Gibson, who represent La Mouette here in the US, under the auspices of Personal Flight.

If you are aware of what other top pilots are up to in the coming months, and you want the Oz Report readers to know about it, by all means, send me an e-mail message.  I can only report what I know about.

So, it appears to be the case that half the US Class I World Team will be flying the La Mouette Topless at the Worlds in Monte Cucco, Italy, in late July.

Automated Pilot Tracking System, part II

It looks like there is a sizeable minority of you out there who are interested in the APTS.  My previous article on APTS has generated the most reader responses to date.

I wanted to clear up a few things and add some new information.  First, the APTS can monitor and display multiple pilots.  It will store the call sign (or name or letter or number or whatever you want to enter into that particular field) and the last position of up to forty pilots.  It will display the last forty individual call signs it has received.  So, while it isn't limited to forty, it can simultaneously display and store up to forty.

Second, if you are going to connect the Kenwood TH-DA7 to your computer you'll need a cable that goes from a 2.5 mm pin to a DB-9 pin serial plug.  Kenwood sells one, the PG-4W, for $55, which is a bit steep for a serial cable.  I'll just bet that there is some web site that has the pin outs for the cable, so that you can make it yourself.  Otherwise you can buy it from http://www.hamradio.com (although they are out of stock at the moment).

Russ Brown, who originally got many of us the word about the Kenwood TH-DA7, writes to say that you can make your own Garmin to 2.5 cable (actually Kenwood sends out the cables with pig tales) by following the instructions on http://kg7il.foxinternet.net/ham/aprs/45xl-d7a.htm.

While I have my APTS separate from my voice radio it is not necessary to do so.  Here's a shot of it tucked in behind the D-cell of my Exxtacy.  Garmin 12, cable, TH-DA7:

You can use the Kenwood TH-DA7 for both voice and data or the same or separate frequencies (my preference).  You can also use just one GPS on your glider to both connect to your vario and to the radio, although you'll need to come up with a cable that makes both connections.  Also you'll want to be sure that your vario can communicate with the Garmin with NMEA 0183 formatted data at 4800 baud.  The Ball GC does.

I like to have the Garmin III plugged into the cigarette lighter in the truck for power, but connecting it to the TH-DA7 precludes this.  I therefore have to charge up the 4 GP.  1300 mAh metal hydride batteries every night, because, unlike the Garmin 12, the III eats these things alive.

Here's a shot of the TH-DA7 and the Garmin III in the truck (TH-DA7, Garmin III, CN-3 adapter, cable to mag mount antenna, cable between Garmin III and TH-DA7):

I am waiting for a PG-4W serial cable so that I can see if the APTS will also work with my laptop computer.  If multiple pilots are broadcasting, then I hope to be able to display all their positions on Street Atlas maps updated every minute.

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Davis Straub
co-author of "Windows 98 Secrets," IDG Books
"The Jaws of Life for Windows 98 Users"
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