= Welcome to Flarmradar =

While the transmission protocol of the FLARM devices are proprietary (and unusable for our purpose), the [http://www.flarm.com/support/manual/FLARM_DataportManual_v6.00E.pdf Data Port Specification] is public. The Flarm-Radar project uses the data available on the devices Data Port, just like any 3rd party product.

This wiki should become a source of knowledge for the Flarmradar-Project. 


=== Server ===
... still needs some writing :-)

=== Client ===
The concept of the client software is quite simple. It reads the Data Port from a regular FLARM device (RS232 interface) and streams the data (via the HTTP protocol) to the server which does all computing. Since data streaming does not require much computing power, a mini-computer like the [http://www.raspberrypi.org Raspberry PI] is sufficient. 
This is a credit-card sized computer that is able to run a Debian-based operating system (Raspbian). The costs for a such a device are negligible (50$ or so).

==== Infrastructure & Assembly ====
We used the following components to build up our client infrastructure. Note that links provided are just proposals for your convenience, other components will also work.
  - a FLARM device
  - a power adapter and data cable for the FLARM device, we use currently this [http://shop.segelflugbedarf24.de/product_info.php?info=p32_Update-Cable-RS232.html update cable]
  - a [http://www.raspberrypi.org Raspberry PI]
  - a USB charger to power the Raspberry, just make sure it can deliver at least 1000mA
  - optional, recommended for a stationary installation: we use currently an [http://shop.segelflugbedarf24.de/product_info.php?info=p29_FLARM--Outside-Antenna-4-m-cable.html external antenna]

===== Troubleshooting =====
  - The [wiki:raspberry raspberry-specific issues] are collected on a separate page.

==== Client Software Installation ====
[http://www.flarmradar.ch/public/dist/client-SNAPSHOT.zip Download the client] and follow the [https://secure.netzschmiede.ch/svn/flarmradar/core/trunk/client/README.txt installation procedure] to install the client software. 

The client software is written in [http://www.perl.org Perl] and should run on any platform where Perl is supported.