KIT assembly

There are 2 different versions of KITs available:

  • V5 Basic KIT for Glo ebook readers
  • V5 Basic KIT for GloHD and Touch2 ebook readers

You should receive top and bottom enclosure including vario/gps module/battery, with set of screws and industrial velcro tape.

Glo ereader (released in 2012) is not manufactured anymore, but still available from online stores or auctions. Be aware that batteries in these devices might be in poor condition. Even batteries in sealed box units could degrade over this period of time.

GloHD and Touch2 are very similar ebook readers released in 2015. Main differences are:

  • GloHD has better display (ecarta echnology, clear, with very limited ghosting, high resolution, backlight is available in ereader mode)
  • Touch2 has cheaper standard eink display, ghosting is more noticeable but still has better performance if compared to old eink technology (Mini, Touch,Glo), there is no backlight.

Please note:

  • eink devices don’t have gorilla glass protecting eink screen, so You might damage the screen if it’s dropped on the rocky surface or squeezed hard into backpack next to other devices (radio, buckles, etc)
  • ereaders use very popular microUSB charging/data exchange interface. These ports are fragile, easy to break, so it is strongly recommended to charge ereader at home, not in flight from battery banks.
  • all ereaders used to run flying apps like LK8000/XCsoar/TopHatSoaring have tiny linux operating system inside running from SDcard. Actions like power up, power down, hard power down are requiring some time, hold the button for second or two, or wait little bit after device is powered down. Linux takes few seconds to power up or shut down. Hard power down is accomplished by holding power button for more then 10 seconds. When switching from flyin app to ereader (using Nickel button or Kobo on the main flying app screen), ereader shuts down and restarts which takes about 30 seconds.
  • it is good to have SDcard backup, in case something gets corrupted. When preparing device to assemble with KIT, power down Your ereader, remove SDcard, and using free SDcard imaging/deploying apps (HDDRawCopy, or Win32Disk imager) create image from Your SDcard. Card imager will create image that can be used later on to restore SDcard.
  • ereader SDcards have multiple partitions, with linux file system format. If You remove SDcard from ereader and insert into Windows based PC, windows will detect wrong card and ask You to format it. Do not accept formatting SDcard. Card imager apps are working on low level access, and do not care if card is formatted or not. If You format Your card, windows will destroy the file system, and there will be no option to create functional SDcard image. If You need help on this always contact me over my contact page and leave proper email address.
  • most flying apps like LK8000/XCsoar/TopHat are open source, and it is known that every couple of weeks there might be new improved version available. These apps are created/improved by multiple pilots/coders. There is lot of feedback from around the world. Update app if You know what You are doing. Join forums or submit tickets if You are sure that something is not working properly or something worked before and now it doesn’t.
  • Upgrading flying apps or swapping to a different app is matter of copying one file into ereader (when connected over usb cable). It might happen that installing script will corrupt something so keep backup of Your settings (LK8000 folder, and/or XCSoarData folder). Also it is good to have SDcard image, so You can always recover ereader to factory state and then install app and settings from scratch.
  • When charging ereader, it is good tactic to turn the ereader OFF. Plugging usb charger always triggers ereader to power ON. Turn it off, and charging will be quicker and more efficient. Always use good quality USB charger (5V 1A or more). Charging ereader from PC’s USB socket will take forever. Keep in mind that we are using ereader with tripled battery capacity.
  • Please read LK8000/XCsoar/TopHatSoaring manuals on their websites. Knowing how these apps operate helps a lot to set the apps properly and make proper use of it. Learn flying app on the ground. Learn when driving to work/school. Be familiar with the screen, data presented on the screen and how to operate it before flying or attempting big competition event.
  • There is no easy option to have multiple flying apps on the same ereader device. Every app takes over the device, and to change flying app to different one, You do not have to delete anything from ereader. All settings folders and files can stay on ereader drive.
  • Please check this page occasionally for more details/findings/howtos

V5 Basic GLO KIT assembly:

V5 Basic GloHD/Touch2 KIT assembly:

  • prepare small philips screwdriver, soldering iron,
  • power off ereader, remove back cover,
  • it is recommended to remove SDcard from ereader and create backup image from SDcard,
  • set Your soldering station/iron to higher temperature (400C),
  • preheat J4 header soldering points for tinning and tin all of them making nice round tin blobs, with few seconds intervals, do not overheat PCB/mainboard, but be aware that GND pin absorbs lot of heat before it will take the solder tin)
  • add some solder to bottom side of the large capacitor next to the ereader battery plug (it should take max 1 second to tin the capacitor)
  • prepare wires (do not touch them to anything else, keep them away from mainboard)
  • place the 4-wire cable on top of the J4 header (take a look at the direction on the picture) and with few seconds intervals create nice solder joints
  • grab single wire and attach to the bottom of the large capacitor, (or use TP2 test point, it is battery positive voltage)
  • put the ereader inside top V5 KIT bezel, watch for wires and gps antenna wire, and close both sides of the V5 KIT together.
  • use provided 12mm long screws on the back side of V5 KIT, be gentle with them. Do not strip the screws or threads in the plastic enclosure.
  • by default all KITs are shipped with newest available firmware, so check Your firmware revision before trying to upload firmware from the website
  • click/zoom/save picture for better view details
  • turn ereader ON, and if everything is ok, vario should make welcome beeps.
  • ereader will turn ON, so proceed to flying app installation (next chapter in this document)

IMG_20160625_093204

Setting up V5 Basic:

  • connect ereader with PC using USB cable (if you already have account created, ereader should detect usb cable, if there is no account, then select “Don’t have a WiFi network”)
  • ereader should popup under Your PC as additional drive and You should see on ereader screen “Connected and Charging”
  • download this set of configuration files (set contains default configuration for LK8000/XCsoar/TopHat adjusted to work with V5 Basic)
  • unzip V5pack.zip file, and copy all folders into root ereader drive folder, You should see this similar set of folders under Your ereader drive (click to zoom):

ereader_root_folders

  • under MACOS “.kobo” folder might be hidden, so please google ways to un-hide files/folder under Finder application (there is a single command under MAC Terminal utility to hide/unhide system folders)
  • download Your preferred flying app (GloHD is supported by LK8000 and XCsoar, Touch 2 is only supported by LK8000, GloHD and Touch2 is not currently supported by TopHatSoaring but probably will be, as soon XCsoar’s new ereaders handling code will be merge into TopHat)
  • flying app, no matter which one, has its own installation package named “KoboRoot.tgz”. This installation package has to be copied into .kobo folder.
  • .kobo is system folder, and when ereader detects new KoboRoot.tgz package inside this folder, it will process it, install and delete.

ereader_dotkobo_folder

  • ereader will start processing new installation package as soon You disconnect usb cable from ereader. Installation process takes about 1 minute, ereader will restart at the end and flying app should take over ereader device.
  • after flying app is installed, let’s switch back to ereader and connect ereader with usb cable to PC (use Nickel button under XCsoar main screen, or Kobo button under LK8000)
  • download maps, airspace files, terrains files for Your preffered flying app. You can download many files and copy into dedicated folders.

ereader_xcsoar_folder ereader_lk8000_folder

  • look into XCsoar or LK8000 or TopHat settings
    • set your preferred language
    • screen layout
    • infoboxes
    • time zone
    • pilot name
    • aircraft polar
    • current set for Your localization (map,waypoints)
    • etc…

Videos and links:

GoFly Project V5 Basic – video user manual (under XCSoar & LK8000)

GoFly V5 Basic – KIT assembly