EWTool 1.0.0 ReadMe file ======================== Introduction ------------ Many glider pilots use EW Model D barographs and many now also have PDAs in their cockpits. EWTool allows the user of a Pocket PC PDA to read and write the settings of an EW Model D barograph, declare a task and upload traces onto the PDA. In this respect it is similar to EWView/DOS that is provided with the EW Model D, except that it runs on a PDA rather than a PC and does not have the analysis functions of EWView/DOS. Versions are available for PPC2000/ARM, PPC2000/MIPS, PPC2000/SH3, PPC2002/ARM and PPC2003/ARMV4 and the installer should automatically choose the correct version for your PDA. Any reference to an EW in this document refers to an EW model D only and is used for brevity. General ------- The program maintains internal values that are not written to the EW until specified by the user. This allows the EW to be updated in one go and only when the user is entirely happy with all the changes made. Some boxes are shaded - these contain read only data that cannot be changed. .eti files contain settings in text form that can be pre-prepared with a text editor, e.g. favourite tasks or different pilots' details. They can also be generated by the program using the current values (which can, in turn, have been loaded from the EW). .ewx files are the raw trace files as downloaded from the EW model D. They must be converted to .ewt files for use by most EW programs and also for subsequent conversion to .igc files as required for badge and record claims and input into analysis programs. .ewt files are the native EW format for traces as used by EWView/DOS and EWView3. N.B. A special lead will be required to connect your PDA to your EW - YOU CANNOT JUST USE A STANDARD LEAD. The pinouts for some iPaqs are available at http://www.gomadic.com/support.html and I actually purchased mine from Add-Ons World (http://www.addonsworld.co.uk/ or via their eBay shop). I cut off the 9 pin D-type connector to solder on my own with the correct EW pinout. This was made easy using the particular lead that I got because the wires' colours corresponded to the pin number using the standard resistor colour code. The correct pinout can be found in the EW manual, but on the EW pin 2 is RxD, pin 3 is TxD, pin 5 is Gnd and pin 8 is CTS which should be connected to TxD, RxD, Gnd and DTR respectively on the PDA. Main Menu --------- 'Clear' - this button clears the internal values to a default state. 'Read EW' - reads the data from the EW into the program. 'Load' - opens a dialog to select a .eti file to load into the program. 'Traces' - displays information about traces stored on the EW. 'Clear Traces' - clears all of the traces from the EW. Selecting a trace displays info about that trace and enables the following 2 buttons: 'Trace Info' - displays further info about the trace. 'Upload' - opens a dialog to save the selected trace as a .ewx file. 'Done' - when you have finished on this dialog. 'EW Settings' - displays various EW settings and data as contained in the internal values. 'Now' - sets the time and date to the current PDA time and date. The time and date can also be set manually. 'Set EW Time' - this will write the time and date straight into the EW. 'OK' - stores changed values into the program. 'Cancel' - aborts any changes to these values. N.B. Once 'Set EW Time' has been pressed 'OK' and 'Cancel' have no effect on the EW time. 'Task' - opens up a dialog to enter the task. The top box contains the list of turnpoints as defined in "\My Documents\BGATPS.DOS". The format of this is exactly the same as the BGA turnpoint list 200x.dos obtainable from http://www.spsys.demon.co.uk/turningpoints.htm so all that is required is that this file is copied over to the PDA and renamed. Note that if any used turnpoints change then any .eti files that you have will need to be updated (as will your EW). A turnpoint may be selected from the list either by scrolling and selecting or by typing the name into the turnpoint name box. The first turnpoint whose name matches the partial string will be scrolled into view to make selection easier. When a turnpoint has been selected or there is an exact match the name and Lat/Long is entered into the next 2 boxes. Turnpoints can also be manually entered or edited. Note that the task is in EW format i.e. 1st turnpoint is start, last is finish. EWTool automatically puts the last defined turnpoint in the task list in the finish slot of the EW. 'Add' - adds the turnpoint at the end of the task list unless one of the turnpoints in the task list is selected in which case the new turnpoint will be added before that item. 'Delete' - removes the selected turnpoint from the task list. 'OK' - saves the task to the program. 'Cancel' - exits the dialog without changing the task. 'Task Info' - this allows extra information such as pilot name to be entered. 'OK' - saves the task information to the program. 'Cancel' - exits the dialog without changing the task information. 'Write EW' - this writes all the information from the program into the EW and then performs a check that it has been written correctly. 'Save' - this opens a dialog to save the information from the program into a .eti file. 'Done' - exits the program. A warning is issued if updated data has not been saved to the EW. Menu bar -------- 'Tools' - this is the only item on the menu bar 'About' - brings up an about screen. 'EWX -> EWT' - opens a dialog to select a .ewx file to be converted into a .ewt file. This item is only enabled in the main menu. Caveats ------- I would recommend being very careful when using EWTool for setting up or downloading an EW for special (badge or record) flights due to the possibility of bugs. In particular it has only been tested on an iPaq 3630 with PPC 2000. Also I have found that sometimes writing to the EW does not always work entirely correctly. A check is made for errors but I would suggest that you do a 'Clear' followed by a 'Read EW' until you are confident that EWTool works correctly with your setup. There may also be errors in the 'EWX -> EWT' conversion so I would advise keeping the .ewx files until the corresponding .ewt files have been verified. Acknowledgements ---------------- Many thanks to Ed Davies for helping with the formats for .ewx and .ewt files. Finally ------- If you find any problems/bugs or have any suggestions then please contact me at greg@nunan.fsnet.co.uk and, although I cannot guarantee to fix any bugs or provide any support, I will endeavour to do so if possible.