What's new
Van's Air Force

Don't miss anything! Register now for full access to the definitive RV support community.

Viewing Dynon data logs

Tony_T

Tony_T

Well Known Member
Patron
The D180 data logs are in Excel (.cvs comma delimited) format. Excel can open these data. Microsoft does not include Excel with windows, it is part of the Office software package. If your computer does not have Excel you can download a free Excel Viewer from the Microsoft website. It is a fairly large download of 74MB so a fast internet connection is helpful. The Excel Viewer lets you view Excel spreadsheets but not to work on them.

The Viewer will only open Excel spreadsheets that have been saved in the .xls format. You will have to open the Dynon datalog that is .cvs format on a computer that has Office Excel. Then just resave the datalog as a .xls file.

If you don't have Excel on your computer, you probably have a friend that does that can open the datalog and resave it as an .xls file for you. Then you can use the free Viewer to peruse the data.

The files could be exchanged by email attachment.

I am posting this because it occured to me that not every computer will have Excel installed and it could be very frustrating to download the Dynon datalogs and then not be able to read them.
 
Tony, can you post a sample of the data you get from the D180? I'm curious as to what is in it.

Thanks!
 
Csv files are just text files with comma's separating the fields. Totally open format. You can even open em with notepad or any text editor but they won't make much sense....spreadsheet programs line up the data and make it easier to view.

Openoffice.org is a free office suite that works well with all MSOffice files. Works like a charm!!!
 
Geico266 said:
Tony, can you post a sample of the data you get from the D180? I'm curious as to what is in it.

Thanks!
Click to expand...

This picture is about the best sample I can do. The datalog is a huge spreadsheet file and it contains everything on a second by second basis that has been displayed on the D180. This is just a small section of the spreadsheet. The datalogging default interval is one second and I have not changed mine yet, but I am going to change it to 60 seconds as you just don't need the data logged every second.
1014140834_kqiEN-M.jpg


Brantel's suggestion to try the Openoffice.org software is a good one. Microsoft just does not make it easy these days.

Tony
 
Brantel said:
Openoffice.org is a free office suite that works well with all MSOffice files. Works like a charm!!!
Click to expand...

Agreed. Open Office works well and is completely free and easy to use. MS Office is overkill for most folks. My home machines and my workstation at the office run Linux, so obviously MS Office is not available on there (well, it could be if I wanted to use Crossover Office but that's a whole 'nuther story). I use Open Office all the time, exchange MS words docs with folks, etc and they never know that I'm not using MS Office.

I did my POH, electrical diagrams/spreadsheets, ALL documentation for my airplane with Open Office.
 
I am unable to download data or upgrade to 5.4 as I have been unsuccessful in communicating with Dynon. Have tried two different laptops with following results: 1a) data- error message. unitelligible data received. try again,if problems persist try another computer.double check wiring. make certain no other program is on serial port in use.
1b) Dynon window did indicate that "found instrument on comm 4"
2nd computer: error message keeps repeating: serial port not found even tho Dynon window lists comm port.
I have downloaded Vans locked file, and have successfully downloaded the Dynon serial port convertor.
Can I rule out wiring issue by pulling canopy and access cover to connect directly to the Dynon?
Thanks for feedback.
Dick Seiders
 
I had the same problem. I had to take of the panel that goes over the instruments off. There's another 9 pin D sub connected to the D180 harness with 3 wires, try that it worked for me. I hooked the USB to serial connector to it, drilled a hole in the map box and now I can connect to the USB through the map box. Rian at Van's told me that they stopped using the D sub in the tunnel because it was causing noise in the head sets. I only found this out after hours and many phone call trying to trouble shoot the problem. The good news is the hum I had in the in my head set went away after I pulled the tunnel connector and the wires out.
 
Rschy, I don't recall seeing an extra 9 pin connector in the Dynon harness, but I will look for it, and give it a try if there. Thanks.
Dick Seiders
 
PS. does anyone know why Van's would put two serial port connectors in, and where in the kit orders did they do it? Further if both are for same purpose why does one work and not the other?
Dick Seiders
 
dick seiders said:
I am unable to download data or upgrade to 5.4 as I have been unsuccessful in communicating with Dynon. Have tried two different laptops with following results: 1a) data- error message. unitelligible data received. try again,if problems persist try another computer.double check wiring. make certain no other program is on serial port in use.
1b) Dynon window did indicate that "found instrument on comm 4"
2nd computer: error message keeps repeating: serial port not found even tho Dynon window lists comm port.
I have downloaded Vans locked file, and have successfully downloaded the Dynon serial port convertor.
Can I rule out wiring issue by pulling canopy and access cover to connect directly to the Dynon?
Thanks for feedback.
Dick Seiders
Click to expand...

Dick,
I don't have the answer for the communication problem with the Dynon, but I wanted to tell you that you do not have to remove the canopy to take off the access cover. Take out the screws that the raised canopy covers up before raising the canopy. I have done it a couple of times.
Added infor:
Also, you should be able to take the Dynon out the front of the panel on its service loop to access the plugs, without having to remove the access cover at all.
Tony
 
Last edited:
There is information about the serial port here:
http://www.vansairforce.com/community/showthread.php?t=52581&highlight=serial+D-Sub
Evidently Van's changed the serial port location in the spring of 2010 due to audio noise and accessibility issues. If your Dynon harness has a 9 pin D-Sub connector, then use that to upgrade your D-180. In that case, the 9 pin D-Sub connector in the center tunnel will not work. The reason is that the Dynon harness has one set of 3 wires for updating. If those 3 wires go to a local connector behind the Dynon, then they can NOT be going through the RV-12 Control Board to the center tunnel. The original D-Sub and its wires are abandoned and are useless because the Dynon harness does not have a second set of 3 wires to connect the D-180 EFIS pins 9, 10, & 22 to the Control Board.
Joe
 
Tony, thanks for the input on canopy. I have wanted to try leaving a couple screws out to be able to remove cover w/o taking canopy off, but was concerned about whether the weight/twist in canopy may harm the mount. I am glad to hear that is not a problem and will do likewise.

Mitch, I will search for the mysterious 2nd 9 pin connector. My avionics arrived in July of 2009 so maybe I don't have the second connector. I don't recall it.

Stein, if you are reading this do I likely have the 2nd 9 pin connector, and if not what do I need to do to make mine work?
Thanks.
Dick Seiders
 
Dick,
On my installation I don't need to leave any screws out. I can take out a couple of screws that will be covered when the canopy is opened. Then open the canopy and take out the rest of the screws. Take a close look at your canopy open and closed and see if you can do this without leaving out any screws.

Tony
 
REMOVING I/P COVER WITHOUT REMOVING CANOPY

I have removed my I/P cover 4 or 5 times without removing the canopy and it works fine if I do one extra step. I remove the two screws on each side (port & starboard) that are covered by the canopy when it is opened. This is BEFORE any other screws are removed. Then BEFORE tilting the canopy UP, I place a piece of cardboard between the I/P cover and the canopy right in the area where the screws came out. This prevents the canopy from "grabbing" the aluminum edges of the cover which springs outward when those two screws are removed. The first time I took the cover off without doing this , I damaged the cover. After you raise the canopy, all the other screws are accessible.
Larry
 
Had to remove about 1/16" of glas from canopy to access the two screws in question. IPanel is now easily removed with canopy on. I do like the suggestion of using cardboard or similar to allow the canopy to come up w/o grabbing edge of Ipanel cover otherwise it's still a two person job. Thanks.
Dick Seiders
 
Regarding downloading data, and upgrading to latest firmware to Dynon I found yesterday that the pin 3 wire had been pushed out of the 9 pin connector when connecting serial port adapter. Will correct today and see how the repair handles the earlier issue.
Dick Seiders
 
Tony, on another post you referred to changing the timing interval on the datalog. I tried that today to move from 1 to 5 seconds, but when hitting the select command after getting to the datalog page there was no response to the sel. command. Am I overlooking something? Thanks.
Dick Seiders
 
Thanks for the feedback. I will discontinue the effort to change. 5 seconds would have been nice as it would have covered about 2 and 1/2 hrs of flight w/o any real loss of data. After all, it's not like we're flying F-22's.

Note to Scott at Van's: Why is timing restricted to 1 second, and is there any chance it will be relaxed a bit?
Thanks.
Dick Seiders 120093
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top