The HeliPort support thread

[redbird300]

Originally Posted by sutty

Hey Raf, How come you've got an advanced copy of version 0.17. I'm very jealous.

Santa Claus gave it to me

In fact, the moment I make a release, I never touch it anymore myself, so I always have an exact copy of what I released. I do take a copy though, give it the next number, and start working on it. So this is not really release 0.17, more like 0.16-and-a -half, lol.

[redbird300]

Well, I got these designs now, in very large format.
The different colors are an added bonus from the designer.
Should be possible to do something nice with them.

[Tjomp]

I like the yellow one. But you would then need to change your name to Yellowbird300.

[redbird300]

Originally Posted by Tjomp

I like the yellow one. But you would then need to change your name to Yellowbird300.

That would have a few more consequences. I would need to change the color of my bike for example, like this yellow Honda Blackbird.
You won't believe it, but mine is a red Blackbird, who would have thought that.

[plantjes]

Originally Posted by redbird300

Ok, it's done, as I said. Look at the exit button at the bottom of the screen.
User settings will be saved as usual, but it won't bother you with questions like "Are you sure... ?", lol.
It will be in the next release, just have a little patience, please.

Great work..
Hope we do not have to wait till Christmas before Santaclaus brings version 0.17 to us..

I do not worry about the 3100 rpm head speed..
Lipo was full and heli still on the ground just ready for take-off (eg 0 degrees pitch)

Benno

[redbird300]

R/C helis should be about fun by definition, and I got bored tonight, so I added a page to the HeliPort website called "Fun stuff". All ideas are welcome, it's waiting for more content.

[blunight]

Redbird,
HeliPort look like its going to be an excellent piece of software, I cant wait until the flight and battery loggers are done so I can begin using it.
I have a suggestion for you, (if this has been discussed earlier in the thread please ignore it!)
Have you thought of putting in maintenance suggestions when certain parameters are reached…such as after “X” amount of flight time (or number of flights) lube the tail belt, oil the motor etc. etc.
These could also be user defined so if someone has a specific maintenance schedule they can modify HeliPort to notify them when it‘s time for a specific task.
Just a thought,
Trent

[redbird300]

Originally Posted by blunight

Redbird,
HeliPort look like its going to be an excellent piece of software, I cant wait until the flight and battery loggers are done so I can begin using it.
I have a suggestion for you, (if this has been discussed earlier in the thread please ignore it!)
Have you thought of putting in maintenance suggestions when certain parameters are reached…such as after “X” amount of flight time (or number of flights) lube the tail belt, oil the motor etc. etc.
These could also be user defined so if someone has a specific maintenance schedule they can modify HeliPort to notify them when it‘s time for a specific task.
Just a thought,
Trent

Well in fact, nobody ever came up with this idea, and I think it is an excellent one !
I will surely consider it in the future, when the loggers are finished in their basic form first, as you say. Thanks a lot for the suggestion, keep them coming !

[plantjes]

Here is an other idea..
Using the motion detector in the HTC or Omnia you may measure fibrations.

Maintanance skedules are not an option for me.
I crash my heli more often than the heli needs lubrication..

Benno

[redbird300]

Originally Posted by plantjes

Here is an other idea..
Using the motion detector in the HTC or Omnia you may measure fibrations.

Or even measure G-forces while flying. Or make a bubble level, to be used in a digital pitch gauge or so. I even considered doing something with the ambient light sensor. It would of course only be useful for a limited number of devices, and only for the Win Mobile version, but it's nevertheless something to keep in mind, it's not impossible to implement.

BTW, on a totally different subject, I added another game to the website, Assault Gunship Helicopter Combat. In other words, shoot the bad guys.

[redbird300]

When the idea rose about 2 months ago to write a program for R/C helis, I had no clue where it would end. In fact, I still don't have, but at least I start to see where we're heading. The development of HeliPort is going faster than I guessed in the beginning, that was in fact my greatest fear. My thanks to all users of the actual beta version. The comments we got and the numbers of the web counter, make me believe it is worth the effort.

I figure, not according to the original plan and with release 1.00 in sight, that it might be possible anyway to make some more programs for r/c helis in the future. Don't ask me what exactly, but some online utilities might be possible for example. Or Windows applications with a larger, full screen interface. Anyway, that would also mean another website for example, and "HeliPort" would only be a part of it.

So I'm happy to announce today that HeliPort and probably some other applications later on, will get a new place on the net soon, most likely from the moment we release verion 0.17: you will find it at www.helisoftware.com.

A huge "thank you" to all the people who helped me, even if they don't realize how much their help and support meant to me.

[plantjes]

I bookmarked

[redbird300]

Been working on the battery logger, it's ready to be tested in fact.

It uses a log file for every pack, which are created, saved and opened as CSV files, at any location or folder you wish. These files are interchangeable by the two versions of HeliPort, and also usable with any spreadsheet program or word processor.

The first pic shows the battery logger when it is started. The log table is empty, so open an existing (saved), or make a new (empty), battery log.


The second pic shows a sample log I created for fun. Edit the cells as you like with the blue "Change cell" button.
Oh, you don't have to fill in the date and time, HeliPort does it automatically for you when you click the green "Add end row" button to fill in an extra discharge cycle (flight). But you can still change them if you want. Only flighttime and the used mAh (can be done later of course), and even these are not mandatory. Should be an easy to use logger, I hope.
The button "Stats" shows some statistics about each pack, based on the logged data. And the name you gave to the log file (it should reflect the ID of the pack) is always visible at the bottom of the screen.


This is the same file imported in a (Dutch) M$-Excel :



The logger also warns against any unsaved data before you exit, or try to open another log, or make a new log with another log opened yet.
You can log an unlimited number of packs, well, as long as you don't run out of disk space of course, lol. Or money.

OK, next is the flightlogger, should be OK, as I can use some of the same code.
And after that, release 0.17 will be online, at the new website.
If no bugs are found, release 1.00 will follow soon, without any big changes I hope.

[redbird300]

OK, the flight logger is finished as well. Meaning that HeliPort is complete now, all tools are fonctional. Just need a bit of time to check a few things, change the websites and upload version 0.17. Should be a matter of days at most. I'll wait for feedback after that, change whatever could be necessary and upload the final version 1.00. But 99% of the work is done in fact.

Time to look back for me: this costed 8 weeks of almost all of my spare time, and there are about 2500 lines of code (and some data of course) in the application. And numerous amounts of telephone or skype calls, emails, SMSs and PMs have been made to realise this. I'll stop developping at that pace during summer, lets fly now. And get the dust of my motorbike, lol.

I know I keep repeating myself, but anyway a huge 'thank you' to all people that contributed to HeliPort, one way or another.

[Tjomp]

Originally Posted by redbird300

I know I keep repeating myself, but anyway a huge 'thank you' to all people that contributed to HeliPort, one way or another.

Not at all, man. Thank YOU.

[redbird300]

It is done, HeliPort v0.17 is online at the new website. This is the finished and complete version, all tools and data modules are fully fonctional now. Job done. And the very last beta release, if all goes well it won't change a lot anymore before we release the final verion 1.00. in a few weeks or so. In fact, we're just waiting to see if anything comes up. Enjoy.

www.helisoftware.com

[gr8taz nitro]

There seems to be a problems with the link to download the mobile version. I can click and download the desktop version, but it won't let me click the mobile one.

added:
I got it to download by clicking on the phone pic, but I still can't get it from the link in blue.

[redbird300]

Originally Posted by gr8taz nitro

There seems to be a problems with the link to download the mobile version. I can click and download the desktop version, but it won't let me click the mobile one.

added:
I got it to download by clicking on the phone pic, but I still can't get it from the link in blue.

It works perfectly with Internet Explorer 6 and 8, but there seems to be that problem with Firefox for example. Which browser do you use ? Has something to do with the weird program I used to make the website, I will change it later on probably. :o

[redbird300]

The site should be perfectly compatible with FireFox now, I changed it and tested it with FireFox, all links work normally. If there are still any problems with other browsers, let me know and I'll fix it. Thanks.

[gr8taz nitro]

Yep, I'm currently using firefox for my browser. I really should switch back to IE, yours isn't the first website I've had problems with using firefox.

On a different note, I got the update put on the phone and showed it to my buddy with his IPhone and he was absolutely floored by it. Now he's looking hard for an app he can use that is close to this one.

I told him shoulda went windows!