Settings: Data Connections

This page lists all data connections that Enroute Flight Navigation uses to communicate with traffic data receivers. It shows that status of each connection and allows adding/removing connections to Bluetooth devices that cannot be automatically configured. The page also allows configuring additional data connections through a variety of communication channels.

User Interface

The body of the page displays a list of configured connections. Tap on a connection to obtain more detailed information.

  • Data connections are colored in green if Enroute Flight Navigation receives heartbeat signals from a traffic data receiver via that connection.

  • Data connections are colored in red if Enroute Flight Navigation failed to open the connection.

The footer of the page contains two buttons.

  • The button “Reconnect” resets all configured connections and starts a new connection process for each. This can be useful in settings where a connection failed and where you do not want to wait until the next reconnection attempt starts automatically.

  • If Enroute Flight Navigation cannot detect your traffic data receiver automatically, use the button “New Connection” to configure a connection. The remainder of the present manual section explains how this is done.

Configure New Data Connections

In a typical setup, where traffic data receivers broadcast information via one of the standard Wi-Fi channels, the default data connections allow Enroute Flight Navigation to automatically detect (and connect to) all customary devices. In that case, no user interaction is ever required. There are however settings where Enroute Flight Navigation cannot detect your traffic data receiver automatically. Depending on the communication channel, the following subsections describe how to configure a new data connection in that case.

Bluetooth Classic

The Enroute Flight Navigation is able to communicate with your traffic data receiver via the “Bluetooth Classic” radio standard.

Note

The radio standard “Bluetooth Low Energy” is currently unsupported.

Note

Due to limitations of the iOS platform, Bluetooth is not supported on iPhone and iPad devices.

To avoid any ambiguity, this manual refers to the device running Enroute Flight Navigation as the “phone”, and to your Bluetooth-enabled traffic data receiver as the “Bluetooth Device”. To configure a new data connection between your phone to the Bluetooth device, proceed as follows.

  • Ensure that your Bluetooth Classic device is switched on and in “discoverable” mode.

  • Because Bluetooth devices support only one data connection, the following steps will fail if another phone is trying to connect to your Bluetooth device. Ensure that there are no other phones around that could interfere with your phone. Keep in mind that other phones might be in someone else’s bag, stowed away in a nearby car, or in the office building next door.

  • Ensure that Bluetooth is switched “on” in your phone.

  • Depending on the precise version of your operating system, you may need to pair your phone with the Bluetooth Classic device. Pairing never hurts, so we recommend pairing if possible. Note that some Bluetooth device cannot be paired.

  • Open Enroute Flight Navigation on your phone, navigate to this page and tap on “Add Data Connection” at the bottom of the page. A device discovery dialog will open.

  • The device discovery dialog shows a list of all nearby Bluetooth devices. Please wait for a few minutes until all devices have been connected. If necessary, tap on the button “Scan for Devices” to re-start the device discovery process.

  • Choose the relevant Bluetooth device from the list. A data connection to your Bluetooth device has now been configured.

  • Enroute Flight Navigation will try to connect to your Bluetooth device. Check the connectivity status by looking at the relevant entry in the list of data connections.

In the future, Enroute Flight Navigation will automatically detect and connect to your traffic receiver a few minutes after it becomes visible on Bluetooth radio.

Serial Port

The Enroute Flight Navigation is able to communicate with your traffic data receiver via the serial port. Serial port communication via USB is supported.

Note

Due to limitations of the iOS platform, serial port communication is not supported on iPhone and iPad devices.

  • Ensure that your traffic data receiver is switched on and connected to the serial port/USB input of your device.

  • Open Enroute Flight Navigation on your phone, navigate to this page and tap on “New Connection” at the bottom of the page and choose “Serial Port Connection” from the menu. A device discovery dialog will open.

  • The device discovery dialog shows a list of all nearby serial ports in your device. If necessary, tap on the button “Scan for Devices” to re-start the device discovery process.

  • Choose the relevant serial port from the list. A data connection to that serial port has now been configured. Enroute will determine the necessary parameter (such as bit rate) automatically.

  • Enroute Flight Navigation will try to connect to your traffic data receiver via the serial port. Check the connectivity status by looking at the relevant entry in the list of data connections.

In the future, Enroute Flight Navigation will automatically detect and connect to your traffic receiver a few minutes after it is connected to your device.

TCP via Wi-Fi or LAN

The Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) is one of the main protocols of the internet. Traffic data receivers based on FLARM typically use TCP to transmit traffic data via Wi-Fi and LAN networks. To configure a TCP connection, you need the following data.

  • The internet address of the traffic data receiver in its network. This is typically a string of the form “192.168.1.1”.

  • The port number. This is a number between 0 and 65535, but most FLARM based devices use port 2000.

Note

To simplify the setup process, Enroute Flight Navigation includes a number of predefined TCP connections. These suffice to connect to any traffic data receiver that we have seen. Manual configuration of TCP connections should never be necessary. If you are aware of hardware that uses an internet address/port combination not covered by the predefined connections, then please open the main menu and use the entry “Bug Report” to let us know.

To configure a new TCP data connection, proceed as follows.

  • Read the manual of your traffic data receiver to find out what internet address and port number it uses.

  • Start the traffic data receiver.

  • Connect to the Wi-Fi or LAN network of your traffic data receiver.

  • Open Enroute Flight Navigation on your phone, navigate to this page and tap on “New Connection” at the bottom of the page and choose “TCP Connection” from the menu. A dialog will open.

  • Enter the IP address and port number used by your traffic data receiver. While all devices that we have seen use IPv4 addresses of the form “192.168.1.1”, IPv6 addresses and internet host names are also supported. Tap on “OK”. A new data connection has been configured.

  • Enroute Flight Navigation will try to connect to your traffic data receiver. Check the connectivity status by looking at the relevant entry in the list of data connections.

In the future, Enroute Flight Navigation will automatically detect and connect to your traffic receiver a few minutes after it becomes visible on Wi-Fi or LAN.

UDP via Wi-Fi or LAN

The User Datagram Protocol (UDP) is one of the main protocols of the internet. Flight simulators and traffic data receivers based on Garmin hardware typically use UDP to transmit traffic data via Wi-Fi and LAN networks. To configure a UDP connection, you need the following data.

  • The port number. This is a number between 0 and 65535, but most devices use ports 4000 or 49002.

Note

To simplify the setup process, Enroute Flight Navigation includes a number of predefined UDP connections. These suffice to connect to any traffic data receiver that we have seen. Manual configuration of UDP connections should never be necessary. If you are aware of hardware that uses a port not covered by the predefined connections, then please open the main menu and use the entry “Bug Report” to let us know.

To configure a new TCP data connection, proceed as follows.

  • Read the manual of your traffic data receiver to find out what port number it uses.

  • Start the traffic data receiver.

  • Connect to the Wi-Fi or LAN network of your traffic data receiver.

  • Open Enroute Flight Navigation on your phone, navigate to this page and tap on “New Connection” at the bottom of the page and choose “UDP Connection” from the menu. A dialog will open.

  • Enter the port number used by your traffic data receiver. Tap on “OK”. A new data connection has been configured.

  • Enroute Flight Navigation will try to connect to your traffic data receiver. Check the connectivity status by looking at the relevant entry in the list of data connections.

In the future, Enroute Flight Navigation will automatically detect and connect to your traffic receiver a few minutes after it becomes visible on Wi-Fi or LAN.

Remove a Data Connection

We recommended removing data connections that you will no longer use. In order to remove a data connection, locate the data connection in the list, tap on the three-dot menu and choose the menu item “Remove”. Note that default data connections cannot be removed.