Trouble Connecting Missileworks Base Unit to mDACS via Bluetooth

[gagalindeburg]

I need help configuring (hardware/software) Missileworks Bluetooth-connected base RTX unit to their mDACS software. Everything I’ve tried hasn’t worked.

I have the entire array of Missileworks RTX products. Rocket RRC3 tethered to rocket RTX; handheld base RTX unit with LCDT radiolinked to rocket RTX; Bluetooth HC-06 dongle tethered to base unit RTX; mDACS software running on 64-bit Windows 10 (up to date) laptop; drivers for serializing the data to a COM port.

Everything (rocket and base unit) works as intended, including having a paired HC-06 Bluetooth device and two configured COM ports on the computer, except that mDACS never connects to the base unit.

I’ve tried running mDACS in Windows 8 compatibility mode, changing out the HC-06 Bluetooth module, changing out cables, running all three devices on high-capacity 2s LiPos, taking everything out of their cases and running side-side on the bench, and innumerable permutations of start-up sequences. I’ve tried different computers. I’ve tried bith COM ports. I’ve tried starting mDACS with and without the Preferences Bluetooth box checked. I’ve tried connecting to either the RRC3 or RTX first. I’ve tried having the rocket unit both on and off. I’ve tried having the base unit in both radio link and configuration modes. And, dozens of other configurations.

I’ve read and reread all of the associated manuals. There is no information that specifically addresses connecting the Bluetooth module to the base unit RTX, and all of my extrapolations from what is provided have failed.

Cut to the chase: Something is wrong, and it may be me. Can you provide some guidance? Something step-by-step would be wonderful, but even a place to start would be appreciated.

p.s. This is my first HPR build, and I don’t even have my L1 certification. I know it’s ambitious for me. But, I am an engineer, and I can’t help myself from complicating things.

Thanks.

Gaga (Michael)

 

[Bobrogg]

I feel your pain! I too have issues connecting via the Bluetooth, this is how i get it to work.
1. make sure your computer Bluetooth is on
2. open the mDACS s/w and make sure Bluetooth is selected.
3. (The critical part) Turn on the rrc3 AND during its bootup phase select connect on the mDACS.

If i select connect within the first 15 sec of powering up the rrc3 i always get a connection. if you wait and the rrc3 gets pasted the boot phase you will not be successful in establishing the connection

good luck!

 

[user 30299]

Since you are having issues with the Base Unit and mDACS, have you tried connecting mDACS to just the RRC3
through the Bluetooth module? If you have not tried that yet - then I suggest you start there. You want to first
learn how to establish a simple connection to the RRC3 through mDACS.

 

[user 30299]

I forgot to ask about the high-capacity 2S LiPos. The RRC3's are limited to a 3-amp discharge (but it may actually be 5-amp). What is the mAh rating and the "C" rating on your LiPos? And do your LiPos have a "burst" current rating?

 

[gagalindeburg]

I feel your pain! I too have issues connecting via the Bluetooth, this is how i get it to work.
1. make sure your computer Bluetooth is on
2. open the mDACS s/w and make sure Bluetooth is selected.
3. (The critical part) Turn on the rrc3 AND during its bootup phase select connect on the mDACS.

If i select connect within the first 15 sec of powering up the rrc3 i always get a connection. if you wait and the rrc3 gets pasted the boot phase you will not be successful in establishing the connection

good luck!

Sorry for the late reply…I’ve been trying every conceivable variation of your advice, Missile Works (Jim), and information on TRF. MDACs will not connect even to the stand-alone RRC3 Via Bluetooth.

i have spent two months, 50+ hours, and hundreds of dollars on redundant equipment, cables, and software. All a waste. I am abandoning the Bluetooth aspect of the Missileworks avionics. It was hard enough getting the handheld base unit working. I quit.

Anyone expecting the mDACS bluetooth connection process to work as easily as connecting their earphones to their phone should be forewarned.

 

[user 30299]

Sorry for the late reply…I’ve been trying every conceivable variation of your advice, Missile Works (Jim), and information on TRF. MDACs will not connect even to the stand-alone RRC3 Via Bluetooth.

i have spent two months, 50+ hours, and hundreds of dollars on redundant equipment, cables, and software. All a waste. I am abandoning the Bluetooth aspect of the Missileworks avionics. It was hard enough getting the handheld base unit working. I quit.

Anyone expecting the mDACS bluetooth connection process to work as easily as connecting their earphones to their phone should be forewarned.

I am currently on the road, but I will see if I can post a document this evening, or by the morning, that should help
you get connected to the RRC3. There was another person a few months ago that was not able to connect, and we
determined there was a problem with the RRC3. I believe Missile Works replaced the RRC3.

I strictly use the Bluetooth to connect with the RRC3 and RTx setup. I think we can get you going - or determine if you
have a bad RRC3.

 

[gagalindeburg]

I forgot to ask about the high-capacity 2S LiPos. The RRC3's are limited to a 3-amp discharge (but it may actually be 5-amp). What is the mAh rating and the "C" rating on your LiPos? And do your LiPos have a "burst" current rating?

So, a 1s LiPo will not power the handheld base unit reliably. The combination of RTX GPS and RF receivers, the Bluetooth transmitter (now to be omitted), and LCDT is too much. Though these devices all turn on, getting a satellite fix is severally marginal. The RTX just needs more power.

As for the rocket units, there are several reasons I switched from 1s to 2s. (A) I was doing so much trial and error testing trying to get the Bluetooth situation solved, even 1s LiPos needed frequent recharging. (B) Since I already had discovered that the handheld base unit RTX was marginal in acquiring GPS fix with 1s LiPos, switching to 2s seemed logical, albeit with a slight weight penalty. (C) A 1s LiPo will not reliably fire a second stage motor squib on the Aux circuit. 1s is okay for blackpowder ejection charge igniters, but not reliable or even functional for some motor igniters.

As to your specific concern about burning out the RRC3 MOSFETs with 2s lipos, I had the same concern…even with 1s lipos it is a concern. (I bought 10 spare MOSFETs from Amazon just in case. They’re SMD, but doable if needed.) I never tested the RRC3 firing circuits with 2s and, now, I’m not going to. I now realize that even a small 1s Lipo will power the RRC3 electronics for plenty of time, but for reliable ignition on all three circuits, I’ll probably be using a separate firing battery. Clearly, others have been here before me. The manuals kind of dance around brownout, battery current testing, and MOSFET limitations, and, the manuals show the wiring diagram for using a separate battery of any voltage for the firing circuits. Another weight penalty, if that is implemented.

Three more things: (1) The on-pad waits at the two local clubs are short. So, i will experiment with an external power pack umbilicalled to the rocket, physically disconnecting somehow, sometime before launch. A jack, wiring, and some diodes…. (2) I’ve doubled the capacitance of the capacitor on the RRC3 to avoid brownout with 1s batteries. In my mind, the RRC3 should just come with a larger capacitor since the 1s is a Missileworks suggestion. (3) I’ll stay with the 2s Lipos for both RTX boards. These boards need more than 1s, and standard 9 volt batteries don’t last an hour.

All things considered, the RRC3 unit and RTX line are impressive. They are robust in construction and capabilities. They are well conceived. Jim has been diligent and responsive in equipping, communicating, and helping me. These are complex units, and probably not for 13 year-olds, ballet dancers, or level zero builders like me, but they work as intended and are easy to use once you know what you’re doing. Almost all of my problems have been of my own making, and almost everything I needed to know is someplace in one or another of the manuals. My utter frustration with mDACS and Bluetooth aside, I highly recommend Missileworks and its products.

 

[gagalindeburg]

I am currently on the road, but I will see if I can post a document this evening, or by the morning, that should help
you get connected to the RRC3. There was another person a few months ago that was not able to connect, and we
determined there was a problem with the RRC3. I believe Missile Works replaced the RRC3.

I strictly use the Bluetooth to connect with the RRC3 and RTx setup. I think we can get you going - or determine if you
have a bad RRC3.

Oh, wow. Thank you so much.

 

[Bobrogg]

Sorry for the late reply…I’ve been trying every conceivable variation of your advice, Missile Works (Jim), and information on TRF. MDACs will not connect even to the stand-alone RRC3 Via Bluetooth.

i have spent two months, 50+ hours, and hundreds of dollars on redundant equipment, cables, and software. All a waste. I am abandoning the Bluetooth aspect of the Missileworks avionics. It was hard enough getting the handheld base unit working. I quit.

Anyone expecting the mDACS bluetooth connection process to work as easily as connecting their earphones to their phone should be forewarned.

i just had to reconfig my laptop and had to load mDAS from scratch. one issue in using the bluetooth is that you need to pair the two in the windows bluetooth setup page, you need to enter the pin number for the adapter which is 1234. you should get a now paired message and go from there

 

[gagalindeburg]

i just had to reconfig my laptop and had to load mDAS from scratch. one issue in using the bluetooth is that you need to pair the two in the windows bluetooth setup page, you need to enter the pin number for the adapter which is 1234. you should get a now paired message and go from there

Thank you for your information. I have done all that, deleting, reloading, re-drivering, re-pairing, changing windows compatibility, cleaning the directory, deleting and adding COM ports, the whole computer thing. Bluetooth is always toggled on in the computer, and HC-06 shows as being paired. The COM ports usually show in mDACS as being functional and operating, although mDACS is very fickle and particular as to what combinations of variables, timing, and sequencing results in a functional COM port. Clearing the active port usually results in the computer hanging and responding to nothing, requiring a reboot of the entire computer. MDACS itself has no ‘close’ or shut-off button. The bottom mDACS information bar showing the port, status, and countdown timer (which does not leave 20 99% of the time) is obscured by the windows bottom taskbar unless mDACS is run in full screen, and it usually reverts to partial screen mode by itself along the way. All in all, mDACS is a great idea that has been poorly implemented and, accordingly, is not well-behaved. This is in stark contrast to the excellence of the Missileworks hardware.

Thank you, again. And, I’m glad to hear that it works for you.

 

[Newguy]

I need help configuring (hardware/software) Missileworks Bluetooth-connected base RTX unit to their mDACS software. Everything I’ve tried hasn’t worked.

I have the entire array of Missileworks RTX products. Rocket RRC3 tethered to rocket RTX; handheld base RTX unit with LCDT radiolinked to rocket RTX; Bluetooth HC-06 dongle tethered to base unit RTX; mDACS software running on 64-bit Windows 10 (up to date) laptop; drivers for serializing the data to a COM port.

Everything (rocket and base unit) works as intended, including having a paired HC-06 Bluetooth device and two configured COM ports on the computer, except that mDACS never connects to the base unit.

I’ve tried running mDACS in Windows 8 compatibility mode, changing out the HC-06 Bluetooth module, changing out cables, running all three devices on high-capacity 2s LiPos, taking everything out of their cases and running side-side on the bench, and innumerable permutations of start-up sequences. I’ve tried different computers. I’ve tried bith COM ports. I’ve tried starting mDACS with and without the Preferences Bluetooth box checked. I’ve tried connecting to either the RRC3 or RTX first. I’ve tried having the rocket unit both on and off. I’ve tried having the base unit in both radio link and configuration modes. And, dozens of other configurations.

I’ve read and reread all of the associated manuals. There is no information that specifically addresses connecting the Bluetooth module to the base unit RTX, and all of my extrapolations from what is provided have failed.

Cut to the chase: Something is wrong, and it may be me. Can you provide some guidance? Something step-by-step would be wonderful, but even a place to start would be appreciated.

p.s. This is my first HPR build, and I don’t even have my L1 certification. I know it’s ambitious for me. But, I am an engineer, and I can’t help myself from complicating things.

Thanks.

Gaga (Michael)

Gaga,
I too had the exact same experience of hours and hours. I have Windows 11. I right clicked on the MDACS program and selected Run as Administrator. Freaking magic.
Good luck.

 

[Newguy]

Well... same settings same everything. NO WORKY... I give up.

 

[jmasterj]

I had to reboot my computer the other night to get everything to connect. I spent 30 minutes just trying to get everything connected; what a pain in the butt.