Ping1D Firmware

[EliotBR (Eliot)]

Hi @psupine,

Apologies - there have definitely been some limitations to our communication around these topics, including some inconsistency around our own terminology.

@psupine

I cannot find any description of what has changed between [3.28 and 3.29 firmware versions]

From a previous response:

@EliotBR

[3.29] fixes an initialisation bug that was causing excess current draw when the device boots. If you happen to have a Ping Sonar connected via a Navigator’s serial port then that bug can cause issues when trying to reboot the Raspberry Pi.

Come to think of it, that may help to reduce some of your recent power supply concerns…

@psupine

I also can’t find any description of the functional difference between the Ping1D and the Ping2 other than the statement that the Ping2 is “more capable”. In what way is it more capable?

To clarify terms here:

• Ping1D is a message set in the ping protocol, intended for 1-dimensional sonar devices (e.g. with a single transducer, currently expected to be echosounders). It can be relevant to multiple different devices, as long as they support the specified functionality
• “Ping2” was a name we (briefly) called a hardware revision of our Ping Sonar device, before deciding it was more confusing than helpful
  • This is admittedly made extra confusing by the firmware version naming, which we’ve intended to change but haven’t yet completed, partially because doing so would also require updating Ping Viewer’s automatic firmware finding

From the revision history (in the Technical Details section of the Ping Sonar product page), the primary user-related changes are:

@Ping Sonar hardware update changes

• Changed to narrower, 25° beamwidth
• Increased typical usable range to 100 meters [from 50]