Compass C-PILOT EVO User manual
C-Pilot PRO manuale d’uso Compass s.r.l.
Connessioni 1
Software version 0302030
rev. 12/01/2016
Compass s.r.l.
Via San Pio X°, 224
31033, Castelfranco Veneto (TV), Italy
www.compass-italy.com - info@compass-italy.com
Compass s.r.l. User manual C-Pilot PRO
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C-Pilot PRO manuale d’uso Compass s.r.l.
Connessioni 3
Compass s.r.l. User manual C-Pilot PRO
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Important changes with respect to the previous version of the manual are marked with a double red
line on the left of the page
C-Pilot PRO User manual Compass s.r.l.
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Limitation of liability
The manufacturer reserves the right to modify the device or the devices specifications in this manual
without prior notice. It is absolutely forbidden to use the device for different uses other than those
for which it has been devised for, as inferred to in this manual. When using the features in this
device, obey all laws and respect privacy and legitimate rights of others.
EXCEPT TO THE EXTENT PROHIBITED BY APPLICABLE LAW, UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES
SHALL THE MANUFACTURER BE LIABLE FOR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES SUSTAINED IN
CONNECTION WITH SAID PRODUCT AND THE MANUFACTURER NEITHER ASSUMES NOR
AUTHORIZES ANY REPRESENTATIVE OR OTHER PERSON TO ASSUME FOR IT ANY
OBLIGATION OR LIABILITY OTHER THAN SUCH AS IS EXPRESSELY SET FORTH HEREIN.
All trademarks in this manual are property of their respective owners.
The information contained in this manual is for information purposes only, is subject to change
without previous notice and cannot be considered binding for the Manufacturer. The Manufacturer
assumes no responsibility for any errors or incoherence possibly contained in this manual.
Safety instructions
Please read the following safety instructions carefully. Not following them may be dangerous and/or
illegal. Please read carefully the user manual for further details.
SWITCHING ON IN SAFE ENVIRONMENTS: do not switch the device on when prohibited or
whenever it could cause any interference or danger. All wireless devices may be susceptible
to interference, which could affect the performance of other appliances (TV, radio, ...)
ROAD SAFETY: do not operate the device while driving.
SWITCH OFF IN HOSPITALS: follow any restrictions. Switch the device off in hospitals or
near medical equipment (hearing aid equipment, pacemaker ) the device could cause
interference. Also keep a distance of 20 cm between pacemaker and device.
SWITCH OFF IN AIRCRAFT: follow any restrictions. Wireless and digital devices can cause
interference with aircraft equipment.
SWITCH OFF WHEN REFUELLING: do not use the device at refuelling point. Switch off
near petrol stations or fuel depots and chemical plants.
SWITCH OFF NEAR BLASTING: follow any restrictions. Do not use the device where
blasting is in progress.
USE THE DEVICE SENSIBLY: do not use the device for any uses other than those it has
been built for. Keep to the instructions as explained in the product manual.
QUALIFIED SERVICE: only qualified personnel may install or repair this product.
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ACCESSORIES AND BATTERIES: use only approved accessories and batteries. Do not
use incompatible products. The use of nonstandard products can cause damage to the
device and/or people.
BATTERY DISPOSAL: the batteries must be disposed according to the appropriate modes.
The consumer must duly hand in worn out batteries, either at the appropriate collection
points for the general public, in his own town, or wherever batteries of the same kind are sold
(compulsory warning according to law on the disposal of batteries).
AVOID GETTING THE DEVICE WET: the device is not water-resistant, keep it dry. Contact
with water or any other liquid could cause serious damage to the device.
DO NOT RECHARGE THE BATTERY at temperature above 50°C, for example if exposed to
direct sun light for a prolonged time. This might damage the device and its battery.
Information on the device
C-Pilot EVO is a portable device that, thanks to its state-of-the-art GPS receiver, determines its
geographical location in real time. Additionally, the detected data can be recorded for further
analysis. It can send or exchange the data by means of BlueTooth connection, serial port, USB
connections, standard SD memory card;
The GPS (Global Positioning System) is able to detect the user’s position in any given point of the
Earth’s surface and consists in a ground receiver which captures and analyses signals from a series
of satellites in orbit (fix procedure). In some climatic or structural conditions, partial or total GPS
signal coverage may be missing. In this case, some functions may not be available.
Notwithstanding the Selective Availability (SA) introduced by the United States of America for
military reasons, the margin of error on the GPS data is only limited but not deleted. The location
data can contain inaccuracies caused by external factors as errors in the orbit and in the satellite
clocks, climatic conditions and multipath effects.
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Using and taking care of C-Pilot EVO
Let us give you some advices to take advantage of the features of your C-Pilot EVO and to keep it
functional and in order:
The antireflection layer of the touch panel is particularly effective and allows a remarkable
reduction of reflexes. It can suffer from mechanical and chemical wear. To keep it efficient
and in good conditions for a long time, please avoid exposure to dirt or greasy substances.
Fingerprints, for example, contain acid substances that can corrode the antireflection layer in
the most used parts of the display. Also scratches and mechanical abrasion can deteriorate
the layer leading to sub-optimal visibility in particular illumination conditions. We recommend
to clean it when necessary with a tissue for lens cleaning, taking care that dust, sand or other
materials than can scratch it while cleaning are not present. Do not apply excessive pressure
while cleaning: you might damage the touch panel. Stains similar to oily liquids underneath
the touch-panel surface indicate that it has been subjected to excessive pressure and should
be replaced by a qualified technician to guarantee correct operation. Being due to incorrect
handling, this kind of damage is not covered by our warranty.
When you switch it on for the first time, do it outside, in a place with an unobstructed view of
the sky, to allow for the first fix of the GPS. This should occur in a few minutes after powering
your unit on. If you leave C-Pilot EVO off for several days, or format the internal or USB
memory, please follow this procedure again.
Do not cover the upper part of the device where the GPS and BlueTooth antennas, the light
sensor and the speaker are hosted. If you cover them, you might experience low
reception/transmission, low audio volume, bad backlight regulation, less battery life.
Do not cover the hole on the rubber cover of the ports and connectors. Doing so might
interfere with the internal barometer and variometer.
The touch panel is of a very special type to guarantee the maximum display readability in
every lightning condition. The first times that you use it, you might find it more rigid than
those commonly mounted on PDA’s. Try getting used to it gradually. Try using the tip of your
finger: this will require less force to activate the touch panel.
C-Pilot EVO can be charged from any 5 V miniUSB charger, but we cannot guarantee that
their power and quality is enough to charge C-Pilot EVO or not to damage it.
We recommend recharging C-Pilot EVO when it is switched off. This will shorten the
recharge time to a maximum of eight hours.
Keep the display surface as clean as possible: dirt and fingerprints can diffuse ambient light
and make the antireflection treatment of C-Pilot EVO less effective. The touch panel features
a surface treatment that makes it easy to clean. Please use a soft tissue (the kind normally
used for sunglasses) and avoid chemicals.
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Do not place other electronic equipment too close to C-Pilot EVO: they could disturb to or be
disturbed by it.
Do not expose C-Pilot EVO to temperatures above 50°C (122°F) or lower than -20°C (-4°F)
for long periods. Do not leave C-Pilot EVO in your car during winter or during the hottest
months.
In case of accidental drop in water, do not switch C-Pilot on! Unscrew the case and
disconnect the battery cable. In case of drop in salty water, rinse thoroughly with fresh water.
Wait till everything is perfectly dry before trying to switch the device on again. Do not use hot
sources to shorten the drying time.
Warning: damages due to contact with water are not covered by the warranty.
Disassembling the instrument will void the warranty. Anyway, in case of drop
in water, disassembling the instrument may save it. Please send it back to
Compass to have it checked. Tell us exactly what happened.
Take care that C-Pilot EVO is positioned and held in place appropriately in your flight
equipment. Use the Velcro provided and the safety cable connected to a fixed ring. If the
device falls down while flying it may cause severe damages to persons and objects. It is your
responsibility to insure that it is properly held in place.
Before flying, check that the rubber covers of the port slots are securely closed. This will
prevent dust and water from entering inside C-Pilot EVO.
If you are using an external power source connected to the mini USB plug and it starts
raining, please unplug the external source and close the rubber cover.
Warning: external power sources may be connected to C-Pilot EVO before switching the
device on or once the device is completely switched on. Do not connect an external power
source before the instrument has finished the booting procedure.
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Introduction
Thank you for purchasing C-Pilot EVO. We are confident that it will be with you during your flights for
many years. We have tried to make it as user friendly as possible, but we recommend anyway a
careful reading of the user manual to learn all the features of your device: by doing so, you will be
able to configure it as you like.
C-Pilot EVO has been designed to be fully customisable. For example, you can design freely the
navigation page, adding data fields, resizing and moving them in any place of the screen. Every
navigation page (display) that you create can be saved and loaded later at any time. You have the
same versatility also for the audio profile of the variometer. All your customisations will be saved in a
specific memory of C-Pilot EVO, accessible via USB. This allows you to copy all of your settings to
your PC to archive them, to send them to a flight fellow, or to add new displays or audio profiles to
C-Pilot EVO.
The user interface is entirely based on a large, colour display with touch panel. This allowed us to
make C-Pilot EVO as intuitive as possible: interacting with your device is as easy as touching its
screen. Every yellow rectangle is a virtual button: by touching it you activate a new menu or, for
example, you can modify a setting. There is no need to remember complicated combinations of keys
to change a parameter. You just have to touch it with your finger.
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Let us have a look at the display and to the notification icons.
Figure 1: the navigation page. It includes the flight data, the map, the status icons and the menu buttons
During your flights, you will mainly use the navigation page. It is composed of two parts. The top part
is the control bar:
It includes several icons that show some important parameters:
On the top menu bar you can find 3 buttons and some icons:
The SD Card icon means that the SD Card is inside the slot and C-Pilot EVO is using
it. if the icon is red colored the C-Pilot is not able to use the SD Card or one or more
files are corrupted
battery charge level (when empty and red battery is going to finish)
C-Pilot EVO is logging the track (Warning: when the instrument is switched on but
does not fell the pilot move - waiting to take off - the device will not register the track)
Bluetooth module is active
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live tracking active and transmitting data (when blue)
speaker (sound of variometer) is muted
satellites 3D fix is active and valid (if grey the fix is not active)
The control bar also includes some buttons that allow accessing all the features of C-Pilot PRO.
Shows the main menu. Typically, you will use
this button only before taking off to customise
C-Pilot PRO.
Shows the active display. The
icons
indicate respectively when the manual or
automatic display management is active.
In the following you will learn how to use the
displays of C-Pilot PRO (page 49).
This button shows some commands that can be
useful while flying, such as the volume controls
and the task control buttons (page 9).
All the instrument settings are accessible via the main menu, shown in Figure 2. It shows
up when you press the C-Pilot PRO button in the navigation page. After eight seconds it disappears
automatically if you do not press any button; the navigation page will appear again.
Figure 2: the main menu
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In-flight use
C-Pilot EVO was designed so that it requires very few inputs from the pilot while flying. This was one
of our main targets right from the start of the development of the device. We wanted it to be very
easy to use, but, more importantly, we wanted to guarantee the maximum safety for you, by
avoiding any unnecessary distraction. C-Pilot EVO manages automatically the displays (we shall
see later how to design them, on page 49), by showing the one that you have chosen for the specific
flight situation you are in. It manages automatically the turnpoints of a task, and also optimizes the
magnification of the map so that you always see your next turnpoint. Simply touching on the map the
waypoint the pilot desires to navigate to, can launch a “GOTO”.
Manual/Automatic selection of the displays
You can disable (or enable again) at any time the automatic selection of the display and manually
select one among those stored in C-Pilot PRO by pressing the central button in the control bar.
If the display selection is in automatic mode, this is shown by the icon:
While the manual-selection mode is indicated by;
When you press the central button, that indicates the name of the actually selected display, the list
of stored displays will be shown (Figure 3). By selecting a display from the list and pressing the “ok”
button, the selected display will be loaded and the manual display selection will be activated. The
automatic selection can be restored by pressing the “auto” button. “Cancel” closes the display-
selection page without changing the currently-active setting.
The display-selection page will disappear automatically in ten seconds.
Warning: while the Manual mode is activated, the instrument will not automatically switch into the
Thermal mode (thermal assistant page) or into other automatic configurations of the display (start,
goal, airspaces )
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Figure 3: display-selection page
The command page
For the rare occasions when you have to interact with C-Pilot PRO while flying, we have prepared
an easy-to-access page that contains the main commands. You can open it by pressing the
“commands” button in the control bar.
Figure 4: the command page
The first column on the left in the command page (Figure 4) allows you to manually control the
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turnpoint sequence in the active task.
Restart task: the task navigation starts over from the first turnpoint;
Next waypoint, previous waypoint: manually select the next waypoint in the task or the
previous.
The central column controls the volume of C-Pilot EVO. You can increase or decrease the volume or
enable/disable completely the variometer audio.
On the right you will find:
The touch-panel lock button. This will return to the navigation page and lock the touch panel
to avoid involuntarily changing some settings before take off. When activated, it will
deactivate automatically when C-Pilot PRO detects the take off.
The SOS button sends an emergency message by means of a DSX Safly device, if
connected.
normal/powersave button: if powersave is active, the backlight will switch off when there is
no input from the touch panel for 30 s. Just touch the touch panel to reactivate the backlight
for 30 s more.
The back button brings you back to the navigation page.
The command page, as well as the other menu pages, is automatically closed if not used for eight
seconds.
C-Pilot PRO User manual Compass s.r.l.
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Starting up
Switching on and off C-Pilot PRO
You can switch on C-Pilot PRO by pressing the power button underneath the left rubber cover
(Figure 5). There is no need to open the cover: just press on the Compass logo, impressed on the
cover, for approximately five seconds. When you see the C-Pilot EVO logo on the display, you
can release the button. The device will complete the start up procedure in more or less 20 seconds.
To turn the device off, press briefly the power button, then press the “ok” button in the confirmation
alert that appears.
Figure 5: connectors and buttons are on the left side of the device
You can also use the “off” button in the main menu ( Figure 2), shown after pressing the “C-
Pilot PRO” button in the navigation page.
Touch-panel calibration
After switching the device on, if necessary, you may calibrate the touch panel (factory pre-
calibrated) by pressing for approx one second the power button; when the confirmation alert shows
up, press again the power button. Follow the instructions (Figure 6). The calibration procedure takes
more or less 10 seconds to complete.
Due to its quality, you will rarely need to recalibrate the touch panel. It will become necessary when
you feel that the panel does not react to your commands or touch. Please do not drag your finger
while calibrating the instrument: simply touch the centre of the taget. It is sensible to pressure: you
can use it while wearing gloves as well as with your bare fingers.
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Figure 6: touch-panel calibration
Optimal in-flight position
C-Pilot PRO features a LCD display optimised for direct-sunlight operation. The built-in light sensor
automatically tunes the LCD backlight to guarantee the optimal contrast in any light condition and –
at the same time – limiting the battery consumption.
Figure 7: optimal in-flight position.
In order to get the best results in terms of readability and contrast, we suggest positioning your C-
Pilot PRO at about 12-15 degrees to your line of sight, as shown in Figure 7.
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Battery
The capacity of the battery will allow you, in normal flight conditions, from 13 to 20 hours of usage,
depending on the backlight intensity, on the speaker volume, on use of GPRS, on use of Bluetooth
and environment conditions (light & temperature).
The battery status is shown in the control bar by the “battery” icon. The number underneath the icon
shows the remaining capacity in percentage. This is displayed also by the icons that change in
sequence:
When the battery is almost completely empty, C-Pilot PRO warns you by showing an alert window.
After approx eight seconds, C-Pilot PRO turns automatically off.
You can force the device to stay on till the battery lasts (you get 20 minutes more of usage) by
pressing the “ok” button in the alert window. Please remember that this is an emergency procedure.
Use it only when strictly necessary as it might lead to data loss. The backlight of the display is
disabled to increase the remaining time as much as possible.
Warning: if the battery level goes below a predefined security setting (3.2 V), it will
not be possible to turn on the device without recharging the battery above the
security level. Please note that, in this situation, recharging will occur very slowly to
protect the battery.
While charging the battery, the icons cycle with an interval of approx 3 seconds.
Recharging the battery
We recommend recharging the device while it is switched off to shorten the recharge time to a
maximum of eight hours from a completely drained battery. While it is off and recharging, the
backlight will make a short flash every 15 seconds to show that the charge is in progress. A
double flash indicates that the charge is complete. While recharging the red light under the left side
rubber cover is switched on.
Warning: please note the peculiar sequence of flashes that C-Pilot EVO’s diaplay
does when you switch it on. If you see the same flashes while recharging the unit,
then it is quite likely that the charger that you are using is not powerful enough and it
is not recharging your battery
If you leave C-Pilot EVO off for a very long time, the battery might discharge completely. The
internal protection of the battery will prevent it to be damaged, but you may not be able to switch the
device on even when you plug in the charger. In this case it is necessary to wait some hours to allow
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the battery to recharge to the minimum level necessary for the correct operation of C-Pilot EVO. In
this case the backlight will not flash during the recharge.
You can charge the battery also by connecting the device to a PC via the USB cable. Be aware
anyway that some PC, laptops in particular, do not provide enough energy from the USB ports to
fully recharge C-Pilot EVO.
C-Pilot PRO User manual Compass s.r.l.
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Setting up C-Pilot EVO
When you turn the device on for the first time, you need to configure some parameters that control
the operation of C-Pilot EVO. The device will store your settings. From the main menu, you can
access the most important configuration options by pressing the “configuration” button.
You will be shown a list with the parameters (see Figure 8). As we have already said, every editable
parameter is indicated by a yellow rectangle. For example, to change the language used by C-Pilot
PRO, you just have to press the yellow button beside “language”.
Figure 8: main settings of C-Pilot PRO
General
GPS time offset: sets the difference between the local and UTC time. Change it
depending on the time zone where you are. It is possible to set fractional hours for those
countries that requires so; Remember to select “East” or “West”, depending on the part of
the world the C-Pilot is used (example “west” for North & Suth America and “east” for
most Europe and Asia)
Language: choose the language used by C-Pilot EVO;
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Coordinate format: change the visualization format of coordinates. For example, you
can choose between degrees, minutes, and seconds or UTM;
Audio variometer: if you choose “active after takeoff”, the variometer audio is disabled
between -0.3 m/s e +0.3 m/s before takeoff. This prevents the variometer to beep also
before taking off.
Backlight level: the backlight intensity has a mayor impact on the display readability in
different ambient-light conditions and also on the battery life. The backlight level can be
automatically controlled by means of the C-Pilot EVO light sensor. This will react to more
than 200 light levels, with a sensitivity that closely resembles the one of the human eye.
We have finely calibrated the backlight automatic control during several in-flight tests to
guarantee the optimal display contrast while limiting as much as possible the energy
consumption. For example, in direct sunlight the backlight is completely switched off: the
transflective display of C-Pilot EVO allows taking advantage of the sun light rather than
the internal LEDs to provide an excellent contrast and long battery life. If you wish, you
can turn the backlight off or set it to the maximum level by means of this button.
1Units
distance: you can choose between metric system, nautical miles (1 mn = 1852 m) or
statute miles (1 sm = 1609 m);
altitude: meters or feet (1 ft = 0,3048 m);
horizontal speed: km/h, knots (1 kts = 1,85 km/h) or miles per hour (1 mph = 1,609
km/h);
vertical speed: meters per second (m/s), feet per minute (1 ftm = 0,3048 m/min) or feet
per second (1 fts = 0,3048 m/s).
Temperature: degrees Celsius or Fahrenheit.
Averages
Audio variometer: sets the response time of the audio variometer from 0.5 seconds to
10 seconds. Smaller values correspond to a faster reactivity of the device.
Warning: the 0.5 s value is very short: the variometer responds almost in
real time to changes of pressure. Having performed many in-fight tests, we
do not reccomend to use this setting but in the weakest flight conditions;
Analog variometer: sets the response time of the analog indicator of the vertical speed
(climb speed) from 1 second to 100 seconds;
Digital variometer: sets the response time of the digital indicator of the vertical speed
(climb speed) from 1 second to 100 seconds;
Glide ratio: response time of the glide-ratio calculator. The shorter the time, the bigger
the fluctuations of the value shown in the navigation page will be;
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