SkyBean SkyDrop User manual

½ SkyDrop
user guide
1908

SkyDrop –combined GPS variometer
analog/digital variometer –no delay vario response
tracklog recording –IGC FAI1 Civil approved or KML
bluetooth & USB connectivity –Android, iOS, PC
thermal assistant, airspace warning, wind speed & direction
full customizable –multiple screens, layouts and widgets
navigation functions –compass, waypoints, odometer
light weight & compact size –68g, 98 x 58 x 20 mm
navigation functions –compass, waypoints, odometer
about this user guide
Despite of we made SkyDrop vario as intuitive as possible, we
recommend to read this user guide.We know this is not your favorite
activity, so just briefly go through to understand basic concept of
operation. You can leave detailed reading about every function to
winter time or if you want to learn about specific function. You don’t
have to keep the printed copy, PDF copy is stored inside memory
(SD card), or you can find it on our webpage skybean.eu
buttons long press (for 1s) –turn on, pull up menu bar,
move to upper level in menu, toggle widget value,
start/stop flight stopwatch, short press –confirm,
list adjustable widgets on home screen, turn off
device (if menu bar is pulled up), press & hold for
5s to turn device off
short press –scroll between home screens to the
left, select widget menu if menu bar is pulled up,
scroll up in menu, lower value during setting
parameter, press & hold to rapid value lowering
short press –scroll between home screens to the
right, select settings menu if menu bar is pulled up,
scroll down in menu, raise value during setting
parameter, press & hold to rapid value raising

important note –please read
SkyDrop is in silent mode after start-up, so if you want to hear vario
sound, select FTime widget and manually start the flight by long
press. This feature will help you tobe nice to other pilots beforetake-
off. By default, the sound will be enabled automatically after take-
off. To disable this function, please uncheck Suppress audio
checkbox in Settings>Logger>Auto start/land menu entry.
operation of the SkyDrop variometer
During startup animation, firmware version in bottom left and
hardware revision in bottom right corner are shown. The device will
start on the last used home screen. You can scroll between home
screens by pressing the left or the right arrow buttons. If
adjustable/switchable widgets are on current home screen, you can
press middle button to scroll between them. If adjustable widget is
highlighted, you can change its value by arrow buttons. If switchable
widget is highlighted, you can toggle its state by long press of the
middle button. To enter widget or settings menu, you need to pull
up the menu bar from the bottom while on any home screen by
long press of the middle button, until menu bar appears. After
that, you can enter into widget menu by pressing the left button,
or enter into settings menu pressing the right arrow button, or
you can turn off the device by short press of the middle button again.
multi-color light signalization
yellow light –device is being flashed with new firmware
red light –device is charging
green light –device is fully charged
red flash –battery is less than 20%
yellow flash –searching for GPS fix
green flash –GPS 3D fix is acquired
cyan flash –bluetooth is enabled, but not connected
blue flash –bluetooth is enabled & connected

widget menu
SkyDrop can use various widget layouts on home screens. You can
adjust all screens, layouts and widgets easily through online
drag&drop configurator at vps.skybean.eu/configurator, or you can
set it directly on device. Before selecting layout of the screen, we
recommend to make a list of widgets to be shown and choose the
most adequate layout. To change layout, enter widget menu (long
press the middle button and then left button), hit Change layout
entry and select desired option. After that, hit Change widgets entry
from the same menu. Selected layout will appear and one of the
widget position will blink. Use arrowbuttons to scroll between layout
fields and press middle button to enter complete widget list. Then
scroll to desired widget and confirm by the middle button. Several
widgets are adjustable (e.g. altimeter widgets Alt) or can
enable/disable specific function and can be toggled (e.g. beep or
weak).
In widget menu, there are several more options to set for each home
screen. Silent page mutes vario tones while this home screen is
shown. Hide labels checkbox disables little description labels,
shown near widgets, and therefore allows widget data to be larger.
Pages count entry from the same menu defines number of home
screens (1 to 8).
Autoset submenu entry allows user to use smart screen switching
function, which is described in separate chapter in this user guide.
widget list and description
Vario bar shows graphical value of analog vario, each step
represents 1 m/s. The vario bar increases from middle to top when
bar shows 0 to 3 m/s, then decreases from middle to top when vario
shows 3 to 6 m/s. The bar shows sinking the same way, so the total
range of analog vario bar is -6 to 6 m/s.
Vario shows value of digital variometer.
AVG vario (Avg on LCD) shows averaged digital variometer during
time period set in Average vario integration int.

Vario history shows graphically relative vario value during time.
Range of time interval is set in Average vario integration int.
Altitude 1 to 5 (Alt on LCD) shows altimeter (1 –5) value. This
widget can be adjusted.
Height AGL is altitude above ground (shown if terrain data incurrent
location is stored on SD card).
Ground Level is elevation of terrain (shown if terrain data of current
location is stored on SD card).
Ground speed (GSpd on LCD) shows ground speed relative to
ground.
Glide ratio (Glide on LCD) shows ratio between actual ground
speed and sinking rate.
GPS heading (GHdg on LCD) shows heading obtained from GPS
receiver.
GPS HDG arrow shows graphically heading obtained from GPS
receiver –the North is up.
GPS HDG points shows your actual GPS heading in one of 8 main
directions (N, NE, E, SE, S, SW, W and NW).
GPS position (GPos on LCD) shows GPS coordinates in selected
format obtained from GPS receiver.
Thermal time measures time while circling in current thermal.
Thermal gain shown altitude change while circling in current
thermal.
Thermal assistant graphically represents your actual vario value
during last circle in 8 main heading positions. Lift is represented by
circles, sink by crosses. The larger is the symbol, the higher is lift or
sink. Use larger widget slot for better readability (e.g. layout #16).
Flight time (FTime on LCD) shows duration of current flight. You
can manually start/stop this timer by long press the middle button
when highlighted.
Time shows actual clock in current time zone.
Date shows actual date.
Odometer measures your total traveled distance, including circling.
Home Arrow is pointing to position set as Home, if set. Default
home is take-off position.

Home Distance shows the shortest distance between Home and
your actual position.
Home Time is estimated time to reach the Home position based on
Home Distance and actual ground speed.
Home Info shows name of the selected home position.
Waypoint Arrow is pointing to actual waypoint position.
Waypoint Distance shows distance to actual waypoint.
Waypoint Time is estimated time to reach actual waypoint position.
Waypoint Info shows name and position in waypoints row.
Airspace Arrow is pointing to horizontally closest airspace border
in your actual altitude. If you are inside airspace, arrow will show you
closest way out of this airspace. All Airspace widgets will blink if you
are inside the airspace.
Airspace Distance shows distance to horizontally closest airspace
border in your actual position, it doesn’t matter if you are inside or
outside airspace.
Airspace Limits shows actual lower and upper limit of your actual
position. If you are inside, this widget shows only INSIDE warning.
Airspace Info shows limits of horizontally closest airspace in your
actual position, it doesn’t matter if you are inside or outside airspace.
Airspace Name shows name of horizontally closest airspace inyour
actual position, it doesn’t matter if you are inside or outside airspace.
Wind direction shows absolute value in degrees (0-359) of wind
direction.
Wind arrow shows direction of wind relative to magnetic compass.
Wind dir points shows direction of wind in 8 main directions.
Wind speed shows calculated wind speed in selected units.
Accelerometer shows actual G force, where 1 represents rest
position.
Compass heading shows actual compass heading in degrees.
Compass arrow graphically points to north as standard compass.
Compass points shows orientation of vario in 8 main directions.
Battery shows remaining battery power in %. Low temperature in
high altitude cancause battery voltage drop, what seems like battery
power lost, but it only look like.
Temperature (Temp on LCD) shows air temperature and humidity.

Weeklift ON/OFF (weak on LCD) switch on/off attention to light
thermal (<1m/s) around.
Audio ON/OFF (beep on LCD) can be toggled by long press to
mute/unmute vario sound.
Empty leaves current widget slot empty.
screen layout options
Each slot can show one widget, its size is adaptable, so the larger
slots shows bigger numbers or letters. Of course, there are physical
limits, so don’t put large widget into small slot e.g. GPS position or
Thermal assistant.

settings menu
Long press the middle button andthen press the right button to enter
settings menu on SkyDrop vario. There are 9 main entries with their
submenus.
1. Vario
1.1. Lift threshold defines the positive vertical speed level when
sound is activated (in 0.1m/s steps).
1.2. Sink threshold defines the negative vertical speed level
when sound is activated (in 0.1m/s steps).
1.3. Units can be metric or imperial (meters per second or
hundreds feet per minute).
1.4. Use accel checkbox allows motion sensors (9D IMU) fusion
with barometer to accelerate vario response to altitude
changes.
1.5. Advanced
1.5.1.Fluid audio checkbox allows sound tone change during
actual beep.
1.5.2.Weak lift checkbox enables weak lift detection, reported
by continual sound, before lift threshold is reached to let
pilot know “something is in the air” (in 0.1m/s steps).

1.5.3.Weak lift threshold defines lower value of weak lift
working range. Upper value is defined by Lift threshold.
1.5.4.Beep sink checkbox enables two tone sink instead of the
classic continuous tone.
1.5.5.Weak/Beep offset defines frequency change of sink
pretone to tone drop.
1.5.6.Weak/Beep duration sets pretone duration.
1.5.7.Digital vario int. defines time, when very fast vario
changes are filtered and makes displayed digital vario
value more stable in 0.1s steps (won’t affect vario bar
graph or sound output).
1.5.8.Average vario int. defines time used to compute average
vario value and defines Vario history time range.
2. Altimeters
2.1. Altimeter 1-5
2.1.1.Mode can by absolute, related to QNH1 or QNH2, relative
to other altimeter, with offset adjustable through home
screen widget, or following GPS altitude.
2.1.2.Relative to selection defines related altimeter if relative
mode is selected.
2.1.3.Zero at takeoff checkbox, shown only in altimeter relative
mode, set altimeter value to zero right after takeoff
(automatic or manual).
2.1.4.Units can be metric or imperial (meters or feet).
2.1.5.Auto from GPS checkbox, shown if absolute to QNH is
selected, is barometric altitude periodically corrected by
GPS altitude. Algorithm is based on actual GPS accuracy
and accumulated barometric drift during time.
2.2. Alarms
2.2.1.Enabled checkbox turn this function on.
2.2.2.Alarm 1 (Low) warns pilot when sinking through preset
altitude.

2.2.3.Alarm 2 (Lowest) warns pilot when sinking through
preset altitude. This alarm has to be lower than Alarm 1
(Low).
2.2.4.Alarm 3 (High) warns pilot when lifting through preset
altitude.
2.2.5.Reset value defines hysteresis of alarms. Actual altitude
has to reach at least this difference than alarm altitude to
re-activate alarm function (higher at low alarm or lower at
high alarm).
2.3. QNH1 value in hPa is pressure adjusted to mean sea level
for actual date and location according to local info service.
2.4. QNH2 value in hPa is pressure adjusted to mean sea level
for actual date and location according to local info service.
SkyDrop can store two different QNH values for flying in
wide altitude range, lower altitudes using GPS or adjusted
QNH value, orhigher altitudes using standard QFE pressure
1013.25 hPa, what is default value of QNH2.
3. Logger
3.1. Enabled checkbox enables or disables GPS tracking.
3.2. Total time summarize air time of all flights. You can adjust
it, or even reset (lowering to zero).
3.3. Format of output file can be chosen IGC, KML or RAW.
3.4. Auto start/land submenu offers
3.4.1.State shows status of logger, can be waiting for takeoff,
flying or landed.
3.4.2.Start threshold defines altitude change within Timeout
time period, used for automatic takeoff detection.
3.4.3.Land threshold in meters defines maximum altitude
change within Timeout period to detect landing.

3.4.4.Timeout is time period in seconds used for landing
detection. This time is then subtracted from flight time
FTime.
3.4.5.Suppress audio checkbox mutes the device when
waiting for takeoff.
3.4.6.Record always checkbox disables automatic start/stop of
logging. Logger records while device is turned on, until it
is turned off.
3.5. Pilot name field is used to be written in recorded tracklogs.
3.6. Glider type field is used to be written in recorded tracklogs.
3.7. Glider ID field is used to be written in recorded tracklogs.
4. Flight logs contains all recorded tracklogs arranged by their
date, showing basic flight statistics.
5. Navigation
5.1. Home position submenu defines its parameters.
5.1.1.Set as Takeoff checkbox set takeoff position as Home.
5.1.2.Load from SD set loaded waypoint as Home.
5.2. Waypoints
5.2.1.Load from SD allows user to choose waypoint from
loaded list.
6. GPS
6.1. Enable GPS checkbox enables/disables onboard GPS
receiver (significant for battery life).
6.2. Status shows available satellites and signal strength.
6.3. GPS time shows actual GMT time obtained from GPS
receiver.
6.4. GPS date shows actual date obtained from GPS receiver.
6.5. Speed units, used for ground speed widget GSpd, can be
chosen from –m/s, km/h, mph or knots.

6.6. Format of coordinates can be chosen from –DD.dddddd,
DDº MM.mmmʹ or DDº MMʹ SSʺ.
6.7. Distance units can be set to metric or imperial.
7. Bluetooth
7.1. Bluetooth module shows used module type equipped
onboard.
7.2. Enabled checkbox enables/disables bluetooth function.
7.3. Protocol selection changes devices communication
between protocols (apps) –LK8EX1 (XCtrack), DigiFly
(XCSoar) or BlueFly (FlyMe). SkyDrop SPP Bluetooth
device must be chosen when pairing with your Android
phone or tablet.
7.4. Forward GPS checkbox will enable forwarding GPS
coordinates to connected device, so there is possibility to
turn off its internal GPS receiver to save power.
8. Settings
8.1. Date&Time
8.1.1.Time item in settings menu allow adjust on-board clock.
8.1.2.Date item in settings menu allow adjust on-board date.
8.1.3.Time zone entry is used when time is obtained from GPS
receiver to set correct local time.
8.1.4.DST checkbox means daylight saving time option if
applicable.
8.1.5.Sync with GPS checkbox allows to get accurate time
from GPS.
8.2. Display
8.2.1.Contrast adjust LCD screen contrast.
8.2.2.Backlight adjustment controls backlight level (in 20%
steps).

8.2.3.Backlight timeout defines time interval after button press
when backlight remains turned on.
8.2.4.Invert display checkbox invert pixels on LCD.
8.2.5.Flip orientation checkbox turn over LCD screen, so
SkyDrop can be operated in upside-down position.
8.2.6.Animation checkbox enables smooth switching between
home screens.
8.3. Audio
8.3.1.Vario volume adjust vario sound level (in 10% steps).
8.3.2.Vario mute checkbox turns off vario beeping. This can be
also done by beep widget.
8.3.3.Alert volume adjust sound level of pop-up info
messages.
8.3.4.Menu volume adjust sound level of menu sounds.
8.3.5.Menu Sounds
8.3.5.1. On/Off sound checkbox play sound at startup or
power off sequence.
8.3.5.2. Page sound checkbox informs, which home screen
is currently selected by two beeps of different tone.
8.3.5.3. Button sound checkbox enables beep, when any
button is pressed.
8.3.5.4. GPS ready checkbox enables notification, when
GPS 3D fix is achieved.
8.4. Auto power-off entry definestime while device stays turned
on, if no operation occurred. Auto power-off will not occur
during flight.
8.5. Advanced
8.5.1.Device id shows vario’s serial number.
8.5.2.Mass storage checkbox enables automatic switching to
USBmode afterpluggingUSB cable. Don’t use if you want
charge vario during flight.

8.5.3.Uart function can be used for data streaming by UART
interface. User can choose from several baud rates –
9600, 19200, 38400, 57600 or 115200. UART is using
same protocol as Bluetooth. Debug msg. option runs at
921600 baud rate and is used for development.
8.5.4.Format SD function will erase and format inserted micro
SD card –recommended if any mass storage connection
problem occurs. Format will erase all data including
tracklogs, AGL data or any other files. We recommend to
backup all data files from SD card before performing
format.
8.5.5.Calibration –this submenu contains motion sensors
calibration routines. We recommend to use it, if you feel
that one or more motion sensor based functions are
inaccurate.
8.5.5.1. Accelerometer calibration procedure needs to
define six possible positions in orthogonal system.
Each of these positions, called X+, X-, Y+, Y-, Z+
and Z-, is detected automatically if vario lies still in
given position. Z+ and Z- are level positions, when
vario lies on table (in level) face up or down (LCD
surface is horizontal). Y+ and Y- are positions, when
vario lies on side, where LCD surface and button
row are vertical. X+ and X- are positions, when vario
stays vertically in normal and upside down
positions. LCD surface is then vertical, but button
row is horizontal. Confirmation screen will appear
after successful calibration. Press the middle button
to confirm and save new calibration data.
8.5.5.2. Gyroscope calibration is the easiest from all
sensors. After activation leave SkyDrop in calm
static position while status bar is running. Press the
middle button to confirm and save new calibration
data.

8.5.5.3. Compass calibration needs to turn vario into all
possible positions and rotations. The movementcan
look like making virtual eights in every axis or you
can rotate quickly when hanging on security line.
Keep rotating while vario beeps, each beep means
new maximal compass reading. Again confirm by
the middle button to save new calibration data.
9. Debug (used for development purpose only)
9.1. Firmware info shows installed software version.
9.2. Board rev. info shows main board version, can be 1504 or
1506.
9.3. Debug log checkbox activating log records is used for
debugging and can be checked if our technical support ask
for it.
9.4. Clear log deletesall previously recorded debug log files. We
recommend to use it to clear all previous logs before
activation of logging, if new problem appears.
9.5. Debug GPS checkbox add raw GPS data to UART data
stream.
9.6. Record screen checkbox activates recording all happening
shown on LCD.
smart screen switching
SkyDrop has implemented switching between various home
screens, dependent on situation during flight. There are several
recognizable modes:
●Prepare mode is active after you switch vario on, but before
takeoff.
●Circling mode is detected, if vario GPS heading makes
whole circle. If direction of heading change will switch to
other side, detection is reset. Circling mode will return back
to normal, if there isn’t enough heading change during
Circling timeout time period.

●Normal mode is active while flying, but not circling, neither
acro.
●Acro mode detection is based on G-forcemeasurement and
average sink rate.
●Landed mode is active after landing, detected automatically
or set manually.
Any of home screens can be set for one or more of these modes,
but each mode can be set to only one home screen.We recommend
to set relevant widgets to home screen associated to flight mode,
e.g. Thermal assistant to Circling screen, or Glide ratio to Normal
screen.
bluetooth pairing
SkyDrop vario is equipped with Bluetooth module, which can work
in both SPP and BLE modes. Older Android devices support SPP
only. On theother hand, iPhonessupport only BLE. Modern Android
devices can work with both standards, we recommend to use BLE
mode.
I you want to use SPP you need to pair SkyDrop before thefirst use
in system bluetooth settings. Turn vario on, enable bluetooth and
choose protocol according Android app. Enable bluetooth also on
Android device, go to system bluetooth settings and hit search
button. Wait until SkyDrop SPP appears in list of found devices and
confirm pairing. Then start flight app and connect to the paired
SkyDrop. Don’t connect SkyDrop without previous pairing through
system. It might work, but not always correctly.
If you are using BLE, there is no need to pair the device. Connection
is done through the application.
tracklog download
SkyDrop vario generates KML or IGC tracklog files approved by FAI
Civil class 1 certification, sufficient for the highest level competitions.
All tracklogs are stored on SD card inside vario. To access them,
connect powered off vario via micro USB cable to PC, it will connect
to computer as flash disk, and copy your actual flight log into PC.

There is also possible to download tracklog to mobile phone using
OTG adaptor.
power management
SkyDrop is portable device with rechargeable Li-Poly battery
onboard, which needs time to time to be filled up. You can use any
USB wall charger or another USB host device, even another
portable device with active OTG function. We recommend to fill up
vario before each flight, you never know how far you will fly :)
technical specification
weight & dimensions –68g, 98 x 58 x 20 mm (3.8″ x 2.3″ x 0.8″)
memory –16 GB flash (more than 116k hours of IGC)
USB interface –micro USB 2.0, device only
battery –950 mAh or 2000 mAh (depends on vario model)
operation temperature range –-20 to 45 ºC (0 to 160 ºF)
power consumption –depends on activated functions 7 to 13 or
15 to 28 hours.
package includes
SkyDrop variometer with strap, raiser mount, hook&loop adhesives,
USB cable, printed user guide, stickers.
device update
Please use web based online configurator
vps.skybean.eu/configurator for update or comfortable configuration
of SkyDrop vario:
1.Connect SkyDrop (powered off) to the computer via micro
USB cable. Charging screens will appear and vario will connect
to computer as flash disk (USB mode shown on LCD).
2.If you don’t want to keep your custom settings and just apply
new software using factory settings, please skip step 3. and go
to step 4. directly.

3.After startup, configurator will show the first bookmark menu -
Update wizard. Hit “Load your existing configuration” button,
then select and openconfiguration file CFG.EE from main folder
of connected vario. Configurator will process your custom
settings and include it into new firmware update.
4.Press “Download firmware update” button, or “Download
configuration with firmware” button if you skipped step 3, and
store SKYDROP.FW file into mainfolder of vario. Make sure that
name of file won’t change e.g. to SKYDROP(2).FW or so (this
can happen if old unapplied update files are still in vario’s main
folder).
5.Unplug vario from computer, turn it on and follow instructions
shown on vario’s screen. Press middle button to confirm
question “Update file found. Apply?”, press middle button again
to confirm “Update done. SkyDrop will reboot”. Yellow light will
show up for several seconds while flashing new software.
6.Turn on vario and choose how to set correct date and time. We
recommend to select automatic update from GPS by pressing
the middle button.
Hint: If new firmware update will appear while you are on fly
adventure, you can apply it also from mobile phone using
OTG connection.
important information
By purchasing this device user agrees with terms and conditions of
device operation. SkyDrop variometer is not designed for flying
under instrument flight rules (IFR) in any case. Manufacturer is not
responsible for any accidents or injuries caused by reliance on
information provided by SkyDrop variometer. We highly recommend
to use both hook&loop mount and safety strap when flying with
SkyDrop. Security strap is not unbreakable for your safety, it can
hold at least 8kg oftension, what is more than enough for variobody.
However we did our best to protect device against destruction during
waterlanding, it is not guaranteedand warranty will be void. If device
is broken for any reason, do not hesitate to contact us to solve it.

FAQ / Troubleshooting
If there is something wrong with the device or if you need more
detailed explanation of any function, please visit our FAQ section at
skybean.eu/page/skydrop-frequently-asked-questions
If you cannot findthe answer, do not hesitateto contact us via email.
contact information
email: website:
[email protected] skybean.eu
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youtube.com/c/SkyBeanVarios
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