Data Logger

Updated: May 11, 2021

Data Logger is a simple Python script running on the Raspberry Pi FDR unit. The script reads data from the SQLite database every five seconds (configurable) and writes it into the text file (.csv) for analysis in Excel or similar applications.

A new .csv file created at the first startup of the day.

The file name looks like this fdr_2019-08-04.csv

It is recommended to cleanup the folder where the system creates the files (~/fdr_data/) from time to time to ensure the SD card has some free disk space. In the future versions an auto-cleanup functionality will be implemented.

 

You can download the most recent source code from GitHub:
https://github.com/ExperimentalAvionics/FDR

 

Instructions

Assuming you already have Python installed, please open the terminal window and perform the following steps:

Create the FDR folder in your home directory

cd ~
mkdir fdr
cd fdr

Download the fdr.py script and place it to the the folder you have just created

Create a folder for the data files

cd ~
mkdir fdr_data

 

Configure the fdr.py script to start automatically

Create a config file:

sudo nano /etc/systemd/system/FDR.service

Copy-paste the following text into the file:

[Unit]
Description=Get Flight Data Recorder service running at boot
After=CAN_Listener.service

[Service]
ExecStart=/usr/bin/python3 /home/pi/fdr/fdr.py
Restart=always
RestartSec=3
StandardOutput=syslog
StandardError=syslog
SyslogIdentifier=FDR
User=pi
Group=pi

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

Enable the service:

sudo systemctl enable FDR.service

Start the service:

sudo systemctl start FDR.service

Check the status:

systemctl status FDR.service