External hardware

26ActiveLook glasses

Pairing ActiveLook glasses, choosing and editing the screens they show, and adjusting brightness and position.

Works offline

What the glasses give you#

ActiveLook glasses put a small head up display in your field of view, so you can read your climb rate, altitude and glide without looking down at a phone. The app describes the feature as Show live flight data on Engo Eyewear glasses.

Where Settings › ActiveLook glasses

Note

Everything here works over Bluetooth with no internet connection. It does need the Bluetooth permission.

Pairing#

  1. Turn the glasses on and make sure they are in range.
  2. Turn on Enable glasses.
  3. Press Scan and connect. The app shows Scanning for ActiveLook glasses…
  4. Pick your glasses from the list.
Change glasses
Pair a different pair.
Unpair
Forget the current pair.
Send calibration pattern
Displays a test pattern so you can check the image is where you expect.

Caution

If nothing is found, check the message. Bluetooth is not ready. Turn it on and try again. and Bluetooth permission is required to scan for glasses. are different problems with different fixes.

Brightness and position#

Auto brightness
On or off Default: Off
Lets the glasses adjust brightness from ambient light. Turn it on for flights that go from a bright launch into shade, or into evening light.
Brightness
A slider Default: 10
Manual brightness. Disabled while auto brightness is on, when the app notes Brightness is controlled automatically. Set it as low as you can still read. A bright HUD in your eye all flight is tiring.
Screen position
Shifts the image so it sits centered in your eye box. Reset position puts it back. Adjust it once, on the ground, with the calibration pattern showing. It depends on how the glasses sit on your face.
Fig. 26.1ActiveLook settings, with the connection at the top and the screens below.

Changing screens in the air#

Gesture sensor
On or off Default: On
Uses the sensor on the glasses to wake them and cycle screens. Leave it on. It is the only way to change screens without taking a hand off the brakes for long.

The app states the controls as: On the glasses: wave a hand past the optics for the next screen. Button: tap next, double tap back, long press the first screen.

Tip

Long press to jump back to the first screen is the one to memorize. It means you can always get home from wherever you ended up.

Screens#

What appears on the glasses is a set of screens you cycle through. There are built in Standard screens and your own Custom screens.

  1. Open the Screens section.
  2. Use Set as active to choose which screen shows now.
  3. Press Add screen to create a custom one, and give it a Screen name.
  4. Use Rename screen or Reset to default as needed. To delete a custom screen, swipe it left.

A custom screen can be marked as an automatic screen, described as Auto screen, shown automatically when its info is active. Three roles exist.

Auto role Appears when
Auto XC info XC guidance has something to say.
Auto comp info Competition or task information becomes relevant.
Auto alerts An airspace or obstacle alert triggers.

Tip

An auto alerts screen is the single most valuable custom screen. It means an airspace warning reaches your eye even when you are looking at the horizon.

The screen editor#

Edit screen is a small grid. The hint explains it: Tap a tile to choose its metric. Use + to split a row into two, the × to remove a tile.

  1. Press Add row to add a row.
  2. Tap a tile and choose its Metric.
  3. Use + to split a row into two tiles side by side.
  4. Use × to remove a tile.
  5. Set the font size for each element.

Caution

The display is small and monochrome. Two or three large values per screen work. Six small ones do not.