The first steps regarding the software of your glide computer

Preparing the micro SD card

Before you can use the OpenVario glide computer, you need to flash the Linux image to the micro SD card. This image includes the Linux operating system, display settings and XCSoar. The OpenVario will not boot without this SD card

How to flash the image to the SD card?

  1. Download the tool balenaEtcher here.
  2. Download the latest OpenVario image from this page. [detailed description below]
  3. Start the tool balena Etcher.
  4. Select „Flash from file“ and select the downloaded OpenVario image file. There is no need to manually unzip the file. Etcher will do this for you.
  5. Select the correct SD card. Be careful to select the correct one, the files will be deleted on the SD card!
  6. Hit „Flash!“ and wait a moment to flash the image.
  7. Now you can install the SD card in your OpenVario and start the device.

Which OpenVario image should you download?

You will find two important information in the file name of the downlaod link. The display type:

  • For the 5.7″ OpenVario by SteFly, please use the image with „…-openvario-57-lvds.rootfs.img.gz“ file name.
  • For the 7″ OpenVario by SteFly, please use the image with „…-openvario-7-CH070.rootfs.img.gz“ file name.

The XCSoar version:

  • Last official release
  • Testing image (…testing… in file name)

Our experience is that you can use the latest XCSoar testing image without any bigger problems.

Latest image for 5.7″ OpenVario:

Latest image for 7″ OpenVario:

Software overview

After powering on the device, the display should get bright after a few seconds and the OpenVario boots up. XCSoar starts automatically.

But after a short test of XCSoar you can make some further adjustments in the software. Therefor power the device off and restart it. The OV-Menu can be accessed by pressing the “ESC”-key during boot, while the progress-bar is visible.

For a detailed overview of the OpenVario menu, have a look at the video (click on picture) or follow this link: OV-Menu

What you should setup:

  • Display rotation
  • Language (only English or Germany available)
  • Calibrating pressure sensors

Than you should upload some files with USB stick:

  • Maps
  • Waypoints
  • Airspace

The USB-stick for the OpenVario must be formatted as FAT32. The stick requires a certain directory tree structure to be operational. Have a look at this page: OpenVario USB-Stick