Primarily for general aviation discussion, but other aviation topics are also welcome.
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By GolfHotel
#1672868
UpThere wrote:I've been holding back from ordering one of these until this issue was resolved, but before I do, is there an issue from using it with a basic Mode S transponder? It's been nagging in the back of my mind that I read something in one of the EC threads about this, but I can't find it.

Thanks


If your not using the “out” bit maybe other products would give you more. Stratus3 has other features that you might find useful.
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By UpThere
#1672925
uAvionix-Ramsey wrote:Yes, there is still a restriction against using it in transmit mode simultaneously with a Mode S transponder. You could use it in receive mode only, if you wished to do so.

As most aircraft have a transponder, there doesn't seem to be much point in using a separate EC device which can't transmit its location. Have I misunderstood something?
#1672942
If you are interested in receiving other aircraft targets, ADS-B and FLARM - you may be interested in SE2, Sentry, PAW, Stratux, or any other number of portable receivers. There are 2 parts to SEE and BE SEEN. Sounds like you have BE SEEN covered, especially if you have a GPS associated with your transponder. You may also like to SEE the others.
Flyin'Dutch', T67M, Ian Melville and 2 others liked this
#1673061
UpThere wrote:As most aircraft have a transponder, there doesn't seem to be much point in using a separate EC device which can't transmit its location. Have I misunderstood something?


Do they at the recreational levels? The issue is only for Mode-S anyway, the majority of which can be fed a GPS position (At a cost for EASA aircraft) to output ADSB. I feel sorry for those that were early adopters of Garmin Mode-S kit.
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By T67M
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1673070
Ian Melville wrote:I feel sorry for those that were early adopters of Garmin Mode-S kit.


Indeed - we had a GTX330 (non-ES) in our shareoplane and it was cheaper to trade it in against an Avidyne AXP340 (which comes complete with an STC for ADS-B with the IFD440) than to upgrade to GTX330ES and wait/pay for an STC. The GTX328 owners are in an even worse position.

Garmin certainly went down in my estimation as a result of their approach to ADS-B, and the Avidyne kit has proved to be both more reliable and much easier to use than the Garmin GNS430 and GTN650, both of which I regularly (c)u(r)se in other aircraft that I fly.
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By Paul_Sengupta
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1673112
T67M wrote:Indeed - we had a GTX330 (non-ES) in our shareoplane and it was cheaper to trade it in against an Avidyne AXP340 (which comes complete with an STC for ADS-B with the IFD440) than to upgrade to GTX330ES and wait/pay for an STC. The GTX328 owners are in an even worse position.


GTX328 owners are only in a worse position in that they can't pay the upgrade fee to ES. If they're going to trade in the transponder for something else, they're in exactly the same position as owners of the 330.
By PaulB
#1673385
T67M wrote:The difference is that the GTX330 (non-ES) is virtually worthless as a trade-in. The GTX328 is actually worthless.


Shouldn't that be in the bad joke thread? :lol:
By FlyingPie
#1674344
Tested the new firmware today along with SD (3.11.3.160) it's fixed both my GPS inital lock issue and no more disconnects. Frustrating the delivered unit wasn't tested fully before launch, however glad to have it rectified it a short time frame, well done to the team.

Look forward to a Mode C/S update in the future to really get this extra sets of eyes in the cockpit working to its full potential.
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By Cub
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1674582
I had an unexpected day off today and so having completed the latest SkyEcho upgrades, I took my SE2 and SkyDemon to Lasham in order to investigate FLARM detection. This exercise delivered some interesting results. Firstly, my drive to the airfield, with SE2 mounted on the car windscreen delivered the usual stunning number of ADS-B equipped airliners at considerable range (100nms plus) as well as an encouraging number of GA contacts, given a midweek day in February. I was a little concerned on the approach to Lasham that I didn't detect any FLARM contacts although as I pulled into the car park this was reasonably explained by the fact that I couldn't see any gliders airborne!

Having studied the detected picture whilst stationary in the car, I noted that I was now receiving three FLARM transmissions on the ground. A short walk into the clubhouse for a coffee meant that I mounted the SE2 on the windowsill overlooking the airfield and continued to study SD for detected contacts. At this point, I am still receiving just about every airliner in the southeast of England above 10,000 ft (no exaggeration) and something operating low and slow in the Popham circuit (about 8 miles away). A glider and tug combo started to roll in front of me and SD immediately depicted a pair of FLARM contacts with vector lines diverging away from my position. I was immediately impressed with the resolution, update rate and dynamism of the FLARM contacts in close proximity to my SE2 although I was a little disappointed that both contacts where no longer detected shortly after they crossed the airfield boundary! Careful examination over the next hour or so from my position in the clubhouse confirmed that very little moves gliding wise at Lasham that is not emitting FLARM including the BMW estate and glider trailer that pulled up on the taxiway next to the clubhouse. The detection range of FLARM, however, appeared to be limited to about 1 mile from my position in the clubhouse.

Having finished my coffee, I decided to venture outside to see if this improved FLARM detection. Sat outside on a picnic bench, I placed SE2 flat down on the table top and detection seemed to improve very little from my position in the clubhouse. Detection inside about 1nm was comprehensive and very dynamic although I remain slightly disappointed at FLARM detection range in comparison with ADS-B emitting airframes of all types which were detectable at great range.

I was about to return to my car and picked up the SE2. As I moved the unit, the detected FLARM traffic depicted on SD appeared to increase suddenly. A little experimentation quickly revealed that if I orientated the SE2 unit vertically (presumably reflecting the polarisation of the internal antenna?) the performance with reference to FLARM detection improved dramatically. At this point, I could see (visually) five gliders in the area, all of which were now continuously detected/depicted via SE2/SD. I then spent a few more minutes studying the apparent detection improvement via the reorientation of the SE2 unit.

In summation, FLARM detection and depiction via SE2 and SD certainly works but does appear to be extremely sensitive to the orientation and positioning of the SE2 unit. I guess this is not surprising given the tiny amounts of power emitted by FLARM units in comparison with even GA standalone ADS-B units and that SE2 relies on an internal antenna presumably tuned for ADS-B reception and not optimised for FLARM frequencies? The reality of deploying SE2 to afford me some sense and avoid to enhance see and avoid with reference to gliders, is that with the SE2 unit mounted vertically on the windshield or certainly in clear view at the front of my aircraft, should mean that I detect FLARM emitting contacts ahead of me at a range of at least a couple of miles. Personally, and used in combination with SD's superb conflict prediction algorithms, I feel this would be a significant enhancement to see and avoid with reference to FLARM emitting traffic.

More experimentation and evaluation to follow.
#1674603
Thanks Cub for the detailed report. FLARM and ADS-B reception will be affected by the orientation of the SE2. The installation manual describes that SE2 should be oriented vertically for best reception. Likewise, FLARM reception is expected to be significantly less than ADS-B due to the differences in power output. We expect (and have tested) FLARM reception to be in the 3-5nm range once in the air, which gets you away from much of the ground based interference sources. So your ground based testing in vertical orientation might yield ranges of a couple of miles, perhaps less due to line of sight or local interference. These ranges are not inconsistent with some of the non-powerFLARM based systems.
neilmurg, Cub, TouringTuggy and 1 others liked this
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By neilmurg
#1674628
UpThere wrote:As most aircraft have a transponder, there doesn't seem to be much point in using a separate EC device which can't transmit its location. Have I misunderstood something?
Probably not misunderstood, just not decided whether you think having EC is worthwhile.
SE2 in/out with no transponder = OK
SE2 in/out with Mode C = OK
SE2 in/out with Mode S = not OK officially. Should be just 'in', officially
SE2 in with Mode S-ES = OK you don't need SE2 out, your transponder is doing it
(the SE2 in is presumably providing you with [via Skydemon or other] your EC awareness)

Everyone on ADS-B in/out = the future, maybe, or maybe a scalable, secure upgrade of ADS-B

The question is, what are you going to do NOW? Wait? How long? Is there a benefit available now? Is it worth the cost?

Don't take off and leave fuel you need in the bowser.
Other solutions are available
TouringTuggy liked this
#1674678
Cub wrote:slightly disappointed at FLARM detection range in comparison with ADS-B emitting airframes of all types which were detectable at great range.


For me, I’m happy to get FLARM returns with a 3-5 mile range. I don’t think I will want my screen plastered over with traffic of no immediate relevance to me. I think I recall seeing FLARM traffic on SeeYou (soaring version of SD) at a slightly greater range than this though - but that is traffic received by the FLARM itself rather than through a presumably non optimum receiver in SE2.

I’m looking forward to using SE2 (on order) but other than for testing purposes I think that it is likely I will want traffic filtered down as far as reasonably possible to show only that which might be relevant. I can see in SD we can filter ADS-B returns by height; not sure that we can filter by range too, which I would think might be desirable to declutter the screen... As I say, I’ve not flown with it yet so we will see.
kanga liked this
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