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TimTaylor

By TimTaylor
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gbigs

gbigs

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How are you guys using a device like this?  Are you after the NEXRAD weather?  Some criticize the weather product but it's fine as long as you accept the potential 5 minute delay in the sweeps.  Since this is a portable are you just trying to get weather onto a tablet?

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Flying Bozo

Flying Bozo

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I have had mine operating in my CT now for about a year since I first posted it as a kit on this forum. It works just great and is totally transparent and requires nothing once you hook it up to power. Mine is behind the panel totally out of sight.

You get all that was mentioned above (NEXRAD, Metars, TAFs, pilot reports, ASOS, AWOS, some traffic, TFRs, winds.) ant it comes right into your display. My display is an IFLY 720 but most others will work. All you have to do one time is tell your display to look for the Stratux signal one time and that is it. 

Five minute old weather??? I think it continually updates!.

Larry

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gbigs

gbigs

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NEXRAD, Metars, TAFs, pilot reports, ASOS, AWOS, some traffic, TFRs, winds.

 

The Stratux works very well, as good or better than any other ADS-B in device for much less cost.

 

Metars, TAFs, PIREPS, AWOS, and winds are available already on a GPS tablet running Garmin Pilot or Foreflight...the Nexrad weather is only available via ADS-B in, true.  So is this the primary reason you want to carry another portable piece of gear in the cockpit?  Just for the weather?

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gbigs

gbigs

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I have had mine operating in my CT now for about a year since I first posted it as a kit on this forum. It works just great and is totally transparent and requires nothing once you hook it up to power. Mine is behind the panel totally out of sight.

You get all that was mentioned above (NEXRAD, Metars, TAFs, pilot reports, ASOS, AWOS, some traffic, TFRs, winds.) ant it comes right into your display. My display is an IFLY 720 but most others will work. All you have to do one time is tell your display to look for the Stratux signal one time and that is it. 

Five minute old weather??? I think it continually updates!.

Larry

 

ADS-B Nexrad weather has a five minute or more (even up to 20 minutes) delay. 

 

You may want to read this NTSB safety bulletin:  http://generalaviationnews.com/2012/06/20/ntsb-issues-safety-alert-on-limitations-of-cockpit-weather-displays/

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Flying Bozo

Flying Bozo

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Well GBIGS, as I mentioned it is behind the panel and therefore is not sitting around the cockpit as a portable device. You certainly have a lot of electronic gear in your plane that I do not have so maybe you don't need it at all. Others would only need it if they were lesser equipped like my CT is. So this post probably is of no interest to you since it would only be redundant in your plane. For me it is a very useful tool and anyone else who does not have all the stuff that you do. When I posted that about a year ago I gave the information on putting the kit together for around $100 which I did.

Larry.

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gbigs

gbigs

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Well GBIGS, as I mentioned it is behind the panel and therefore is not sitting around the cockpit as a portable device. You certainly have a lot of electronic gear in your plane that I do not have so maybe you don't need it at all. Others would only need it if they were lesser equipped like my CT is. So this post probably is of no interest to you since it would only be redundant in your plane. For me it is a very useful tool and anyone else who does not have all the stuff that you do. When I posted that about a year ago I gave the information on putting the kit together for around $100 which I did.

Larry.

 

I had a CT with Dynon ADS-B...I bought it equipped like that not knowing what ADS-B was (it was not 2020 compliant because the Garmin 796 was a portable, the GPS/WAAS part). 

 

I never brought up the Nexrad weather though.  But the alerts were useful.  Before buying the Cirrus I have now I told them I would not buy a plane without ADS-B in/out 2020 compliant. 

 

I am a big advocate of ADS-B....and I did not buy the XM weather products though the factory offered it at a discount because I knew the free Nexrad stuff would be fine....and it has been.  I was just curious why you guys are going for a portable unit which is not compliant and has no "out" part.  But I guess the answer is you are just going for the weather etc.

 

Are you guys flying where in-cockpit weather is an issue?  The CT is not an IFR plane....again, just curious.

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FlyingMonkey

FlyingMonkey

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How are you guys using a device like this?  Are you after the NEXRAD weather?  Some criticize the weather product but it's fine as long as you accept the potential 5 minute delay in the sweeps.  Since this is a portable are you just trying to get weather onto a tablet?

 

XM Weather has the same delay, it's just the nature of Nexrad weather.  Some say that the XM display has better resolution, but I think if you are using the product the way you should use it, they are both fine.  If you are looking to thread the needle between strong cells as the ceilings drop behind you, no Nexrad setup will help you, because you are just doing it wrong.  :)

 

The XM on my 496 does cost $35/month, so if you spend $50-100 on a Stratux, PingBuddy, or other ADS-B in product, it can pay for itself pretty quickly.  You do have to deal with batteries, wires, etc in the cockpit, which is a hassle.  I am going to stick with my XM until I upgrade to full ADS-B (probably Garmin GTX 345)and get a new GPS to replace the 496 (probably Garmin Aera 660).

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FlyingMonkey

FlyingMonkey

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Five minute old weather??? I think it continually updates!.

 

 

It continually updates, but because of equipment delays between satellites, towers, etc. it can be up to 15 minutes stale by the time you see it on your display.  Usually it's much less than that, but you have to be aware that it *can* be behind by a bit.  

 

That said, every time I have used the XM Nexrad in my airplane, every cell it painted was pretty much right where it showed on the display.  I think normally it's dead on.

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FlyingMonkey

FlyingMonkey

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Are you guys flying where in-cockpit weather is an issue?  The CT is not an IFR plane....again, just curious.

 

The one time the weather was invaluable for me was coming back from Page though a big line of weather, with less than ten miles visibility.  There were plenty of big gaps to go through, but the XM weather showed us exactly where they were and the best routes to take.  It gave us enough warning that we could take action before actually seeing the weather.  I'd call Bill (in another CTSW) on the radio and say "there's a cell about fifteen miles out, come right about ten degrees," and a few minutes later we'd see the rain shaft and miss it easily.

 

Basically you use the weather when VFR to make sure you stay VFR.

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gbigs

gbigs

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XM Weather has the same delay, it's just the nature of Nexrad weather.  Some say that the XM display has better resolution, but I think if you are using the product the way you should use it, they are both fine.  If you are looking to thread the needle between strong cells as the ceilings drop behind you, no Nexrad setup will help you, because you are just doing it wrong.   :)

 

The XM on my 496 does cost $35/month, so if you spend $50-100 on a Stratux, PingBuddy, or other ADS-B in product, it can pay for itself pretty quickly.  You do have to deal with batteries, wires, etc in the cockpit, which is a hassle.  I am going to stick with my XM until I upgrade to full ADS-B (probably Garmin GTX 345)and get a new GPS to replace the 496 (probably Garmin Aera 660).

 

There are some big differences between XM WX and FIS-B’s Nexrad. Both providers use composite reflectivity scans.  But FIS-B begins assembling its imagery after  each radar site completes a full scan of all radar antenna angles.  Up to 12 different scan angles.  As a result, the images from the scans can be 5 to 20 minutes old before they are made into a mosaic and beamed up to the cockpit. XM WX checks each radar site every 5 minutes, and begins making its images using the latest sweep of the antenna. Then it adds the scans from the previous 5 minutes to make what it calls a “rolling” composite mosaic. SiriusXM says its Nexrad images are never more than 5 minutes old.

 

Finally, XM WX offers better image quality than FIS-B Nexrad, with 2-km resolution over the entire United States and Canada.  And as you know XM has a monthly subscription and Nexrad is "free."  Choosing Nexrad means flying with longer image delays and lower image quality.  But that may be enough for most and it is what I am going with for now.

 

The needle example was about altitude, not dodging IMC.  We cruised between 14,500 and 12,500 on the route back from Diluth to Reno.  We did a little turn South and flew over Bravo SLC at 14,500 in order to avoid clouds North and South of the airport but it meant we had to fly a narrow corridor between two restricted areas West of SLC.  Of course pitot heat and the de-icing system were necessary on the entire flight given the OAT was -10c and there was snow and ice on the route.

 

Again, the point is you can't make these flights in the CT at all.  And if you are dodging around convective weather using your Nexrad images in the CT during spring/summer in the East and South then you are tempting fate.

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WmInce

WmInce

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. . . if you are dodging around weather using your Nexrad images in the CT you are toying with fate.

Hardly.

If your implication of "dodging" is meant as going around or avoidance, that is exactly what XM and NEXRAD is good for. What they display . . . should be visually confirmed!

One peek out the window, is worth a thousands sweeps on a weather display. That especially applies to light sport pilots.

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Flying Bozo

Flying Bozo

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Tim, I am with you but got tired of arguing. I have 100 bucks in the one I have put together and it works great....FOR FREE.. OK, OK it is not the Holy Grail but sure is a long way from nothing which is what I had before. This thing talks to my EFB and shows all the stuff mentioned above, again for free, not $35 per month. As I stated there are no wires hanging around since it is mounted behind my panel with velcro totally transparent to the pilot or passenger. What a no brainer!. You stuck in there with the argument and made lots of good points. Bravo!

Larry

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