Bluetooth support for ADSB - iFly Wish-List - iFly EFB

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HomeHomeDiscussionsDiscussionsiFly Wish-ListiFly Wish-ListBluetooth support for ADSBBluetooth support for ADSB
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10/2/2012 1:52 PM
 

It seems sagetech isn't going to be delivering an ADSB product anytime soon and cancelled my preorder. Soooo I started looking for an alternative solution with similar features. I came across the Dual XGPS170. I already have an duse an XGPS150 which they will be offering a trade-up program. Only these devices are Bluetooth. There are many Bluetooth USB adapters that will fit nicely into the usb port on the ifly. Can you consider adding support for this in an near future upgrade? Preferably before next year?

 
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10/2/2012 3:06 PM
 

Jon,

We've tried several different BT adapters and none seem to play nice. Have you looked at the iLevil, coming out this month and next. There are a lot of ADS-B receivers coming out. Most of the other brands have gone with Wi-Fi for ADS-B, like SkyRadar, NavWorx, Sagetech, Stratus, FreeFlight, iLevel and other. Dual and Garmin have gone with the Bluetooth to be different and split the competition. I think you will find Wi-Fi to be a more solid and transparent connection.


Shane Woodson
Vice President | Adventure Pilot LLC.
 
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10/2/2012 3:38 PM
 
Shane wrote:

Jon,

We've tried several different BT adapters and none seem to play nice. Have you looked at the iLevil, coming out this month and next. There are a lot of ADS-B receivers coming out. Most of the other brands have gone with Wi-Fi for ADS-B, like SkyRadar, NavWorx, Sagetech, Stratus, FreeFlight, iLevel and other. Dual and Garmin have gone with the Bluetooth to be different and split the competition. I think you will find Wi-Fi to be a more solid and transparent connection.

Shane, The ilevil looks to be a bit pricey at over $1200 for its features. But I do like the solar panel feature assuming that extends the 6 hour battery life. Just not worth the extra $500-$600 for that. Also for that price it's plane-to-plane tis-b is limited to the low altitude frequency which isn't going to be much use (my technical opinion). The Dual is also low altitude but only 1/2 the price. I had a couple of chances to fly with a pre-release Dual using my wingx app on the ipad and it works flawlessly and without all the bulk, antenna's and wires of the skyradar. My experience has been the opposite over the past couple of years. Bluetooth has been solid without all the connection issues of wifi. My ipad goes into fbo's connects to wifi and never loses a beat or connection to any bluetooth device including the xgps170 or my xgps150 which I'm planning to trade up. Having to toggle the wifi connection for my skyradar on my ipad AND ifly is just a hassle and hasn't been 100% reliable. On the ifly I sometimes have to remove the skyradar from the wifi list and select it again, a trick suggested by ed and walt. Worse this sometimes has to be done in flight after I realize at altitude when I should be receiving it still isn't connected, or for what ever reason connected properly! Bluetooth = Set it and forget Wifi = Plug and Pray
 
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10/2/2012 4:12 PM
 

Jon,

Very true that it is more pricey. Keep in mind that it also provide the AHR-S which will give you a full gyro driven Artificial Horizon on the iFly 720, tbd on the 700. Also, many ADS-B guys will tell you if your going to get the best bang for your buck and gain the most functionality out of the "2020 ADS-B Out" mandate, get the ADS-B with 978 and 1090 bands, basically dual band. The Mandate is only for "Out" and has nothing to do with "in" or being able to receive it. An ADS-B Transceiver is really the way to go if you want to get the best Traffic coverage.

The short story is that I wouldn't put to much faith in the ADS-B traffic with only a receiver as this time. Your only going to see a very limited picture. The network is being built based on a Ground to Plane and Plane to Plane network functionality. The ADS-B outs there are, the better the coverage. But if you can't receive Plane to Plane, you'll be more in the dark. In that case, I'd just recommend the ADS-B for Weather, not traffic.

I tend to think have the dual band just sets you up for the best possible scenario come 2020, especially if you ever fly in Class B or a Mode C veil. Plane to Plane at lower altitudes will become very handy as we get closer to 2020 and more aircraft have the ADS-B out. It's all a matter of preference and avoiding needing something later when services expand.

As for having to remove the SkyRadar from your wi-fi list, you might contact Ed to make sure you have the latest OS, there were some Wi-Fi fixes to the 720. Either way you go, just be safe and keep your eye outside the cockpit.


Shane Woodson
Vice President | Adventure Pilot LLC.
 
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10/4/2012 11:05 PM
 

Shane,

I have os 1.0.1.15 which I understand from Ed is your latest. This version still has wifi connection issues which have been reported.

 
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