In article ,
"Jim N." wrote:
The downlink systems are really in their infancy, and it is obvious that the
manufacturers are struggling to keep up with the technology, particularly
with the ponderous bureaucratic certification process imposed by the FAA.
There is no "best" established technology.

Weather uplink has been around for a little while, but the certification
process undoubtedly adds quite a bit of delay and, obviously, quite a
bit of cost. That's why the non-certified portable systems (whether
from Garmin, WxWorx, or a PDA software vendor) have eclipsed the
certified systems when it comes to weather uplink.

The "rat's nest of wires" really isn't the case so much anymore with the
portable systems. With some simple cable management for power, I can
get pretty close to no visible wires. Obviously not as clean as having
everything tucked into the panel, but far from a "rat's nest," and a
heck of a lot less expensive for the exact same information, which is
probably the single largest reason why I invested in a portable system
(it never leaves the airplane).


JKG