I've been flying with a Proxalert R-5 for over 5 years. It displays the
squawk code of the threat aircraft so I can tell, at least near Minden, if
it's a glider (0440) or someone not talking to ATC (1200), or if the other
aircraft *is* talking to ATC (discreet code) and thus likely has been told
about me.
The R5's ability to display squawk appears to be not enough of an advantage
to overcome its more expensive price tag and larger form factor as compared
to the diminutive and more popular ZAON
I wonder if enough people asked them to add squawk code display, ZAON would
add that to there next model. I'd buy one.
bumper
"Eric Greenwell" wrote in message
news:Z2UVi.4372$pT.572@trndny07...
Andy wrote:
On Oct 29, 1:14 pm, Eric Greenwell wrote:
If gliders everywhere were assigned a separate code, like the 0440 in
Minden, it might be a much easier task. Nearby gliders would not
generate alerts, for example, while airplanes using the 1200 code would
be.
The Zaon MRX does not do anything with the squawk code except to
report the host aircraft code. Target tracking and reporting is based
only on signal strength which is interpreted as target distance.
Based on the the designers response to intelligent muting I have no
doubt that intelligent muting based on squawk code would be a non-
starter.
It was a general observation that applies to transponder detectors. I
think it would require less processing power and provide better muting if
the unit could determine which threat was a glider and which was an
airplane.
I would like to hear from MRX-equipped (or similar units) pilots that fly
with other gliders equipped with transponders. I've done a limited amount
of it, and with only a few gliders at a time. By setting the altitude
warning band tighter and ocasionally using the mute button on the MRX
(though I'd like the mute to automatically reset after 5 or 10 minutes), I
wasn't bothered by excessive alerts.
--
Eric Greenwell - Washington State, USA
* Change "netto" to "net" to email me directly
* "Transponders in Sailplanes" http://tinyurl.com/y739x4
* "A Guide to Self-launching Sailplane Operation" at www.motorglider.org