TF wrote:
Decision time. Do I go for a panel mounted GDL69a in my 77 Mooney (MX20)
for a big price tag. Or do I do the cheap and cheerful 486 portable route
? Seems on a cost basis that the 486 is the choice . Why wouldn't you ?

I like the integrated approach for the neatness factor. No wires hanging
about. The weather will be overlayed on my flight plan with one place to
look.

Any comments ? Thanks.

Seems to me you've already pretty well laid out the arguments. Neatness
vs. cost.

You probably mean 496.

In my Mooney I have a 396 on the yoke with a custom-made cable and
connector so the 396 gets flight plan data from the panel-mounted
GNS480. Also power for the 396 from the same cable, and audio from the
396 ("Terrain! Terrain! Pull up! PULL UP!") to the audio panel via the
same cable. That eliminates a lot of the cable craziness, but I still
have the GPS and wx antenna cables going up to the antennas on the
glareshield.

Not sure whether there are any subscription costs associated with the
GDL69. The XM weather is $30/mo (or $50/mo if you want the full-up
subscription). I assume you already have a subscription cost for the
MX20 plus whatever GPS you have installed. Whew.

Does the GDL69 give you ADS-B equivalent weather (or maybe it *is*
ADS-B)?... in which case you get traffic in addition to weather(?).

Dave