On Tuesday, March 1, 2016 at 4:45:43 PM UTC-8, 2G wrote:
I confirmed with the FAA recently what others have said here befo after 1/1/2020 glider flight at altitudes 10,000 ft and above AND above 2,500 ft AGL WILL require ADS-B out.

This is incorrect. And yes it's been claimed before on r.a.s. and folks like me have spent time correcting that misinoamtion. Did you bother to read any og that past stuff before postign yet tagaint he same wrng claim?

Who exactly from the FAA told you this? What is their role/position/department? Got a phone number I'll be happy to contact them and correct their confusion.

The "dummies" explanation of this is the14 CFR workinf for cartirate reuqroetmsn and glider exntpiosm fro ADS-B Out basically mirros the same reqikanmta and exmaptiosn for teansponders. if the ADS-B reuglations meant gliders needed ADS-B out above 10,000' then we would have had to been carryign transpodners above 10,000', and we don't... right.

Did you actually try to carefully read 14 CFR 91.225? I understand that reading CFRs is not fun but you have to switch on the part of your brain that can processes nonsense and work thought carefully exactly what the lawyer writing some regulation meant. The wording that confuses people is this one...

"(e) The requirements of paragraph (b) of this section do not apply to any aircraft that was not originally certificated with an electrical system, or that has not subsequently been certified with such a system installed, including balloons and gliders. These aircraft may conduct operations without ADS-B Out in the airspace specified in paragraphs (d)(2) and (d)(4) of this section. Operations authorized by this section must be conducted--
(1) Outside any Class B or Class C airspace area; and
(2) Below the altitude of the ceiling of a Class B or Class C airspace area designated for an airport, or 10,000 feet MSL, whichever is lower."

The clause here about 10,000' or lower applies to the below the ceiling of class B or C airport, not in general. it's not too hard to work out. It's not a separate clause, its a qualifier on the opening of that sentence talking about below the altitude of Class B or C airspace. They just don't want non-ADS-B out aircraft near Class B or C airspace.

Note the nearly exact same wording here as the exemption for transponder carriage in 14 CFR § 91.215 (b)(3)

"(ii) Below the altitude of the ceiling of a Class B or Class C airspace area designated for an airport or 10,000 feet MSL, whichever is lower; and"

All yes, this exactly has been discussed out on r.a.s. before...

The only good news that I got is that the FAA is actively looking at low-cost, low-power GPS sources for the GPS part of ADS-B out.

That would be TSO-C199/TABS devcices that have been posted about here a lot.. If you are going to sleep through the movie you are going to miss a lot....

Flying in the high desert West will effectively be grounded w/o ADS-B out compliance after 1/1/2020.

Bull****, no it won't, not currently. If gliders lose their current ADS-B Out exemption it may become an issue.

I already have a Mode-S ES (extended squitter) transponder (Trig TT-21), but have struggled to find a suitable certified GPS. Yes, there are units out there, but there size would choke an elephant! Typically, they are 5.5" x 6.5" x 2.3" (give or take half an inch). I don't know about the rest of you, but fitting a monster like that into my panel just ain't happening.

As discussed elsewhere in this thread, your TT-21 cannot be used to meet ADS-B Out 2020 carriage mandate requirements (which gliders are currently exempt from).

The size of a complaint (e.g. TSO-C145c or equivalent) GPS is really not the issue. Why would you fit it "in your panel"? That GPS box and antenna could be installed in many locations in a typical glider. The significant issue is likely cost and maybe power consumption.

And asking for advice about GPS units for a certain ADS-B Out system, and thinking you have much choice, may be a waste of time, certainly for certified gliders. *** Go ask the ADS-B Out manufacturer what you are allowed to use--and do what they say***. In a certified glider or any other aircraft you do not have an arbitrary choice of what GPS to install with what ADS-B Out system. Anybody planning to do an install should check with the transponder manufacturer and the A&P/avionics shop who is going to do the install and obtain FAA field approval for the install. You need to correct setup documentation from the manufacturer and the FAA FSDO will likely want to see that documentation/previous STC approval of the same GPS and ADS-B-Out pairing. And yes all this has been discussed on r.a.s before as well...

Does anybody know of a smaller solution?

The solution is to stop worrying about thing that are not issues, and wait and see what happens with glider carriage exemptions and with TABS/TSO-C199 regulations and devices.