On Friday, August 28, 2015 at 2:28:53 PM UTC-4, Dan Daly wrote:
Or tell me why I should get the core instead.

Core. Transmitted power 18 mW (vs 10 mW for Portable). Better options for antenna placement (gps, FLARM, PCAS). Can be remotely located out of sight. Cheaper.

"Cheaper" gets my attention. And I agree the new cost is higher for the Portable. But the used market (thin though it seems to be) seems to reverse that. Of course, if the only response I get is people persuading me that the core is better, that's irrelevant.

Regarding higher transmitted power, the farther out someone sees me, the better off I am. But with respect to my ability to see and take evasive action, reception is more important, right? Seems like if I'm worried about being seen, a transponder or ADS-B Out is more appropriate

Locating it remotely is better, but then I would need to buy and mount a FlarmView or other screen, whereas the portable already has it (albeit without some of the features, including audio alerts, of the core/FlarmView combo).

Same question about antennas as with Richard's response: why is the core better? Doesn't the portable give me the option to mount all the antennas on the box (a nice feature) or--just like the core--to locate any or all of them remotely? I feel like I'm probably missing something here since you've both mentioned this as a plus.

Chip