Low cost ADS-B Options

I have to agree with Darryl on this.

It's great see cheaper ADS-B Out GPS sources coming out to provide better position reporting to ATC and a way for gliders to light up TIS-B services and ADS-B In on other aircraft.

What's missing is a suitable commercially available dual-band ADS-B In box that receives 1090ES, UAT (if anybody is equipping with UAT), is TIS-B compatible AND puts out NMEA sentences so you can look at traffic on your Oudie, ClearNav, LX or other glider flight computer display. I'm not going to mess around in my cockpit with glide computers as well as an iPad running Foreflight.

Even if an NMEA ADS-B box were available for sale it still would only provide traffic alerts based on general proximity. I am not aware of any software currently in existence that does anything more than warn of traffic in a big hockey puck of airspace around you. None of it does collision course estimation or real collision warning to my knowledge and even if one of the GA solutions did attempt such a feat it seems unlikely that it would be optimized to not drive you up the wall with collision warnings the second you got into a thermal with another glider. Flarm does a pretty good job with both collision alarming for maneuvering gliders and filtering out nearby, but non-conflicting gliders.

I have a home-brew ADS-B receiver running a modified version of Stratux to output NMEA to my flight computer, but I think of it as a complement to Flarm, certainly not a substitute. A cheaper GPS source that works with Trig transponders will make a big difference in terms of making ADS-B In reliable since I won't have to depend on ADS-B Out from other passing aircraft to light up TIS-B traffic reporting from the ADS-B ground infrastructure, but we are still a ways from having a good ADS-B In solution for gliders - other than Flarm.

9B

On Sunday, July 31, 2016 at 2:04:41 PM UTC-7, Darryl Ramm wrote:

I am not following what you are thinking. This is not direct competition for FLARM/PowerFLARM. This is an 1090ES Out ADS-B + source solution. It is a great thing to see happening, but it does not include any ADS-B In capability. ADS-B In solutions exist for GA but won't work at all as well as FLARM for many glider pilots, are not designed for high-traffic density glider on glider type scenarios, and won't easily fit in/integrate with most glider cockpits/avionics.

This ADS-B Out solution is great for providing visibility to ATC and GA aircraft equipped with ADS-B In (preferably 1090ES In). Another benefit of 1090ES Out carriage is it will provide longer distance visibility to PowerFLARM equipped gliders, which might appeal to some folks, like those buddy flying (PowerFLARM systems sold in the USA include 1090ES reception as standard). Maybe the best thing about this is its another sign ADS-B things are moving and that there are hopefully reasonable cost solutions coming for some clubs and FBOs that have to equip their towplanes with ADS-B Out to meed 2020 carriage mandates... and equipping them with affordable 1090ES Out is great for compatibility with gliders with powerFLARM and it's 1090ES In capability.