XMRadio Satellite Weather Has Arrived

Thanks. Now I just wish they would answer my email about
availability, pricing, and where to order.

-Nathan


"Richard Kaplan" wrote in message news:527867a3e5debdcaa47a43662d41a518@TeraNews.. .
"Nathan Young" wrote in message
om...
Do you know if the WxWorx software has provisions to accept an NMEA
GPS input from a serial port? It would be nice to see the weather
displayed track-up and relative to present position.

Yes, it does indeed have this provision.. that is an extra $100 or so as a
software feature. For most handheld GPS systems you can use the NMEA/serial
cable you normally use to update your GPS database.

Have you been ableto obtain any hard specs on the system? The two reps I
spoke to at their both were the most clueless inndividuals I've ever seen
rep'ing a vendor at OSH. For instance, they didn't know what I meant by
"baud rate." Thus I was highly skeptical of some things they told me: that
the WxWorx radar map resolution is 1/4 mile, and that their two satellites'
radiated power is 10,000 watts.
--
Dan
C172RG at BFM

Clipped from a sci.space.news posting about 'Rock' and 'Roll' - the
two XM Radio satellites... 10,000 watts may not be accurate, but it
isn't too far off...


The XM "Rock" satellite has two 16.4 ft folding deployable S-band
transmit
reflectors and one X-band global receive antenna. The satellite spans
132.5
feet in length and 46.6 feet in width, with antennas fully deployed,
and has
a total spacecraft power of 18 kilowatts. To generate such high power,
each
of the satellite's two solar wings employ five panels of
high-efficiency,
dual-junction gallium arsenide solar cells developed by Spectrolab,
Inc., a
Boeing Satellite Systems subsidiary.

To provide 15 years' service, the Boeing 702 carries the flight-proven
xenon
ion propulsion system (XIPS), built by Boeing Electron Dynamics
Devices,
another Boeing Satellite Systems subsidiary, for all on-orbit
maneuvering.
The satellite carries a digital audio radio payload which features two
active transponders generating approximately 3,000 watts of radio
frequency
power, making these the most powerful commercial transponders ever
built.
Rock is operating in a geosynchronous orbit at 85 degrees West
longitude and
weighs approximately 10,284 pounds (4,666 kg) at launch.



"Dan Luke" wrote in message ...
Have you been ableto obtain any hard specs on the system? The two reps I
spoke to at their both were the most clueless inndividuals I've ever seen
rep'ing a vendor at OSH. For instance, they didn't know what I meant by
"baud rate." Thus I was highly skeptical of some things they told me: that
the WxWorx radar map resolution is 1/4 mile, and that their two satellites'
radiated power is 10,000 watts.

I'm not sure I understand the discussion on DC voltage converters. I
currently have XM radio in my 28v plane, but the radio runs on 6 volts, so I
use an inverter to connect to the AC plug. Is it possible to get a 28v
cigarette lighter adaptor to cut the voltage to 6 volts directly? It would
be nice to eliminate the inverter.

The XM radio works great in the plane- CD quality stereo sound and over 100
channels with no drop outs in reception. It connected directly to my stereo
input.

Regarding weather, I'm waiting for Garmin to come up with an effective
interface with their 430/530, which is what they plan for the 1000. It'll
make the GDL 49 look like something from the stone age. The iPAQ/PC/GPS
combinations take a lot of wires and connections, as seen at OSH. Even the
Garmin reps admit that the GDL 49 left a lot to be desired.

How about satellite radio and real time weather all displayed on a Garmin
430/530 (the antennas are the same)?

"Viperdoc" wrote in message
...
I'm not sure I understand the discussion on DC voltage converters. I
currently have XM radio in my 28v plane, but the radio runs on 6 volts, so
I
use an inverter to connect to the AC plug. Is it possible to get a 28v
cigarette lighter adaptor to cut the voltage to 6 volts directly? It would
be nice to eliminate the inverter.

I'm not sure you will find one on the market. If you wanted to build it
yourself, you need to know the current flow in milliamperes (or amps) used
by the radio. That may be written on the ID plate or in the unit's specs.
For illustration, let's presume it is 150 milliamps. The supply voltage is
28 (actually closer to 32 without a load) so you need to drop 22 volts in a
resistor. You can calculate the required resistance by dividing the voltage
to drop (22) by the current flow (0.150) = 146.67 ohms. Round it up to 150.
Since it is going to dissipate energy in the form of heat, you need to know
the wattage or the product of current and voltage = 3.3 Watts. To be on the
safe side, you need to at least double that to 6.6 and round up to 10W. The
next safety feature would be an in-line fuse, but that's optional since you
can yank the connector out of the lighter socket.
Cut one of the pair of wires coming out of the connector and put the
10W, 150 ohm resistor in series. The typical night-light for the kid's
bedroom is 7.5W. Stick your finger up against one that has been on for a
couple of minutes and imagine about half that heat. That's what the
resistor is going to heat up to. The point is, keep your fingers off of it
when it's plugged in. Oh, that reminds me, don't wrap it up in foam -- the
heat needs to dissipate.

"Ray Andraka" wrote in message
...
I wouldn't do it with just a dropping resistor. The current on the data
plate
is typically the maximum current. Additionally, if you look at the
current over
time you'll likely find that it fluctuates rapidly, especially in a
digital
radio like the XM radio. Instead, your cable needs a voltage regulator.
This
can be as simple as a zener diode and a resistor if the power dissipated
is
small. A better regulator would be one that uses a switching regulator as
a
DC-DC converter. You can get switching regulator modules with 28v input
and one
of a variety of output voltages from a number of vendors. I'm sure
Digikey has
a few of these modules. You'd have to add a case, wires, a fuse and
connectors.

I use Datel DC-DC converters in current avionics designs.

Your other option is to add a zener diode to the simple resistor circuit,
but now I am out in Jim Weir land and I will now retreat. (run away

Casey Wilson wrote:

"Viperdoc" wrote in message
...
I'm not sure I understand the discussion on DC voltage converters. I
currently have XM radio in my 28v plane, but the radio runs on 6
volts, so
I
use an inverter to connect to the AC plug. Is it possible to get a 28v
cigarette lighter adaptor to cut the voltage to 6 volts directly? It
would
be nice to eliminate the inverter.

I'm not sure you will find one on the market. If you wanted to
build it
yourself, you need to know the current flow in milliamperes (or amps)
used
by the radio. That may be written on the ID plate or in the unit's
specs.
For illustration, let's presume it is 150 milliamps. The supply voltage
is
28 (actually closer to 32 without a load) so you need to drop 22 volts
in a
resistor. You can calculate the required resistance by dividing the
voltage
to drop (22) by the current flow (0.150) = 146.67 ohms. Round it up to
150.
Since it is going to dissipate energy in the form of heat, you need to
know
the wattage or the product of current and voltage = 3.3 Watts. To be on
the
safe side, you need to at least double that to 6.6 and round up to 10W.
The
next safety feature would be an in-line fuse, but that's optional since
you
can yank the connector out of the lighter socket.
Cut one of the pair of wires coming out of the connector and put the
10W, 150 ohm resistor in series. The typical night-light for the kid's
bedroom is 7.5W. Stick your finger up against one that has been on for a
couple of minutes and imagine about half that heat. That's what the
resistor is going to heat up to. The point is, keep your fingers off of
it
when it's plugged in. Oh, that reminds me, don't wrap it up in foam --
the
heat needs to dissipate.

--
--Ray Andraka, P.E.
President, the Andraka Consulting Group, Inc.
401/884-7930 Fax 401/884-7950
email
http://www.andraka.com

"They that give up essential liberty to obtain a little
temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."
-Benjamin Franklin, 1759

"Richard Kaplan" wrote

I bought at Oshkosh ($49) a rechargeable 12V battery with 7 Amp-hour
endurance and a cigarette lighter adaptor output. This can easily run my
laptop computer, XMRadio receiver, and GPS for way longer than my
airpalne's
endurance. It is one more thing to carry around, but this also makes the
devices completely portable and ends any worry I might have about
impedance
matching when connecting devices to my airplane's cigarette lighter
adaptor.

--
Richard Kaplan, CFII

www.flyimc.com


You got ripped off. You can get a 7 amp hour battery from Tower Hobbies
(RC supplier) for 20 bucks. Those jumper packs for cars also serve the same
purpose, for less money.

I like your idea, just not the implementation! g
--
---Jim in NC---

Went to Radio Shack last night and asked if they had a DC-DC converter for
24V-6V. I was told by the somewhat surly person behind the counter that they
didn't exist. However, I also needed a 12V-6V converter (a spare for the
car), and upon reading the package, it said: INPUT VOLTAGE 12-24 VOLTS!

So, it looks like the Radio Shack unit should work anyway, which would be
great since it would eliminate carrying an extra battery, making my own
unit, or using an invertors. Anything that means one less cord and two less
connections is a positive move in my opinion.

The XM radio works great in the cockpit as well as at home. The sound is at
least CD quality and the unit and antenna are small. The reception was also
perfect. I'm waiting for a panel mount that will also encompass the weather
data that interfaces with MFD's.

"Morgans" post/the/group.here.net wrote in message
...

You got ripped off. You can get a 7 amp hour battery from Tower Hobbies
(RC supplier) for 20 bucks. Those jumper packs for cars also serve the
same
purpose, for less money.

Where can I get this on their website? Even a smaller battery without the
charger included costs $50 or so as far as I can see:

http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXE559&P=7

--
Richard Kaplan, CFII

www.flyimc.com

Even a smaller battery without the
charger included costs $50 or so as far as I can see:

http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXE559&P=7

--
Richard Kaplan, CFII

www.flyimc.com

Try this. For the charger, walmart has a peak sensing 1.5 amp maintainer
charger for under 15 bucks.
http:towerhobbies//www2..com/cgi-bin/wti0095p?FVPROFIL=++&FVSEARCH=TG3388