Lightning in XM weather

Someone asked a while back what the source was for the opinion that XM
shows only cloud to ground lightning.

This is explicitly stated in the XM manual that came with my new 396.

On 8/14/2007 11:08:09 AM, Paul kgyy wrote:

This is explicitly stated in the XM manual that came with my new 396.

That was me doing the asking, Paul. Thanks for that. Again, I was curious
from a comparison PoV between XM and WSI, which is the downlinked weather
service to which I currently subscribe.

--
Peter

Peter R. wrote:
On 8/14/2007 11:08:09 AM, Paul kgyy wrote:

This is explicitly stated in the XM manual that came with my new 396.

That was me doing the asking, Paul. Thanks for that. Again, I was
curious from a comparison PoV between XM and WSI, which is the
downlinked weather service to which I currently subscribe.

I certainly wouldn't do any equipment changes now since WSI is feeding via
the Sirius sat system & XM is via it's own system. Things are liable to
change one way or the other when they merge.

On 8/14/2007 2:19:49 PM, "Gig 601XL Builder" wrote:

I certainly wouldn't do any equipment changes now since WSI is feeding via
the Sirius sat system & XM is via it's own system. Things are liable to
change one way or the other when they merge.

I have no choice but to change equipment here shortly. Most if not all
installed WSI In Flight receivers are still pulling data from WSI's legacy
satellite network. AFAIK (typing as a customer with a focused interest in
this), WSI has yet to begin shipping their new Sirius satellite receivers to
which we must upgrade.

--
Peter

Peter R. wrote:
On 8/14/2007 2:19:49 PM, "Gig 601XL Builder" wrote:

I certainly wouldn't do any equipment changes now since WSI is
feeding via the Sirius sat system & XM is via it's own system.
Things are liable to change one way or the other when they merge.

I have no choice but to change equipment here shortly. Most if not all
installed WSI In Flight receivers are still pulling data from WSI's
legacy satellite network. AFAIK (typing as a customer with a focused
interest in this), WSI has yet to begin shipping their new Sirius
satellite receivers to which we must upgrade.

Ouch, I didn't realize they were requireing the change now. That would make
me nervous as hell. What is WSI saying about ther XM/Sirius merger?

On 8/14/2007 5:35:57 PM, "Gig 601XL Builder" wrote:

Ouch, I didn't realize they were requireing the change now.

Yep, required because the legacy system will be deactivated sometime early
2008. All customers must be over to the new receiver by that time.

That would
make me nervous as hell. What is WSI saying about ther XM/Sirius merger?

There are a few things about WSI InFlight that have incited my ire since I
have been a customer. Reverse engineering weather on the Garmin GNS430/530
that then resulted in Garmin abandoning WSI and leaving those of us with MX20
moving maps no longer supported starts the list. Frequent service outages and
this mandated upgrade round it out. When the service works it is excellent,
however.

Since XM and Sirius haven't officially merged yet (I think they are being
slowed/stopped by the US gov't, no?) I am confident that WSI will not muddy
the waters by mentioning any more constraints to their customers.


--
Peter

On Tue, 14 Aug 2007 19:03:14 -0400, "Peter R."
wrote:

On 8/14/2007 5:35:57 PM, "Gig 601XL Builder" wrote:

Ouch, I didn't realize they were requireing the change now.

Yep, required because the legacy system will be deactivated sometime early
2008. All customers must be over to the new receiver by that time.

It should be noted that the KDR510 FIS uplink unit from Bendix/King
has also been obsoleted with 6/08 EOL. Their replacement is the
KDR610 XM unit.

On 8/14/2007 7:51:18 PM, Peter Clark wrote:

It should be noted that the KDR510 FIS uplink unit from Bendix/King
has also been obsoleted with 6/08 EOL. Their replacement is the
KDR610 XM unit.

Interesting. What is Bendix doing to transition their customers to this new
unit? Providing the equipment for free? Labor to install it?

--
Peter

Peter R. wrote:
On 8/14/2007 5:35:57 PM, "Gig 601XL Builder" wrote:

Ouch, I didn't realize they were requireing the change now.

Yep, required because the legacy system will be deactivated sometime
early 2008. All customers must be over to the new receiver by that
time.

That would
make me nervous as hell. What is WSI saying about ther XM/Sirius
merger?

There are a few things about WSI InFlight that have incited my ire
since I have been a customer. Reverse engineering weather on the
Garmin GNS430/530 that then resulted in Garmin abandoning WSI and
leaving those of us with MX20 moving maps no longer supported starts
the list. Frequent service outages and this mandated upgrade round it
out. When the service works it is excellent, however.

Since XM and Sirius haven't officially merged yet (I think they are
being slowed/stopped by the US gov't, no?) I am confident that WSI
will not muddy the waters by mentioning any more constraints to their
customers.

From a story on C-Net:

What regulatory hurdles does the deal face?


The U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Communications Commission
must grant approval, posing a significant challenge. Because Sirius and XM
are the only two satellite radio providers operating in the country, their
merger would effectively create a monopoly. Federal legislation bars both
satellite radio licenses from being owned by the same company to guard
against high prices and other negative effects on consumers. FCC Chairman
Kevin Martin said in a statement that the hurdle for approval would be high.
"The companies would need to demonstrate that consumers would clearly be
better off with both more choice and affordable prices," Martin said. Given
historic opposition to media consolidation by Democrats, who control
Congress, the companies will have some hard lobbying to do.

---



That story was dated back in February. While they are going to have to jump
through hoops I have a feeling that the merger will go through. While it
will form a monopoly as far as satellite delivered radio is concerned it
isn't like satellite is the only way to listen to the radio. Added to that
is the fact that if they don't merge one or both is likely to go belly up
sooner or later.

In article .com,
Paul kgyy wrote:

Someone asked a while back what the source was for the opinion that XM
shows only cloud to ground lightning.

This is explicitly stated in the XM manual that came with my new 396.

Most weather providers obtain lightning data from the National Lightning
Detection Network, which is operated by Vaisala. The network displays
cloud to ground strikes.

WSI uses data from their own lightning detection network, which can
detect both cloud to cloud and cloud to ground. I'm not sure what their
InFlight product displays.

In any case, both products pale in comparison to sferics devices for
in-flight lightning detection.


JKG