WTB: PowerFLARM Portable

I was really happy to sell my Portable and get a Core with the
money.

But the 24 is carbon fiber; so the antennae have to be mounted
just below the canopy forward on the glareshield. Coverage on
my 27 is good from that location.

Admittedly the Portable can sit on top of the glareshield and
obtain half decent coverage with a minimum of fiddling.

With the Core you need to set up an antenna platform, perhaps
cut a hole in the glareshield and be careful reinstalling the
canopy after working on the instruments.

For the financially challenged, a Kobo can run Top Hat (XCSoar
variant) which displays Flarm targets for perhaps less than a
Flarmview or Butterfly display.

Core from all the reasons mentioned plus:
1 - You get the flat portable display with it, so you dont need to buy an external display unless you want to upgrade. The flat display has more functions than the portable.
2 - More reliable and less reported issues than with portable.
3 - If your 24 nose is like my 27A nose (carbon free nose) you can install both antennas infront of the rudder pedals. Works very well for me.

That said, portables are still a great solution for clubs and the poor folks who own multiple gliders...

Ramy

That said, portables are still a great solution for clubs and the poor folks who own multiple gliders...

Ramy

I disagree about it being a good solution for clubs. The antennas are flimsy and you have to be very careful to re-configure the glider ID when a portable moves between club ships, otherwise, for example, you get an alarm claiming it's a single when all you can see is a Puchacz on that bearing (this draws your attention from other sectors where non-flarm gliders may be approaching)... In club use, the micro-SD card is not as robust (or easy to find in long grass) as a colourful USB stick. The ability to go in through the menus in the Portable (rather than flarmcfg.txt) allows non-technically aware club members to modify things they ought not. For someone with multiple gliders, probably a good choice (I envy them).

The Portable location on the glareshield may require changes to other GPS antennas or compass. It seems that the flarm GPS is very sensitive to other GPS antennas nearby.

Dan

You need a minimum 8" between GPS
antennae according to the Air Glide
sensor unit Installation Manual.