AnywhereWX vs. Airgator NavAirWx

Thanks to all who replied to my in-flight weather questions.

I think that I've narrowed my selection down to a PDA solution using the
iPaq 4700, along with packages for XM weather an moving map from either
Control Vision (AnywhereWx) or AirGator (NavAirWx).

Detailed information on the web sites of both companies is a little
sketchy, and the photos are unclear, but the photos appear to show a
slightly more impressive software display from AirGator's NavAirWx than
from AnywhereWx / Map.

I have been advised that AnywhereMap's "Cones of Safety" feature is
valuable, but I am trying to place a priority on the weather display and
easy of use. Does AirGator have a better system for weather?



Thanks,
JKG

I can't speak to which has a 'better' weather display, but I went with
NavAirWX, and have flown with it for well over a year now. I can't
imagine flying without it.

I had a rather negative encounter with the Control Vision folks at OSH
one year when I was doing my research. At the time, AnywhereWx was
still using the sat phone for weather data, but NavAir had already
built prototype WxWorx XM solutions. So NavAir was at least 6 months
ahead of Anywhere on the XM technology side.

What burned by hide on Control Vision was they 'neglected' to inform me
during my discussions that their sat phone solutions had compatibility
problems with the KT-76A transponder. I later found out that most older
KT-76As would interfere with sat phone reception, and prevent weather
data from being recieved. But you still pay for the sat phone minutes.
Sounded fishy to me, and a few individuals reported problems trying to
get refunds from Control Vision when they found out the system was
incompatible with their avionics. Control Vision's solution was to tell
the owner to go out and replace their KT-76A... I wasn't in the mood
for that kind of crap.

Seems to me Air Gator did their homework, and had XM technology a good
6 months ahead of Control Vision. The guys at Air Gator have provided
outstanding customer service. I had flow from VA to FL, and my XM box
decided to deactivate. Air Gator called me back on a Sunday night to
help me re-activate my box. I had a power cable go bad, and they
replaced it at no cost. They are always providing updates and
improvements on their product. I now fly more days that would have left
me on the ground were it not for having great situational awareness and
strategic planning tools 'on the fly' so to speak!

As far as the weather display, All I can say is outstanding. Having
lightning strike overlay on NEXRAD images in near-realtime (I average
5-minute updates) is incredible. The airports are also color-coded so I
can see who is still IMC and VMC from a ways out.

In article .com,
"PPT33R" wrote:
Seems to me Air Gator did their homework, and had XM technology a good
6 months ahead of Control Vision. The guys at Air Gator have provided
outstanding customer service. I had flow from VA to FL, and my XM box
decided to deactivate. Air Gator called me back on a Sunday night to
help me re-activate my box. I had a power cable go bad, and they
replaced it at no cost. They are always providing updates and
improvements on their product. I now fly more days that would have left
me on the ground were it not for having great situational awareness and
strategic planning tools 'on the fly' so to speak!


It seems to me that AirGator is probably stronger on the weather, and
Control Vision is probably stronger on the mapping.

Does anyone have an opinion on performance with a newer PDA such as the
iPaq 4700?


Thanks,
JKG

I have AWWX on my ipaq 5550, which is the predecessor to the 4700. It
works fine - updates are not instantaneous, but there's no need to be.
I've recently worked through a XM activation problem, but it appears to
be fixed now. The GPS has always been trouble free, and the IFR page
shows airways with MEAs, which my Garmin 430 does not.

I looked at the Raven large screen display at Oshkosh and decided that
it was just too large and heavy to try to put within convenient reach.
I mount the IPAQ on a suction mount attached to the lower left
windscreen so it's only about 15 inches from my eyes. If you need to
work with it, you can just remove it from the mount and it maintains
GPS contact on batteries until you put it back on the mount.

Jonathan Goodish wrote:

It seems to me that AirGator is probably stronger on the weather, and
Control Vision is probably stronger on the mapping.

I *really* want to prefer the AirGator. But Control Vision has addressed my
other "purposes" behind the portable (ie. the AI which pops-up if you enter
an unusual attitude) so well that I have to lean in that direction.

Still, I'm stuck between tiny displays and bulky devices in the cockpit.

- Andrew