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HomeHomeDiscussionsDiscussionsiFly General Di...iFly General Di...opinions wanted: skygardtwx AND stratux or skyguardtwx versus stratuxopinions wanted: skygardtwx AND stratux or skyguardtwx versus stratux
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2/16/2017 10:34 PM
 

Of course, stratux doesn't yet give us ADS-B OUT, so my search is more for the IN functions.

Which gives better, more, or more accurate info? Or should we fly with both, maybe the stratux as a backup. The SkyguardTWX (Twixie?) is > 10 times the money but you do get -OUT with it.

What do you guys think?

 
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2/16/2017 11:34 PM
 

If you don't have ADS-B out, you won't get all the traffic. So, you can't really compare a SkyGuard with ADS-B out to a Stratux without ADS-B out. It's apples and oranges.

That said, I sold my SkyGuard a few days ago because I wanted to get something for it before it becomes a boat anchor on 1/1/20. Mine was not upgradable to 2020 compliant. I am now using a Stratux for weather and SOME traffic.

 
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2/17/2017 6:58 AM
 

While I know Don at Skyguard is working toward certification for 2020 compliance, it's not clear what the path will be for folks who buy his current systems to get to a 2020-compliant system down the road. It's not going to be as simple as him emailing a form for you to put in your logbook--I expect there will be more stringent antenna installation requirements at a minimum, and perhaps hardware and software changes as well. There are already 2020-compliant "out" solutions that are available for not much more than one of his non-compliant systems costs today, and with those you know exactly what you are getting.

Once you have the "out" part, then your "in" options are very easy to compare. Pretty much you have three choices: 978 (UAT) only, 1090-only, or dual 978/1090. These days, there's no reason to get anything other than a dual-freq "in" system. You can build a dual-freq Stratux for a little over $100 that works perfectly fine. No one else comes close to that price.

So: If you want 2020 compliance, buy a 2020-compliant system, and get a Stratux.

If you aren't ready to buy a 2020-compliant system, get a Stratux today and take what traffic you can get, knowing it's not as good as you could have, and get a 2020-compliant system when you're ready.

If you're not ready to buy a 2020-compliant solution and cost is no object, then a SkyguardTWX is a good option for now, but expect more expense down the road to eventually transition to a 2020-compliant system.

 
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2/17/2017 12:30 PM
 

Since I'm a beta tester for the Stratux, and especially since I'm helping gather data on a duplicate target problem with the Stratux, be advised that, at this time, the dual band Stratux has a problem in that it sometimes duplicates targets. This happens when you're in a puck and you receive a direct transmission (say on 1090) and an ADS-B rebroadcast of the same aircraft on 978.

The FAA didn't really anticipate that users would have dual band units. So to some degree, this is a Stratux problem, which the developers are working on, and which I'm fairly confident they can mitigate. (As an example, the Stratus V2 does NOT duplicate targets.) I'm guessing the Stratux will be able to eliminate 90% of dupes.

Having said that, the specs for MFD's did suggest that this might be a problem and suggested that MFD manufacturers include de-duping logic in their boxes.

As of this time, iFly does not de-dupe. But neither does FF.

Once iFly incorporates de-duping logic in its software, my WAG is that 99% of duping will be gone. (But again, from our testing so far, the Stratus V2 does not pass dupes at all. Which might be why FF doesn't bother de-duping in software.)

 
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2/17/2017 1:55 PM
 

I flew today with my most recent Stratux build. I've built 5 and sold 4. Anyway, it includes a Pi 3 Model B. I did not notice any duplicated traffic. I was within 50 nm of Atlanta for 1.7 hours and probably within someone's puck the entire time.

 
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HomeHomeDiscussionsDiscussionsiFly General Di...iFly General Di...opinions wanted: skygardtwx AND stratux or skyguardtwx versus stratuxopinions wanted: skygardtwx AND stratux or skyguardtwx versus stratux