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HomeHomeDiscussionsDiscussionsADS-B Discussio...ADS-B Discussio...Horribly messed up radarHorribly messed up radar
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12/21/2020 12:37 PM
 

Sometimes I get these horribly broken up NEXRAD images, they really make it difficult to see where the weather is when 50-80% of the image is obstructed.  Is this a problem with how iFly is displaying or processing the data, or is this how it is coming in from the FAA's ADSB broadcast?  Does anyone else ever see a mess like this on their NEXRAD? I am using a EchoUAT.  Should I be asking them about this? Not sure where the actual issue is coming from... the FAA, the receiver, the display...

 

On a related note, is there a range limit for how much radar data you can see if you zoom out?  You can see in one of my pictures how it's cleanly cut off after a certain distance.  Coming from a XM satellite weather device, I'm not used to it but I'm guessing it's a limitation to the ground based ADSB data feed.

 

 

 

 
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12/21/2020 1:17 PM
 

FWIW ads/b wx is line of sight, might have been blocked by something.

we are also experiencing issues with nexrad streaming data from noaa and are working to mitigate it as well.

 
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12/21/2020 4:53 PM
 

Thanks. Is there a limit on how far you can see radar zoomed out? I don't know if the ADSB broadcasts include the entire country, or just the region where you currently are.  You can see how one of my pictures the radar is cut off, inside that red box.

 
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12/22/2020 5:57 AM
 
Robert Zajko wrote:

Thanks. Is there a limit on how far you can see radar zoomed out? I don't know if the ADSB broadcasts include the entire country, or just the region where you currently are.  You can see how one of my pictures the radar is cut off, inside that red box.

ADS-B NEXRAD comes in two flavors--a low-resolution mosaic covering the continental US, and a higher-res mosaic covering the area around 150-250 miles around you.  I think iFly chooses between those based on your zoom level.  You might have been able to zoom out a bit to reveal the lower-res CONUS image that would have extended beyond the limits of the "local" image.  Presumably if you had flown closer to the edge of the "local" NEXRAD coverage (and weren't knocked out of the sky by the thunderstorms that were raging over there) you would have eventually seen it extend farther in that direction.

From https://www.faa.gov/nextgen/programs/adsb/pilot/ :

NEXRAD Reflectivity - CONUS Continental United States Next Generation Radar. NEXRAD detects precipitation intensity, winds, and atmospheric movement. This product provides a mosaic map with precipitation intensity and relative movement between updates. Entire CONUS NEXRAD imagery
NEXRAD Reflectivity - Regional A composite picture of available NEXRAD radar imagery in a local area, showing a more detailed and higher resolution image than the CONUS. 150 to 250 NM
 
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12/22/2020 1:30 PM
 
Robert Zajko wrote:

Sometimes I get these horribly broken up NEXRAD images, they really make it difficult to see where the weather is when 50-80% of the image is obstructed.  Is this a problem with how iFly is displaying or processing the data, or is this how it is coming in from the FAA's ADSB broadcast?  Does anyone else ever see a mess like this on their NEXRAD? I am using a EchoUAT.  Should I be asking them about this? Not sure where the actual issue is coming from... the FAA, the receiver, the display...

 

I've only seen that occur a couple of times, and it cleared up pretty quickly each time it happened.  I always assumed some data got lost in transmission and I just had to wait a few minutes for the new image to come through.  That said, I'm not normally up flying around when there's a lot of weather in the area, so I don't have a huge experience base there.

The only way to really know for sure is to capture an ADSB log when the behavior is occurring (Menu > Setup > ADS/B > Options > Enable ADSB Logging (check)), then send that logfile in for the AP folks to look at.  

There's a lot on their plate right now, so unless several people report a similar problem this may not bubble up high enough on the priority list to get much attention, but it boils down to:  Send in the log and there's a chance for an answer.  Don't send in the log, and all you're going to get is shrugs and speculation.

 
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