ADSB-Traffic - iFly Owners Q&A

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iFly Owners Q&A

ADSB-Traffic

10/8/2012 8:28 AM

Tim Myers

Joined: 12/8/2011

Posts: 286

Re: ADSB-Traffic

Dave K wrote:
Now I use the external battery inline so its always charging and is ready should there be a problem with the ships power.
Dave

Dave,

Just curious as to how the external battery is holding up. I have stayed away from it because of my experience with Auto type GPS's with rechargeable batteries. Seems the batteries just don't hold up to the constant charging and within a few months the battery life is nil. Are you letting your battery discharge periodically or is there circuitry to help eliminate the battery memory issues?

Tim

10/8/2012 10:56 AM

Dave K

Joined: 11/16/2010

Posts: 270

Re: ADSB-Traffic

Tim Myers wrote:

Dave K wrote:
Now I use the external battery inline so its always charging and is ready should there be a problem with the ships power.
Dave

Dave,

Just curious as to how the external battery is holding up. I have stayed away from it because of my experience with Auto type GPS's with rechargeable batteries. Seems the batteries just don't hold up to the constant charging and within a few months the battery life is nil. Are you letting your battery discharge periodically or is there circuitry to help eliminate the battery memory issues?

Tim

I've had mine since AP put it on the market and have had no problems. I leave it plugged in and fully discharged it once (by accident when I forgot to turn off the iFly). Not sure how long it ran.

Other than that I did have a time when the cigertte lighter adapter came loose. Lost the Skyradar and assumed it was a problem with the unit. Finished my flight (about 1 1/2hr after I noticed the lost connection with Skyradar) and went to check. The iFly had been running fine off the battery (think it showed about 1/2 charge remaining). Pushed the plug fully in and all was back.

I feel much better having the battery inline. Even if it's performance drops way off over time I think its worth it. Heck, if I lose power and it gives me 15min of backup I'll still be a lot better off than a black screen. That being said, it's probably a good idea for me to run it down and recharge. I'll do that on the ground!

Thx

Dave

Dave K

10/9/2012 1:55 PM

Tim Myers

Joined: 12/8/2011

Posts: 286

Re: ADSB-Traffic

Dave,

How do you have both the iFly and the SkyRadar hooked up? I am getting close to purchasing one of the ADSB units just not sure which one. The ones with an internal battery are very desirable because of the lack of wires but i am not sure what I will do just yet.

10/10/2012 8:51 PM

Cobra

Joined: 4/20/2011

Posts: 2602

Re: ADSB-Traffic

Dave K wrote:
I have the original Skyradar and it is VERY important to have it fully up and running BEFORE firing up the iFly. Every time I tried and let them start together (ie - lighter jack powered), it NEVER worked regardless of what altitude I climbed to.

Dave, I would like to point out for others that this is not a universal behavior. I, too, have an original Skyradar and one of the first 720s, and use the wi-fi connection in the cockpit. With one possible exception (and that event may have been pilot-induced), I have had consistent good results with having both devices plugged into the same cigarette lighter adapter. By the time I complete my runup, takeoff, and climb to altitude, I am seeing good ADSB weather on the iFly. I've been flying this way for about a year now, so we're talking about dozens of successes against one failure (that may have nothing to do with startup sequence).

That's not to say everyone will have the experience I have--clearly you didn't. It's just to say that not everyone will have the experience you did--I haven't.