On 30 Aug 2006 06:25:18 -0700, "jcarlyle" wrote:

Last week, before the Minden midair, I reviewed Collision Avoidance
Systems with the intent of putting one in my transponder-less ASW-19. I
was interested in such a system because my glider club lies inside the
Mode C veil of PHL, because an active military air base is 5 miles
away, and because there are several airways that lie within several
miles of us. Here's the result of my research; I hope it might be of
help to others.

Zaon MRX - This was the one I bought. Pros - shows threat distance
and height; receives civilian signals A, C, S and 3/A, as well as
military signals X, Y and 2; alerts are visual and aural (high pitched
beeps); uses internal power (but can use aircraft power); is the
smallest system available; can be panel mounted with remote antenna.
Cons - does not show threat direction; doesn't output threats via
RS232 to PocketPC type devices. List price $499

Zaon XRX - This is the one I really liked. Pros - shows threat
direction as well as distance and height; receives civilian signals A,
C, S and 3/A, and also military signals X, Y and 2; alerts are visual
and aural (synthesized voice); outputs threats via RS232 to PocketPC
type devices. Cons - needs aircraft power; fairly large and tall, and
must be mounted on the glare shield. Supposedly Zaon will offer a panel
mount version with remote antenna in the future. List price $1795

Proxalert R5 - I rejected this one. Pros - shows threat distance
and height; shows squawk code of three threats (but threats combined if
same squawk); alerts are visual and aural (high pitched beeps); outputs
threats via RS232 to PocketPC type devices; can be panel mounted with
remote antenna. Cons - Combines threats with same squawk code on same
line showing closest threat distance, and flip-flops threat altitude;
needs aircraft power; only receives civilian A, C and S signals; fairly
large and hangs over glare shield lip. I also was turned off by the web
site, when I see poor English in sales literature I can't help but
wonder if the engineering was also done carelessly. List price $795

Monroy ADT-300 - I rejected this one. Pros - shows threat distance
and height (but only if you have an altitude encoding transponder);
alerts are visual and aural (synthesized voice); second smallest
available; can be panel mounted with remote antenna. Cons - Needs
altitude encoding transponder to show threat height; needs aircraft
power; only receives civilian A, C and S signals; doesn't output
threats via RS232 to PocketPC type devices. List price $795

Please note that this list is biased towards my own needs, in a quiet
glider with no transponder, operating with civilian and military
aircraft. You might have different requirements, so do check out the
manufacturer's sites for fuller specs and manuals:
http://www.zaonflight.com/
http://www.monroyaero.com/
http://www.proxalert.com/
A good single reference page to many Collision Avoidance Systems is
he http://www.avionix.com/collis.html
There are also some (fairly old) threads on RAS on this subject; you
might wish to search for them.

Be careful up there!

-John
(I have absolutely no connection or financial interest with any of the
companies named in this message).



I bought my MRX early this season, and I have been very pleased with
it's performance in both level and thermalling flight. The audio
warning could be louder, but is sufficient for sailplane use. The LED
displays are super bright even in bright sun; l catch display changes
in my peripheral vision pretty well as a result. Like the other
posters, I too have been surprised by how much more traffic I see,
especially coming up from behind. It would be the best of all worlds
to have heading info on traffic, but the MRX will at least allow you
to quickly concentrate either above or below the horizon when traffic
is closing. I found that the battery powered arrangement peters out
fast, as I like the display set for bright as it will go. So, I've
hard wired my unit on it's own fuse block, and also have an antenna
extension, that functions well beneath my DG's pedestal shroud. Very
tidy installation. Our Glider Club flies by written agreement within
a moderately busy Class D. It's not departing traffic in close that
worries me, but rather approaching heavy IFR traffic letting down
thru a nice cloud street about 25 miles out. Nothing gets your
attention like bouncing around 500 below cloudbase (of course and
seeing that display light up....... 5 miles, 1000' above..... and
descending. Worth the price of the unit right there Ron
N531RW