On 7/24/2010 1:46 AM, Darryl Ramm wrote:
On Jul 23, 10:53 pm, Mike
wrote:
On 7/24/2010 12:04 AM, Eric Greenwell wrote:



On 7/23/2010 8:51 PM, Mike Schumann wrote:

The NavWorx transciever deserves mention as the first new UAT
transceiver for the GA market--since the Garmin/UPS product that was
really built for the Alaska trials. And the NavWorx has a much better
packaging and price point that that, although it still needs TSO
approval. And if they get it TSO'ed it will fit a need in the GA
market especially for aircraft with older panels and non-Mode S
transponders that cannot be upgraded to 1090ES data-out, and for
NavWorx I suspect that market is a good target for them. To the extent
it shows some movement in the ADS-B market that is good, and worth
pointing out on r.a.s to glider pilots, but as a product we would
actually use it is just not a good fit. And I'm not just picking on
the NavWorx, I've also pointed out the Trig 1090ES receiver product,
also an interesting product for the GA market, but has some of the
same issues as I've pointed out above for us.

Darryl
Please explain exactly why the Navworx product is not suitable for
gliders? This unit is similar in size and design to the prototypes
that MITRE is testing in conjunction with the SSA, AOPA, and the FAA.
Is the MITRE unit also unsuitable in your opinion?
For me, that 0.8 amps seems like a lot. My current setup, with radio,
transponder, vario, gps, mrx, PDA takes 0.8 amps, so this would double
it to 1.6 amps. Fly 8 hours, that's 12.8 amp hours. Not so bad for me
since I have an 18 ah battery, but I'd need to charge it every day, and
be careful in cold weather I don't run out. How many glider pilots are
prepared for that kind of drain? Look at all the whining over just 0.4
amps for a transponder.

The other thing is the $2500, while people keep talking about $1000 for
the Mitre unit being about right. I think that extra $1500 is going to
stop a lot of pilots from considering it, or they'll say "shoot, I'll
just put in a Trig for $2000, and I don't need to double my battery
size; the airliners will see me and so will the big-bucks pilots that
put the Navworx in their ship".

There's no question that a lower price point would help. Hopefully we
will see prices come down as there is more competition.

As far as power consumption goes, has anyone looked at using solar cells
to augment battery power?

--
Mike Schumann

For several more thousand dollars more you can install a 30 W Strobl
solar panel on your glider and given typical efficiency this will help
with some installations. (I have the largest panels Strobl make
installed one my motorglider). But you can't rely on the solar always
working. You will still need a large battery (likely at least 12Ah and
likely more for folks with long flights and other equipment). Now we
are somewhere around $5k for the UAT installation and we still don't
have a traffic display usable in a glider cockpit. (c'mon it's so
awful somebody just tell me this power spec is just plain wrong).

But don't surrender now. Your defense of this UAT box is entertaining.

Darryl

I am baffled by your negativism. The Navworx unit may not be perfect.
What is significant is not necessarily this box, but the fact that this
unit has been FCC approved, which will hopefully permit other,
competitive units to also be commercialized.

Now that these types of units are starting to come to the market, there
will be a reason for See-You Mobile and other glide computers to provide
the necessary interfaces. This is just a question of time and user demand.

--
Mike Schumann