John,

I have a Borgelt B-40 along with a Cambridge 302 and
I'm happy with the B-40. There are other options such
as the new LX16 and the Tasman, and Filser, and Ilec.

The Borgelt has an averager, but you have to push a
switch and hold it for the pointer to stop giving normal
vario information and show the average rate of climb
over the previous 20 seconds. This is cumbersome for
me to do (long stretch). For an additional $125 you
can add a digital display of the average climb. This
additional item, while pricey, still makes the Borgelt
less expensive than the LX16 or the Tasman. However,
the B40 might not have the features of these two.

I see on the Cumulus Soaring site that the Filser LX100
is the cheapest of the group.

The nicest sounding vario I've heard is one from Westeboerer
(sp?). I don't know if they are still available.

Which one works the best? I bet that depends on installation
and the pilot.

If your tubing is suspect, the fuselage-mounted TE
probe as described by Dick Johnson in the latest issue
of Soaring would make an installation of new tubing
easy. Much easier than cutting into the vertical fin
to replace old tubing from the fin all the way to the
cockpit!

Let us know which vario you choose and how you like
the instrument.

Ray Lovinggood
Carrboro, North Carolina, USA
LS1-d


At 01:36 15 June 2005, Contestid67 wrote:
I searched back a few years in rec.aviation.soaring
to see if this
topic was covered before. If so please forgive me.

I am looking to replace my mechanical Winter vario
with a electric or
electronic vario. Any suggestions?

Also, which do you prefer;

1) The mechanical/electrical versions such as a Borgelt
B40.
2) An electronic version such as the Tasman V1000.

Thanks, John