Dan Marotta wrote on 11/19/2020 2:13 PM:
On 11/19/20 11:21 AM, Eric Greenwell wrote:
Moshe Braner wrote on 11/19/2020 9:31 AM:
On 11/19/2020 11:12 AM, Dan Marotta wrote:
On 11/18/20 4:41 PM, Richard Pfiffner wrote:
According to Flarm the New Fusion transmits and receives on both A and B Flarm Antennas.

http://www.craggyaero.com/fusion.htm



Richard
www.craggyaero.com


That looks to me like you can buy a license to activate the "B" antenna. **Isn't that like
buying a license to active the passenger side seat belt in a car?* Or the rear brakes?


Maybe if you pay extra they'll sell you the feature where it keeps on working after the
firmware "expires"?* (As long as the data packets are still compatible.)

Dan: We have no choice about seat belts and brakes, which are mandated by law. Do you want to
go there with PowerFlarm? :^(

Dan: Buying a license for an optional feature (also known as "buying an optional feature") is
like buying the "primo" optional interior for your new car, except you can do it anytime,
even years after the purchase, unlike that fancy interior. Would you rather they included
everything that is now optional, and charged you for it, instead letting you pay for only
what you need?


Moshe: They give me the updates FREE anytime I want one. I'm not going to whine about the 10
minutes it takes me to read the update instructions and load it into the glider. The present
system seems like a good compromise: all units are no more than 1 year behind in capability,
at no $ cost, and very little time and effort. As pilots, we are required to "update" our
gliders every year with an inspection, to "update" the pilot every two years with a flight
review, to keep our charts and database current yearly or less, to "update" our parachute
every 180 days - I think we should expect a pilot to also handle updating Flarm!


Eric,

A lot is made of such features as IGC recording.* But, since my glider happens to have an
engine, the IGC recording is useless unless I buy a license for it.* The firmware has all been
written and is installed and, with a few characters inserted during the "installation", it will
function.

Fortunately, I knew that going in and did not need an ENL license.* My ClearNav and ClearNav
vario each perform the engine noise recording function and at zero extra cost.* Now I suppose
ClearNav could disable the function, lower their price by $50 and then charge $50 to enable the
function but I think that would just **** people off.

My guess is they chose to license it for exactly the reason you state: most pilot will have
varios, loggers, or flight computers already doing the IGC logging. By disabling the Flarm IGC
logging and charging less, they expect to get more people to buy their unit. That seems like a
good deal - "you only pay for what you need".

--
Eric Greenwell - Washington State, USA (change ".netto" to ".us" to email me)
- "A Guide to Self-Launching Sailplane Operation"
https://sites.google.com/site/motorg...ad-the-guide-1