On Saturday, December 15, 2018 at 8:49:28 AM UTC-8, jfitch wrote:
On Friday, December 14, 2018 at 3:42:39 PM UTC-8, WaltWX wrote:
I hear that PowerMouse will include an ADS-B option and possibly ADS-R / TIS-B (for those of you not in U.S .. these are FAA ground rebroadcasts of ADS-B 1090 packets and transponder only aircraft). No word on whether the PowerFlarm will add this firmware upgrade.

Does anyone know when the PowerMouse will ADS-B becomes available? .... and whether the PowerFlarm core is considering including these features?

Walt Rogers WX

Some clarification (Darryl will correct me if I am wrong: A TT22/TN72 is a certified 2020 installation if you have an experimental category glider, but exactly the same installation in a certified glider is a TABS installation (the only difference is the SIL setting). A peculiar quirk.

Yes that is true. The difference is in the software config done in the Trig transponder when the GPS source is attached. All a requirement of needing a TSO-C145 approved GPS source in a type certified glider (and just to confuse people the TN72 is TSO-C199 approved, but that is a whole different thing). While the experimental/type certified contrast here may be blatantly stupid, it's too bad--we don't' get to set the regulations and policies. The A&P signing off on the ADS-B Out install in a type certified aircraft needs to make sure the install requirement are met and forward an ADS-B install note on a Form 337 to FAA HQ (no that does not make this a "major alteration"). The FAA then knows which type certified aircraft have a 2020 Compliant install and they can compare that to what they see in their ADS-B monitoring. If a type certified glider was found flying around with SIL=3 without the paperwork done or using non-approved equipment the owner/pilot and/or A&P may end up not having a good day. The FAA receives no paperwork for ADS-B Out installs in experimental aircraft, but do something wrong there and oh you may get found out as well. So while none of this is hard once you get your head around a little of the silliness, please be careful to comply with regulations.

And yes folks you are being watched, it's surveillance technology after all.. The FAA can monitors all ADS-B Out transmissions even if not using all of them for ATC. The FAA is sending letters to aircraft owners where they see non-2020 Compliant ADS-B behavior, just letting them know the systems don't comply and expecting a reply from the owners. I've helped with several reply letters. Somebody got one just now for a SIL=0 install. And more interestingly the FAA sends out letters for SIL=1/TABS installs for gliders. The SIL=1 install should be a clue that it's TABS and deliberately being done, but the FAA have no way of knowing so are erring on the side of caution. A nice reply letter just saying the install in not intended to meet 14 CFR 91.227 and not intended to provide flight privileges for 14 CFR 91.225 should be all that is required in those cases.

On ATC visibility, it may depend on the location. Truckee can see my TABS install, it is an official tower but a contract tower, perhaps with non-standard equipment. Norcal Approach could not tell me if they could see me on ADS-B TABS, as they said they have no way to tell from their display where the information came from.

We've had that conversation before. It would be great if you could ask Truckee Tower staff how they are seeing your glider and how they know it's via ADS-B. Your glider will be visible via the ASR radar at Reno airport and they might have a feed from that (but that surprises me a bit). As I offered before I'm happy to talk to them if you give me a contact. Even better lets grab a beer with the tower folks some time after work :-) I know how the NORCAL Fusion system is configured, or was last time I talked to them (that takes that feed from the Reno ASR and provides it to NORCAL ATC controllers) and it only displays SIL=3 traffic *outside* SSR coverage, within SSR coverage it uses SSR data for a target. And yes controllers cannot tell the surveillance source of a target.

Darryl