FLARM releases firmware for ADS-R and TIS-B

Hi All - FLARM has announced release of firmware supporting ADS-R and
TIS-B reception. This feature is included in new firmware for Core
Fusion. For original PowerFLARM core and portable, this requires a
license available he
https://flarm.com/shop/ads-r-and-tis-b-reception-adsr/

Firmware is available he
https://flarm.com/support/firmware-u...nload-firmware.

Additional info about this feature he
https://flarm.com/products/product-add-ons/ads-r-tis-b.

Enjoy!
Best Regards, Dave

I can't say that I'm happy that they choose to charge for this pretty important upgrade.

Lou

Hi,

Please consider ordering the ADS-R Enable from your local FLARM dealer. The price is the same for you.
https://www.cumulus-soaring.com/stor...m-enable-ads-r

Best Regards,

Paul Remde
Cumulus Soaring, Inc.

On Wednesday, January 13, 2021 at 2:53:19 PM UTC-6, MNLou wrote:
I can't say that I'm happy that they choose to charge for this pretty important upgrade.

Lou

It looks like this feature is only applicable in the US. I doubt there's any benefit in having it in Canada.

On Wednesday, January 13, 2021 at 3:21:45 PM UTC-8, wrote:
It looks like this feature is only applicable in the US. I doubt there's any benefit in having it in Canada.

That is made pretty clear in the FLARM announcement. ADS-R and TIS-B are USA only services. This option has absolutely no benefit to anybody outside the USA.

Gents - I made a mistake in my earlier, now deleted, post.

After some off line discussion, I now understand that Flarm went to significant effort and expense to increase the safety of US glider pilots. Recouping some of that cost is reasonable.

Mea culpa -

Lou

On Wednesday, January 13, 2021 at 4:51:25 PM UTC-5, Paul Remde wrote:
Hi,

Please consider ordering the ADS-R Enable from your local FLARM dealer. The price is the same for you.
https://www.cumulus-soaring.com/stor...m-enable-ads-r

Best Regards,

Paul Remde
Cumulus Soaring, Inc.

Hello Paul - for the Canadian readers, many of whom have PowerFLARM CORE; is the factory recommendation to update to 7.03 firmware - most current on the FLARM website - or stay back on 7.02? It is not clear in the release notes. Happy New Year. You can take your time with the answer, since we won't be flying until April (snow) or later (that pesky virus (tongue in cheek))..

Hi Dan,

It doesn't appear that there is any benefit to upgrading from 7.02 to 7.03 for anyone outside the USA.

Best Regards,

Paul Remde

On Wednesday, January 13, 2021 at 7:55:06 PM UTC-6, Dan Daly wrote:
On Wednesday, January 13, 2021 at 4:51:25 PM UTC-5, Paul Remde wrote:
Hi,

Please consider ordering the ADS-R Enable from your local FLARM dealer. The price is the same for you.
https://www.cumulus-soaring.com/stor...m-enable-ads-r

Best Regards,

Paul Remde
Cumulus Soaring, Inc.
Hello Paul - for the Canadian readers, many of whom have PowerFLARM CORE; is the factory recommendation to update to 7.03 firmware - most current on the FLARM website - or stay back on 7.02? It is not clear in the release notes. Happy New Year. You can take your time with the answer, since we won't be flying until April (snow) or later (that pesky virus (tongue in cheek)).

On 1/13/2021 3:53 PM, MNLou wrote:
I can't say that I'm happy that they choose to charge for this pretty important upgrade.

Lou


Right. It's just a software change, like other firmware updates. And
it enhances safety. Charging (149 euros) for activating the feature
means a lot of people will skip it, and ADS-R "targets" will remain
invisible. And those UAT "targets" are generally small airplanes who
share our altitudes. It's one thing to charge extra for non-safety
bonus features (such as IGC approved logging) and another to cut into
the basic collision avoidance purpose of the device.

Question: the lack of collision warnings due to low accuracy fix, does
that apply to ADS-R or only to TIS-B? You'd think the position of
airplanes transmitting GPS coordinates on UAT is precisely known, just
like those transmitting on 1090? Only airplanes whose position is only
derived from ground RADAR would be imprecise.

Moshe,

Only TIS-B has position uncertainty from the imprecision of SSR, which varies with the distance from the radar station. Both ADS-R and TIS-B have some position error from delay introduced by the reception-processing-rebroadcast sequence. ADS-B is not designed for close proximity collision warning - it's more a traffic separation tool - 5 miles and 1000 feet. I believe you can get ADS-R/TIS-B traffic alerts at, say, 1 mile, depending on on your display.

I have no problem with the small fee (a few tows) to compensate for the trouble and expense to deliver this US-only functionality. It's a significantly complex task to integrate these new target types - at less than a 10% upcharge on the core unit. Keep in mind that they had to do this from a country that doesn't have these services so all the testing and refinement of the code had to be done based on a remote unit installed at my house overlooking SFO followed by flight testing 7 time zones away with emailed flight logs and pilot reports - no direct hands-on. They didn't have to do it at all - the US is a small segment of the total global soaring market for Flarm. I'm glad they did. It works well.

If you get a Fusion it's all included. That might be the preferred choice if you don't like the feature unbundling.

Andy Blackburn
9B


On Wednesday, January 13, 2021 at 3:26:55 PM UTC-8, Moshe Braner wrote:
On 1/13/2021 3:53 PM, MNLou wrote:
I can't say that I'm happy that they choose to charge for this pretty important upgrade.

Lou

Right. It's just a software change, like other firmware updates. And
it enhances safety. Charging (149 euros) for activating the feature
means a lot of people will skip it, and ADS-R "targets" will remain
invisible. And those UAT "targets" are generally small airplanes who
share our altitudes. It's one thing to charge extra for non-safety
bonus features (such as IGC approved logging) and another to cut into
the basic collision avoidance purpose of the device.

Question: the lack of collision warnings due to low accuracy fix, does
that apply to ADS-R or only to TIS-B? You'd think the position of
airplanes transmitting GPS coordinates on UAT is precisely known, just
like those transmitting on 1090? Only airplanes whose position is only
derived from ground RADAR would be imprecise.