Zaon Traffic Avoidance and Flight Computers

I've been seeing some of the small Zaon traffic avoidance units
(http://www.zaon.aero) and they look pretty slick. The larger module
even will hook into many GPS displays. Knowing that such a product
will only come down in price and in size, can one of the larger, XRX,
units be plugged into any of the glider flight computers to have
traffic on top our existing moving maps? This might be something that
the Craggy/NK/etc. guys might what to consider.

Hi Jeffrey,

Interesting idea, but I suspect that the Zaon units (great as they are) will
slowly fade away as new low cost ADS-B units come out over the next few
years. The ADS-B units will be much more accurate. The only question is
whether the FAA will allow low cost non-certified units to be used. Time
will tell. For now the Zaon units are great. I just wonder whether
companies will want to spend the time writing the code to support them.

The NK ClearNav already accepts input from FLARM units and displays the data
on the moving map. That will be a fantastic feature outside the USA. But
in the USA there are a lot more transponders than there are FLARM units, so
your idea does have merit.

Good Soaring,

Paul Remde
Cumulus Soaring, Inc.
http://www.cumulus-soaring.com


"Jeffrey "PT" Smith" wrote in message
...
I've been seeing some of the small Zaon traffic avoidance units
(http://www.zaon.aero) and they look pretty slick. The larger module
even will hook into many GPS displays. Knowing that such a product
will only come down in price and in size, can one of the larger, XRX,
units be plugged into any of the glider flight computers to have
traffic on top our existing moving maps? This might be something that
the Craggy/NK/etc. guys might what to consider.

Jeffrey "PT" Smith wrote:
I've been seeing some of the small Zaon traffic avoidance units
(http://www.zaon.aero) and they look pretty slick. The larger module
even will hook into many GPS displays. Knowing that such a product
will only come down in price and in size, can one of the larger, XRX,
units be plugged into any of the glider flight computers to have
traffic on top our existing moving maps? This might be something that
the Craggy/NK/etc. guys might what to consider.

Ask the question on the SeeYou Mobile newsgroup, and similarly for the
other units. They can do it for FLARM, so it might not be too hard. I'm
guessing it would take a hardware "combiner" to merge the data from the
logger/flarm unit and the XRX, but I think those are available.

--
Eric Greenwell - Washington State, USA
* Change "netto" to "net" to email me directly

* Updated! "Transponders in Sailplanes" http://tinyurl.com/y739x4
* New Jan '08 - sections on Mode S, TPAS, ADS-B, Flarm, more

* "A Guide to Self-launching Sailplane Operation" at www.motorglider.org

On Sep 14, 1:17*pm, "Jeffrey \"PT\" Smith"
wrote:
I've been seeing some of the small Zaon traffic avoidance units
(http://www.zaon.aero) and they look pretty slick. *The larger module
even will hook into many GPS displays. *Knowing that such a product
will only come down in price and in size, can one of the larger, XRX,
units be plugged into any of the glider flight computers to have
traffic on top our existing moving maps? *This might be something that
the Craggy/NK/etc. guys might what to consider.

The XRX a is is not very practical for use in gliders, it built-in
antenna size and its overall power consumption are issues (it even has
a cooling fan). The simpler MRX does a fantastic job, when it beeps
you start looking around with a real sense of urgency.

Part of the XRX is the complex antenna and it is unlikely that can
shrink much more. I also doubt it will reduce enough in price enough
to have lots of glider pilots excited about buying one, not when the
MRX is so good and will always be significantly cheaper. As for
reducing much in price, it is price wedged between non-directional
sensors from several brands (including the Xaon MRX) and active
interrogation systems in the tens of $k price range. The future is all
supposed to be ADS-B, but I'd no hold my breath on that.

Most PDA based moving maps are so woefully illegible that I'd hate to
think that somebody would try to look at that to see where traffic
might be once something beeps an alert. At least there the ClearNav et
al. would be significantly better.


Darryl

Darryl Ramm wrote:

Most PDA based moving maps are so woefully illegible that I'd hate to
think that somebody would try to look at that to see where traffic
might be once something beeps an alert. At least there the ClearNav et
al. would be significantly better.

I've not used FLARM or an XRX, but I think the advantage to displaying
"intruders" on a screen is you become aware of their position before
they become a threat (i.e., when the beeping starts). The MRX also
displays intruders before they become threats, but it's hard to spot
them, even compared to a dim PDA screen's display.

--
Eric Greenwell - Washington State, USA
* Change "netto" to "net" to email me directly

* Updated! "Transponders in Sailplanes" http://tinyurl.com/y739x4
* New Jan '08 - sections on Mode S, TPAS, ADS-B, Flarm, more

* "A Guide to Self-launching Sailplane Operation" at www.motorglider.org

On Sep 14, 1:17*pm, "Jeffrey \"PT\" Smith"
wrote:
I've been seeing some of the small Zaon traffic avoidance units
(http://www.zaon.aero) and they look pretty slick.

I've been using the MRX unit this season and find a real help. I agree
with the other posters that the XRX unit is too big for most gliders.
The MRX is far from perfect, but so is a human's ability to spot
traffic unaided. As the instruction manual points out the MRX is an
aid, not a cure-all. In addition to occasionally missing traffic, it
has an annoying tendency to pick up my own transponder. There is an
adjustment to minimize this, but even that is not perfect. Still, much
better to be alerted unnecessarily than vice versa. And I can usually
tell when it's my transponder that's being seen because the target
appear suddenly at a mile or less range and approximately at my
altitude.

Aside from its obvious use, I used it just last Sunday to find another
glider (transponder equipped of course) that I almost surely would
have missed otherwise. The MRX showed a target at 2 miles (too far
away to be seen by eye -- though I should mention that the distance
estimate is also far from perfect), but I kept scanning. Sure enough
about a minute later I spotted a glider in a thermal and joined him.
So the MRX also serves as an occasional "thermal finder."

Overall, I highly recommend it.

Martin