EW microRecorder and ERIXX

Hi,
I've sold my volkslogger and now I'm looking to buy something else,
considering price and features EW microRecorder SD logger and ERIXX
logger both look interesting.
I would like to hear from people that are using these loggers (not
necessarily both of them;-)), please share your opinion, how they work
with PC and with PDA, pros and cons, anything to help me a bit



Thanks
--
--=JJay=--
www.aeroklub.deblin.pl, my photos on airliners.net - http://tiny.pl/rcwl
and on airfoto.pl - http://tiny.pl/n3mk

In message , --=JJay=--
writes
Hi,
I've sold my volkslogger and now I'm looking to buy something else,
considering price and features EW microRecorder SD logger and ERIXX
logger both look interesting.
I would like to hear from people that are using these loggers (not
necessarily both of them;-)), please share your opinion, how they work
with PC and with PDA, pros and cons, anything to help me a bit

I have an EW Microrecorder.

Pros - small, light, supplies 5v to the PDA if you supply 12v from the
glider's battery, connects via USB as a removable hard drive. (Mine is
mounted with Velcro out of the way on the inside of the fuselage.)
Masses of memory - I can record ever second without worrying about not
having enough room for the file. It automatically starts overwriting
the oldest IGC file when it runs out of free space.

Cons - you need to connect it to a PDA or a PC to make a declaration ,
or you need one that will write a correct EWUSER.TXT onto an SD card.
Doesn't give any navigational help. The standard screw connection for
the GPS aerial is fiddly - wish I'd gone for the BNC alternative.

Pro & Con - you can edit the EWUSER.TXT by hand using Notepad or
similar. You don't need any special software, you can make a right mess
of it...

Mine supplies a GPS feed to the moving map on my PDA, the PDA used to be
able to send a declaration and that's stopped working but I suspect the
cable.

--
Surfer!
Email to: ramwater at uk2 dot net

Another Pros :

1. You can fly during 100 hours without charging your EW logger
2. "After Sale" service is just excellent ! Top quality about
communication with vendor.
3. Very light.

Another cons:

1. There is no standard "ON/OFF" switch. You have to click twice (at a
certain speed) on a very small button and see the red light
disappearing for switching off the unit.
2. I have to admit and confirm that the antenna connector looks (and
is ???) very fragile.

Recommenation:

Buy the EW unit with a SD card reader. So you can leave the EW inside
the cockpit and bring only the SD card at home.

Best regards,
bruno

The EW unit is a great unit once you figure out how to turn it on and off.
The LEDs are really hard to see in sunlight, which makes this a little
challenging. It is a very good unit to use in a club, as each pilot can
have his own SD card with his/her own task declarations. When you turn the
unit off, the log file is copied into the SD card, which you can take with
you and download to your PC at our leisure.

Mike Schumann

"nimbus" wrote in message
...
Another Pros :

1. You can fly during 100 hours without charging your EW logger
2. "After Sale" service is just excellent ! Top quality about
communication with vendor.
3. Very light.

Another cons:

1. There is no standard "ON/OFF" switch. You have to click twice (at a
certain speed) on a very small button and see the red light
disappearing for switching off the unit.
2. I have to admit and confirm that the antenna connector looks (and
is ???) very fragile.

Recommenation:

Buy the EW unit with a SD card reader. So you can leave the EW inside
the cockpit and bring only the SD card at home.

Best regards,
bruno

The ERIXX Data logger is tiny, easily fits in the palm of your hand, yet it
is a very sturdy, all nicely manufactured metal box, no cheap plastic case,
only 65x52x28 mm (roughly 2 1/2" x 2" x 1") and 120g (2 ounces). It is about
1/2 the size of any other popular IGC data logger. Though it doesn't have a
battery built in to power it but it operates on any input voltage for 6V -
16V and draws only 40mA@12V so any small battery pack in this range can
easily be attached to it for stand-alone power making it completely
portable, it does not use an SD card but then again at its size doesn't
really need to have one and connects to PC with USB cables without requiring
the external power for connection to PC. It already has a regulated 5V
converter for direct power to PDA's and cables are available for direct
connection to the most common devices. It has "bright" LED's to indicate
functions and antenna connection is standard BNC (included). the ERIXX is
FAI/IGC approved.
There aren't a lot of these in use "yet" in the USA since they are very new
and have not been offered here until only recently but they are very nice
devices at a very attractive price and far more advanced than those most
commonly used older CAI data-loggers and are ideal for those still using
that type looking to upgrade or add a second (I'm certain the ERIXX will
become the primary)logger to their systems.
see these on http://www.wingsandwheels.com/page11.htm
best regards
Tim Mara
Please visit the Wings & Wheels website at www.wingsandwheels.com

"Mike Schumann" wrote in message
...
The EW unit is a great unit once you figure out how to turn it on and off.
The LEDs are really hard to see in sunlight, which makes this a little
challenging. It is a very good unit to use in a club, as each pilot can
have his own SD card with his/her own task declarations. When you turn
the unit off, the log file is copied into the SD card, which you can take
with you and download to your PC at our leisure.

Mike Schumann

"nimbus" wrote in message
...
Another Pros :

1. You can fly during 100 hours without charging your EW logger
2. "After Sale" service is just excellent ! Top quality about
communication with vendor.
3. Very light.

Another cons:

1. There is no standard "ON/OFF" switch. You have to click twice (at a
certain speed) on a very small button and see the red light
disappearing for switching off the unit.
2. I have to admit and confirm that the antenna connector looks (and
is ???) very fragile.

Recommenation:

Buy the EW unit with a SD card reader. So you can leave the EW inside
the cockpit and bring only the SD card at home.

Best regards,
bruno

For the ultimate in compact self contained data-loggers look at the
FlyWithCE Recorder on http://www.wingsandwheels.com/page11.htm
these are NOT FAI/IGC data-loggers but store the same files (less pressure
sensor, all altitudes are GPS altitudes), run for several hours (about 10)
on just 2 AAA Alkaline batteries and come with Logbook software all for
$119.00
You cannot use this log file for badges or records but should be perfect for
those who want to review their flights, OLC and should be accepted in
regional contest the same as the flight logs from PDA's.
tim
Please visit the Wings & Wheels website at www.wingsandwheels.com

"Mike Schumann" wrote in message
...
The EW unit is a great unit once you figure out how to turn it on and off.
The LEDs are really hard to see in sunlight, which makes this a little
challenging. It is a very good unit to use in a club, as each pilot can
have his own SD card with his/her own task declarations. When you turn
the unit off, the log file is copied into the SD card, which you can take
with you and download to your PC at our leisure.

Mike Schumann

"nimbus" wrote in message
...
Another Pros :

1. You can fly during 100 hours without charging your EW logger
2. "After Sale" service is just excellent ! Top quality about
communication with vendor.
3. Very light.

Another cons:

1. There is no standard "ON/OFF" switch. You have to click twice (at a
certain speed) on a very small button and see the red light
disappearing for switching off the unit.
2. I have to admit and confirm that the antenna connector looks (and
is ???) very fragile.

Recommenation:

Buy the EW unit with a SD card reader. So you can leave the EW inside
the cockpit and bring only the SD card at home.

Best regards,
bruno

I'll second what the others have said in favor of the EW
MicroRecorder. I have owned one for almost a year and a half now and
I absolutely love it. I wish I had bought the model with the
removable SD Card (this is now standard on all EW's).

NOTE: If you supply the EW with ship's power, you don't need to remove
it from the glider to charge it. Saves wear and tear on the
connectors - they _are_ fiddly for the antenna, but they aren't overly
fragile - I take mine out after every flight, its had 60+ connect/
disconnect cycles so far without a hiccup.

The EW is simple to operate and basically "maintenance-free"; much
different from Volksloggers or other loggers with lots of buttons and
menus. The EW is designed _not_ to provide navigation or other stuff
(unlike some other loggers), because the manufacturers assume you're
connecting it to a PDA or other device with a good screen for a moving
map and flight computer functions. This keeps the EW small, light,
and simple.

Another note: When hooked up to 12v power from the aircraft, it turns
on automatically - no need to worry about seeing the lights in the
sun. If you want, just put a switch or fuse or circuit-breaker in
your panel to control when you turn on the EW. It has so much memory
capacity - and an auto-record feature that can kick in at a certain
altitude or speed - that you can also simply have it turn on whenever
your main battery is hooked up. The EW itself draws very little power
- but beware your PDA; which can draw as much as 1 amp (sometimes
more)!

Good luck,

--Noel
P.S. I'd offer praise for the ERIXX, but I don't own one and don't
have much experience with them. I don't think either device is a bad
choice - you need to look at your situation (glider, power, PDA, etc)
and determine which is more appropriate.

In message
,
nimbus writes
Another Pros :

1. You can fly during 100 hours without charging your EW logger
2. "After Sale" service is just excellent ! Top quality about
communication with vendor.
3. Very light.

Another cons:

1. There is no standard "ON/OFF" switch. You have to click twice (at a
certain speed) on a very small button and see the red light
disappearing for switching off the unit.
2. I have to admit and confirm that the antenna connector looks (and
is ???) very fragile.

Recommenation:

Buy the EW unit with a SD card reader. So you can leave the EW inside
the cockpit and bring only the SD card at home.

Depends on if you can safely leave it in the glider. You don't have to
disconnect the aerial to take it out, and you do have to recharge it
from time to time.

--
Surfer!
Email to: ramwater at uk2 dot net

Thank you all for response!
I think I've made up my mind and I'll go for ERIXX.
It's made in Czech republic and that's good for me as I live and fly in
Poland and I've heard that they give superb support for their clients


Thanks again
--
--=JJay=--
www.aeroklub.deblin.pl, my photos on airliners.net - http://tiny.pl/rcwl
and on airfoto.pl - http://tiny.pl/n3mk