LX Era 80 vs S80/S100

Op zondag 6 oktober 2019 13:14:20 UTC+2 schreef krasw:
perjantai 4. lokakuuta 2019 17.25.28 UTC+3 Senna Van den Bosch kirjoitti:
Op vrijdag 4 oktober 2019 15:17:12 UTC+2 schreef Turkey Vultu
I have actually used the s100 in my DG 100 for 1 season. I popped for the AHRS as well. 80mm is the way to go.

I ordered the lx navigation Eros first and then returned it. I preferred the simplicity of the S100. I found the era to be slightly less user friendly but it’s basically the same unit.

You will be happy with the S100. It has all the bells and whistles and is easy to use. I have it on electronic compensation though and it creates an overly sensitive and optimistic vario. Adjusting internal settings has minimal effect on this. On the DG 100 I would use the traditional TE compensation. I think you need the combo probe to get good performance with electronic compensation on the S100. I find myself waiting on the winter to confirm a thermal before turning. The S100 is usually right about the thermal and quick to identify it, but screams like it’s going to be a 5 kt climb until you exuberantly turn and find it to only be 1.5 kts. Yes, I have tuned it for stick thermals Properly. The winter stays honest throughout. I think this is due to the location of the static holes...

The $800 AHRS option sure is cool eye candy and could come in useful on that wave day where it closes in below you but Otherwise, you won’t use it.

My last comment is that you have one option for tone. Yea you can adjust it slightly but it’s doesn’t change much. For $2,000 you should have 10 options for types of sounds for the vario. It blows my mind that nobody seems to care and it’s not even discussed in reviews. The tone should be highly adjustable just like the face of the vario. Instead you get a standard beep. Cambridge and Tasman had some nice option. The industry needs to pamper attention to this as we all have to listen to it for hours on end

Right now I find myself in the following situation before EVERY thermal in the C4:
Speed to fly mode is active, try to keep it at 0. When flying through a thermal before turning, it shows me I have to slow down a lot, pointing towards the +3-4 m/s (while going straight), turning in thinking I have a great thermal, followed by switching mode to thermal mode, only to see I net +1 or +2 m/s.

In the C4, I have absolutely no way of telling before turning in and switching the mode, how strong it will be. That is one of the main reasons to switch to a new vario, as it is possible to show those multiple needles and digits, even in speed to fly mode (I think it can?)

Reading this trough again I think this happens:

When you fly trough thermal your indicator is configured as speed commander, commanding to pull up, which is correct (in a sense that every single flight computer/variometer wants you to pull straight into deep stall in thermal, like this is what people normally do).

What you want is relative netto indicator. This tells you the strength of the thermal if you would circle in it at optimum climbing speed, no matter what your current speed is. Seems like C4 needle cannot be configured to show relative netto.

This is true, however I do think it isn't speed related to switch from speed to fly to thermal, I think it's in the 90° turn mode, I'll try switching that over first

Not only you should be able to select your favorite method for switching from Speed-Command to Vario, but you should probably be able to select what is actually being indicated by the needle. In the Zander which I'm more familiar with, you have many options, doubled for SC and Vario.

My preferred setting is:
SC = needle indicates netto, or relative netto.
Va = needle indicates vario

I prefer to have the "push or pull" indication elsewhere, maybe an arrow in the repeater or main computer unit. Or I can easily live without it.

The C4 is a honest vario. I'd try to keep it there.

Aldo Cernezzi.

On Wednesday, October 2, 2019 at 9:18:31 AM UTC+1, krasw wrote:
On Wednesday, October 2, 2019 at 9:44:55 AM UTC+3, Senna Van den Bosch wrote:
I'm thinking of upgrading my SDI C4 e-vario this winter in my DG-100. With limited space, I would be going for an 80mm one.

I've seen some different options, like the LX S80/S100 and Era 80, but fail to see many differences.

For what I do know from the cumulus-soaring.com comparison page is that the Era 80 has GPS built in, is IGC approved and has a built in backup battery. Also, the Era seems to support 1 needle at a time, while the S80/S100 can do netto/relative/McCready needles at the same time.

Would you suggest one above the other? Any other features to compare that I'm missing?

Help would be appreciated!

I've flown S80 and first thing I did was to get rid of clutter of several needles.

I would add Air Glide S to the list. You get the very good inertial netto that is not availabe on others, and a product that is made to look and feel like real aircraft instrument.

Air Avionics are stopping making the Air Glide vario/nav systems - as reported on https://streckenflug.at/

The Airglide announcement
https://translate.google.com/transla...ooperation.pdf

from last paragraph
AIR Avionics wants to support interested parties and the open source community to further exploit acquired knowledge and software components.

Wonder if they intend it to become an open source instrument?

On Sunday, October 27, 2019 at 8:16:21 AM UTC-7, wrote:
On Wednesday, October 2, 2019 at 9:18:31 AM UTC+1, krasw wrote:
On Wednesday, October 2, 2019 at 9:44:55 AM UTC+3, Senna Van den Bosch wrote:
I'm thinking of upgrading my SDI C4 e-vario this winter in my DG-100. With limited space, I would be going for an 80mm one.

I've seen some different options, like the LX S80/S100 and Era 80, but fail to see many differences.

For what I do know from the cumulus-soaring.com comparison page is that the Era 80 has GPS built in, is IGC approved and has a built in backup battery. Also, the Era seems to support 1 needle at a time, while the S80/S100 can do netto/relative/McCready needles at the same time.

Would you suggest one above the other? Any other features to compare that I'm missing?

Help would be appreciated!

I've flown S80 and first thing I did was to get rid of clutter of several needles.

I would add Air Glide S to the list. You get the very good inertial netto that is not availabe on others, and a product that is made to look and feel like real aircraft instrument.

Air Avionics are stopping making the Air Glide vario/nav systems - as reported on https://streckenflug.at/

I hope some company buys that line of Air Glide varios! I love the instantaneous wind and the Blue dot in rough gusty conditions.

I've been seeing some pilots prefer the Borgelt variometers as well, how would the modern ones (B600/B800/dynamis) compare to the modern LX variometers?

I have a B800, and I’m very happy with it, only the vario, no GCD or Borgelt GPS, just use flight computer to set mcready and ballast.
Dynamis certainly sounds great, but at over $5000 aud + extra on top of the B800, It is very costly.
The basic B800 was much cheaper than the LXs, both kinds.
I’m wondering the same question, looking at an S80 that is for sale here.

I have a B800, though just the vario, without the Borgelt GPS, GCD and Dynamis. I control the settings on the B800 via the flight computer, bugs, ballast and Mcready,
Dynamis sounds great, but at $5000aud + is not cheap, maybe one day.
I’ve been wondering the same thing myself, though my recent flights with the new B800 have been satisfyingly fast, so there’s that.

On Sun, 03 Nov 2019 23:33:54 -0800, Senna Van den Bosch wrote:

I've been seeing some pilots prefer the Borgelt variometers as well, how
would the modern ones (B600/B800/dynamis) compare to the modern LX
variometers?

Most of the LX units I've seen strike me as cramming too much information
into the centre of the display, but of course ymmv.

Currently I'm very happy with an SDI C4 (with cruise/climb switching
controlled by airspeed) and a 3.5" PNA running LK8000 (3.5" because of
panel size limitation) and a Borgelt B.40 as secondary vario.

Back when I used a Garmin GPS II for navigation I had that connected to
the C4, which let it calculate arrival heights etc. That doesn't work now
because the PNA/LK8000 doesn't have a suitable data out connection and,
even if it did, it doesn't output the GPS sentences the C4 needs. So, I'm
considering using a port of LK8000 to a Raspberry Pi with a touch screen
and writing a custom module to generate the data feed to the C4.


--
Martin | martin at
Gregorie | gregorie dot org

On Tuesday, November 5, 2019 at 1:25:06 PM UTC+1, Martin Gregorie wrote:
On Sun, 03 Nov 2019 23:33:54 -0800, Senna Van den Bosch wrote:

I've been seeing some pilots prefer the Borgelt variometers as well, how
would the modern ones (B600/B800/dynamis) compare to the modern LX
variometers?

Most of the LX units I've seen strike me as cramming too much information
into the centre of the display, but of course ymmv.

Currently I'm very happy with an SDI C4 (with cruise/climb switching
controlled by airspeed) and a 3.5" PNA running LK8000 (3.5" because of
panel size limitation) and a Borgelt B.40 as secondary vario.

Back when I used a Garmin GPS II for navigation I had that connected to
the C4, which let it calculate arrival heights etc. That doesn't work now
because the PNA/LK8000 doesn't have a suitable data out connection and,
even if it did, it doesn't output the GPS sentences the C4 needs. So, I'm
considering using a port of LK8000 to a Raspberry Pi with a touch screen
and writing a custom module to generate the data feed to the C4.


--
Martin | martin at
Gregorie | gregorie dot org

Hi Martin,

you can adjust the layout as you wish. You can have only one NAVBOX and no other data. At LXNAV we indeed have many options and many information, but the most important is that you can totally adjust the screen as you wish.

More you can read he
https://gliding.lxnav.com/wp-content...er710rev29.pdf

page: 25

Best regards, Toni