LX Era 80 vs S80/S100

At 06:44 02 October 2019, 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 have flown with both - Era 80 in a club owned Discus, and S80 (with AHRS)
in private Cirrus/Nimbus/ASW20. Much more time in the S80 equipped
gliders.

Both are good varios, personally I prefer the S80/S100 (with the LX remote
Stick). The Era 80 has a 'fancier' display/UI, as I think it has a higher
resolution but I found the S80 much easier to get started with visually and
while quickly scanning the instruments. Once you understand the multiple
'needles' (also includes thermal average) they are very useful indeed.

I have also heard good things about the ClearNav Vario (with the square LCD
display), but this lacks some all round functionality of the Era/S80 (which
may need additional licences anyway to enable).

If you are borderline on which to choose, go with the one which is more
common at your club- these are niche products and you may well find you
need support at the most inconvenient of moments!

Cheers,
Shaun