LXNav V7 vs Butterfly vario?

Anyone got any in flight experience of the LX Nav V7 or the
Butterfly vario? I love the features of the Butterfly but looking at
YouTube clips it seems to be way too sensitive??

Any alternatives?

Thanks

Chris

On Jan 4, 11:32*am, Chris Davison wrote:
Anyone got any in flight experience of the LX Nav V7 or the
Butterfly vario? *I love the features of the Butterfly but looking at
YouTube clips it seems to be way too sensitive??

Any alternatives?

Thanks

Chris

Clear Nav Vario. I haven't flown with LX or butterfly, but the CN is
just a little bit better than the 302 and SN10, and those were great.

John Cochrane

Clear Nav, LX Nav, Butterfly, Vega varios...

Is there an open protocol that allows these varios to talk to any and all Soaring_Software/PDA that implements interoperability with them?

Or does your choice of vario also commit you to a brand of Soaring_Software/PDA?

I realize that you don't necessarily need your Vario to inter-operate with you PDA, but isn't that half the point of spending $2-3000 on a new vario?

On Friday, January 4, 2013 10:17:05 AM UTC-8, son_of_flubber wrote:
Clear Nav, LX Nav, Butterfly, Vega varios... Is there an open protocol that allows these varios to talk to any and all Soaring_Software/PDA that implements interoperability with them? Or does your choice of vario also commit you to a brand of Soaring_Software/PDA? I realize that you don't necessarily need your Vario to inter-operate with you PDA, but isn't that half the point of spending $2-3000 on a new vario?


The LXNAV V7, LX1606, and Butterfly Vario with send air data to just about any PDA, PNA software.


Richard
www.craggyaero.com

Love my V7!

Richard

The V7 is on my spring wish list. Do you have cables appropriate for connections to Mio 400 running LK8000 and EW Micro Recorder flight logger?

Lane
XF

On Friday, January 4, 2013 9:32:33 AM UTC-8, Chris Davison wrote:
Anyone got any in flight experience of the LX Nav V7 or the Butterfly vario? I love the features of the Butterfly but looking at YouTube clips it seems to be way too sensitive?? Any alternatives? Thanks Chris

Chris,

I have flown with both the LX Navigation LX1606, LXNAV V7 and the Butterfly Vario. Probably about 30 hours.

This YouTube shows an LX1606 and the Butterfly Vario. Hard to see the LX1606 in the YouTube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1i0IVkHUnWU

The ButterFly Vario is the only display I have ever seen that is as good as my Ultimate Le in the sun.

I don't have a YouTube vs the V7.

I also found the SC a little sensitive on the Butterfly and emailed them about the issue last fall. They agreed and the latest Firmware of the Butterfly added a compensation menu item for the SC error filter. So you can adjust to what you desire. The compensation values in all the instruments should be set to smooth the performance of the vario and in my opinion don't really correspond to seconds.

I tuned the Butterfly Varo using compensation values to exactly match the LX1606 and V7. The V7 and Butterfly have more features than the LX1606. I have not had a chance to test the Butterfly with the latest firmware and the SC compensation, but I am confident it will work well. The V7 and Butterfly also have flarm screens.

All three varios in my opinion are an great improvement over CAI 302 technology.

They also allow PowerFlarm integration with out a multiplexer and operate at much higher baud rates that the 302.

I have all in stock.

Richard
www.craggyaero.com.

So I have both a V7 that I used at Standard Class Nats last summer, and now also have a Butterfly vario. Sadly, the Butterfly unit didn't arrive until very late in the soaring season, so I've racked up far less experience with the unit. Previously, I used a Cambridge 302 / 303 combination. Here are some thoughts:

(1) Both the V7 and the Butterfly are fantastic units, and a significant upgrade in terms of overall usability compared to the 302/303 combination.

(2) The V7 is significantly easier to install. The Butterfly has a separate box that contains the inertial measurement system, and this has some tricky installation requirements—needs to be level in flight, aligned with the axis of flight, and isolated from sources of magnetic and electrical interference. I ended up installing mine behind my spars, and then routing the communication cable to the Butterfly display in my panel. This also required pulling pitot, static, and TE lines to the shelf behind my spar. Nothing was insanely difficult, but in the end this required a substantial re-wiring of my entire panel.

(3) The Butterfly display is gorgeous. It's easy to read in the brightest conditions.

(4) I use the Butterfly to display Flarm traffic from my Flarm brick. This in combination with sending Flarm traffic to my PDA avoids the need for a separate Flarm display in my opinion.

(5) As a vario and speed to fly computer, I think the V7 and Butterfly are equal right now. I believe that the Butterfly has the potential to become much better in time because it will have the advantage of the inertial measurements for gust filtering and so on. Although I have no special knowledge, my impression is that the Butterfly software is not fully being exploiting all of the data it is getting from the IMU.

(6) Both are very easy to configure to your preferences.

(7) Customer support seems to be a bit better from LXNav in my experience. I had a problem at Nats and received responses to my emails within hours that helped me solve my problems. The Butterfly folks have been responsive to my questions, but usually it takes a couple of days and often it has been an acknowledgment that, yes, I'm an early adopter and they will have to address my concern in a future firmware update.

(8) The Butterfly vario is insanely well built. Parts and finish are all are very high quality.

I'm personally supper happy with both, and look forward to getting more out of them this season. I don't think you would be unhappy with either choice.. It's really a question of how far out do you want to be out on the edge of vario technology—the Butterfly has more to offer in that area.

Chris
42DJ

These new intelligent variometers have a lot options that can be
set by the PNA / Flight computer SW. I would not purchase a
system, which is not open and fully documented. I have discussed
with some variometer manufacturers about their data
communication protocols, and some of them either do not disclose
information, or do not give correct information. Some of them did
not even answer to my emails.

IMHO the value of your variometer will go down faster if it is a
closed platform. If it is open, and can connect with XCSoar and
LK8000 and others, you will benefit of all the new innovations these
soaring SW gurus will develop.

How do the V7 and Butterfly rate in terms of being open and do
they work with XCSoar and K8000??

Chris


At 10:13 06 January 2013, Kimmo Hytoenen wrote:
These new intelligent variometers have a lot options that can be
set by the PNA / Flight computer SW. I would not purchase a
system, which is not open and fully documented. I have discussed
with some variometer manufacturers about their data
communication protocols, and some of them either do not disclose
information, or do not give correct information. Some of them did
not even answer to my emails.

IMHO the value of your variometer will go down faster if it is a
closed platform. If it is open, and can connect with XCSoar and
LK8000 and others, you will benefit of all the new innovations
these
soaring SW gurus will develop.