Originally Posted by
chrisN
(b) If as much effort were put into R&D for Flarm reception by airliners etc. as is being funded for UAV's, Mode S, and other safety or airspace-capacity issues, no doubt Flarm detection range could be improved. There are none so deaf to the possibilities as those who don't want anything but their preconceived (and ill-conceived) part-solution.
I think you're missing the point that I was trying to make in a previous post.
There's a patent application from about 1998 with my name on it for a GA collision avoidance device that works just like Flarm. Somebody has written a letter in the last Flight Safety describing
their CDTI invention. I'm sure there are many others, because the solution is obvious. Broadcast your position and receive the position of other aircraft.
I abandoned that application because it was pretty clear that the key issue in this area was one of interoperability and standardisation. It's no good to anyone if everyone is using different devices that don't talk to each other. And there were emerging standards -- I'd hoped that VDL Mode 4 would win, but the FAA threw it out early and at thaat point it was doomed. And the choice of protocol doesn't make much difference to the performance: the power consumption is determined by the range requirement, the cost is determined by the development and certification cost split across the market.
You can beef up Flarm to higher powers if you want, but all you have then is an incompatible device that draws the same power as a 1090ES ADS-B link of similar performance. Operating at the same power, there's nothing fundamentally more difficult about making a 1090ES datalink (that incidentally responds to Mode S interrogations) than Flarm. It's just a box of electronics.
The difference with 1090ES is that it
will be carried by the vast majority of powered aircraft.
I'd hope that anyone developing a CDTI device based on 1090ES would learn from all the prior art, including Flarm, TCAS and the alleged failings of the somewhat rudimentary detectors currently on the market.
Originally Posted by
chrisN
CAA's proposals for a slightly more practical LAST/LPST have not been adopted by ICAO or anybody else.
The LAST is a EUROCAE standard ED-115.