Skydemon, GPS & traffic

[Contact Approach]

Hi,

Just started using Sky Demon on my ipad. I have it installed on both my phone and ipad when flying as well as a 1:500 chart.
What are people using to get SD to show other traffic when flying? I'm looking to purchase some sort of external GPS device but it's all very confusing.
Any advice?

Cheers,

CA

[ChickenHouse]

There really isn't a traffic surveillance to be used on tablets in the UK, or better Europe. Save your money, features like GBT and WX via 1090 or UAT are US only. If you encounter GPS reception problems, you may get an external GPS, but in 95+% the built-in of the cellular iPad and iPhone will do the job just fine.

There are some experimental things going on and you may like to talk with the tinkerboys doing Stratux/Pilotaware/Flightbox, but do not expect much from it.

[Contact Approach]

Seems like the UK needs to catch up.
Cheers for the advice, my ipad isn't cellular so I will perhaps need an external GPS device for it - unless I can share my GPS pos from the phone.

CA

[ChickenHouse]

Seems like the UK needs to catch up.
Cheers for the advice, my ipad isn't cellular so I will perhaps need an external GPS device for it - unless I can share my GPS pos from the phone.

CA
Trouble is not UK, but Europe ... European indigenous troglodytes did barely left the oceans and are quite far away from any modern Digital Wonderland.

Yes, one can get along with a WiFi-only iPad and external GPS, but I do advice to go cellular. There are so many important and convenient information sources available on the internet that I wouldn't like to miss the remote connectivity.

[DaveW]

Not just Experimental, and the UK is catching up - leading in Europe, in fact.

For Traffic, if the transition solution of PilotAware and the like doesn't float your boat, there is the uAvionix ADS-B traffic solutions such as SkyEcho.

For real time in-flight weather as in the UK, there has been a trial running since last Autumn (https://www.uavionix.com/blog/uat-in-the-uk/), supported by the CAA and driven by SkyDemon and uAvionix, which transmits weather data from (currently) 3 ground stations in the Southern UK and uses the same UAT kit as is used for the US service. (Sky Echo mentioned above is one piece of equipment that will give you both ADS-B traffic and weather).

https://www.uavionix.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/radar-skydemon-1024x549.jpg

[ChickenHouse]

Yes, I know of the Skydemon trial, but the problem remains - the UAT frequency cannot be used throughout Europe as it is occupied already and mostly by military. I do not like to be surprisingly faced by some mil personnel questions when traveling ... and I refuse to comment on the Pilotaware thing any longer.

If UK leaves EASA there may be a way to get UAT, but I somehow doubt it happens.

[DaveW]

Forget UAT and PilotAware for the moment: I was responding to your comment that "There really isn't a traffic surveillance to be used on tablets in the UK, or better Europe."

There is: It is ADS-B, and it's available now from kit like the SkyEcho.

Even in the US not everything will be seen by ADS-B and TIS, but it is early days on both sides of the Atlantic.

[Contact Approach]

Sky echo looks promising! The sooner this stuff becomes mandatory the better - at least within reason.

[thing]

The sooner this stuff becomes mandatory the better - at least within reason. That made I larf :)

[Contact Approach]

:} The devil wears Prada

[CloudHound]

And the Panda wears Diesel :cool:

[9Aplus]

During our consideration about avionic upgrade on IFR trainer level, using
some GTN+G5+TT31 and so... we was considering Skydeamon like add on
for traffic and VFR/IFR maps.
Unfortunately IFR maps covering only G and D airspace and no solution at all
to cover ADS-B, FLARM, OGN and old mode A / C transponders.
The same case is with GTN traffic add on options.

Yes, it is quite a task to do that all but if you miss any of them
than you have traffic info with serious level of "uncertain safety".

To do list now:
Part 21 ADOA and own SDR based traffic receiver with diversity option

[flybymike]

There is also the new Garmin GDL50 which interfaces with tablets via the Garmin app and/or with their various portable units.
It includes a GPS and even synthetic vision.

[BEagle]

...the UAT frequency cannot be used throughout Europe as it is occupied already and mostly by military.

That is no longer the case. The few ground based TACANs which used the same channel as is used for UAT have now been moved to other channels - and frequency agile JTIDS / Link 16 doesn't hop to the frequency either.

There are too many competing systems at present, but the preferred solution is likely to be ADS-B, hopefully with a proper TIS through something like SkyEcho to your SkyDemon enabled tablet device via Bluetooth.