Avionixs Skyecho2

[sharpend]

I'm looking at collision avoidance kit. Has anybody used.got one of these collision avoidance units? How reliable? I gather it only sees Flarm and ADSB but better than nothing. Is there anything better for the price? Should I wait for the standard protocol to be decided?

[BoeingBoy]

I thought I'd wait and see what came of the 'Betamax/VHS' situation but have taken the plunge and bought an SE2. I've yet to use it but testing on the ground it seems to work well with SkyDemon and for an additional £30 to SD you can add Flarm reception. As I already have a mode S transponder though it will only be used for reception for now. I'm looking forward to seeing it in operation.

The SE2 appealed over the other kits as I didn't want additional aerials and cables stuck all over the panel and being IFR equipped I also didn't want the compass affected. Putting the SE2 on a rear window and keeping it well away from the panel should hopefully prevent any interference.

[horizon flyer]

Have you consider the Pilot Aware Rosetta unit, can be stuck on the back window with wifi hooked up to a tablet running Skydemon, can see just about everything with audio alerts if connected, also can see gliders with flarm to 50 miles out. They are working on an upgrade that can give a bearing to mode C transponders as well. https://pilotaware.com/rosetta/
Just a thought at under £300 for the unit and low noise 12volt power adapter.

[Stall Inducer]

I’ve taken the plunge and bought SE2. I’ve tried it out for the first time over the last week on several flights. Initial impressions are that it is a good piece of kit. I picked up traffic immediately after my first takeoff with it from an uncontrolled grass strip which I wouldn’t have otherwise known about. It picks up the ADS B well. I’ve bought the FLARM subscription but have yet to see any gliders despite having been over the south/ south west uk last Saturday in prime glider territory & weather. The gliders I did see were not picked up by SE2. I chose it over Pilot aware Rosetta as I often fly in areas not covered by the OGN stations & wanted to pick up glider traffic in particular.I also wanted something that was robust & minimal fuss to set up & attach.
Good points - battery life seems good I’ve used it over about 6 hours now and the battery had only just gone into the less than 66%
- Most the traffic I was advised of by LARS I already had displayed in SkyDemon
GPS is reliable & accurate.
-Easy to set up - just be aware that when you set it up you have to enter your aircrafts HEX code (available from G-INFO) in both the sky echo set up & sky demon set up as well.

Not so good points- easy to switch on by mistake in transit. (i recommend you buy the case)
- I’m a bit disappointed it doesn’t display ‘bearingless’ targets from mode c&s transponders as I bought it with the understanding that it did so their website is misleading in that respect.

If the ADS B transmit function was permitted I believe it would be a fantastic bit of kit. Until then it’s a bit limited for those of us with a Mode C/S transponder. I haven’t seen or used the Pilot aware Rosetta & believe that if in range of the OGN networks it may be the better product in terms of what you see.
In short I believe the the SE2 shows ADS-B & FLARM where as the Pilot aware has the ability to show ADS-B, Pilot aware uses & FLARM (when in range of an OGN network) I believe it may also show bearingless Mode C/S transponders as well although I stand to be corrected on this.

[Romeo Tango]

My experience with SE2:
A well designed bit of kit, sees ADSB targets well on Skydemon and is good source of GPS to non-GPS tablets.
BUT only a small fraction of small aircraft currently transmit ADSB. This means one sees the grown up aircraft going into the big airfields but not the small ones that one may bump into.
I expect we will all be made to have ADSB soon (cue another expensive transponder change just after we have all installed mode S) so this will not be a problem (if you see what I mean!).
The other solutions probably see more today but IMHO are a dead end and will be obsolete when ADSB gathers steam.

[ivorPhillips]

My experience with SE2:
A well designed bit of kit, sees ADSB targets well on Skydemon and is good source of GPS to non-GPS tablets.
BUT only a small fraction of small aircraft currently transmit ADSB. This means one sees the grown up aircraft going into the big airfields but not the small ones that one may bump into.
I expect we will all be made to have ADSB soon (cue another expensive transponder change just after we have all installed mode S) so this will not be a problem (if you see what I mean!).
The other solutions probably see more today but IMHO are a dead end and will be obsolete when ADSB gathers steam.

Dead is the operative word if as you put it bump into something before ADS-B is mandated for all,
I Have Rossetta plus Mode S with ADS-B out at SIL1 so spent a fair wack over the last couple of years, and for that I am as visible as I can be for most of the traffic out there including Gliders,
Flying back last Saturday I changed course many times to maximise separation between us, undoubtedly there were other aircraft that didn’t show, but I felt it made me safer with the one that did,

[Romeo Tango]

IMHO the chance of bumping into anything is small enough to wait.
YMMV

[Maoraigh1]

Will the drone industry soon provide a cheap solution? Mass produced ADS-B.IN for 1500g consumer drones is announced from January 2020. A non-certified aviation device could be produced. But a receiver doesn't need certification. And a certified GPS to feed a Trig transponder would allow many more light aircraft to participate. Possibly also a mass-produced part from the drone industry?

[Dans1005]

I believe i can use my sky echo transmitting ADSB out with a mode C transponder. Does anyone know i will now appear on flight radar 24?

[Stall Inducer]

I should add to my previous post that I did receive a Flarm contact on my return flight the other day. Quite impressed as the Sky Echo was located on the opposite side to the glider traffic.