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ADSB-Out concerns

Utah-Jay

MEMBER
Heber City, UT
I have a Garmin GDL39 for ADSB out and I have some concerns.

Based on the fact that FlightAware is only showing small portions of my flights. I absolutely do not want to be invisible to other planes! On the other side of things, a buddy joined me for a flight of two last weekend and I showed up on his screen the entire flight, but that flight only a small portion of the 28 minute flight registered on FlightAware. My buddies flight showed up from takeoff to landing. When my buddy is flying in the plane I fly (actually his plane) I often try to track him on ForeFlight (obviously FF uses FlightAware data) and sometimes the plane disappears. My flight today from KHCR to UT9 failed to register at all and some of it was through airspace between Provo and SLC which has a fair amount of traffic and I was concerned.

Luckily my Sentry ADSB-in works well and I see surrounding ADSB equipped traffic.

Any ideas?
 
A GDL 39 unit is for ADS-B in.

Web

Thanks

Hmmm, then I am mistaken on my out, and will check it. Yes I can see that now, we installed the Sentry to be able to “feed” ForeFlight on the iPad and phone.

But the problem still exists
 
Double check the model. A GTX 327 can be used with a UAT to make an ADS-B out unit. Does Flightaware track transponders or only ADS-B signals? I'm assuming both, but . . .

Go through the system and check all coax connections. Back of transponder, at the UAT (unless it is wireless, i.e. uAvionics) and at the antenna on the belly.

Web
 
Thanks a million, will do this week when I head out there (75 minute drive each way) as my buddy who is the plane owner is still taking lessons out of UT9. Looking forward to him finishing so the plane is less than 10 minutes away at KHCR
 
Do you have Mode C? Are you showing up when near an ATC airport and the fading out until close to another ATC airport?
 
Do you have Mode C? Are you showing up when near an ATC airport and the fading out until close to another ATC airport?
Yes on the Mode C and it is a GTX327

I am guessing that Web may be correct and there is a loose connection as the problem seems to had escalated the past few weeks.

But this is only a guess, so please keep the ideas coming

As for the fading in and out near ATC airports, we are based just outside the Mode C arc SSW of SLC, today I flew under the southern shelf to stay out of the SLC airspace.
 
The 327 isn't an ads-b transponder unless you have a GDL82 with it. FliteAware may be seeing you Mode C being translated.
 
Tied to a Uavionix or Garmin ADSB out solution? The 327 alone does not provide ADSB out to ATC or other traffic......

edit: What Stewart said..... :lol:
 
Have you played with the sensitivity scale on the Skybeacon app?

My buddy bought the plane (Rans S-20) from the builder, so I did not even know the beacon had an app, looking now. Is it pretty self explanatory? Turn on the avionics and let the app search for the beacon?
 
Thanks

Hmmm, then I am mistaken on my out, and will check it. Yes I can see that now, we installed the Sentry to be able to “feed” ForeFlight on the iPad and phone.

But the problem still exists

The GDL39 will "feed" ForeFlight. Not sure why you had to get a Sentry as well?

Also, I talked to a Uavionix rep about sporadic tracking with their system on Flightaware and was told that it is due to only having a 978 MHz system. The only way to have solid tracking on sites like Flightaware is to be using a 1090 MHz system.
 
Here's a FAQ from the Uavionix website:

[h=1]I am not seeing my flights on FlightAware or Flightradar24 or there are only partial sections of the flight displayed[/h][FONT=&quot]Flightradar24 and FlightAware are predominately 1090mhz reporting sites. They get their flight data from their own network of 1090 receivers, not from the FAA.
The skyBeacon, tailBeacon, and the echoUAT are all on the 978mhz (UAT) frequency.
They are working on getting more stations with 978mhz reporting but it will be pretty hit and miss getting accurate data from these sites until they get a wider network of users/receivers.
[/FONT]
 
Here's a FAQ from the Uavionix website:

I am not seeing my flights on FlightAware or Flightradar24 or there are only partial sections of the flight displayed

Flightradar24 and FlightAware are predominately 1090mhz reporting sites. They get their flight data from their own network of 1090 receivers, not from the FAA.
The skyBeacon, tailBeacon, and the echoUAT are all on the 978mhz (UAT) frequency.
They are working on getting more stations with 978mhz reporting but it will be pretty hit and miss getting accurate data from these sites until they get a wider network of users/receivers.
This now makes perfect sense, especially being we are in Utah and often flying low and in remote areas
 
Double check the model. A GTX 327 can be used with a UAT to make an ADS-B out unit. Does Flightaware track transponders or only ADS-B signals? I'm assuming both, but . . .

Go through the system and check all coax connections. Back of transponder, at the UAT (unless it is wireless, i.e. uAvionics) and at the antenna on the belly.

Web

I live under a Class B veil. Since I have been using the ADS B out I have taken a look at the Flight Aware monitoring of my flights. I assume they are receiving the feed from Nashua Center/ Boston App Cntrl. To date only partial readout of each flight has been recorded. They generally do not pick me up until 1000 feet and sometimes 1500 MSL. Conversely they lose me descending below 1000 MSL. I am generally approx. 8 miles from my point of departure before they pick me up, but--- they state that my point of departure is PYM, which is accurate but sometimes they have me landing at an airport I did not land at. If I descend below 1000 MSL near whatever airport they have me landing at that airport, yet in reality I continue east at 900 MSL and land at another airport. A one hour flight is generally illustrated and documented as a half hour flight with absent any point of departure or return. I believe that since that they have reconfigured who controls what airspace that radar coverage has improved. Cape App has been discontinued/ stood down and Providence App controls the Plymouth, MA area and a half mile off the NE runway you are in Boston Class B. One may assume that they haven't ironed out the glitches yet.
 
My buddy bought the plane (Rans S-20) from the builder, so I did not even know the beacon had an app, looking now. Is it pretty self explanatory? Turn on the avionics and let the app search for the beacon?

There is a wifi network that will pop up on your device when you are on the ground. Hopefully the passcode to logon to that network is somewhere in the records? The firmware may also need an update but I'd suggest downloading the user manual from their site before messing with anything......
 
Don't get ahead of yourself, assuming you have a problem.
Here's what I would do first--
about an hour after your next flight, go to

https://adsbperformance.faa.gov/paprrequest.aspx

and fill out the form to request an ADSB performance report.
You should get a reply within a half hour or so.
It might say that your request "failed to generate a report",
in which case you have a problem.
Otherwise, the reply will have an attachment--
open it up, if any fields are highlighted in red, you have a problem.
Otherwise, you should be good.
I think it's a good idea to do this every once in a while,
certainly at least once a year,
to verify that your ADSB is working properly--
instead of finding out when the FAA sends you a nasty-gram.

I would also suggest that you download the Skybeacon app onto your phone or tablet,
look on the app store or google play or wherever.
You can use this to configure your Skybeacon if it needs it.
Also to check if the software is up to date.
The users guide should tell you how to do all this.
If you don't have the installation manual &/or users guide in your airplane's paperwork,
I'm sure it's available online from uAvionix.
 
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