Echouat

[FORANE]

Here is the Echouat with a quarter to gauge small size of the echo.
It came with a plug and play wiring harness for the old navworx boxes. Simply plug it into the old harness, mount the 2 tiny boxes, use the uavionics app to configure the echo wirelessly with your smartphone.

 

[Ravioli]

You were supposed to use a pencil! This is PoA and we have standards!

Nonetheless.. I'll be interested in your reviews of this box. It's the leading contender for my 6A. I'll be wiring direct to GTX327 and 430W, so I won't need the FYx.

 

[FORANE]

You were supposed to use a pencil! This is PoA and we have standards!

Nonetheless.. I'll be interested in your reviews of this box. It's the leading contender for my 6A. I'll be wiring direct to GTX327 and 430W, so I won't need the FYx.

I have the same setup as you - gtx327 and 430w. I just elected to use the fyx because I didn't feel like digging into the wiring harness behind the 430w. I believe I have the tiny pins the 430w takes but it is a pain to access. Next time I have a 430 or 650 etc wiring harness made I think I will request pigtail leads made to/from all the serial and arinc ports.

 

[FORANE]

I ordered Nov 3 and it arrived last week.

Install was plug and play with the supplied harness for the Echouat and FYX.

Powered on and my Samsung Galaxy Note 3 immediately found the WIFI put out by the Echouat. I was able to connect to the unsecured Echouat WIFI without any issue in the phone settings under WIFI. Opened the Echo app and get a message: PLEASE CONNECT TO PING-XXXX WIFI NETWORK IN SETTINGS. I tried closing the app, reinstalling the app, installing the app on my tablet and trying to get it to work with the tablet, forgetting the network and reconnecting to the network, all to no avail.

At this point I am unable to configure the Echouat due to an issue with the Echo app. At least with the old navworx box I was able to connect and configure the device without any issue... Not and illustrious start.

 

[bluerooster]

I would love to get one of those myself. But Their website states that it's only for Light Sport, and Experimental. So it apparently isn't legal for my Cherokee. I tried to call them, to ask a few questions, but just got an answering machine.
The main question that I have is; What's the difference (other than weight, and seat restrictions) is there between an LSA, and any other factory built aircraft?

 

[Clark1961]

I would love to get one of those myself. But Their website states that it's only for Light Sport, and Experimental. So it apparently isn't legal for my Cherokee. I tried to call them, to ask a few questions, but just got an answering machine.
The main question that I have is; What's the difference (other than weight, and seat restrictions) is there between an LSA, and any other factory built aircraft?

Certification standard is the big difference. LSAs are certified to ASME standards by the builder, no third party required.

 

[Skyrys62]

That looks strangely like a Budweiser reflection in the upper right corner.

 

[FORANE]

That looks strangely like a Budweiser reflection in the upper right corner.

Ha, no. Its my sippy cup:

 

[Anymouse]

You drink Budweiser out of a sippy cup??

 

[Axtel4]

I ordered Nov 3 and it arrived last week.

Install was plug and play with the supplied harness for the Echouat and FYX.

Powered on and my Samsung Galaxy Note 3 immediately found the WIFI put out by the Echouat. I was able to connect to the unsecured Echouat WIFI without any issue in the phone settings under WIFI. Opened the Echo app and get a message: PLEASE CONNECT TO PING-XXXX WIFI NETWORK IN SETTINGS. I tried closing the app, reinstalling the app, installing the app on my tablet and trying to get it to work with the tablet, forgetting the network and reconnecting to the network, all to no avail.

At this point I am unable to configure the Echouat due to an issue with the Echo app. At least with the old navworx box I was able to connect and configure the device without any issue... Not and illustrious start.

It sounds like the Ping Installer app may have been downloaded instead of the Echo installer app. Or, the apps may be mixed up on the Play Store.

 

[FORANE]

It sounds like the Ping Installer app may have been downloaded instead of the Echo installer app. Or, the apps may be mixed up on the Play Store.

No, I don't think so. This is the app:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.uavionix.installer.echo When I open the app, it appears just like the displayed image.
I submitted a service request on the uavionics website yesterday around 3 pm. Around 9 pm a reply was posted requesting versions of the app, android versions of my phone and tablet, and the wifi & ads-b versions of the echouat (which I was able to access by entering http://192.168.4.1 in the address bar).
So, it appears I can connect to the echouat but the echo installer app doesn't recognize that it is connected. Uavionics support stated: We’ve had some compatibility issues with certain Android devices but in our testing the know issues were resolved with 1.8.5. It appears I may be the beta tester who uncovered some (more) unknown issues.

 

[kyleb]

It appears I may be the beta tester who uncovered some (more) unknown issues.

There are few things more frustrating to me than buying an expensive product and realizing that it is half baked. I did that as one of the first buyers of Bendix King's AV8OR GPS and again with an iFly GPS. I was trying to avoid contributing to Garmin's borg like presence, but their competitors were so bad, I was ultimately assimilated.

The ECHOUAT guys seem to have their act together. I imagine they will get the issue figured out.

 

[painless]

I was trying to avoid contributing to Garmin's borg like presence, but their competitors were so bad, I was ultimately assimilated.

I don’t care who ya are, that’s funny right there.

I’m still fighting assimilation and installing a GRT Safefly/Echo UAT in my 6A. Fellow rv’ers that have done so are so far pleased with the results.

Now if Seven of Nine started working for Garmin, my resistance would definitely be futile......

 

[Skyrys62]

You drink Budweiser out of a sippy cup??

If it's big and insulated, less trips to the kegerator I'd reckon.

 

[FORANE]

A short time ago I received a new version of the Uavionics echo app which worked on my android. I was able to configure the echouat. Still have not test flown yet or attempted to configure the GRT EFIS or 496 to display ads-b data.

 

[FORANE]

I flew today approx 100 nm at up to 9000 msl. Previously I had requested an ads-b performance report by email to:
9-AWA-AFS-300-ADSB-AvionicsCheck@faa.gov
It appears the faa now has an automated webpage for this request:
https://adsbperformance.faa.gov/PAPRRequest.aspx

My report was all good (zero failures) except in 2 categories:
Baro Alt 100% failure
Mode 3A 100% failure

Assuming the altitude encoder not configured (or wired with the supplied harness?) correctly in the Echo app. Yes? I am using a GRT HX as altitude encoder.

 

[Axtel4]

I flew today approx 100 nm at up to 9000 msl. Previously I had requested an ads-b performance report by email to:
9-AWA-AFS-300-ADSB-AvionicsCheck@faa.gov
It appears the faa now has an automated webpage for this request:
https://adsbperformance.faa.gov/PAPRRequest.aspx

My report was all good (zero failures) except in 2 categories:
Baro Alt 100% failure
Mode 3A 100% failure

Assuming the altitude encoder not configured (or wired with the supplied harness?) correctly in the Echo app. Yes? I am using a GRT HX as altitude encoder.

Re the Mode 3/A, I believe that error is generated when the UAT downlink received by the ground station does not contain the squawk code for your onboard transpoder. Is your echo configured to monitor the onboard transponder?

Also, if the echo isn't seeing the onboard transponder, the Baro Alt failure may be related as that data isn't in the downlink either.

 

[FORANE]

Re the Mode 3/A, I believe that error is generated when the UAT downlink received by the ground station does not contain the squawk code for your onboard transpoder. Is your echo configured to monitor the onboard transponder?

Also, if the echo isn't seeing the onboard transponder, the Baro Alt failure may be related as that data isn't in the downlink either.

It is set to "transponder monitor" in one of the user configured selections. The part of the echouat install manual dealing with ports and setup are not as clear as I appear to require.

 

[FORANE]

I just received a reply post from uavionics support. They stated that their wire harness supplied for NavWorx Customers converting to the echouat was wired incorrectly. it turns out that pin 3 on the DB9 connector needs to be moved to pin 1. they did offer to ship a corrected replacement harness.

 

[FORANE]

I received the corrected replacement wire harness, installed it and flew yesterday.

With the initially supplied harness my ads-b performance report indicated all good (zero failures) except in 2 categories:
Baro Alt 100% failure
Mode 3A 100% failure

The new ads-b performance report indicates all good except:
Baro Alt 1.44% failure

The FAA ads-b performance report comes with the advisory:

Be advised that flight operations occurring at the fringe of ADS-B ground station coverage (refer to the FAA ADS-B Coverage Map) can cause intermittent signal losses with aircraft avionics. This condition may generate various false failure indications (red flag for Percent Failure - PF and/or Maximum Consecutive Failure - MCF flag) within a Public ADS-B Performance Report (PAPR). Such failures will vary depending on the duration of the flight in this condition. If you receive a PAPR with suspected false failure indications, please email 9-AWA-AFS-300-ADSB-AvionicsCheck@faa.gov and request that your avionics performance be manually reviewed prior to taking maintenance action. Please attach the PAPR file and include (PAPR Review Request) in the subject line of the reply email to help expedite a response.

Recipients of Performance Reports flagged red for Air-on-Ground issues are advised to contact their repair shop and/or avionics manufacturer(s) for guidance on appropriate corrective action.

Perhaps the small percentage of Baro Alt failures we are seeing is related to ads-b coverage and not the installed device?