Stratus or Garmin GDL?

DKirkpatrick

DKirkpatrick

Pre-takeoff checklist
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May 18, 2011
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DKirkpatrick
Hello.
Gotta buy a new one. Have a Stratus 2XX. It worked fine, then the bat died, then I replaced it with a new one, and now bat lasts about 1.5 hours ... grrr.
This stuff is techno-confusing and I'm just not a big techie...
I installed a Garmin 175. Like it alot, but want to view info on a bigger screen.
Would the Garmin GDL product be a better choice for replacement? Would that give me the capability of showing the little screen on the G175 on the iPad?? Do I need a Garmin 796 for this?
I still like the iPad on my knee for approach plates, etc. Currently use it with Foreflight.
Coaching would help from POA crew.
thanks in advance,
dan
 
I have a Garmin 175 and a Stratus 3. You can use both simultaneously, the GPS 175 pairing via Bluetooth and the Stratus 3 connecting via Wi-Fi.

You can push your Foreflight flight plan to the GPS175, and in reverse fashion any changes made to the flight plan on the GPS will be seen by Foreflight (which will ask you if you want to copy the new plan).

The main things that I like about the Stratus 3 are:
1) Turns on automatically after the Avionics switch comes on (when plugged to USB power).
2) Logs can be retrieved via Foreflight if the live tracking missed a segment of your flight. If you like keeping a consistent record of your track logs attached to your logbook entries, then this ability is useful.
3) Fast AHRS refresh rate makes synthetic vision near panel quality in case of an emergency.

You can also explore Garmin Pilot if you want more fidelity between the screen on your GPS and your efb app. They have made a lot of improvements in the last few months. However, I would not recommend to switch solely on the basis of having more fidelity with your Garmin GPS, as Foreflight does a great job of doing that already. Still, aftet Garmin Pilot’s recent improvements, it too is able to manage two devices and “hunts” for the appropriate device for a given task.

My recommendation is to go with the Stratus 3 and get the best of that world via Foreflight while also enjoying a great deal of synchronization between FF and your Garmin unit. I think that will give you everything you want. If you’re in the exploring mood, you can try Garmin Pilot as well and see how you like it.
 
I’m a happy GDL user. Two GDL39-3Ds, one in each plane to support Garmin Pilot. GDLs are hard wired and come on with the avionics master. When one wears out? I’ll replace with a GDL-50.
 
Great help. Thank you for the replies.
dan
 
We had a GDL39 in our airplane we just sold. I tried Garmin Pilot, but the GDL39 actually worked better with FareFlight running on an iPad. We had the GDL39 hardwired into ship’s power.
 
Thanks for these replies. Great information.
Agree w the comments about technology changes Bricking good equipment. We spend a lot of money for this equipment, thinking it’s expensive and worth it… only to find it’s on a planned obsolescence schedule.
 
My GDL updates run wirelessly through Garmin Pilot or through the G3X for the 39R. Simple and never any problem. It’s better than a few years ago when we had a separate app for updating.
 
If you did the GDL, I’d go with the GDL52. If you wanted to save a little, go with the Sentry and GDL51. That’s the set up I use.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Too bad about your stratus experience. I've had my 3 since 2019.. flies about 100 hrs/yr and battery lasts about 6 hrs
 
I've had bad experiences with the Garmin GDL50. If it was too cold it would brick and the only way to reset was to pull it apart and reinstall the battery to do a hard reset, at which point it would then work until it was again too cold. I guess it worked out for Garmin since I installed a GTX345 to replace it, the avionics shop said I was far from the first to complain about a GDL50, said they've seen a lot of problems in addition to the one I had.

Stewartb said:
I’m a happy GDL user. Two GDL39-3Ds, one in each plane to support Garmin Pilot. GDLs are hard wired and come on with the avionics master. When one wears out? I’ll replace with a GDL-50.
Click to expand...

Don't "upgrade" keep the GDL39's working as long as you can, I've only heard good things about them.
 
Just ONE of the things I don't like, is there's a battery light, but it doesn't show any indication as to whether the bat is full, half-full, etc. I just get an audible" Stratus is about to die" warning... I've got it hardwired in the airplane, but I don't think it's getting it's mandatory 2A of charge somehow, because it doesn't stay charged, etc. Even with a new $125 battery. I had one of the first gen Appareo Stratus receivers - the black one - and it ran like a timex watch... couldn't kill it, until started having software issues.
thanks for the help with this.
dan
 
DKirkpatrick said:
it doesn't show any indication as to whether the bat is full, half-full, etc. I just get an audible" Stratus is about to die" warning...
dan
Click to expand...

Just in case, I just want to mention you can check the Strarus battery status via the Devices section in Foreflight.
 
Stratus 3 uses the "open code" protocol, meaning it can communicate with Garmin, FFlight, and now other products (I Fly, etc.)

BTW - why rely on the battery of your current Stratus? Just fly with it plugged in to the USB/power outlet.

Better yet - Is this your plane? If so, why not just take your current Stratus and have it hardwired inside the panel to come on when you power up.
 
I had the Stratus (2, not 3) hardwired. Also an iPad mounted to the panel is hardwired. I flew yesterday without the Stratus. It seems Stratus 2doesn't shut down when the avionics master is off... it continued to run and deplete the battery. I tried to recharge it overnight but I think - don't know - but I don't think the 110V charger doesn't put enough amperage into the bat to bring it back from a total discharge. The iPad on the panel won't hold charge, but continues to work.
So the next question is, do you think it's that the "hard wire" isn't delivering enough amperage to run the stratus2 and the iPad? I don't have a panel plug in receptacle because I wanted these to be hardwired.'
thanks for the help
dan
 
Thanks for the new information. So the Stratus is hardwired, is getting power when you turn the master switch on, and still isn't working?
 
DKirkpatrick said:
it continued to run and deplete the battery.
Click to expand...

Look for a setting on Foreflight/Devices or the Stratus app that enables auto shutdown. I am pretty sure that I remember seeing it in one of the two on my Stratus 3.
 
yes, it's hardwired. What I fear, is that it's just not getting enough amperage, which I've learned from Al Gore's inter web seems to be 2.1a minimum. The iPad seems to be taking a charge, but not enough to retain its full charge, so I figged the Stratus just can't charge enough to work with it's depleted battery. That bat probably needs to be charged externally, then put in the airplane??? I'm getting another connector installed that says it's 5V and 2.5A... That ought to work. I hope...
Appreciate the input on this.
dan
 
If it won't work without a charged battery, it will always eventually drain the battery and go dead.

I can't think of why your alternator is all of a sudden not give the same amps as before without you getting a low amp / low voltage warning.

It might be a bad battery is blocking the current from getting to the unit. Can you remove the battery and then wire it in?
 
put a new bat in the Stratus. Only cost 125.... and can't charge. GRR
 
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