Transponder/Airspace Question

To close out the thread, I fully mounted the Stratus prior to Oshkosh, but couldn't get to the avionics shop to get the biannual txp certification done. So I partially uninstalled the unit so I wouldn't run afoul of the "If installed, must be in operation" rule. On 11/9 I finally got an appointment at the avionics shop for a Txp certification, so I flew over there, "finished" the installation, and had them do the VFR check, which passed.

Unfortunately, the PAPR system went down for 10 days, beginning on the 9th. It came up today and I requested the report. The flying portion of the report checked out, but the ground portion was a fail. Appareo communicated that it failed either because I'm taxiing faster than their flight trigger speed, which is 15 knots OR the unit isn't fully up and running for up to 2 minutes (GPS lock, I assume) and can give inaccurate indications in the interim. Neither of those things is user adjustable. Appareo said the FAA is aware of the issue and it isn't something they are pursuing. Appareo also said they may change the flight threshold to something higher than 15 knots.

The biggest frustration of the whole install was getting the first GPS lock. That took a surprising amount of time, and in the meantime (several days of checking the antenna installation and other things while doing repeated startup's of the unit) I spent a fair amount of time chasing a problem that just needed time to correct itself.
 
kyleb said:
couldn't get to the avionics shop to get the biannual txp certification done. So I partially uninstalled the unit so I wouldn't run afoul of the "If installed, must be in operation" rule.
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That isn't the rule.
 
Until they mandate radios on all ac 'for safety' then the safety argument is moot.

If you never go imc and want to avoid B/C airspace (and mode c viels) then ADS-B out and radios are not an issue.
 
MBDiagMan said:
If you are seen squawking VFR by radar, it is indicated on [ADS-B IN] as an unidentified aircraft. If you are on flight following, you will be identified by tail number also.
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I don't believe that is accurate. I think ADS-B ground stations show all mode-C targets as unidentified. My experience has been that only ADS-B out targets report flight ID.
 
You might be right, and I may not have been adequately detailed with my answer.

A few years ago, I was flying rectangular patterns several thousand feet above the airport doing engine break in/testing while keeping the airport in glide distance. I was observing ADS-B for entertainment as much as anything else. Since I know most of the active planes and pilots at the airport, I generally knew who was ADS-B equipped and who wasn’t. I saw planes show up with an ADS-B return that I knew were not equipped. Where you correct me is that they probably were showing up, up without a tail number. That was a few years ago, and my old brain is running out of memory for such things.
 
If the transponder is not certified every 2 years it technically should not be turned on. if the original poster doesn't fly where ADS-B is required than getting rid of the transponder would save the hassle/cost of getting the transponder certified every 2 years.
 
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