Which portable ADSB receiver(s) do you use?

Which portable ADSB receiver(s) do you currently use?

  • Stratus (any model)

    Votes: 19 18.8%

  • Sentry (any model)

    Votes: 17 16.8%

  • Stratux (homebuilt)

    Votes: 29 28.7%

  • Stratux (professionally assembled and/or rebranded)

    Votes: 12 11.9%

  • Garmin GDL 50 series

    Votes: 13 12.9%

  • Falken Flightbox

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Skyguard

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • uAvionix (PIng, Scout, etc)

    Votes: 3 3.0%

  • Level (Astro Link, etc.)

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Other (please specify in a reply to this thread)

    Votes: 12 11.9%
  • Total voters
    101
Jim_R

Jim_R

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Display name:
Jim
Just curious. I know there are a huge number of Foreflight users, and so I expect there to be lots of Stratus and Sentry users out there (my guess is that will be the majority of responses). I also think there are a lot of Stratux users, both homebuilt and "professionally" built. I suspect the rest of the market consists of also-rans after those two groups.

Please stick to what you currently use, not what you've used in the past. If you actively use more than one portable receiver, feel free to make multiple choices...but please don't include any that are just gathering dust on the hangar shelf.

Apologies if I left your model off the list. I took a guess at what might be the most common, but it was only a guess, and certainly there are more devices than poll options allowed!
 
I no longer use a portable so I couldn’t respond to your poll, but when I did it was a Stratux. I still have it in the plane as a backup.
 
I used a stratus 2s before I had an ESG put in. ESG still uses a portable stratus as the in source, so I guess it counts.
 
ktup-flyer said:
I used a stratus 2s before I had an ESG put in. ESG still uses a portable stratus as the in source, so I guess it counts.
Click to expand...


Same here, and I suppose that’s technically true, but I don’t think of it that way. My Stratus is permanently installed, wired into aircraft power, and hooked up to an external antenna. I can’t pull it out and move it to another airplane, so I don’t consider it “portable.”
 
Built a couple of stratux, got tired of hobbyist software on hobbyist hardware.
Got a scout, really wanted to like it, but didn't.
Got a used gdl39, which has been solid.
 
I'm using a Stratux because a fellow club member is letting me use his / borrow it for a bit. The Stratux is working -for now. Updated the firmware and the AHRS quit, so had to put the old firmware back. WiFi is barely enough to link. Battery is good for 2 hours or so, so a quick turnaround X Country could be problematic. Statux doesn't like being powered by anything but the battery, or even having the battery charged while the Stratux is plugged in.

When it comes time to buy one, it will probably be a Stratus 3, even though it would be about twice as expensive. The strong part of the Stratux is that it is very affordable at $400 - which is still a lot of money.
 
WDD said:
I'm using a Stratux because a fellow club member is letting me use his / borrow it for a bit. The Stratux is working -for now. Updated the firmware and the AHRS quit, so had to put the old firmware back. WiFi is barely enough to link. Battery is good for 2 hours or so, so a quick turnaround X Country could be problematic. Statux doesn't like being powered by anything but the battery, or even having the battery charged while the Stratux is plugged in.

When it comes time to buy one, it will probably be a Stratus 3, even though it would be about twice as expensive. The strong part of the Stratux is that it is very affordable at $400 - which is still a lot of money.
Click to expand...

Strange, I have a Stratux as well and I run it off aircraft power, I don't even have a battery for it anymore.
 
I answered the poll. I built a Stratux from a kit sold on Amazon. It worked flawlessly from the start. I gave it to a friend as now my EchoUAT unit gives me ADSB in & out.
 
Stratux for close to 5 years running.
I have it connected to a lighter plug charger and it shuts down with the plane.
Solid as a rock for a long while now.
 
Sierra_Hotel said:
Strange, I have a Stratux as well and I run it off aircraft power, I don't even have a battery for it anymore.
Click to expand...
Yeah, I guess YMMV. I've got my Stratux powered from a cigarette lighter adapter and it's been solid for many years.
 
Daleandee said:
I answered the poll. I built a Stratux from a kit sold on Amazon. It worked flawlessly from the start. I gave it to a friend as now my EchoUAT unit gives me ADSB in & out.
Click to expand...
I installed an echo uat. Loved the size but failed compliance report baro alt and ended up removing it.
 
I used a Stratux for years. Bought a Stratus for ease of battery/charging/containment. I was shocked at how much better the reception of the Stratus was over the Stratux. For example, at my home field, my Stratus gets 2 towers on the ground, my Stratux requires at least 500 feet before getting one tower. In the air, side by side, the Stratus always receives more towers than the Stratux. A friend had a different Stratux. I showed him how much better the Stratus receives over the Stratux, now he has a Stratus as well...same story with my son and his Stratux (he went with a Sentry, but it too received better than his Stratux). All the Stratux tested had the case-mounted external antennas vs the Stratus/Sentry internal antenna, yet the Stratus (and Sentry) kicks their asses in reception of towers, on the ground and in the air. I'm not a paid spokesman, btw, lol.
 
That is my one complaint on the Stratux, the tower reception isn't great.
 
WDD said:
I'm using a Stratux because a fellow club member is letting me use his / borrow it for a bit. The Stratux is working -for now. Updated the firmware and the AHRS quit, so had to put the old firmware back. WiFi is barely enough to link. Battery is good for 2 hours or so, so a quick turnaround X Country could be problematic. Statux doesn't like being powered by anything but the battery, or even having the battery charged while the Stratux is plugged in.

When it comes time to buy one, it will probably be a Stratus 3, even though it would be about twice as expensive. The strong part of the Stratux is that it is very affordable at $400 - which is still a lot of money.
Click to expand...
Strange about your power problem. I've been using the Stratux (I built), dual freq. Couple years ago I had the Garmin USB Power widget installed in the cherokee. So both the Stratux and the iPad are plugged into the widget. No problem with wifi, either. I carry a backup battery for the Stratux, easy enough to switch the cable from the widget to the battery.
 
When I was a renter, I used a GPS Hockey Puck from Dual.

I used their model 150. GPS-only.

It was flawless and stoopid-simple.

With my experience on their 150, I would have upgraded to a model 190 with hope that it'd be bulletproof as well.

https://www.dualgpssolutions.com

I hated that I had yet ANOTHER thing to be charged prior to flight, and another thing to forget on the glareshield in the rental plane. I've made more than one trip back to the airport to get it. Just me.
 
FORANE said:
I installed an echo uat. Loved the size but failed compliance report baro alt and ended up removing it.
Click to expand...

Hate to hear that. Most folks that I'm aware of using these units haven't had a concern. Some have had to make some settings adjustments to get it dialed in correctly. Mine has been absolutely flawless from day one on both ADSB in & out. I didn't buy one of the first ones out the door and I understand there was at least one software revision.
 
Daleandee said:
Hate to hear that. Most folks that I'm aware of using these units haven't had a concern. Some have had to make some settings adjustments to get it dialed in correctly. Mine has been absolutely flawless from day one on both ADSB in & out. I didn't buy one of the first ones out the door and I understand there was at least one software revision.
Click to expand...
Yes, mine was one of the first. I heard they put out a software revision and also about some settings changes for the issue mine had. It was very frustrating. I had removed mine before they fixed the issue; guessing it's indeed fixed now... Really would have been better for the unit to be able to receive a serial input from the transponder for altitude; that would have prevented the issue and made for a more reliable solution.
Refresh my memory, the echo is capable of anonymous in 1200 correct?
 
I use the full size Sentry in the Sonerai. The RV-8 has the Dynon SV-ADSB-472.

The Sentry does 2 things really well, it connects to my iPad quickly, and it displays traffic and weather. The CO detector is a piece of crap. I usually have to punch the alarm off 6 or 8 times till I get the error message that the CO detector has failed and it stops responding. But, other than that, it works great.

Karen: I have another CO detector in the cockpit. Its all good!
 
Cessna- GDL39-3D for several years. Talks to GP. It's been perfect that I know of.

Cub- GDL39R for a few years. Talks to a G3X Touch. Perfect.

Cub- GDL39-3D. Recently added redundant backup for the G3X. If the G3X fails the GDL39R can't communicate via Bluetooth. I add a backup that does. So far, it works as expected.

All are hard wired.
 
FORANE said:
Refresh my memory, the echo is capable of anonymous in 1200 correct?
Click to expand...

It is said to be able to do anonymous mode and I saw the option in the setup menu but I haven't ever tried it.
 
If it's not installed in the airplane then I go old school and use my eyeballs for traffic and weather. Sometimes I even radio FSS for weather beyond line-of-sight or ask ATC for a vector.
 
GDL-39 here. Picked it up used with a battery pack for extra hours of charge. Works flawlessly.
 
When I used one XGPS170 by DualNav. I still have, I just don't use it anymore.
 
I have a Sentry. Went that direction for the CO detector. CO alarm has never gone off in my plane. Friend borrowed it and it went a little nuts in his plane. So it seems to work? I haven’t had any failure problems with it, and like the security of having CO detection, given the 80+ year old engine and airframe (thankfully newer exhaust).
 
Surprising that nobody uses a Levil Astro Link. I have heard good things about them.

I used a GDL-50 til a firmware update bricked it. Switched to the $150 Stratux kit. Works fine except for AHRS. I would NEVER trust that.
 
I have a homebuilt stratux with RPi 2B with USB dongle wifi. Works fine for last 4 years. Basic traffic and weather, no other features. Powered-off 12v cigarette lighter adapter. Not seeing problems that others have mentioned.
 
I was very unhappy with my GDL50, The thing would brick itself in cold or heat, would have to remove the battery to fix it. It drove me mad enough to just upgrade to a GTX345 and be done with the thing. I told the avionics shop that and they just said "this isn't the first time we've heard that." My first (and so far only) Garmin product I've been unhappy with.
 
WDD said:
I'm using a Stratux because a fellow club member is letting me use his / borrow it for a bit. The Stratux is working -for now. Updated the firmware and the AHRS quit, so had to put the old firmware back. WiFi is barely enough to link. Battery is good for 2 hours or so, so a quick turnaround X Country could be problematic. Statux doesn't like being powered by anything but the battery, or even having the battery charged while the Stratux is plugged in.

When it comes time to buy one, it will probably be a Stratus 3, even though it would be about twice as expensive. The strong part of the Stratux is that it is very affordable at $400 - which is still a lot of money.
Click to expand...
Another mystery….$400!!!! I realize many people don’t want to put one together, but it’s not rocket science, more like lego blocks, and all the components possible are maybe $225. Or have cost of parts gone up that much in the past couple years?
 
Until I equipped both my planes with in panel ADS-B transponders I flew with a $75 home built Stratux. It is hard to imagine that a Stratus or the others could do it’s job any better. Both my planes were compliant before 2020 and I have loaned the Stratux to several friends who have reported that it worked flawlessly for them.
 
murphey said:
Another mystery….$400!!!! I realize many people don’t want to put one together, but it’s not rocket science, more like lego blocks, and all the components possible are maybe $225. Or have cost of parts gone up that much in the past couple years?
Click to expand...

I am really puzzled that anyone would hesitate to put a Stratux together. It just pushes together with no tools. I think I could slip it together quicker than my grandkids could put together three legos and that’s pretty quick. No one should hesitate doing the assembly.
 
murphey said:
Another mystery….$400!!!! I realize many people don’t want to put one together, but it’s not rocket science, more like lego blocks, and all the components possible are maybe $225. Or have cost of parts gone up that much in the past couple years?
Click to expand...

Last I saw Crew Dog Electronics isn't offering the kits anymore, just completed ones. $280 I think.
 
Probably the same amount of time for me, not sure either.
 
Dynon DRX has been flawless as long as you don't leave it in direct sunlight. Will overheat.
 
murphey said:
Another mystery….$400!!!! I realize many people don’t want to put one together, but it’s not rocket science, more like lego blocks, and all the components possible are maybe $225. Or have cost of parts gone up that much in the past couple years?
Click to expand...

With the chip shortage / global hysteria it's hard to find a pi for under $200. Even a 3b.
 
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