I am now approved!

[astjp2]

I am now an Approved Installer for the Uavionix Sky Beacon ADS-B out system... This seemed like the easiest solution for several of my customers already. This thing just replaces your red nav light and works in conjunction with your old transponder. I can install it on just about any aircraft that does not have the tail light as part of the nav light or something that has tip tanks that gets in the way....I hope to have pricing next week. Tim

[1938BF50]

Congrats Tim!

[LostnSpace]

And so am I

[Scott]

I saw these units at OSH last summer. I asked how they meet the two year transponder integrity and correlation test requirement. The rep didn't know what I was talking about.

Now your certified Tim maybe you can share?


I ended up going with the Trig TT31. It's a slide-in replacement for the King KT76A which is what I had. Added a single wire from my Garmin 430W for RS232 input and done. It uses GPS data to make the air-ground determination.

[Guest]

Scott,

skyBeacon is ADS-b out only, not transponder, if you use it with a transponder it obtains the transponder signal and data thru the electric power wires that feed skyBeacon.

Here is a snippit from their manual about it;

6.3 Power Line Transponder Monitor
skyBeacon utilizes uAvionix’s Power Transcoder to ensure proper synchronization of data elements between Secondary Surveillance Radar (SSR) replies and ADS-B transmissions. These elements include Mode A squawk and IDENT status. In remote areas where you may not be interrogated by SSR, these data elements may at times be unavailable. The Power Transcoder additionally serves to provide Continuous Calibration™ data to the altitude encoder.

I don't think skyBeacon itself will ever have to meet the transponder check since it's not a transponder.

I have a skyBeacon in my Champ, draws about 1/8 amp with strobe and nav-light off. The Champ does not have an engine driven electrical system it runs off of the battery that is used for the starter. I don't have transponder installed, unit works fine and show data on the FAA towers but will not qualify for rebate because of missing transponder data. Champ is exempt because of not having and engine driven electrical system I just want ADS-b out so the airplane can be seen electronically by others.

Dave

p.s. or maybe I don't understand the question either like the guy at Oskosh didn't! LOL

[RainierView]

Dave and Scott,

Interesting discussion. I hadn't thought of your non-transponder skyBeacon setup, Dave. Compared to what many T-craft owners would regard as the prohibitive expense of a full blown ADS-B Out solution, your ADS-B Out-only config may offer much of the safety for low power and comparatively small cash outlay. I'm curious what percentage of ADS-B In receivers are capable of seeing your skyBeacon's broadcast position and identification info. Do you know if the FAA rebroadcasts position info via ADS-R for installations that are not fully compliant, i.e. non-performing emitters (NPE)? Without ground-based retransmission, only nearby ADS-B receivers that support UAT are capable of receiving your skyBeacon's transmissions. In short, what's the FAA's view and support of such configurations?

Best regards,

Brian Leverson

[Guest]

Dave and Scott,

Interesting discussion. I hadn't thought of your non-transponder skyBeacon setup, Dave. Compared to what many T-craft owners would regard as the prohibitive expense of a full blown ADS-B Out solution, your ADS-B Out-only config may offer much of the safety for low power and comparatively small cash outlay. I'm curious what percentage of ADS-B In receivers are capable of seeing your skyBeacon's broadcast position and identification info. Do you know if the FAA rebroadcasts position info via ADS-R for installations that are not fully compliant, i.e. non-performing emitters (NPE)? Without ground-based retransmission, only nearby ADS-B receivers that support UAT are capable of receiving your skyBeacon's transmissions. In short, what's the FAA's view and support of such configurations?

Best regards,

Brian Leverson

Brian,

I have corresponded with the FAA rebate desk and I have obtained the report for one of my flights, did a lot of research too. Also talked with manufacturer, FAA chief counsel office, my PMI, a DER.

Here is an agglomeration of much of what I learned and I think it will answer most of your questions.

100% of ADS-b in receivers that get 978 MHz UAT will receive it.

The FAA receives my data and they told me that in the years to come I might get a reminder letter (not enforcement) telling me that I am missing IDENT and another related code that I have now forgotten. They also advised that if/when I get such letter respond and tell my story and expect no repercussion. THEREFORE I conclude that they rebroadcast it. But I have not specifically asked that question.

I pass the emitter test 100% (see attached).

It’s possible and likely that for my purposes of safety that only nearby ADS-B receivers that support UAT is all I care about. I have asked a question similar to yours in this way “If I have only ADS-b out and no x-ponder will I show up on the screens of others that have ADS-b in?” So far the answer is yes. Perhaps it needs a little more digging.

Oh, wait I may have the answer. They must be rebroadcasting it because I failed to put my plane's HEX ID in my ADS-b in and I saw myself so that had to be a re-broadcast, correct?

Dave R

[RainierView]

Dave,

Thanks for your thorough investigation of this novel ADS-B Out approach with the FAA! I plan on mentioning this at my next EAA chapter meeting. Many (most?) T-crafts are non-electric and have only handheld radios and no transponder. Even if I don't plan on flying into Class B or C airspace, I certainly would be more comfortable knowing that aircraft equipped with ADS-B In will know my position.

Sorry Tim, we kinda hijacked your thread. Congrats on getting on board the uAvionix bandwagon. I think it's going to be a very popular low-cost option for VFR-only aircraft. I've pre-ordered a TSO tailBeacon and will need to have it installed, but Western North Carolina is a ways from your locale (Utah?).

Thanks,

[Guest]

Dave,

Thanks for your thorough investigation of this novel ADS-B Out approach with the FAA! I plan on mentioning this at my next EAA chapter meeting. Many (most?) T-crafts are non-electric and have only handheld radios and no transponder. Even if I don't plan on flying into Class B or C airspace, I certainly would be more comfortable knowing that aircraft equipped with ADS-B In will know my position.

Sorry Tim, we kinda hijacked your thread. Congrats on getting on board the uAvionix bandwagon. I think it's going to be a very popular low-cost option for VFR-only aircraft. I've pre-ordered a TSO tailBeacon and will need to have it installed, but Western North Carolina is a ways from your locale (Utah?).

Thanks,

We are on the same page Brian.

I am in Raleigh on the east side close to Knightdale, NC.

[Bernard]

The strobe will only work after the unit has been programed. I was in the hanger and installed the unit on my Cessna 152 and went to test the strobe before I reattached the wing tip, it did not work. In programing the unit you have to " tell " it to turn on the strobe. Then when you turn on the strobe switch the strobe will work.

[M Towsley]

Dave,

Thanks for your thorough investigation of this novel ADS-B Out approach with the FAA! I plan on mentioning this at my next EAA chapter meeting. Many (most?) T-crafts are non-electric and have only handheld radios and no transponder. Even if I don't plan on flying into Class B or C airspace, I certainly would be more comfortable knowing that aircraft equipped with ADS-B In will know my position.
Thanks,

Always my concern are users of ADS-B thinking they are seeing ALL the aircraft out there, having their heads in the cockpit rather that looking out of the windows. Thousands of aircraft are never flown into towered airports and will not be equipped with ADS-B. These are rules that are being shoved down the throats of GA for the benefit of the airlines, (whom I am not sure are all equipped as of this date). It is cool technology but a huge burden on GA owners. Thankfully, I won't have to equip and I am based and fly out of Class C. I have enough batteries and cords to mess with now let alone more batteries, cords and a tablet-type of screen.

I am happy for Tim and think UAvionix should weather the Garmin issue with no problems from what I have read. It is amazing how far ADS-B equipment has come in just a few years and hope it gets better, (smaller and cheaper). Obviously, your mileage may vary depending upon where you are flying from.

[Guest]

Always my concern are users of ADS-B thinking they are seeing ALL the aircraft out there, having their heads in the cockpit rather that looking out of the windows. Thousands of aircraft are never flown into towered airports and will not be equipped with ADS-B. These are rules that are being shoved down the throats of GA for the benefit of the airlines, (whom I am not sure are all equipped as of this date). It is cool technology but a huge burden on GA owners. Thankfully, I won't have to equip and I am based and fly out of Class C. I have enough batteries and cords to mess with now let alone more batteries, cords and a tablet-type of screen.

I am happy for Tim and think UAvionix should weather the Garmin issue with no problems from what I have read. It is amazing how far ADS-B equipment has come in just a few years and hope it gets better, (smaller and cheaper). Obviously, your mileage may vary depending upon where you are flying from.

Marty,

I agree 100% and it scares me into wanting my plane on that ADS-b screen.

How many guys are out there now watching a Stratux/WingX (for example) screen on their smart phone instead of scanning skies?

My experience with texting drivers has made me afraid of technology. It's like giving a gun to a baby.

However in this scenario I see a potential self defense method if I have ADS-b out. I suspect that very few people will take my approach to it.

And its $1900 my kids will not get, it only cost them a bit over $600 each.

Dave

[Guest]

The strobe will only work after the unit has been programed. I was in the hanger and installed the unit on my Cessna 152 and went to test the strobe before I reattached the wing tip, it did not work. In programing the unit you have to " tell " it to turn on the strobe. Then when you turn on the strobe switch the strobe will work.

Yep, that sounds correct (assuming the strobe switch sends 12v to the wingtip).

Same story for the nav-lights.

Dave R

[woodmw]

Dave,

I was going to ask how you disabled the nav light. The nav light must be programed to illuminate? The strobe would not flash if the power lead is not connected. Correct?

[Guest]

Dave,

I was going to ask how you disabled the nav light. The nav light must be programed to illuminate? The strobe would not flash if the power lead is not connected. Correct?

Mike,

uAvionix has an app that runs on iPad and iPhone.

Download the app then program the skyBeacon. For the first 5 minutes after skyBeacon is turned on it runs a wifi that you connect to.

While connected you program the skyBeacon. the wifi runs as long as you are using it and apparently 5 minutes beyond when to you stop using it

You program the nav-light on or off with that app.

If it is programmed "on" then when you apply power to the red wire on skyBeacon the ADS-b and the nav-light turn on.

If programmed "off" then only the ADS-b turns on when you apply power to the red wire.

The red wire would get connected to your old nav-light wire.

There is a yellow wire that powers the strobe, it is supposed to have switched 12v or 24v not high voltage strobe supply.

The strobe works logically the same as the nav-ligth and has it's own yellow wire supply. I wrapped the red and yellow together and then programmed both lights "off".

I am thinking about programming the strobe "on". The thing only draws ,5 amp with every thing on and I recall measuring about a .3 amp adder when the strobe went on. So with a 15 amp-hour battery for the starter the strobe is "affordable".

Each time the skyBeacon starts you can reprogram the lights because each time it starts you can reconnect to the wifi.

Dave R