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My learning curve with ADSB-In and Stratux
About 3 months ago I bought the Stratux parts, including an AHRS chip, off of Amazon and assembled a Stratux ADSB-In box.
One of the companies that assembles these units, and sells them for about $75 more than the parts themselves, has an article on the web about the lack of quality control of these components. They state that this is a good reason to buy a pre-tested unit from them - and they offer free replacement if it doesn't work.
At first I thought it was just salesmanship. Then I found out how right they were. I had repeated problems with the components. Not only that, but unless you are knowledgeable in troubleshooting computer code there is no way to know exactly which component isn't working. I just kept replacing components until something finally worked. This was a frustrating, aggravating, process. If I had to do it over again I would gladly have spent the extra $75 for the pretested, warrantied unit.
Oh, and I did buy an external gps puck, thinking the internal GPS was not getting a clear signal. I located it under the canopy, on top of the fuse, right behind my head - a very clear view of the sky. Guess what? The external gps would not receive a signal at all - and I reinstalled the internal GPS. I won't even mention the part where i tried to connect an external ADSB antenna - and yep, you already know the story...
I came so close to just driving over the Stratux with my Jeep it wasn't even funny.
So, two months later, I finally got the *%$#!! working.
I connected both my cellphone (that has a Ram mount on the turtledeck) as well as my IFly GPS 740b. The unit has been working consistently for the past month or so (though I still expect it to fail every time I turn it on...).
Then I started flying with this new traffic information. Since i regularly fly thru some congested airspace I hoped this information would reduce my stress level during flight.
In fact, it did the opposite. Apparently there are friggen planes everywhere I fly! They're above me, they're below me and they're coming head-on. This new information was driving my stress level to new heights. I found myself spending more time looking at the GPS for traffic than looking out the window.
I have flown in this same area for 30 years and rarely saw another airplane. On one hand it was somewhat sobering to think I had been flying in and around so many aircraft without realizing it.
On the other hand I seriously considered just not flying with ADSB so I wouldn't have to stress about all these other aircraft. Yes, I know this was a rather stupid thought, but I seriously considered it.
I realized that maybe there was a learning curve to this technology and that I would feel more comfortable with it over time. I changed the visibility and alerts from "everything in the sky" to more practical distances and altitudes. As my hours using the system grew I began to trust in the information I was seeing. If it said the converging aircraft was a thousand feet above me, and in level flight, then I could pretty much count on that.
I learned to ignore some of the traffic and only focus on "real" potential conflicts. So after a month of flying with ADSB-In, it is starting to actually reduce my stress level during flying.
In my case there definitely was a learning curve. Now I'm glad I didn't just stop using it - or run it over with my Jeep. I now understand there is a reason why some of the manufactured, certificated units are much more expensive. At least I hope they have more reliable components, and software, then the low budget Stratux.
Still, when it works, it works well, but ADSB-In does take some getting used to!
I hope this helps those who may be considering ADSB-In and/or Stratux systems.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Charles Clayton on
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My experience was somewhat different. I bought my stuff from Amazon as well. The Raspberry PI board, Stratux software, GPS module, case, antennas and a knock-off Android tablet cost me around $200. I tested it with a few different apps including iFly GPS. It worked right out of the box. And yes, there is a lot of traffic. But I was even able to see some planes in my local pattern and verified them by their radio calls. I'm holding off getting a subscription application until I have ADS-B out(I'm looking right now at the Echo UAT).
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Permalink Reply by Jason Fish on
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Similar experience. I started with the base hardware suggested on the Stratux site, and slowly replaced pieces with improved versions. Other than an old, cheap SD card going bad on me, I've never had any issues with the device.
Buying a pre-made device could certainly be good for some, but not all.
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Permalink Reply by David Krakowsky on
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I have ads b in and out and fly in pretty congested
airspace.
most software has a filter that you use to
eliminate aircraft above you by in my case 3000
feet.
you don’t need to see all the commercial
aircraft that is no threat. That removes a lot, but
there is still lots of traffic out there that you
would never know about, and it’s an “eye opening”
experience.
dave
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Permalink Reply by charlie rosenzweig on
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thanks for posting, very interesting....
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Permalink Reply by Gary Welch on
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To be clear, I didn't intend to bash Stratux. The gentleman who created the software that allows us to put theses systems together for a dirt cheap price, did an amazing job - and gave away his creation away for free. This is pretty much unheard of in this day and age.
He does not manufacture the components and has no control over them. I appreciate what he has done.
I have heard from a number of pilots who have assembled their systems with no problems. My experiences may be the exception rather than the norm.
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Permalink Reply by John Austin on
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I had a NavWorx ADS-B in-and-out that worked flawlessly for 2+ years 'til the FAA put out an AD against it and it had to be removed. I was so used to flying with ADS-B that I immediately bought the Stratux components and assembled a dual channel receiver with AHRS. Since I wanted to remote-mount mine where the NavWorx box had been located (under the pilot's seat, alongside my Sandia 165R remote transponder), I opted for the external GPS, placing the puck on the glareshield where the NavWorx's antenna had been located. The first GPS I received was defective (never established a lock), and it was replaced immediately and without question (didn't even have to return the defective one) by Chris Young, developer of the Stratux. I used a Y cable to connect the dual channel radios to my RAMI AV-74 external antenna and the system has worked flawlessly for several months ... I really can't tell any difference from the previous NavWorx unit when displayed on my iFly 740. (I use a uAvionix skyBeacon for ADS-B out.)
Since I was remote mounting my Stratux, I bypassed the usual power connector and hard-wired the power (routed through a UBEC voltage converter/regulator) directly to the AHRS board, and also made it plug-compatible with my previous NavWorx installation. BTW, iFly just updated their software to include a free EFIS/synthetic vision display on the 740. The synthetic vision utilizes the Stratux' AHRS data and works great! If you don't have the AHRS chip, it will still function in a degraded function, running off GPS data.
All this for about $150 for the Stratux! I think it is the best bang for the buck IF you're willing to put on your EAB builder hat and put up with some experimentation and trouble-shooting, but in the end, you end up with a device tailored exactly to your application. It is much easier to pay much more and get a "plug 'n play" box from Stratus, Garmin, etc., but usually, you can't alter or customize the device to any significant degree.
John
N750A
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Permalink Reply by Jim and Amelia Isaacs on
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Gary
I have been playing with a Stratux assembled by a coworker using this iPad and two different EFB apps and had no issues at first, but after an hour or so of use the gps has become wonky. It’s intermittent now, cycling between gps ok and no gps indications.
Jim
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I went around and around with this problem too. You may need a new Pi.
I tried reflashing the drive over and over, bought a couple of new sd cards in case mine was bad too.
All I can say is that if mine stops working now, i won't even think twice about it, I will simply destroy it in some over the top manner. Shoot it, blow it up, light it on fire and post it on youtube!
No way I'm getting on that merry go round again!
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Permalink Reply by Gil DeVault on
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I purchased all the parts from Amazon, the first time I turned it on it worked fine, it was when I tried to follow the direction on how to shut it down my problems began. Nothing I did made it shut down properly, finally it lost its programming so I ordered another sd card for around 15 dollars. It worked great until I tried to shut it down, again my problems started over again. Yesterday I said enough is enough and I purchased one from Adventure Pilot for around 200 bucks, the same place I bought an ifly740b. It should be here Monday. Keeping my fingers crossed it works as advertised.
Gil
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Gil,
The latest version of iFly software has a "shut down Stratux" command - you don't have to alter the Stratux programming at all. However, Chris Young, the principal developer of Stratux, just "pulls the plug" (cuts off the power) to shut it down. He's probably done this many thousands of times during development - apparently without problems.
I shut my home-brewed Stratux down about 75% of the time by just cutting the power when I turn of my master. Recently, the iFly "shut down" command became available, but I only remember to use it occasionally. Haven't had a single problem ... so far!
John
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John, I will try my home made version again
Gil
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Yep, I had problems with my SD card flash when I just pulled the power. Re-flashing the card seemed to work until I had shutdown problems again - and then back to re-flashing the card.
Part of the problem was that if the Wifi disconnected (which seem to occur quite a bit), tehn you couldn't shut the Stratux down with the Stratux app. Then I would have to just pull the power - and that's when the SD card would get buggered up.
They do suggest on the Stratux board not to just pull power because it can screw up the SD card.
Sometimes re-flashing would work, sometimes not.
Since I received my new IFly GPS 740b (an updated my phone app) I have been shutting the Stratux down from the IFly screen instead of the Stratux app. So far no problems in two weeks.
It's important to note that the software is frequently updated and the developer seems responsive to fixing issues so its possible that some of the issues I've had may have been corrected with software updates (I first bought my parts about 4 months ago).
I would like to reiterate that I still believe Stratux can be a good solution for those, like myself, who are on tight budget. For $150 of commercially available parts and the FREE software program to run them you can have an amazing piece of technology in your aircraft.
My takeaway is that, if I had to do it over again, the extra $75 it costs to buy a tested and warrantied version of Stratux from Open Flight Solutions (https://store.openflightsolutions.com/) or direct from IFly would be worth it to me.
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