Successful Introduction to Pilot Aware and ADS-B

[Misterling]

I received my PAW Classic about a month ago and installed it, using velcro, on the coaming of my Cessna120. All the cabling is routed behind the panel to a RAV Power battery pack which sits securely between the seats.

I am running Runway HD on an I-Pad Mini and consequently have no visual warning of mode s contacts, all PAW and ADS-B contacts are shown correctly. I have therefore connected the PAW audio output to the auxiliary audio input of my Funkwerke ATR 833A vhf radio and am now getting audio warnings of possible mode s conflicts.

I have connected the PAW to my Trig TT31using a Farnell USB-RS232-WE cable, and (many thanks to Sandy and his PAW), checked the ADS-B output in accordance with LAA/MOD 14.
LAA Engineering turned the paperwork round in a week and, very promptly, issued an ADS-B Connection Certificate. Trig Avionics could not have been more helpful in advising me on the ADS-B setup.

Last week I had a flying holiday on the west coast of Scotland, and the spies in our clubhouse were able to monitor me all the way from Glenforsa to Insch, on Flightradar 24.

Altogether the whole PAW experience has very smooth and satisfactory.

I have just upgraded the software to 20160820 and although this tests ok at home I have not yet had a chance to test it in flight. I look forward to seeing how it performs with mode c traffic.

The next step is likely to be a Flarm Mouse, however this seems to be a very expensive option, although we do have a very active gliding site, (Aboyne), in the vicinity.

Has anyone any experience with the Flarm Mouse? Is there any interference between the two systems if the Flarm antenna is placed near the PAW antenna?

Martin

[Ian Melville]

Great stuff Martin. I suppose the value of the mouse would depend on where you plan to fly in the future. I'm down south and bracketed by five gliding sites only a very short flight away, an area often used by tasks in competitions. Makes more sense here, and I will be getting one, once the money gods align.

IIRC for 30+ years ago at college, ideally antenna should be separated by at least 1 wavelength. Not always possible.

[exfirepro]

Hi Martin,

Are you based at Insch? There are now several Paw users based down at East Fortune, including two of us who have been heavily involved in the Mode S and Mode C development testing. We are happy to assist with any issues, though by the sound of it you are doing great on your own.

Glad to hear you are finding your PAW experience so positive. I am currently running ADSB out from a Trig TT21 together with PAW and am just awaiting delivery of a flarmMouse to complete the package. Lee just finished the support for FLARM in this release so no reports yet from other users. I will report back once I get it installed. If you do go down the same route, I would certainly echo Ian's recommendation to try to keep the P3i and FLARM antennas apart as they are almost on the same frequency, but both operating relatively low power, so not anticipating problems.

Regards

Peter

[Misterling]

Thank you gentlemen,

I think I will leave the Flarm for the time being as it is probably of little use up here now the winter months are approaching.

Peter, I am indeed based at Insch. At the moment there are only two of us in the North East using PAW. I think it is a great bit of kit and am trying to persuade as many pilots as I can to get it. After all it only costs as much as a couple of hours flying and can save your life.

All the best.

Martin