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« on: September 11, 2016, 08:44:38 pm »
I tried the audio output from the PAW for the first time today, and while it definitely works and is useful, it is VERY chatty, especially for Mode C/S targets. Based on observations I made while flying an aircraft solo, it felt like an audio alert was issued every time any of the parameters changed - even by just 100'. Given that the alert is also very wordy, giving a precise altitude difference, the messages just never seemed to stop most of the time, to the point where I had to unplug the audio link in order to use the radio!
Whilst knowing the relative altitude is useful, I think this just needs to be "above", "below", or "level" (+/-100 feet), with maybe scope for "slightly above/below" within 300'. Giving the full "one thousand four hundred feet below" on every repeat could become distracting. It would be great if the alert for a given Mode C/S return was also inhibited for a while afterwards unless it gets significantly closer.
For ADS-B/PAW/FLARM returns, it would be great if the PAW could extend the projected track lines and only issue an alert if they will intersect within, say, an 0.5nm laterally/850' vertical bubble within 30 seconds (these figures plucked from the TCAS "TA" criteria for flights in the 2,350-5,000' altitude band), and include the predicted time-to-closest-approach in the audio alert. I was getting alerts today from airliners flying away from me and already 10km away, which even with the CAVU conditions were nearly impossible to spot. Spotting an aircraft at 5km is hard work, and at typical light aircraft speeds, they would still be 50 seconds away even for a head-on approach.
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