Stratus question

[DonMuncy]

I have been using an IPad with Foreflight and a Dual GPS. I recently got a Stratus. I assume the Stratus GPS will work as well as the Dual. Does the Stratus GPS work on the ground, or must you be in flight. What do you thin would happen if both the Dual and the Stratus were activated. Would their information about your location conflict.

[Marauder]

Don - you could have both running, the Dual on Bluetooth and the Stratus on WiFi but believe you can only connect one to the app at a time. The Stratus will work just like any other GPS receiver on the ground. You will be able to get your position as long as the antennae can see the satellites.

What you won't get will be ADS-B weather. You need to be airborne to get this. That said, if you are on the ground you will be able to get weather through a normal WiFi connection.

[rbridges]

Don - you could have both running, the Dual on Bluetooth and the Stratus on WiFi but believe you can only connect one to the app at a time. The Stratus will work just like any other GPS receiver on the ground. You will be able to get your position as long as the antennae can see the satellites.

What you won't get will be ADS-B weather. You need to be airborne to get this. That said, if you are on the ground you will be able to get weather through a normal WiFi connection.

Yeah, that.

[N201MKTurbo]

I can get ADS B weather on the ground at my house from the tower at KFFZ which is twenty miles away.

If I hold the stratus above my head in the living room....

[midlifeflyer]

I can get ADS B weather on the ground at my house from the tower at KFFZ which is twenty miles away.

If I hold the stratus above my head in the living room....

Like many other radio signals in aviation, ADS-B In reception is from line-of-sight ground stations. Just like getting the area TRACON from the ground at a non-towered airport, if you are in the line-of-sight range on the ground, you will get weather on your ADS-B unit. If not you won't until you are high enough.

 

The funny variation at my home base is there is a charted GCO to call approach from the ground. I can't get a reliable comm signal for the GCO but I can get FIS-B weather. Go figure.

[N201MKTurbo]

Yes, I used to mess around with radios a bunch.

 

FCC 1st class P1-11-52650 ex 10-18-82

replaced with GROL

Advanced amateur radio KB7XE

 

Worked in the land mobile biz for 8 years when I was younger. At one point I was in charge of keeping all the beepers beepin in three states for the Phone Company.

 

FWIW the worst radios on most radio hills I worked on were the FAAs. Their techs were so arrogant they wouldn't lift a finger to fix intermod problems that they were causing. In one case we had to spend tens of thousands of dollars to mitigate problems caused by FAA radios.

[carusoam]

We had a GCO. It was used too infrequently it fell into disrepair and got ignored. Then I started training for IFR flight.

Blue Tooth and cell phone technology continues to brighten the future.

Best regards,

-a-

[DonMuncy]

Another question about the Stratus. Are they fussy about where you place them. My other GPS devices (Dual, etc.) will work in my shirt pocket or on the side panel down next to my knee. Will the Stratus insist on living on top of the glare shield.

[Jeff_S]

Hi Don. I always had the device on top of the glare shield, sort of nestled into the corner on the pilot's side. I did try the suction mount, putting it on the back window inside the luggage door. I did this because I was concerned about the unit heating up in the sun on the glare shield. But while the Stratus worked fine, I kept having problems with the suction mount falling off the window. When this happened I did see degradation of the signal to ForeFlight, so I suspect keeping the Stratus down lower in the aircraft will cause some loss of reception.

[John Pleisse]

Ya know...that is a good idea..... they should consider a sub carrier within all of the  GCO's and RCO's and broadcast ADS-B information there as well. You would be getting the info on the ground when and where you need it.

[Hector]

Don, I have the dual and the Stratus. Quite frankly once I purchased the Stratus I have never used the dual again. I carry it in my flight bag as a backup only. The GPS in the stratus is excellent and works really well (ground and air). I don't have much of a glare shield in my C so I use the suction cup on the back window. It pick ups weather very nicely on the window. I've only had it fall off the back window once and I did not notice for over an hour. It was still working from the floor behind the front passenger seat. I leave the suction cup on the window and remove only the Stratus. I give it a tug before each flight just to make sure it's still holding well.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

[Txbyker]

I have a Stratus II and it seems it is always in need of a charge.  I get about two trips out of it and then I have to charge it.  I tried plugging into the accy plug and it will not charge off of ships power.   The power plug does have a placard saying something about 14 volts.  How are you guys running your Status's off of ships power?

 

Russ

[laytonl]

I just throw the Stratus on the back seat and it works fine.  I find that it gets too hot on the glareshield.    Lee

[N201MKTurbo]

I found a two outlet USB charger that will supply 2A to both at the same time. It cost $25. It will charge the IPAD and the Stratus at the same time.

Even if the Stratus says it is not charging, your weak charger will still keep it from going dead as fast.

[N201MKTurbo]

This is the one you want!

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00E1UWA4O?tag=thewire06-20&linkCode=as2&creative=374929&camp=211189

[carusoam]

Should say right on it, 12V and/or 24V input.

Compare the outputs to match what you have on the wall based device.

Typical results... Example output for iPad and iPhone read...5V, 2A and 5V, 1A

In the case of the wall charger, the input will indicate 110V and 220V using 50/60hz. Very universal...

iPad device is much larger than the iPhone to deliver the 2A...

Be cautious of mismatching the details. Overheating is a real possibility.

It is some sort of regulation that requires the manufacturer to print these important details on the device.

Best regards,

-a-

[JohnB]

I have had to replace my stratus unit now twice, because of battery issues failing about once every 9 months. I run it through airplane power, first through its adapter, or through a USB port. Used to have it on a suction mount on the back window which didn't seem to get hot, but just bought an antenna so I'll stick it on the side of a seat totally away from the sun and hopefully it will last longer! Sportys is very good about replacing failed units, but I'm looking for a more permanent solution to in flight weather, as the only time I actually could have most used in flight weather during a flight from Texas, it was down.