Fly Safely with Portable Talking RADAR AGL Altimeter

[HolyMicro]

Are you looking for a portable, reliable, and accurate height announcer to enhance your safety? Look no further than the SkyVoice Glassy Guide 400 Quick Install / Portable from Holy Micro! LLC. This 400ft takeoff and landing height announcer is designed for all aircraft, accurate over water and land.

Key Features:
• 400ft RADAR Range.
• Connects easily to headset or audio panel via Bluetooth.
• Lightweight and portable, weighing only 1 lb
• Comes with a rechargeable battery.

Customizable Reminders & Announcements
• Height Announcements: 400, 300, 200, 100, 70, 50, 20, 10, 5, 2, and 1 feet during landing and 50, 70, 100, 200, 300 and 400 during take-off
• Many user selectable Reminders on Take-off and Landing: Check Gear, Checklist, LC GUMPS, Flaps, Speed, Prop, Clearance and Pump.
• Run-time reminders like Check Tank and Check Fuel.
• User can set up to four "Check Gear" reminders for different heights from the list of 400, 300, 200 and 100.

SkyVoice Glassy Guide 400 Portable is designed for temporary installation. All the hardware inside in the Portable unit is the same as the regular certified Glassy Guide. Once you are satisfied, you can open the portable unit and remove the RADAR and the processor to do your permanent install.

Additional Features:
• The device connects to a standard action camera attachment, enhancing its versatility and functionality.
• It includes an insulated, waterproof black carrying case with a detachable handle to make it easy to hook it to a backpack or flight bag.
• It comes pre-loaded with reliable embedded software, requiring no iPhone or Android app, and no frequent updates due to OS changes.

Take your flight safety to new heights with the SkyVoice Glassy Guide 400 portable, reliable and accurate height announcer. What do you all think about this innovation ?

To know more about FAA Approved SkyVoice Glassy Guide 400 and its Portable Unit

 

[Pinecone]

If this is a RADAR unit, does it have FCC certification?  And how about possible interference to other onboard avionics?

[A64Pilot]

Most “RADAR” altimeters that have reduced range are usually Lasar, which isn’t bad because at low altitudes Lasar’s are way more accurate. Of course they will read the foliage of trees etc as height, not ground, but who wants to hit a tree anyway?

I believe “real” RADAR altimeters are pretty expensive compared to Laser.

Probably 10 or more years ago I Certified this one for installation on Thrush aircraft, we put it in an inspection cover which made installation real simple.

http://yorktonaircraft.com/pub/AgLaser - Flyer (r2).pdf

The theory was knowing your exact altitude to the foot made application more accurate, but in truth once you learned the sight picture you didn’t need the Altimeter anymore, of course Laser light won’t interfere with avionics so EMI/EMC isn’t an issue.

Edited November 19 by A64Pilot

[Pinecone]

True, but my point was, they are advertising a RADAR system, which is probably not.

[N201MKTurbo]

Around here, I’m more worried about what is in front of me than what is below me.

[N201MKTurbo]

Their website says they have a LIDAR model and a RADAR model.

They were developed for seaplanes. I can see where that would be valuable. For us, not so much.

[Pinecone]

OK, I see that.  But they only mention NORSEE approval, not FCC.  And I don't see any FCC approval markings on the units in their pictures.

[201Mooniac]

2 hours ago, Pinecone said:

OK, I see that.  But they only mention NORSEE approval, not FCC.  And I don't see any FCC approval markings on the units in their pictures.

Also couldn't find anything in the FCC database under the company or product name

[EricJ]

15 minutes ago, 201Mooniac said:

Also couldn't find anything in the FCC database under the company or product name

If they're buying a module you probably won't.

[201Mooniac]

7 minutes ago, EricJ said:

If they're buying a module you probably won't.

True if it is a packaged module but if they are integrating it, there should still be a test report

[mooneyflyer]

Is this something that a pilot can install?

[ProtoFly]

I recently installed a landingheight.com LHS-200C LIDAR system in my M20F.  It's more than just a height sensor - it will also warn you if you forget to put the gear down.  It's not a portable unit, and is wired to the audio panel as well as the GPS.  So far I've been very happy with it.  It's just an additional bit of insurance.

[NickG]

1 hour ago, ProtoFly said:

I recently installed a landingheight.com LHS-200C LIDAR system in my M20F.  It's more than just a height sensor - it will also warn you if you forget to put the gear down.  It's not a portable unit, and is wired to the audio panel as well as the GPS.  So far I've been very happy with it.  It's just an additional bit of insurance.

Me too. I love my LHS.

[NickG]

Pretty sure that the portable unit will shave more than a few knots off cruise with that form factor… I like how you can can program it (and the permanent model) for reminders like gumps etc. Be great to have that on my LHS.

[Aaviationist]

It’s a distraction! Look out the window instead of relying on your gadgets and what’s-it’s that will drive you into the ground!  
 

get training instead

 

the files are in the computer 

[Will.iam]

This is more expensive than the LHS and from listening to the video is sqwaking check gear at an altitude without regards to the position of the gear thus you will eventually tune it out or think you have the gear down when it is not hear the check gear as a confirmation bias and land gear up. The LHS ONLY says check gear when the gear is not down and you go below 200ft. I. E. If you are doing your normal pattern and checks you should never hear the check gear call. If you do that’s a great time to go-around and assess why you missed the most important checklist item and take assessment of what else you forgot or got so distracted you missed putting the gear down. 

[Pinecone]

Actually there are different LHS models and even the C model can be installed with the wire to the gear switch.

Early models or newer ones without installing the wire, it says Check Gear a few times regardless.  But the current version, installed properly, acts as you said, it only says something if the Gear is not down at 200 feet.

[N201MKTurbo]

They are probably using an automotive radar sensor. Most new cars have them for cruise control and collision detection.

[EricJ]

1 hour ago, N201MKTurbo said:

They are probably using an automotive radar sensor. Most new cars have them for cruise control and collision detection.

Almost certainly that, which is also why it's probably a module that has the FCC certification done separately.  

[Aaviationist]

In true mooneyspace fashion this has gone exactly as expected.
 

You can either ask the people here that made it about technical details

or

you can speculate, invent, guess, and argue your own opinions and alternate facts about what it is. 

[Andy95W]

2 hours ago, Aaviationist said:

In true mooneyspace fashion this has gone exactly as expected.
 

You can either ask the people here that made it about technical details

or

you can speculate, invent, guess, and argue your own opinions and alternate facts about what it is. 

If you don’t like it, why do you bother reading or posting here?

[Will.iam]

3 hours ago, Aaviationist said:

In true mooneyspace fashion this has gone exactly as expected.
 

You can either ask the people here that made it about technical details

or

you can speculate, invent, guess, and argue your own opinions and alternate facts about what it is. 

Why don’t you go call them and find out that way you could sound all cool and knowledgeable here and even disprove the other’s guesses instead of just being as lethargic as the rest of us and complaining that nobody made the effort to call them. 
I personally don’t care as this system is more expensive than the LHS and the check gear warnings were already annoying me just with the short video they had. If i wanted a system that just squawks   check gear with no regard to the actual gear position i would fly with a parrot. 

[MikeOH]

3 hours ago, Aaviationist said:

In true mooneyspace fashion this has gone exactly as expected.
 

You can either ask the people here that made it about technical details

or

you can speculate, invent, guess, and argue your own opinions and alternate facts about what it is. 

In true Aaviationist fashion this has gone exactly as expected.

You come on here with vitriol, insult, and criticism...and offer nothing of value.

[HolyMicro]

SkyVoice Glassy Guide 400 Product features

·         RADAR-based technology for Land and Sea Aircraft

·         Accurate over Water and Land

·         Landing Announcements:  400, 300, 200, 100, 70, 50, 20, 10, 5, 2, and 1 ft

·         Take-off Announcements: 50, 70,100, 200, 300 and 400 ft

·         Bluetooth/Wired Option/ HUD

·         User Selectable Reminders: Check Gear, Checklist, LC GUMPS, Flaps, Speed, Prop, Clearance, and Pump.

·         Run-time Reminders: Check Tank and Check Fuel.

·         GPS/MSL based Reminders: IFR Altimeter and Check Oxygen.

·         Check Gear Reminders: Users can set up to four "Check Gear" reminders at selected heights (400, 300, 200, and 100 feet).

·         GPS/MSL Altitude Announcements: 18,000, 12,500, 11,000, 10,000, 9,000, 8,000, 7,000, 6,000, 5,000, 4,000, 3,000, 2,000, 1,000, and 500 ft.

·         Top of Descent Reminder: Announces when the aircraft is at a set distance from the destination, based on user settings.

·         Portable Option: - The portable unit allows you to install it temporarily in any location you want. You can connect by bluetooth and do many test flights to make sure everything is working the way you want.  Once you are satisfied, you can open the portable unit and remove the RADAR and the processor to do your permanent install.

SkyVoice Alert 500 (LiDAR-based technology for all General Aviation Aircraft) :-

• Range: 590 feet, with repeated gear warnings from 560 feet until the gear is down and locked.
• Height Announcements: 500ft to 1ft on take off and landing
• GPS/MSL based Announcements & Reminders

• Bluetooth/Wired, HUD
• 30-Minute Installation Kit: Allows installation and test flights in under 30 minutes with no wired connections to the aircraft.

 

[toto]

Since a lot of people on here have familiarity with the LHS product, it really would be good to reinforce the comparative benefits of the SkyVoice system over the LHS.  When I first saw the SkyVoice, it seemed a lot like the LHS with a more limited track record, but this announcement of a portable unit is definitely interesting and is kind of a "try before you buy" option for someone who's on the fence about a full install.

Anyway, my advice to both the HolyMicro folks and the Microkit folks is to point out the reasons why someone would want your product instead of the other product.  And plan to do that over and over again

The most successful products on MS seem to be the ones with reps who are engaged on the boards and keep showing up to help answer questions when these threads get going.