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Phillip & His Amazing SwitchBox!

mulro767

By mulro767
in General Mooney Talk

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mulro767 Rising Star

mulro767

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I just wanted to let you all know of my experience with Phillip, his product, and his competition.  I moved from Atlanta, GA to Minneapolis, MN last spring and I quickly learned that engine pre-heat is a must have.  I installed a Tanis system and built a ceramic heater to heat the cabin.  I initially had it all tied into a programmable timer.  But living 15 miles away from my hanger made it an inconvenient hassle to run out and program the timer costing me time and gas money.  The decision was made to purchase a cellular activated switch.  

 

My mistake was not coming here, to Mooneyspace, for recommendations on products first.  There really is only two products that I am aware of.  SwitchBox and Cell switch.  I saw an ad in Aero magazine for Cell Switch and liked the price.  I ordered it and it was delivered in about a week.  I opened the box.  Inside was the unit itself and a CD. But no paper instructions.  I inserted the CD into my MacBook Pro and nothing happened.  I opened the file and it wouldn't read the software.  It was only compatible with Windows.  Ouch.  So I called Aero and asked where the customer support number was.  They didn't know but they called me back with the owner of Cell Switch's number.  I called that number several times and never received any support.  Back in the box it went and back to Aero for a full refund.

 

So I ordered the SwitchBox from Phillip.  It came in about 4 days.  When it came I had a couple of small glitches and emailed Phillip.  He responded immediately and offered to talk on the phone to help.  This was on Christmas Eve!

 

The SwitchBox works exactly as advertised.  Even comes with a pre-paid $10 T-Mobile sim card.  It has an iPhone app.  It is Mac friendly I guess.  

 

I give the SwitchBox an A+.  Phillip too.  

 

Happy New Year!

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AmigOne
AmigOne

Hate to do this to Phillips but you can build your own switch box for less than $50.  My hangar neighbor has it and it works perfectly. Check this thread from the Vans Air Force forum  http://www.vans

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timpercarpio Collaborator

timpercarpio

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I also have the SwitchBox and it works great. I simply send a text message to the box and usually in less than 30 seconds I get a text from the box that whatever I have connected is turned on. In my case it's an engine heater. I also send a text to turn it off. I have to drive 30 minutes to the airport, so this saves me lots of time and gas. Thumbs up!

mulro767 Rising Star

mulro767

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Does this work with android phones??  This sounds like something I need.....I like the idea of the cabin preheat too....can the device handle an engine preheater and a cabin heater?

 

Yes he has an iPhone app but I believe that one is in the works for android.  But you don't need an app really.  There are several texts you can send for two outlets.  So if I wanted, I could turn on my engine pre-heat with one text option, and in the other outlet have my ceramic cabin heat.  But if it's cold, it's cold, and I've already moved.  So I'm turning both on at once.

 

Also, outlet 1 is phone/text.  So if you don't have text, you can simply call the number and it turns on.  Call it again and it turns off.  I tested it at home on a light and it works great.

 

aerobat95 Mentor

aerobat95

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Yes he has an iPhone app but I believe that one is in the works for android.  But you don't need an app really.  There are several texts you can send for two outlets.  So if I wanted, I could turn on my engine pre-heat with one text option, and in the other outlet have my ceramic cabin heat.  But if it's cold, it's cold, and I've already moved.  So I'm turning both on at once.   Also, outlet 1 is phone/text.  So if you don't have text, you can simply call the number and it turns on.  Call it again and it turns off.  I tested it at home on a light and it works great.  
Quick question for you......what brand heater are you using for your cabin heat? Cost?
mulro767 Rising Star

mulro767

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I bought a Stanley from Loew's for around $70.  But you can go cheaper online.

 

http://www.amazon.com/Stanley-675900-Pro-Ceramic-Pivoting-Utility/dp/B000LF2CBE

 

Then you'll need to fasten a 6" to 4" aluminum reducer to some ducting with some cheap O-Rings. I used aluminum tape to fasten it to heater.  Simply unscrew the black cover to heat outlet and tape the 6" side around outlet.  You may have to bend the 6" side a bit since the outlet of the heater is rectangular.

 

But here's where I wouldn't go cheap.  That cheap aluminum ducting gets very hot, loses heat, and can scratch your paint.  I spent around $90 on about 10' of rubber coated HVAC duct tubing.  I went to an HVAC store for that.  It won't scratch your paint and really holds the heat.. It's stiff as hell at first but it's slowly loosening up.  I stick it in my pilots window and wedge a cheap sponge in to close up the space.  Works perfect!

Guest

Guest

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Hey Brian, thanks for the nice posts. Yeah, we have an Android app and you can download it from the site (free).

And place an order here

http://switchboxcontrol.com/

 

Here is a good cabin heater I recommend, which can be dialed down and use less power.

http://www.walmart.com/ip/16563545?adid=22222222227009633683&wmlspartner=wlpa&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=&wl3=13694606110&wl4=&wl5=pla&veh=sem

 

The cabin heater and Engine Heater can be hooked up together and controlled from 1x SwitchBox

 

Phillip

duke Enthusiast

duke

Posted
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I am at cyyn Swift current, Canada. I use 2 flybuddys-one for eng and one for cabin. They are also called lil buddys and sold at peavy mart and canadian tire. They are 900 watts and just slide in the nose of my M20 s. I cover the nose with an old sleeping bag, also doubles as survival blanket, After 3 to 4 hours at -10 C (14 F) oil temp before start up is between 90 and 100 F.

Phillips box now controls these.  ***WORKS GREAT****---saves a 20 min drive to turn heaters on.

Aviator Enthusiast

Aviator

Posted
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I received a Switchbox for Christmas (some wife, huh).  It is working fine, as advertised.  I am using text messages and have had no issues.  Will probably download Android app but I am not sure what the benefits will be. 

Has anyone tried the android app(or iphone app)?  What benefits do you see?

Guest

Guest

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Hey jim, your wife ordered one for you as a gift. Great copilot!

 

Phone calls to control the box are FREE to use and wont eat up your credit

Texting and App usage are 20 cents for each command on your account/credit

- Just so you know how it works

 

The apps are convenient ways to send the texts without having to copy-paste or memorize them

 

On my aircraft, I call the plane the night before a flying trip (Free)

And then in the morning follow up with a text to make sure its been ON all night and heating

 

p

Guest

Guest

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Nice picture Tim! Great to see it in action at CXY.

 

FBCK, the box ships with an Active Sim card/service inside from TMobile and connects through all Canadian partners for FREE.

Amazing, but true. Phone calls to the box are free to use.

Texts are the only charge for the account.

duke Enthusiast

duke

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I understand that t mobile connects through rogers. Anywhere rogers has coverage in Canada the box will work. google rogers and pull up the coverage map. I am shure calgary is covered.

rocketman Community Regular

rocketman

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I purchased the cell switch and very happy with the product and service. No app available but simple to text (free). Works as represented. Uses T-Mobile like the SwitchBox (wish Verizon could be used also) and the charges are the same. Correspondences from the manufactures was excellent. The Cell Switch is $299 from Sporty's and No, I am not a sponsor or owner of the Cell Switch company. Just like the product

  • 2 weeks later...
carusoam Grand Master

carusoam

Posted
Posted

So I went to the website. Saw a couple of Mooney pictures that I recognize.

Read my AOPA magazine, saw the Switchbox mentioned.

I'm fealing lucky...

Nice work Phillip.

Best regards,

-a-

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