Assembled Multitude Advice -- Stratus ESG ADSB

As I've indicated off-line, I'm in for one.

As an aside, what's your risk if you don't sell all of 'em by the end of December?

Let's say three of 'em are still in inventory on January 1. What evil things happen?
 
Jim,

I can pass along the info to people at our airport but I have a few questions:

Is the $2200 for the Stratus ESG (WAAS source built in)?
What is free ADSB in...do they get a portable module that plugs in to use the units power and antennae?
What are typical install hours?
Does it work with Foreflight?
 
Fwiw, I bought an ESG from Jim. His price is for real, he includes very helpful, personally-prepared full documentation, and antenna cable and terminations. No issues getting the ESG installed, signed off, inspected, validated, and rebated; everything was exactly as described on Jim's website and in other threads. Love having a new transponder that, with the rebate, ended up being less expensive than a SkyBeacon even after (owner-assisted) installation.
 
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kyleb said:
As I've indicated off-line, I'm in for one.

As an aside, what's your risk if you don't sell all of 'em by the end of December?

Let's say three of 'em are still in inventory on January 1. What evil things happen?
Click to expand...

The evil thing that happens is that I come up with $ix grand that I don't have to pay for the three of them and then hope like hell I can peddle them in a couple of months before the bank comes and repossesses the dogs and cats.

Jim
 
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Sinistar said:
Jim,

I can pass along the info to people at our airport but I have a few questions:

Is the $2200 for the Stratus ESG (WAAS source built in)?
ESG WAAS and GPS Antenna.

What is free ADSB in...do they get a portable module that plugs in to use the units power and antennae?
Free as in no dollar$. It is sort of portable, comes with a tray, and plugs into a port on the ADSB-Out. Google Stratus 3i

What are typical install hours?
That's a little like saying typical hours for a pilot rating. 40.00001 hours for some, hundreds for others. I did my first one with 3 hours of bench prep and 3 hours of installation. It CAN be done with only two wires to the airplane (+12 and ground) if you are clever enough to mount the altitude encoder and 3i onto the mounting tray.

Does it work with Foreflight?
Click to expand...
Yes, as well as a few other of the EFB programs. It is bluetooth into your pad device.

Jim
 
I know you were asking for no comments Jim, but I have to post my experience with this setup.

To cut to the chase I bought the entire setup you describe plus the AHRS sensor from a friend that went Garmin. It included the WAAS antenna also. I put it in my Cessna 140 with a custom IFR panel of the early 80’s that I fly VFR, but is certified IFR and can fly ILS approaches with. I couldn’t be more pleased with it. I have weather and traffic on the iPad as well as AHRS through synthetic vision. I have button sqwauk entry on the transponder. If push came to shove in an emergency I could fly an approach with it.

I had it installed, by a local avionics shop who does great work, but if I would have had the time I am quite confident that I could have installed it with a little coaching from Jim if I had bought it from him.

Unless you will need to feed TIS-B/FIS-B to a navigator instead of, or in addition to an iPad, this is a great setup for the money. Very little more outlay of cash than the little thing you screw on the wing and rely on an old transponder, but with many more features gained from it.

My $0.02,
 
I also had one installed and am pleased with it. Powers the little wifi antenna thingie and I get it in and out. Wasn't hanging anything draggy off my airframe, either.
 
RussR said:
Forgive my nit-picking, but doesn't that just mean the "free ADS-B In" costs $100?
Click to expand...
No, i means that I'm going to cut your ESG box open, take out the 3i, and sell that $500 box on Ebay for $100 to keep myself whole.

No good deed goes unpunished.

Jim
 
Thanks for the answers. I will share this with a few people at the airport that are not compliant yet. Not sure I'll get anyone but can give it a shot. If you don't hear back by next week they are either too fickle or hooked on the overall skybeacon costs. The funny thing is that one the guys last night that is thinking skybeacon saw me on this ADSB in for my entire flight (about 60 miles). The 1090ES output power must be pretty good. Not sure if the skybeacon will be picked up directly at that range, not that it has too but it seems that if you are in the crowd that wants to be seen the ESG or L-3 or GTX335/345 really crank out the power..
 
It's sounds like good deal, i'm in for one ADSB Out and a ADSB In. Just let me know when.
 
I didn't go for the ESGi/3i package when I bought my ESG from Jim because I already had a Stratux I had built and this package deal was not available at the time. The last two Stratuxes (Strati? Stratum?) I built w/ integrated GPS and AHRS and battery pack for friends cost $167 for all of the required parts. $2200 for an ESG and a 3i is an absolute steal. Heck, the price Jim sold the ESG by itself to me was close to that, and THAT was a great deal. Wish this package had been available... an extra $100 for the convenience of not having to suction cup my Stratux to a window, hook up a battery, make sure I have an extra charged battery blah blah, would have been MORE than worth it.
 
Yes the Appareo and attached Stratus are painless to keep going. Just turn on the Master and check ForeFlight devices. You can’t forget and leave a sqwauk in. It powers to 1200 and when you get a sqwauk you just punch the four numeral keys. Can’t say enough about it.
 
MBDiagMan said:
Jim, will your package include the AHRS sensor?

OK, here is my confession. I have NO IDEA what an AHRS sensor is, but I do not believe that it comes with the Stratus. Somebody who knows about AHRS sensors is better qualified than I to give you that answer. Fact of the matter is that my bag is audio panels and COM radios; I've been designing and selling them for years under the RST brand. Like the blind pig, I picked up this acorn Stratus dealership on a fluke. Why they accepted my application for a dealer is beyond my comprehension, but so long as they did, I tack on a couple of bucks to pay for my time in the process. I have great knowledge for what the design and configuration of the transponder and GPS are, but as for all the new EFB stuff, i'm flying blind.

If I would have had to come through the overcast at least I had my pad AHRS. Would have been illegal, but better than nothing.

Perfectly legal. Part 91 exempts the pilot from ANY of the FAR rules in an emergency. You may have some explaining to do, but they can't gig you IF you declare the emergency and act in good faith. Flying over a nude beach at 20' agl and talking your way out of it would be hard (you should pardon the expression), but vacuum pump failure we all recognize as one of those things that happen.

By the way, that $2200 figure is a round number. The actual number is just a tiny bit LESS.

Jim
Click to expand...
.....
 
I just needed a sense of the group. I think there is still enough interest for me to gamble $40K that I will find enough takers for the 20 I'm committed to.

I can get the first batch by the first week in September and then it is going to be five a month (or more) until the first of the year.

Personal check by USPO mail only. PayPal wants 3% of the action and that is $60 on a $2K buy.


Jim
 
Aw shoot. I just bought & installed a steal of a deal from Oshkosh for the ESGi I/O with a new encoder & USB power ports "FREE" plus harness for $3100. I'd say it took 2 inexperienced installers 15 man hrs to install. This is a MUCH better deal if you don't want/need the other stuff. Heck I could have had ADSB-out for $1700 after the rebate. This really is the best deal on the planet for this application. 58713946550__E3C005B2-9381-41DB-91B0-4E3FB91F227D.JPG IMG_2338.jpg Will get the word out...
 
upload_2019-8-15_20-39-38.pngupload_2019-8-15_20-39-38.jpeg

Okay Jim, I didn’t mean to put you on the spot.

When my friend sold me his takeout Stratus ESG setup, it included the antenna, the Xponder, Stratus and a little black box roughly the size and shape of a computer mouse. We mounted it under a glove box in the bottom right of the panel and it connected into the ESG and bluetooths it’s information to the pad along with ADS-B IN. It drives the Synthetic Vision panel in Foreflight. The SV function in addition to its view of obstacles and airports as you would see them through the windscreen, but it also has an AHRS panel that looks much like the display on a G5.

I fouled up the attachment, but this gives you an idea what the sensor provides. Push comes to shove, you can fly with it.
 
MBDiagMan said:
View attachment 76891View attachment 76890

Okay Jim, I didn’t mean to put you on the spot.

When my friend sold me his takeout Stratus ESG setup, it included the antenna, the Xponder, Stratus and a little black box roughly the size and shape of a computer mouse. We mounted it under a glove box in the bottom right of the panel and it connected into the ESG and bluetooths it’s information to the pad along with ADS-B IN. It drives the Synthetic Vision panel in Foreflight. The SV function in addition to its view of obstacles and airports as you would see them through the windscreen, but it also has an AHRS panel that looks much like the display on a G5.

I fouled up the attachment, but this gives you an idea what the sensor provides. Push comes to shove, you can fly with it.
Click to expand...
That is the ADS-B in..Its just like stratus1,2,2S,3 but it is obviously not a stand alone unit like a stratus and gets mounted behind the panel.

Edit: Wait you said it came with a stratus too...hmm then IDK. sorry haha

Is this what you are talking about or something different?
stratus.PNG
 
Okay! I did a little looking and I think it might be the stratus itself that is mounted under the glove box and serves as the attitude sensor. The list of stratus features shows attitude input. The other information on the synthetic vision screen is derived from GPS information.

I will try to remember to look closer when I’m at the hangar tomorrow.

My bad.
 
The Stratus ESG is the transponder and GPS in a package about the size and length of a small loaf of bread -- kind of like a plain old transponder on steroids. Mounts in a standard 6.5" radio stack with 4 screws into the ESG rack.

The 3i is the little mouse sized add-on that both Bluetooths and WiFis all the rest of the information you see in the images above. I mounted my 3i to the ESG rack as well as the altitude encoder so I could do all the interface wiring in the comfort of my swamp-cooler air in the lab and then four screws, two wires, and the antenna cables were the only thing I had to rassle in the airplane. Five, maybe six hours total for my first install.

Jim
 
Hi Jim,

Do you know if this setup is compatible with the Garmin Aera660 to display traffic/AHRS?
 
im in for one jim. message me as to where to send the check and who to make it out to, you or RST.
 
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