Crew Dog Stratux Pirep

There are stratus boxes for cheaper but not by much. I use a stratux like this from somewhere else and it works well on foreflight and flyQ. Plugged into the ship's power instead of a battery pack. Go ahead and pull the trigger on it.
 
I've had one for a couple of years. It came with a damaged 978 module, but they were responsive about getting it fixed. I tend to get about 4 hours out of the battery it comes with.

If I was doing it again I would have spent a bit more and gotten something with a power button rather than having to plug/unplug.
 
Another way is to use the cigarette lighter or a USB charger port from the plane. No battery charging to worry about and it turns on & off with the master. Costs less and saves time too.

Hope the launch of the startup goes great!
 
Using mine regularly. No squawks as of yet. I plug into a USB port in the plane. I use a wifi only iPad with ForeFlight and it works well..

Cheers
 
455 Bravo Uniform said:
Another way is to use the cigarette lighter or a USB charger port from the plane. No battery charging to worry about and it turns on & off with the master. Costs less and saves time too.
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That's what I do as well. I adapted a RAM suction cup to the case, put it on the side of the windshield, ran a wire (semi-hidden) and almost never touch it now.

I went with the Merlin as part of a package deal from FlyQ, so I can't really speak about Crew Dog, but they are basically the same system. Other than the GPS USB coming loose during shipping, it's been flawless.
Just updated the firmware last week for the first time.

You would be nearing the $200 range to build it yourself, unless you leave out the extra stuff like the battery, external antenna, etc., and then you're at about 160ish. Crew Dog has a build video if you haven't seen it. It's a super quick build if you ever decided to go that route. I'd say under an hour including opening the packages.
For anyone interested here is the link:

Here's another link that might save a few bucks as well. (same guy, slightly different options).

https://www.amazon.com/Stratux-Rece...55690&pd_rd_wg=8lP5Y&pd_rd_i=B071HMQY19&psc=1
 
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I bought my crewdog from Amazon a year ago, the only complaint I have is the battery life. It came with a 4 amp hour pack and lasts about 3 hours. Ended up getting a USB charger that runs off the master. Other than that, it works great with my android tablet running avare.
 
I recently purchased one. The manufacturing is great. Fit and finish are good. It comes with all the parts I could need, e.g. extra suction cups, external GPS antenna.

I get about 5 hours of use on the battery that was included. I'm battery-OCD, so I always completely discharge my batteries and then completely charge them.

However, the isn't consistent in knowing which is my airplane. It will occasionally tell me that there's another airplane within 100 feet of me. Also, on a recent trip, it told me traffic was on my left, but the traffic was actually on my right.

YMMV.

I use ForeFlight and it could be pilot-error.
 
I had a tough time getting towers west of the Mississippi-
 
I’ve been using my Crew Dog since early 2018. Works well, no complaints. Getting about 5 hours from the battery but I have a cig lighter adapter if I need it.
 
I have a crew dog. It stopped working for a while maybe a year ago. I replaced a few parts though not sure what ultimately fixed it. It's been working fine since. I just bought a Dynon drx and may sell my crewdog stratux after some test flights with the drx.
 
Recently got one off amazon, works well with my Avare running on S6 lite setup.
 
NHWannabe said:
Wondering if anyone has purchased a Stratux or knows anyone who has, from this company Crew Dog?

I know I could build this myself but I'm working for a startup getting ready to launch so have 0 time.

https://www.crewdogelectronics.com/...er-aviation-weather-and-traffic-external-gps/
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Yes I did and it was worse that a waste of money. A toy does NOT belong in your cockpit. I now bought a quality Stratus III and I very happy with it. I still have it on my desk and may give it to somebody I really, really dislike.
 
Snowmass said:
Yes I did and it was worse that a waste of money. A toy does NOT belong in your cockpit. I now bought a quality Stratus III and I very happy with it. I still have it on my desk and may give it to somebody I really, really dislike.
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I'll take it.
 
Snowmass said:
Yes I did and it was worse that a waste of money. A toy does NOT belong in your cockpit. I now bought a quality Stratus III and I very happy with it. I still have it on my desk and may give it to somebody I really, really dislike.
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Show me on the doll where the Stratux touched you. :)
 
Pretty darn nice for a toy..978 and 1090 traffic and weather...plus ahrs. I have been building and using Stratux for about 8 years now. I recommend using ships power, remote gps on glare shield, adsb antenna on belly of plane. Works well with ForeFlight...waas gps accuracy less than 1 meter. I have ForeFlight blue toothed into audio panel for alerts as well.
 
Been using the Crew Dog unit for a couple of years. Always plugged into USB; I’m always loath to depend on batteries for anything in the cockpit.
Did have the case warp a bit after sitting in the hot FL sun....function was not affected but I elected to replace the case which is inexpensively available on Amazon.
Otherwise it’s been well functioning and seamless with FlyQ (which I also recommend without reservations)
 
Hmm, this Stratux thing looks interesting. I see that if you have the AHRS chip you need to log in to the ip address to calibrate the AHRS after installing it in the plane. Is there an easy way in FLtPlan Go to complete the calibration or would I need to use the ip address every time I set it up? I rent, so leaving it in the plane isn't an option. Thankfully the planes I currently rent have ADS-B in via their transponder units so as long as I can get a good connection with them to my ipad it won't be needed. However, when I used my phone in the past getting a good enough connection to receive traffic has been hit or miss and I do enjoy the traffic as an extra layer of protection. I also already know that my days at my current command are numbered and I'll eventually have to find a new place to rent from and they may not have ADS-B in installed on their aircraft.
 
Will Kumley said:
Hmm, this Stratux thing looks interesting. I see that if you have the AHRS chip you need to log in to the ip address to calibrate the AHRS after installing it in the plane. Is there an easy way in FLtPlan Go to complete the calibration or would I need to use the ip address every time I set it up? I rent, so leaving it in the plane isn't an option. Thankfully the planes I currently rent have ADS-B in via their transponder units so as long as I can get a good connection with them to my ipad it won't be needed. However, when I used my phone in the past getting a good enough connection to receive traffic has been hit or miss and I do enjoy the traffic as an extra layer of protection. I also already know that my days at my current command are numbered and I'll eventually have to find a new place to rent from and they may not have ADS-B in installed on their aircraft.
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The way my adahrs on my stratux works is if you move it relative to the airframe, it will lose calibration but, it will eventually self align without specifically logging in an performing a calibration. The way I understand it was initially, it drifted but they updated the firmware quite a while ago to cure that issue and to make it calibrate automatically. I think the way it works is when you turn it on, it uses gravity to determine it's orientation. Once it senses movement, it locks in those settings. From what I understand, there are various modules inside that are needed for this. A 3 axis accelerometer as well as a magnetometer. Using these, it can determine it's orientation.
 
Joe_B1 said:
The way my adahrs on my stratux works is if you move it relative to the airframe, it will lose calibration but, it will eventually self align without specifically logging in an performing a calibration. The way I understand it was initially, it drifted but they updated the firmware quite a while ago to cure that issue and to make it calibrate automatically. I think the way it works is when you turn it on, it uses gravity to determine it's orientation. Once it senses movement, it locks in those settings. From what I understand, there are various modules inside that are needed for this. A 3 axis accelerometer as well as a magnetometer. Using these, it can determine it's orientation.
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That makes sense. Thanks.
 
Out of curiosity, what turned you off to the DIY model? I honestly didn't even know the multitude of DIY versions existed until seeing this thread so I'm curious what is so wrong with it as your posts don't really explain the problem.
 
Will Kumley said:
Out of curiosity, what turned you off to the DIY model? I honestly didn't even know the multitude of DIY versions existed until seeing this thread so I'm curious what is so wrong with it as your posts don't really explain the problem.
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The only problem I had with mine, a crew dog version, is that it would give occasional ghost traffic, that would real close, and behind. It would pop up then go away. Other than that it works great. I've seen the same thing in certified traffic systems once or twice.
 
I think ghost traffic is more an issue arising from the EFB and not the Stratux ...... could be wrong, often am according to my wife.
My ghosting went away when FlyQ support explained how to set my filters.
 
I love mine. It's a life saver in busy airspace.
 
wrbix said:
I think ghost traffic is more an issue arising from the EFB and not the Stratux ...... could be wrong, often am according to my wife.
My ghosting went away when FlyQ support explained how to set my filters.
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Yes, and I think there may be a setting in the Stratux that allows you put your aircraft ID in there so it doesn't generate a response.
 
I got mine from them years ago, still working great. I have since bought a larger battery; 30,000 mAh. The first battery was good, lasted quite a while. I did notice later on it didn't last as long, plus now my iPad battery is weaker. Now with 30,000 mAh I can charge up my iPad and cell phones as well as run the Stratux and still have plenty of power after 6 hours of flying.
 
PaulS said:
Yes, and I think there may be a setting in the Stratux that allows you put your aircraft ID in there so it doesn't generate a response.
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You have to put in your broadcast ICAO hex code.
 
PaulS said:
Yes, and I think there may be a setting in the Stratux that allows you put your aircraft ID in there so it doesn't generate a response.
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True. Sometimes it’s also a setup problem with SkyBeacon/TailBeacon ADSB - Out if you don’t enter the right type of aircraft. They need that to determine where the center of the ownship is located.

Haven’t had the problem.

Cheers
 
PaulS said:
The only problem I had with mine, a crew dog version, is that it would give occasional ghost traffic, that would real close, and behind. It would pop up then go away. Other than that it works great. I've seen the same thing in certified traffic systems once or twice.
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I may be a low hour pilot but I don't think the ghost traffic is due to the stratux. The planes I rent use Garmin or Appereo transponders with ADS-B in capabilities and if I link them to my iphone for traffic I sometimes get ghost traffic.
 
No, you put it in the stratux. Connect to it via WiFi and go to the setup page. If you are running avare, you can put it in the pilot and aircraft section as well.
 
I built a Raspberry Pi Stratux DIY Kit years ago that I got from Amazon. I didn't add the AHARS chip. I still works great but I recently removed it as my EchoUAT unit now supplies my traffic & weather to the iFly 740b unit I have on board. We have a fellow student pilot at the airport that bought his from Crew Dog and complained about it ... but I know him well enough to consider that the problem was most likely not a fault with the equipment :rolleyes:.
 
I think the more peripherals you add, the more chance for flakiness. I didn’t put in the AHRS, but I added a fan. I think heat may play a role.
 
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