Any PIREPs on AvMap with XM Weather?

[Jay Honeck]

I've been a huge AvMap fan for years, only selling my EKP-IIIc because AvMap kept stalling about incorporating XM weather.

So, I bought a 496. Yes, it's got XM weather -- something I wouldn't want to fly without -- but I've never learned to like the unit. It's literally half the GPS the AvMap is, and now that AvMap has FINALLY gotten aboard the weather train, I'm looking to upgrade.

Anyone here flown with the new EKP-IV with weather? How 'bout a PIREP?

Thanks!

 

[Skyking2]

Hi Jay,

Here are my experiences with the XM for my EKP-IV.

I was one of the first people to have this equipment. I actually flew up to Hyanis Mass. to meet with the factory rep to run me through the setup and operation. This was several days after the release announcement

I met with Dan from AVMAp, who had brought along my new WxWorx receiver, along with his own receiver. As my receiver was not activated through XM, which can take several hours, he set up his receiver with my EKP -IV The setup was straight forward requiring only a second antenna and a plug in cable from the WxWorx receiver to the EKP unit, plus a 12 volt power source for the WxWorx receiver

The unit booted up, which takes about 10 minutes to activate all the functions.

Dan showed me the various menu's and screens, which were easy to learn, and I was on my way.

On my return trip to FRG, which was about 1 hour, the XM function would not activate. I assumed this was because the XM subscription had not been put in place, which did not alarm me.

I arrived home, and removed the entire system, EKP, WxWorx receiver, and antennas and power cords, plus a battery pack and brought them home with me.

I set the unit up at home, and by the next morning, I was only able to receive METAR's . The unit should have been able to receive TAF's and NEXRAD radar.

After numerous phone calls to WxWorx (useless) XM- (Almost useless) and AvMAp ( Helpful) , and much finger pointing, the problem was finally diagnosed as a software "glitch" in the AvMap system. This was readily rectified by downloading additional software from AvMAp's web site. This software upgrade required me to purchase a card reader from Radio Shack for $20.00 ( a good idea anyway because database upgrades can now be accomplished online)

I have now installed the unit on my Cessna 310, which required a lot of creative cable management. (I have no idea why AvMap gives you 30 feet of antenna cable and WxWorx gives you 20 feet!)

The unit seems to work fine in flight.

I signed up for the least expensive service, which was $30.00 per month. The only thing the more expensive service would give me is cloud to ground lightening, and as I have a stormscope, was of little value to me.

I now have NEXRAD, TAF, Metar and color differentiation of different types and intensities of precip. AvMap tells me that TFRs will become available later in the year, and be available as a download at no additional charge.
TFRs are also included in the least expensive XM package.

Finding TAFs at other airports other than your home airport is a bit cumbersome, but is doable.

All in all, a well spent $600.00. This makes a great unit even better! Now we can start agitation for traffic on the EKP-IV

Hope this helps you.

Steve

 

[gismo]

I signed up for the least expensive service, which was $30.00 per month. The only thing the more expensive service would give me is cloud to ground lightening, and as I have a stormscope, was of little value to me.

FWIW, I have onboard radar and a Stormscope in my plane in addition to XM weather and I've found XM's lightning to be more useful than NEXRAD or the Stormscope for avoidance of storms that are more than 25 nm distant (onboard radar is the only tool I'm comfortable using closer than that). For the extra $20/mo you also get winds aloft, storm tracks, and several other products and IMO the all that is easiily worth the extra cost. That said, $600/yr is a lot of cash especially if you're not flying a lot.

BTW, you can thank my friend and fellow Baron pilot Derek for the availability of the Aviator Light ($30) option. He lobbied (successfully) for that service and the only reason that lightning isn't included there is that they have to pay a substantial amount per subscriber for the data.

 

[Jay Honeck]

Thanks, Steve (and Lance) for the input.

I'm surprised to hear that the antenna requires a separate power cord, as that's not the case with the 496. Not that it matters, I suppose -- once it's panel docked, all those cords are tucked inside the panel anyway -- but it's it's odd that AvMap's version needs power.

I wonder if they have a MidWest rep that would be willing to demo the unit somewhere nearby? I know I'd take one look at weather on that big, gorgeous screen and I'd be handing them my credit card. I am SO sick of squinting at that dinky little landscape (rather than aviation portrait) 496 screen!

Thanks again...

 

[gismo]

Thanks, Steve (and Lance) for the input.

I'm surprised to hear that the antenna requires a separate power cord, as that's not the case with the 496. Not that it matters, I suppose -- once it's panel docked, all those cords are tucked inside the panel anyway -- but it's it's odd that AvMap's version needs power.

I wonder if they have a MidWest rep that would be willing to demo the unit somewhere nearby? I know I'd take one look at weather on that big, gorgeous screen and I'd be handing them my credit card. I am SO sick of squinting at that dinky little landscape (rather than aviation portrait) 496 screen!

Thanks again...

The Garmin "antenna" (both Garmin's and WxWorks are actually receivers with a built in antenna) is connected with USB which provides power. IIRC WxWorks uses an RS232 connection so a separate means of supplying power is needed.

Edit: WxWorks has a newer version of their receiver which uses an external antenna and is available with USB, Ethernet, as well as the original RS-232 connection. Both the USB and Ethernet interfaces can be used to power the receiver without additional wires although PoE (Power over Ethernet) is fairly rare on laptops and palmtops AFaIK.

 

[Jay Honeck]

The Garmin "antenna" (both Garmin's and WxWorks are actually receivers with a built in antenna) is connected with USB which provides power. IIRC WxWorks uses an RS232 connection so a separate means of supplying power is needed.

Jeez, an RS232 connection? How '90s is that?

:wink2:

Of course, AvMap has been working on weather for (what seems like) forever, so I suppose USB was considered too "new and risky" back when they first started down this road?

I'm just glad they finally got XM working so that poor Vern (the older guy who always works the AvMap booth at Oshkosh and Sun N Fun -- he's the best sales rep at Airventure, IMHO) will no longer be forced to lie to everyone. That poor guy spent YEARS getting beat up by Garmin (and everyone who stopped at his booth) for not having weather, and he was always forced to tell us that weather was "just around the corner" for AvMap.

After owning (and loving) an AvMap, and after BEGGING Vern to tell me that weather was finally here, the poor guy would visibly cringe when he saw me at the start of each show, knowing what questions were to come. He'd always apologize, tell me that "XM is coming", and then try to sell me on other features in the unit. Eventually I (and thousands of others) got tired of waiting and bought a 496.

Now, all I've got to do is see an installation in action. Anyone know of any avionics shops in the Midwest that has a display model to play with?

 

[Skyking2]

Hi Jay,

I am waiting until Monday to check some facts with AvMap, which I will report on when I get the info.

One thing I forgot to mention is in regard to the WxWorx patch antenna.

When I went to install the antenna on the glare shield, I passed it near my magnetic compass, and discovered that he patch antenna had a very powerful magnet embedded in the antenna,. I assume this is to mount the antenna on a dashboard of a car. NOT good on an airplane tho.

I called both WxWorx and AvMap, and neither seemed too concerned about this. WxWorx suggested I buy an antenna from Comant. I am tempted to try to dig the magnet out, but will not do so for warranty reasons.

Regarding getting a demo unit.One thing you may want to peruse is to just buy one from Sporty's. It has been my experience that Sporty s has a very good return policy, and the most you would be out, if you did not like the results (doubtful) is a return shipping, and a months subscription to XM.

I too have been dealing with Vern Bennett for many years. Vern was formerly with Magellan, and I first met him perhaps 10-12 years ago, when I bought a Magellan EC-10X at OSH. I believe he now works as a consultant to AvMap now that they have taken over the Magellan Aviation line. Very knowledgeable guy.

I will keep the board posted as time goes on.

Steve

Jeez, an RS232 connection? How '90s is that?

:wink2:

Of course, AvMap has been working on weather for (what seems like) forever, so I suppose USB was considered too "new and risky" back when they first started down this road?

I'm just glad they finally got XM working so that poor Vern (the older guy who always works the AvMap booth at Oshkosh and Sun N Fun -- he's the best sales rep at Airventure, IMHO) will no longer be forced to lie to everyone. That poor guy spent YEARS getting beat up by Garmin (and everyone who stopped at his booth) for not having weather, and he was always forced to tell us that weather was "just around the corner" for AvMap.

After owning (and loving) an AvMap, and after BEGGING Vern to tell me that weather was finally here, the poor guy would visibly cringe when he saw me at the start of each show, knowing what questions were to come. He'd always apologize, tell me that "XM is coming", and then try to sell me on other features in the unit. Eventually I (and thousands of others) got tired of waiting and bought a 496.

Now, all I've got to do is see an installation in action. Anyone know of any avionics shops in the Midwest that has a display model to play with?

 

[Jay Honeck]

Hi Jay,

I am waiting until Monday to check some facts with AvMap, which I will report on when I get the info.
<snip>
I will keep the board posted as time goes on.

Steve

Steve, do me a favor, please, and ask about hooking the AvMap up to on-board XM music in the plane?

One of the nicest things about having the 496 panel docked is that it is wired into our CD player/intercom. This gives us 400 XM radio channels in the plane, which is simply fantastic on long flights.

I was told yesterday that AvMap (or WXworks) may NOT have incorporated the proper output jack to play XM radio in the plane. This would be a real shame, and (sadly) a deal-killer for me if true.

Re: The magnet, the 496's antennas initially came with a magnetic base, too. I *think* they fixed that (I can't remember now if ours has the magnet or not -- it just "lives" up on the dash, and has been "out of sight, out of mind" for years now) in later models.

Re: Vern. Yep, that's the guy. My first GPS was a nautical Magellan unit, which gave me some common ground when I met Vern at the AvMap booth back in...2002 (?) He's the most knowledgeable GPS guy I've ever met, and I'm sure he will be greatly relieved when he works the booth at OSH '09, now that AvMap has finally incorporated XM weather.

Thanks!

 

[jmaynard]

Re: The magnet, the 496's antennas initially came with a magnetic base, too. I *think* they fixed that (I can't remember now if ours has the magnet or not -- it just "lives" up on the dash, and has been "out of sight, out of mind" for years now) in later models.

They did. Mine does not have it.

 

[Skyking2]

Good Morning Jay,

With respect to XM Radio, I did ask Dan from AvMap if AvMap was going to support XM, and he said that AvMap had no plans to do so.

Interesting however is that the XxWorx receiver does have a jack in the rear to support audio output, si it is not too far of a stretch to imagine being able to take the output of this receiver, and put it into some sort of an aftermarket tuner.

I found this link, which pictures the WxWorx receiver.

http://www.aviationlogs.com/PilotShop/proddetail.asp?prod=REWX9ID

To help decipher the cabling on the REWX9ID unit, what you have is the receiver unit itself, which is about 6 inches squares and 1 inch deep. There is a 12 volt standard cigarette lighter plug type cord to bring power to the receiver, a patch antenna with about a 20 foot long, really thin cable, which has a screw on connector, which goes to the back of the REWX9ID box, and an output cable from the REWX9ID terminating in a 2.5 mm connector which plugs into the EKP-IV.

Lots of wires to mess with, and AvMap does not offer the BlueTooth version.

I too have an EKP-IIIC, which I have on a yoke mount on the co-pilots side. Great thing as it keeps the Mrs. and Kiddies from the "when are we going to be there" question


I will call AvMap and should have more info for the board tomorrow.

Steve