Any PIREPS on the Dual XGPS170
- Thread starter alfadog
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Chip Sylverne
Final Approach
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Quit with the negative waves, man.
I have one. Works great. Running via bluetooth to Avare. The case does get pretty hot when in operation, but battery life is good. I took it on a 5 hr x/c and the battery kept pace, while my buddy's Stratus 2 died just as we were dodging t-storms. I do wish there were some kind of live battery level indicator though.
The newer ones have an antenna flattened out on the end. Works far better than the cylindrical shape. Dual upgraded mine free of charge with a copy of the original purchase receipt. The one problem I had is that the green "charged" led will only light with my Apple charger. The Nexus charger will charge, but the green led fully charged indictor doesn't annunciate. It also charges fine from a 5v USB charger in the plane.
It will Bluetooth to Apple or Android, but not both at the same time.
The newer ones have an antenna flattened out on the end. Works far better than the cylindrical shape. Dual upgraded mine free of charge with a copy of the original purchase receipt. The one problem I had is that the green "charged" led will only light with my Apple charger. The Nexus charger will charge, but the green led fully charged indictor doesn't annunciate. It also charges fine from a 5v USB charger in the plane.
It will Bluetooth to Apple or Android, but not both at the same time.
N659HB
En-Route
There's an app that shows battery level. Just grabbed this screen shot of mine. Seems to work pretty well with my iPad. Haven't used it more than a couple hours in flight to date. The ADS-B kicks in around 1200 MSL, at least around here. Just bought the FlyQ EFB app. Plan to check out both on a cross country tomorrow. I'm curious about how traffic shows up, but I wanted it mainly for weather.
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jimmyjack
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Nick
I have one. Have used it for dozens of hours. Dual mentions they built it specifically to withstand glareshield temps. I flew this last hot summer and it never overheated.
Seems to work fine, have never had a real issue with it. I have constant groundspeed discrepancies when I use it, but I am blaming iFly and not the hardware.
I now have the FF + Stratus 2S combo. The 2S shows me a lot more traffic and has AHRS.
Dual just released the 190, which is a 2S competitor. Dual band ADSB and AHRS, just like the 2S.
That's probably why the 170 is so much cheaper now.
The 170 comes with a non-slip cradle which really is nonslip. Doesn't move at all. I bought a 2S nonslip *separately* and it moves all over.
Disclaimer: The 170 doesn't have AHRS, so maybe it moves and I just don't notice it. AHRS requires a completely non-moving unit once you turn it on.
Seems to work fine, have never had a real issue with it. I have constant groundspeed discrepancies when I use it, but I am blaming iFly and not the hardware.
I now have the FF + Stratus 2S combo. The 2S shows me a lot more traffic and has AHRS.
Dual just released the 190, which is a 2S competitor. Dual band ADSB and AHRS, just like the 2S.
That's probably why the 170 is so much cheaper now.
The 170 comes with a non-slip cradle which really is nonslip. Doesn't move at all. I bought a 2S nonslip *separately* and it moves all over.
Disclaimer: The 170 doesn't have AHRS, so maybe it moves and I just don't notice it. AHRS requires a completely non-moving unit once you turn it on.
jimmyjack
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Nick
Followup: The XPS units connect via bluetooth instead of wifi. This is pretty nice. On the ipad, I have to connect the 2S via WIFI, which means I lose my hotspot connection. Annoying when I'm in the cockpit trying to get my final data update.
German guy
Cleared for Takeoff
We have a XGPS170. I have mixed feelings about it.
Positive:
- It quickly acquires satellites
- ADS-B seems to work well.
Not so great:
- The app, which is needed to update the firmware, in only available for the iPad (not even iPhone). Support promised new apps, also for Android, for later this year.
- Since the last firmware update, the airspeed is fluctuating be around 5 kts. Same effect with iFly on Android and iPad. Didn't have time yet to verify whether this is iFly specific or if the same effect occurs if I read the speed using the XGPS app.
- Does not automatically re-connect via Bluetooth with iOS. Support mentioned that this is a known problem, no solution yet.
- The XGPS will only indicate that it is full, when it either gets charged with the car charger or an iPad charger. Even with the iPad charger, the 'full' indication works only 8 out of 10 times. With other USB chargers it will either continue to indicate that it is still charging or show an error code - even though the battery is already full.
It is certainly an OK device, I might even buy it again, it however feels more like a prototype than a finished product. While their support is pretty responsive, the progress in engineering seems to be slow.
Positive:
- It quickly acquires satellites
- ADS-B seems to work well.
Not so great:
- The app, which is needed to update the firmware, in only available for the iPad (not even iPhone). Support promised new apps, also for Android, for later this year.
- Since the last firmware update, the airspeed is fluctuating be around 5 kts. Same effect with iFly on Android and iPad. Didn't have time yet to verify whether this is iFly specific or if the same effect occurs if I read the speed using the XGPS app.
- Does not automatically re-connect via Bluetooth with iOS. Support mentioned that this is a known problem, no solution yet.
- The XGPS will only indicate that it is full, when it either gets charged with the car charger or an iPad charger. Even with the iPad charger, the 'full' indication works only 8 out of 10 times. With other USB chargers it will either continue to indicate that it is still charging or show an error code - even though the battery is already full.
It is certainly an OK device, I might even buy it again, it however feels more like a prototype than a finished product. While their support is pretty responsive, the progress in engineering seems to be slow.