Best Portable ADS-B IN?

camorton

camorton

Pre-takeoff checklist
Joined
Nov 29, 2018
Messages
217
Display Name
Display name:
Craig Morton
Is there any consensus on the best portable ADS-B 'in' receiver? GDL-50, Stratus, Stratux, etc? Don't need all the bells and whistles (ADHARS, music). Just looking for the best traffic.

I have an older Dynon DRX (now discontinued) that was a huge improvement over the Scout, but ForeFlight has never shown reception signal strength to be anything better than 'marginal'. It works, but I know it is not seeing everything out there.

Thanks,

Craig.
 
I use a Stratux and ForeFlight...very happy with this setup. When you say marginal, are you referring to tower reception ?
 
I like my StatuX waay better than the Stratus 3.

You would think the more expensive model would win, but the signal strength has no comparison.
 
Stratux here. Don’t know if it’s the best. Zero issues, 3+ years, using cigarette lighter socket adapter to power it.
 
Built a stratux, loved it. No cheaper solution. Currently in a club with a stratus 3i installed. Can't tell much difference, although I would agree it doesn't seem to pick up signals from quite a far away. Makes sense as the stratux had giant antennae on it.
 
Stratux folks . . . How do you know which parts to get?

Does it work well as a renter (in/out of flight bags etc)? Any special skills / knowledge to assemble?
 
Terry M - 3CK (Chicago) said:
Stratux folks . . . How do you know which parts to get?

Does it work well as a renter (in/out of flight bags etc)? Any special skills / knowledge to assemble?
Click to expand...
When I built mine, they had an official parts store on Amazon that sold everything you need. It wasn't the cheapest way to build one, but I did manage to build a reliable unit on the first try. Iirc there was some compatibility issues with different raspberry pi versions, but I haven't looked at them in a long time.

The part that seemed to give most people issues was loading the software, but following the directions step by step, I had no trouble. Took all of a couple hours.

I used mine for two years. The micro USB power connector on the RP started to get a little sloppy; I was probably too rough on it, usually tossing it in the back seat and occasionally dropping the flight bag on it. Another year of that and I probably would've had to replace the Pi. The antennas didn't benefit from that treatment either, and got bent up a bit, but were structurally sound.

All that to say, they hold up pretty well, and probably even better if you take better care of it than I did. It was 100% reliable though. I was always impressed with the capability of such a cheap device.
 
I have had a few stratux. Found them to be unreliable pos.
 
Jim K said:
….I used mine for two years. …
All that to say, they hold up pretty well, and probably even better if you take better care of it than I did. It was 100% reliable though. I was always impressed with the capability of such a cheap device.
Click to expand...
And I bought yours, which made it an even better value. The only thing I’ve done is replace one antenna that didn’t want to always lock in place, but it’s been rock solid for me.

I just throw it in the back seat and forget about it.
 
Last edited:
I've been happy with my GDL39.
 
It will also depend on what you're going to use - ForeFlight, Garmin Pilot, I Fly, etc.

Not all apps will work with all ADSB receivers. Some use the universal GDL 90 protocol (Status 3), some don't (Stratus 2).

Assuming you're using ForeFlight: A new Stratus 3 ($750) should work just fine. A used Stratus 2s should work - but they are getting rather old, so not sure if a good unit is on the market now. Sentry ($500) and Sentry Mini ($300) will work only with ForeFlight, but give you traffic and weather.
 
I have a single band SkyRadar box by Redena....works great with an iPad. $50 + shipping.
 

Attachments

  • IMG_6429.jpg
    IMG_6429.jpg
    112.7 KB · Views: 21
  • IMG_6430.jpg
    IMG_6430.jpg
    72 KB · Views: 20
  • IMG_6431.jpg
    IMG_6431.jpg
    74.9 KB · Views: 20
  • IMG_6432.jpg
    IMG_6432.jpg
    48.1 KB · Views: 20
  • IMG_6433.jpg
    IMG_6433.jpg
    108.6 KB · Views: 20
I've had a Stratus 3 for 3 years now, and I've been very happy with it. I have it plugged into my Stratus Transponder, and I have no problem picking up distant signals.
 
Doug Reid said:
When you say marginal, are you referring to tower reception ?
Click to expand...

Yes, I use ForeFlight and in the upper left corner, it shows the device you're getting data from and the signal strength. In my case it says "DRX" (the device name) and signal strength is never better than 'marginal'. Sometimes 'poor'. I don't think I've ever seen 'good' and I live in LA where there should be plenty of towers.

I thought there would be more Garmin fans around here. Anyone using the newer GDL50 models?

I built one of the first gen Stratux just out of curiosity but never used it much because I didn't have 'Out' yet. Might be worth another look.

C.
 
Your tablet running ForeFlight gets ADSB signal from the ADSB units (Stratus, etc) via Bluetooth or WiFi connection. The ADSB unit gets data from other airplanes. Not sure why your signal strength would be low, as the tablet and ADSB are only a few feet apart. You should see other aircraft just fine.

FAA ground towers provide weather data and also retransmit adsb data to translate between the two different AFSB frequencies. Is that what you’re referring to as weak signals?
 
@masloki and I ran our own respective receivers to/from RR recently. His was a Stratux, mine a Stratus 3. I think our consensus was mine had advantage due to better antennae. I could pick up ground stations from greater distances. We both ran FF, and when ground station reception was good, it all seemed the same to me.

For me I’m a big fan of the AHRS data, but I fly equipment without backup AIs.
 
kaiser said:
@masloki and I ran our own respective receivers to/from RR recently. His was a Stratux, mine a Stratus 3. I think our consensus was mine had advantage due to better antennae. I could pick up ground stations from greater distances. We both ran FF, and when ground station reception was good, it all seemed the same to me.

For me I’m a big fan of the AHRS data, but I fly equipment without backup AIs.
Click to expand...
For what it's worth, they sell an AHRS chip for the stratux. About $25 iirc.
 
Close. I think the stratux was shadowed by the wing as it was positioned pretty much on center. In the past I had no issues; I had it battery powered in the far back of the window but I couldn’t run ship power that far. So, I’ve got it tucked in the glare shield now so we will see if it performs better. That said, I’ve had zero issues with the PI or software. The recent build resolved the corruption issues for people who didn’t perform a software shutdown. At some point, I will look into mounting some antennas on the plane and having those feed the stratux. But, that is a bit down the list of plane upgrades.

And it’s got the AHRS chip in it, but haven’t figured out how to calibrate it at the plane especially with it at a weird angle on the glare shield curve. And in all honesty, not sure I am willing to bet my life on it so may leave it inop.
 
I’d look at the Classifieds and eBay. It’s common for someone to get in-panel ADS-B and then sell their portable. Or maybe call Appareo to see if they have a leftover Stratus2s.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top