twdeckard
Pre-takeoff checklist
I haven't had the unit flying yet, but here are some first notes on the Onix GPS/XM
The UI is very poor, especially configuring the map display and activating the WX overlay mode.
Using: http://navaid.com/GPX/ it is straightforward to generate a set of aviation fixes for a given area. The beta version of http://www.gpsbabel.org/ will translate the GPX format into Onix waypoints. Its excrutiating (and time consuming) to transfer them into its PC program but it can be done.
3000 waypoints (a good sampling of my "I've landed here" map) were enough to stuff the unit. If you fill the 128M card the unit bricks and won't start-up. Resurrected it with a larger microSD card. 3000 fixes was still overzealous. I am not sure how long it took to parse them on startup but I left it on overnight.
Pruned it down to 300 fixes and it will start fairly quickly. It marks the fixes as golf flags but perhaps I can change this?
I cannot see any way to feed a bootleg map into it.
Took 2 trys to get it activated under XM (but likely the fault of poor reception).
The original 2.XXXX software locked up several times however upgrading the flash to the 3.XXXX version has been an improvement. With the original S/W there was a lag before the LCD would activate and you could get in a vicious cycle of "thought I turned it on, no its off, damn I think its locked up." It does not exhibit this behavior with the latest version.
I am now enjoying a nationwide radar map. I will have to experiment with it a bit before I settle in on any more conclusions.
For $9/month I think its very valuable for those situations where I am launching away from a computer. The fact that it doesn't need a hockey puck antenna makes it seem cleaner to whip out and take a look. However, the UI ergonomics are so bad if I am juggling the airplane I'd just as soon ask ATC to describe any convective activity.
I am hoping its a complement to the stormscope, the mark-I eyeball and pragmatic decision making. I am not ready to recommend it just yet.
The UI is very poor, especially configuring the map display and activating the WX overlay mode.
Using: http://navaid.com/GPX/ it is straightforward to generate a set of aviation fixes for a given area. The beta version of http://www.gpsbabel.org/ will translate the GPX format into Onix waypoints. Its excrutiating (and time consuming) to transfer them into its PC program but it can be done.
3000 waypoints (a good sampling of my "I've landed here" map) were enough to stuff the unit. If you fill the 128M card the unit bricks and won't start-up. Resurrected it with a larger microSD card. 3000 fixes was still overzealous. I am not sure how long it took to parse them on startup but I left it on overnight.
Pruned it down to 300 fixes and it will start fairly quickly. It marks the fixes as golf flags but perhaps I can change this?
I cannot see any way to feed a bootleg map into it.
Took 2 trys to get it activated under XM (but likely the fault of poor reception).
The original 2.XXXX software locked up several times however upgrading the flash to the 3.XXXX version has been an improvement. With the original S/W there was a lag before the LCD would activate and you could get in a vicious cycle of "thought I turned it on, no its off, damn I think its locked up." It does not exhibit this behavior with the latest version.
I am now enjoying a nationwide radar map. I will have to experiment with it a bit before I settle in on any more conclusions.
For $9/month I think its very valuable for those situations where I am launching away from a computer. The fact that it doesn't need a hockey puck antenna makes it seem cleaner to whip out and take a look. However, the UI ergonomics are so bad if I am juggling the airplane I'd just as soon ask ATC to describe any convective activity.
I am hoping its a complement to the stormscope, the mark-I eyeball and pragmatic decision making. I am not ready to recommend it just yet.
