New ADS-B out - any validation steps?

deyoung

deyoung

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Chris
My plane is currently in the avionics shop having my ADS-B out installations done (Stratus ESG); once that's done, is there any verification or checking I need to do with ATC for it? I plan to check with approach on my way back and say essentially "I have a new ADS-B out installation, can you confirm you're receiving everything you expect to from me?" but anything I should do beyond that?

Thanks!
 
Nope nothing you have to do. They had the verification before for the FAA rebate. Now nothing stops you from doing the verification but it's not required.
 
The verification was technically for the rebate and toward the end there were a number of bugs in it and they were handing errors by email.

But the data the test shows is still mostly valid and useful if you like seeing such things. No reason you can’t do it just to take a look.

The data is pretty interesting and allows you to look at stuff like whether or not the installer set the out and in parameters correctly, amongst other things.

Be interesting to see what mandatory long term tests are required of UAT. Mode-S setups will get tested during two year transponder checks. But I don’t know of any UAT specific test gear for over the air testing at shops.

It probably exists, I just haven’t been looking and drooling over test gear in about two years now.

The new Aniritsu transponder test set our transponder test guy used last time our now removed Mode-C transponder was pretty spiffy. Have used their test gear before for other non-Aviation things and liked those test sets. Compact and usually capable of battery powered ops. Very portable, and designed for field work.
 
@Checkout_my_Six looks like it says the installer can either have ground test gear, as mentioned above, or do a flight test after emailing a request to get the info on where the link is.

In that photo series in the third doc, there’s an Aeroflex IFR-6000, which is quite similar to the Aniritsu product I mentioned. Looks like from a quick Google search, Aeroflex added UAT testing (on top of already having Mode-S transponder testing) as an option in 2014.

(The photo is crap, that might be an IFR-59XX and those didn’t get the upgrades for UAT as far as I can tell.)

Those gadgets are NOT cheap. I own an old IFR model for doing other RF testing unrelated to aircraft, but it has some aircraft bands and modulation types test features built into it, and mine was ten years out of date product line wise, and a couple of years out of official calibration when I got it, and it was a couple thousand bucks.

Don’t even want to Google what a new IFR-6000 costs. Damn nice test gear, though.

See in the photo where he has the cool antenna pointed at the belly of the plane? That test set will interrogate a transponder and measure returned power levels and all sorts of nifty RF geekery.

Most of them will also simulate Localizers, Glideslopes, transmit audio sine-waves at particular frequencies on AM for testing Comm radios, measure power levels... all sorts of cool stuff. Depends on the model number and how deep your wallet goes.

Shops without that gear or “one man band” installers would have to do the in flight test path in the approved installation methods outline.
 
does the installer have the option of recording compliance of either test per 14 CFR 43 ....on a 337?
 
Heard a pilot trying to get an ADS-B verification with PDK last week.

“Peach Tree Tower Cessna 345, are you receiving my ADS-B out?”

“Cessna 345, ah...say again???”

“Cessna 345 just had ADS-B installed, wondering if you can confirm a readout.”

“Cessna 345, I have no idea what that is.”
:D
 
You need to fly 4 hours in ADS-B required areas such as the 30 nm Mode C veil. If, after that, you have noticeably whiter teeth and look 10 year younger, then it's working.
 
denverpilot said:
Those gadgets are NOT cheap. I own an old IFR model for doing other RF testing unrelated to aircraft, but it has some aircraft bands and modulation types test features built into it, and mine was ten years out of date product line wise, and a couple of years out of official calibration when I got it, and it was a couple thousand bucks.

Don’t even want to Google what a new IFR-6000 costs. Damn nice test gear, though.
Click to expand...

Well, you piqued my curiosity, so I googled it for you.

Every site said "Call for quote" or similar. Except the ones that said "Available for rent only." Every. Single. One. Not even a hint.

I'm now properly scared of the price of that thing and am no wiser as to what it might be.
 
arnoha said:
Well, you piqued my curiosity, so I googled it for you.

Every site said "Call for quote" or similar. Except the ones that said "Available for rent only." Every. Single. One. Not even a hint.

I'm now properly scared of the price of that thing and am no wiser as to what it might be.
Click to expand...

Best guess would be $6,000 without a full set of options and pushing $10,000 loaded, out the door price, with carrying cases and test cables, antennas, and such.
 
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