Recommended Way to Use Avare for ADS-B In with GTX 345?

[Craig Burley]

Hi! I'm nearly (fingers crossed) about to get my PPL, just waiting for my checkride to be scheduled and then, of course, passed.

The flight school I use is great, has mostly Diamond DA20's and DA40's, with GTX 345's installed on most or all of them.

As I understand it, Avare does not support the proprietary ADS-B In format transmitted by GTX 345's; Garmin indicates that only its own Garmin Pilot app can do that (on Android), though I think FltPlan Go can do it too (since Garmin owns that now?).

I much prefer to support and use free/open-source software (I've written plenty myself, going way back); though otherwise I don't mind using Garmin Pilot, FltPlan Go, or even ForeFlight on an iPad (though I just took deliver on a new Android tablet in the hopes it'd suffice, as I'm already an Android-OS-phone user), as I'm far more interested in safety than in the lowest possible price.

Having read this (without fully understanding it; what's their "$249 Merlin" unit, anyway?), I wonder if anyone has a "recipe" for a robust way to adapt my DA20's rentals to stream ADS-B In data to Avare on my tablet?

https://www.seattleavionics.com/support/page/

E.g.. is there some (relatively small, ideally inexpensive) device available that either converts 345 data to G-90 format, or receives its own ADS-B In from the same source(s) as the 345 uses, or what?

Thanks!

P.S. I assume the 345<->Avare incompatibility is not really a technical limitation, insofar as, even if "we" reverse-engineered the 345 output stream (which is the sort of work I've done in the past and enjoyed), Garmin would presumably just sue any product that uses the result out of existence, correct?

[Jeffrey Ross]

Good luck on your checkride,

for about $120 (+ a battery) and some very basic computer skills you can assemble a Stratux unit and that is compatible with Avare and every EFB out there.  I think the "Merlin" unit is a Stratux unit as well.

I can't imagine Garmin will stop you from decoding their protocol, as it is I think Avidyne is doing it on their IFD units, the only problem is Garmin can simply start using another undocumented portion of their code and you no longer are receiving data.  That said you are welcome to take a stab at adding the 345's output to Avare, it is always helpful to have more developers involved in the project. Some of the other Dev's can chime in but I think the place to add it would be to the Avare external IO app.  Also keep in mind the 345's output is bluetooth not wifi, and the IO app already supports bluetooth of one of the receivers.  (see github https://github.com/apps4av  you want avarehelper)

Jeff

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[Craig Burley]

I've seen "Stratux" mentioned several times and looked into it a bit, but what I've found is a bit overwhelming in terms of older and newer information. If you have a good "definitive starting point" for that project, I"d appreciate a link.

E.g. would that device have its own antennae (maybe something I'd attach via velcro or section to the inside of the canopy/windshield), or what?

(That avarehelper GH repo's README.md could use some lovin' at some point...maybe working on that would be a good starting-point for me!?)

[Jeffrey Ross]

Craig and everybody else,

For a Stratux unit you need the following: (all links go to Amazon)

Raspberry Pi 3B - $38.18 - https://tinyurl.com/yf7dz69g
radios&antennas - $49.99 - https://tinyurl.com/ydjjlrd4
GPS VK-162 - $16.00 - https://tinyurl.com/ygyxeffn
case - $14 - https://tinyurl.com/yjdczhw5
microsd 16GB - $5.88 - https://tinyurl.com/yh724llc

Total $124.05

Make absolutely sure you purchase the Raspberry Pi 3B  DO NOT get the 3B+ the + will not work, also do not get the Raspberry Pi 4 either as it too will not work!

Although the GPS is technically optional, I would not consider it optional and highly recommend it, the one I recommended is an external GPS, you can use this GPS instead: https://tinyurl.com/yft22qes but I would recommend against it as they have issues sometimes acquiring  a lock, they are also $4 more expensive

Very very optional is the AHRS module for $20 - https://tinyurl.com/yzuol2lw

In regards to the MicroSD card I think you can actually get away with a 4GB card, I know you can use an 8GB card but it was actually cheaper to get the 16GB card of a known brand from a legitimate source, also the SD card speed doesn't matter, the software runs completely in memory.

You will still need some sort of power source, either a cigarette lighter plug or a battery pack and I would recommend some sort of magnetic USB cable such as:
https://tinyurl.com/yfjrlcuo (note this is power only, no data transfer) as they will safely break away without breaking the USB port.

The software is directly downloadable from stratux.me at no charge

Jeff

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[Craig Burley]

This is awesome, thanks!!

[Craig Burley]

How do you think this setup compares to a GTX 345 in terms of robustly receiving ADS-B In data via the antenna, assuming the 345 uses an antenna mounted underneath the airplane (as it is on the DA20's at the flight school)? Would it be significantly less able to receive necessary data?

[Jeffrey Ross]

I found the Stratux to be reliable, I had no issues receiving the data I was expecting to receive.

My gripe with it is it is wires in the cockpit, I don't like wires in the cockpit!

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/apps4av-forum/f301bc54-21bb-4199-ac7b-540d6e9a4a67n%40googlegroups.com.

[Craig Burley]

That's helpful, thanks. As I'll typically be flying with my wife, maybe she'l use that setup on her side (where extra wires should be less of an issue; she's not a pilot), and I might spring for the traditional iPad+FF (using the 345's data) for myself, so we have backup redundancy. (I've already got one kinda-big battery pack that has powered my MacBook Pro plus my smartphone for several hours of bus-riding hacking; it has enough "outlets" to handle one USB-C plus two USB-B devices, though we might get another battery pack for further backup redundancy.)

[John Rodkey]

I don't like wires either, so I used a short usb adapter cable to a consumer-grade power bank. Like this one: https://us.anker.com/products/a1263 .  It has the advantage that it doesn't depend at all on your aircraft's electrical system, and you can carry a spare in your pocket.  Velcro it to the Stratux case, and you're golden.   I got 2 hours of operation from a much smaller power bank (3000mah), and I ran out of bladder long before I ran out of battery with the 10000mah bank.

[Andy]

I have a 12v LiFePO battery (like this) under my seat, a 12v to 5v converter to a dual USB port, and this will run the Tab and Stratux for about 10 hours which is nice on the multi-day flying/camping trips.

LiFePo's are super light weight and work just fine when the temps drop into the single digits, I highly recommend them. Having the USB port is also key as you can charge all your gizmos.

[Craig Burley]

Great recommendations!

I've been very happy with my Anker 26800 PD (though I have the 30W-charger version I guess), which I've had for several years now. But I haven't used it in very cold weather yet, and only on a few student-solo flights to keep my Galaxy S7 juiced up.

Right now my plan is to evaluate FltPlan Go and Garmin Pilot on my new Galaxy A T510 tablet, see how well they work with the GTX 345 in the plane(s) I rent locally, and whether I like them enough to hold off on building a Stratux to use with Avare (and/or give in to the Dark Side and get an iPad with ForeFlight).

I'm sure it'd be "fun" to tinker with AvareHelper support for Garmin's ADS-B In output format, but frankly I've more than a bit overloaded with my existing (volunteer) software work plus, of course, preparing for my PPL checkride followed by (presumably) working on an instrument rating and such.