ADS-B vs. XM Weather

JimB
Posts: 87
Joined: Tue Mar 12, 2013 12:52 am

Re: ADS-B vs. XM Weather

Post by JimB »

Jeff,

I just reread this old thread. I recently spent several days in Canada and missed having weather available since I now use ADSB. Are the XM features supported today the same as stated above? Do you support Canada weather? Is lightning, either ADSB or XM, available today on my Sport HS?

If I use my old GRT XM processor, it must use 115200 baud and the hi speed port on my Sport HS EFIS. Will another port at 9600 work properly for ADSB from Stratux serial connection or is that too slow baud rate? How high a baud will the other slower serial ports support?

ADSB weather is adding several new features. Will that require software changes from GRT to use them? If so, do you have a target date for them? Will they be available for older GRT EFIS then too?

Thanks

Jim Butcher
GRT_Jeff
Posts: 802
Joined: Tue Dec 11, 2012 12:11 am

Re: ADS-B vs. XM Weather

Post by GRT_Jeff »

The supported XM features are the same. We have not added support for Canada.

Lightning is supported from XM on all units that support XM WX, including the Sport HS. Lightning is a US-only product.

You need a high speed port. The maximum baud rate for low-speed ports is 19200. The minimum baud rate for ADS-B is 38400, so that's not good enough. ADS-B works at lower baud rates by throwing away traffic and weather data. The original specification used 38400 baud. Most receivers now recommend 115200 and say the data stream will be at full load when in range of several towers.

New features (and old features we still haven't implemented yet) require specific software support in the display units. Lightning will be the first one we add because it should be simple and we already have support for XM lightning. Sample data and final specifications have not been released so we haven't started working on it. The older GRT EFIS units (WS/HS) probably won't get the new features.
yoloflyer
Posts: 15
Joined: Sat Aug 24, 2013 4:41 am

Re: ADS-B vs. XM Weather

Post by yoloflyer »

Jeff, do you have a time line for winds aloft? Does display type matter? I'm currently flying with a 2010-spec Sport SX and a new Mini-AP, planning to upgrade the former as soon as finances allow to an HXr.
GRT_Jeff
Posts: 802
Joined: Tue Dec 11, 2012 12:11 am

Re: ADS-B vs. XM Weather

Post by GRT_Jeff »

I don't have a timeline on any of the features. Winds aloft has been on the to-do list for a long time. The current models (HX/HXr/SX/EX/Mini) should receive any new weather features at the same time.
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