How do you access that feature? Is it passive or active, that is do you push a button to sync it.

Does it work with a portable ADS-B device being the hot-spot, and the IFD in client mode?

* Orest

I believe it is both. There is a button to press for loading flight plan data to and from the panel IFD but I believe there is also a user option to accept changes coming from the IFD automatically. I can't seem to find an update to their PG to confirm this.

Not sure on your second question.

Using foreflight for at home flight planning and then pushing the FP to the 550/IFD100 will be nice.  

Is there a "map" that explains the connectivity between the IFD550 / AXP322/ Skytrax 100 / IFD100 / Foreflight / Avidyne keyboard?

I'm assuming I will no longer need my Stratus 2 as well.

Brent

The keyboard is by its lonesome, connects by BT. Doesn't interact otherwise.

Other portable devices on WiFi are another leg, like an android or iOS tablet, running various apps.

The IFD100 is on your tablet, and uses WiFi, but it is actually on the IFD system bus, that just happens to be routed on the WiFi connection. Very clever.

Skytrax feeds data by RS232 & ARC429 to the IFD. The IFD can then serve that same data to the IFD100 on the WiFi carried system bus. The IFD can also send FIS/TIS data, and other data and send/receive flight plans on the generic WiFi link connected to tablet software. The tablet software has to take advantage of this, it has to handshake and use the data.

No, you won't need your Stratus. You would connect your tablet to the IFD550 wifi hot spot (vice the Stratus)

Does that help?

* Orest

The BT keyboard is all by itself connected directly to IFD via BT

The IFD is the central wifi hub/hotspot that receives wired information from the transponders.

Both the IFD100 and foreflight would connect to the IFD-550 wifi hotspot for their integration.  FWIW I use separate ipads for those apps.  

I should be able to see weather and/or traffic on the IFD550/ IFD100 / Foreflight with this setup.  Ideally spreading that info out among the displays.  

I'm sure it will all make sense once I get it all finished and get to play with it.    

Yes!

Just fiddled around in my plane today, with an iPad mini, FF 9.1, IFD540 10.2.

FF will talk to both an IFD & Stratux/etc. simultaneously, if you have the IFD in remote mode, and the Stratux acting as the hot spot.

So, FF will download flight plans, while also being able to show ADS-B data on the tablet at the same time. No need to toggle connections. It can get a GPS position from either the IFD or the Stratux, not sure which is preferred.

FF can also upload a flight plan to the IFD in this setting. Uploaded flight plans to to the FMS|Routes page, where you can activate it. It does not change the active flight plan, which of course is the sensible thing to do.

With the IFD acting as the hot spot, FF with upload/download flight plans, and get a GPS location from the IFD.

Incidentally FltPlan Go, also does the same.

So, everything just works!

* Orest

I really hated spending the money on what is essentially a single purpose device, it will sit in my flight bag. But with Foreflight (absolutely an Apple fanboy) serving Jepp plates (shortly), and Jepp getting out of the app business, and looking like we will not see the IFD100 on android any time soon ...

My wife just shakes her head disapprovingly, and I hang my head in shame. Oh well. If we see movement on the android front, I can always dump the iPad.

Have to say one thing, I couldn't believe how hot an IPad tablet gets, almost too hot to pick up sometimes if it is sitting in a bit of sun. It hasn't shut down on me yet, but that may be because I use it only intermittently. And what is the deal with no BACK key! Instead you get a variety of small soft keys, usually in the top left and a reach to get to, to serve the same function. Really a half-baked notice bar too. And no "desktop" or widgets, really just an app drawer as the interface. In my view, Apple really has some design failings. 

* Orest

So the Stratus will be the hot spot (instead of the IFD). The IFD will connect to the Stratus hot spot, and your tablet will connect to the Stratus hot spot as well. That establishes a network that links all three. The topology (who is the hot spot and who the clients) makes no difference to what information can be shared, it is just a conduit. Make sense?

FF 9.1, using that conduit, will then connect to both. You don't need to do anything else. The connection to the IFD may take a little longer, and usually appears second.

* Orest

As of Foreflight 9.1, the app doesn't display wx or traffic from the IFD. I believe FF are planning this for a future release (since they already support wx, traffic, TFRs, and AIR/SIGMETs from the Lynx NGT9000).

Yes, absolutely. It seems to take a little longer to handshake, but it will appear.

* Orest

It can be, if the manufacturer of the aircraft approves.   And in my case, I do :-)

 

FIS-B info via custom stratux code as displayed on the IFD540.

 
 

The same is true of FlyQ.  FlyQ has bidirectional flight plans but no wx or traffic.

 They have plans to support all data streams from the IFD and are working in that direction.  They are waiting  Avidyne to provide them something so that they can finish the coding on their side.

I would bet FF is waiting for the same thing.

Hang on ..  Orest is using Foreflight?

Nothing wrong with FF, nice program if pricey, just don't like the hardware. Explained my reasoning upthread. The mini iPad is an (expensive) single purpose device that lives in my flightbag, kind of kludgy interface, not multitasking, tends to really heat up, but it will run FF/Jepp and the IFD100.

* Orest

Last weekend I found out that my oldest brother traded in his Android for a iPhone and now a few days later I find out that you got an iPad. I am starting to choke up a little  . . .

Before you get too choked up ...

Actually this experience has reinforced my conviction that for me, android is the way to go for general use tablets & phones. I find the iThingy hardware dodgy, and the UI constraining and awkward.

No way in the world am I moving to iOS, just forced to use the iPad for this one application. I suppose it is mainly a testament to the "coolness" of the IFD100 app.

* Orest

You have to have something providing a hot spot, else the IFD & tablet can't communicate. If you had a fourth device providing a hot spot, that would work for the IFD & tablet, but NOT the Stratus, as it always insists on being the hot spot, it has no local (client) mode.

So, you can't support both setups without flipping the IFD back and forth. But to do that, all you need to do is go into the maintenance pages (CONFIG page 13), and change the WiFi mode between REMOTE (server), and LOCAL (client). Easy Peasy. You do not need to re-enter the credentials, they stay  remembered.

* Orest

That would create two separate networks, one a client one that would have the Stratus (server) and one IFD on it, the other a solitary IFD as the server. I don't know if that would create any confusion in the firmware. There may at the least be some signal interference with two closely placed servers, depending on how clever they are in choosing a channel.
 

And personally, I think it would be better left, and far cleaner, as only ONE IFD active on WiFi, and just flip it between REMOTE/LOCAL when needed.

* Orest

thank you , please have a great weekend.

Pat.

But, really, all you have to do is go the correct page in the system maintenance pages, and twiddle the settings. I show that page in this thread I think, up thread.

* Orest

Page 122 of IFD440 10.2  installation manual

7.5.14.1.2 Configuring the IFD as a Client to an External WAP

In some cases, an aircraft may have an existing WAP in use. For example, some aircraft may be accustomed to connecting 3rd party iPad applications to a Stratus ADS-B receiver. These pilots will likely wish to also have access to the IFD from their iPads. In order to achieve this configuration, the IFD must be configured to connect to the Stratus receiver. This will allow tablet devices to access data from both the Stratus and the IFD simultaneously. To configure the Wifi Mode

1. Boot the IFD to Maintenance mode.

2. Select the "Config" tab.

3. Turn the right knob until the "Wifi Configuration" Page is displayed as shown in the image below. 

4. If the "Wifi Mode" value is not set to "Remote", press the lower right know and use the outer knob to select the mode value.

a. Once selected, use the inner knob to change the value to "Remote"

b. Press the knob again to exit edit mode.

Designate the Network to Connect To:

1. Boot the IFD to Maintenance mode.

2. Select the "Config" tab.

3. Turn the right knob until the "Wifi Configuration" Page is displayed as shown in the image below. 

4. Press the lower right knob

5. Using the outer right knob, advance the selection rectangle until the Remote SSID field is selected as shown: Figure 31 WiFi Configuration Page

6. Press the right knob

7. The inner knob can now be used to advance through the available characters. The outer knob will advance to the next character in the name. Set this field to the name of the remote network to which you wish to attach. This will be provided by the device that supplies the network.

To configure the network password (PSK) NOTE: This value will be supplied by the device with which you are attempting to connect.

1. Boot the IFD to Maintenance mode.

2. Select the "Config" tab.

3. Turn the right knob until the "Wifi Configuration" Page is displayed as shown in the image below. Figure 32 WiFi Configuration Page

4. Press the lower right knob

5. Using the outer right knob, advance the selection rectangle until the Remote PSK field is selected as shown: Figure 33 WiFi Configuration Page

IFD5XX/4XX Installation Manual

600-00299-000 Page 125 of 239 Revision: 10

6. Press the right knob

7. The inner knob can now be used to advance through the available characters. The outer knob will advance to the next character in the PSK.

NOTE: One of the possible character selections is a space character. Spaces at the end of the PSK will not be contained in the final PSK. In other words, "PASSWORD<SP><SP>" will present a network PSK of "PASSWORD". NOTE: Non empty PSKs must contain at least 8 characters. If there are fewer than 8 characters, the system will fill missing characters with a '?' character. NOTE: Empty PSKs are allowed though not recommended.

Can you explain (in enough detail) how to get weather and traffic from portable ADS-B device onto the IFD? 

There was a 9.1.1 mini-update to FF, be sure you have that.

* Orest

Anyone else seen this?

Doug

In FF there is also an option in the settings for automatic updates, but not sure it is implemented with the IFD. 

The upload feature might well be handy when you startup, to transfer a complicated flightplan to the IFD, that you've planned and filed from the EFB. But for a short flight, with GeoFill, it is almost faster to just enter it directly in the IFD. 

Although you could, I don't see using upload while in flight, I can't ever see the need to make a primary change to a flightplan on the tablet. Rather the other way around, I always make the change in the panel IFD (or IFD100 app) and then download the change to the EFB app, to sync it up.

That said, it was the case that with Foreflight 9.1.2, I could click on the device button and see both an upload and a download option within Foreflight... 

Now with 9.1.3, I only see download... it appears that the Foreflight folks have disabled the upload option in 9.1.3... it would be good to know if the reasoning was a Foreflight issue or an Avidyne issue... 

Doug

Yes, that has been my experience as well. For those looking for an upgrade in their panel, one demo ride generally results in a new sale.

* Orest

So while I'm sitting here wishing for FF to allow the "handshake" I'm actually thinking that keeping the Stratus 2s long term regardless of what happens.  I just got to thinking about what happens if I lose my IFD or it's gps signal?  Sure I have ample attitude reference with the G5 and original vacuum, but what about navigation?

Keeping the Stratus provides the FF ipad a totally separate data set that is independent from the Avidyne suite.  Lose the IFD or electrical system and FF with my stratus keep right on running.  It just seems like a logical choice to keep running FF on the stratus.

And to think I was so excited when FF updated to allow flight plan transfer.  When I realized how superior the IFD 550 and IFD100 were at flight plan entry I realized that need was kind overhyped.

What say everyone else?  

I have the top 440 programmed as local and when I enable Wifi on it I see it on Foreflight and can push a plan from the IFD to Foreflight through the device part but still no button on the map page.  No communication with IFD 100 when set up as local.  I've never turned Wi-fi on both of them at the same time, should I try that?

Yes, I would try that. Others have reported success. One in local, one in remote.

Otherwise, we wait for 10.2.1.

* Orest

No, you'd have to flip between networks, to make it work.

* Orest

http://mooneyspace.com/topic/23105-stupid-avidyne-tricks/" rel="nofollow - https://mooneyspace.com/topic/23105-stupid-avidyne-tricks/

Remote mode connected through the Stratus will work for a few minutes on the IFD100 then will quit. the only way to get it to work is to shut it off and wait and it will start working but eventually it will stop connecting. Pinging it with Fing show no response.

With #2 in local mode it is a solid connection.

I stopped at Avidyne's booth and TJ tells me that perhaps 10.2.1 will fix it.