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Good news: SkyTrax 200 dual-band now available

Printed From: Avidyne
Category: Avidyne General
Forum Name: SkyTrax Series ADS-B Receivers & Transceivers
Forum Description: Topics on the Avidyne SkyTrax 978 MHz Receivers & Transceivers
URL: http://forums.avidyne.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=2212
Printed Date: 28 Mar 2024 at 4:09pm
Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 12.01 - http://www.webwizforums.com


Topic: Good news: SkyTrax 200 dual-band now available
Posted By: paulr
Subject: Good news: SkyTrax 200 dual-band now available
Date Posted: 22 Jun 2021 at 10:46am
Copied from the http://https://www.facebook.com/groups/AvidynePilotClub" rel="nofollow - Avidyne Facebook group . All I know is what this says, nothing more.

AVIDYNE ANNOUNCES CERTIFICATION OF SKYTRAX200 DUAL-BAND ADS-B IN RECEIVER
Avidyne SkyTrax200™ provides dual-band ADS-B Traffic and FIS-B Weather for Avidyne Displays; AML-STC provides approval for installation of the SkyTrax200 in over 600 models of certified aircraft.

MELBOURNE, FL. – June 22, 2021-– Avidyne Corporation, a leading provider of integrated avionics systems, displays, and safety systems for general aviation and business aircraft, announced the receipt of Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Supplemental Type Certificate (STC) approval for the new SkyTrax200 Dual-Band ADS-B In receiver.

“Avidyne continues to develop ADS-B products for new and existing customers and the SkyTrax200 adds direct reception of 1090MHz targets which provides improved performance in US airspace compared with single-band systems relying on ADS-R, plus it gives aircraft owners around the world the ability to see nearby aircraft broadcasting 1090 ADS-B Out,” said John Talmadge, Avidyne’s Vice President of Worldwide Sales. “The vast majority of ADS-B Out equipped aircraft are using 1090MHz. And with our SkyTrax200 upgrade program, we are making it easy for our existing single-band Avidyne customers to upgrade to SkyTrax200 dual-band capability.”

The Avidyne SkyTrax200 includes dual-band (1090MHz and 978 MHz) ADS-B receivers that provide direct line-of-sight reception of ADS-B Traffic targets for use in airspace in the U.S. and around the globe. SkyTrax200 is capable of receiving Flight Information System Broadcast (FIS-B) weather via 978MHz in US airspace where the FIS-B is available. The SkyTrax200 is also capable of receiving the traffic output from an active traffic system such as the Avidyne SkyTrax600, TAS600 series, Ryan 9900BX, or a legacy SkywatchTM system, combining it with the ADS-B traffic directly received over either band and TIS-B traffic received from ATC, and presenting an integrated view of dual band ADS-B, TAS, and ATC radar traffic.

The Avidyne SkyTrax200’s weather and dual-band traffic can be displayed on Avidyne’s IFD-Series GPS/NAV/COMs and also on Avidyne EX500, EX600 or EX5000 Multi-Function displays (MFD) and Entegra R9 integrated flight deck systems. The SkyTrax200 supports standard Capstone and Arinc 429/735 interfaces and can also be interfaced with a wide variety of standards-based traffic displays. SkyTrax200 has been approved under new ASTM International standards process.

Pricing & Availability
The retail price of the SkyTrax200 is $2,499 and it is available now.

Existing Avidyne customers with the single-band Avidyne SkyTrax100B receiver can have their units upgraded to SkyTrax200 dual-band capability. For a limited time, this software upgrade is being made available free of charge. Dealer labor to perform the upgrade is not included.
In addition, Avidyne customers with any other single-band ADS-B In receiver previously purchased through Avidyne can upgrade to the dual-band SkyTrax200 for $1,250 with trade-in of their single-band unit. Dealer labor is not included.

Contact your Authorized Avidyne Dealer or pilotsupport@avidyne.com for more information.



Replies:
Posted By: DH82FLYER
Date Posted: 27 Jun 2021 at 5:23pm
Does the SkyTrax 200, paired with an IFD, have aural alerts?
Thanks


Posted By: AviSteve
Date Posted: 28 Jun 2021 at 10:23am
SkyTrax200 does not generate aural alerts.

-------------
Steve Lindsley
Avidyne Engineering


Posted By: paulr
Date Posted: 28 Jun 2021 at 11:35am
then in 10.4, pretty please can SkyTrax owners have the audible traffic callout function formerly provided by the IFD back?


Posted By: AviSteve
Date Posted: 28 Jun 2021 at 11:58am
Wish I could, but it's a cert thing.

-------------
Steve Lindsley
Avidyne Engineering


Posted By: HenryM
Date Posted: 28 Jun 2021 at 4:07pm
Is the SkyTrax200 pin compatible with an MLB-100? Is there a lot of installation time involved to replace an original MLB-100 with one of these?


Posted By: dmtidler
Date Posted: 28 Jun 2021 at 5:03pm
As I understand it, if the SkyTrax200 comes in the same case as the SkyTrax100B (which is software upgradable to a 200), then the unit's footprint and pinning should be identical to the original MLB100 / SkyTrax100. The settings in the SkyTrax200 and IFD will need to be adjusted as they are different than the the settings for the MLB100 / SkyTrax100. Also, the corresponding ADS-B out transponder settings will need to be adjusted to indicate both UAT and 1090 in.


Posted By: HenryM
Date Posted: 28 Jun 2021 at 5:32pm
Thank you for the information. I will likely upgrade my MLB100, which I think is still a Navworx unit.


Posted By: AviSteve
Date Posted: 29 Jun 2021 at 12:07pm
Originally posted by HenryM HenryM wrote:

Is the SkyTrax200 pin compatible with an MLB-100? Is there a lot of installation time involved to replace an original MLB-100 with one of these?
Straight from the designer...

The SkyTrax 200 was designed to be pin compatible with the MLB100; however, there are a few minor differences in order to provide greater flexibility for possible future features.  The majority of installations consist of swapping the MLB100 for a SkyTrax 200 and then configuring the SkyTrax 200, but we recommend that they at least evaluate the connections.  The issues that they should look for are:

  1. The signal ground that was on pin 26 is now reserved for future use and should not be used as a signal ground.  If they are using this pin as a signal ground, then they should move that connection to one of the other signal grounds.
  2. There is no longer an RS-422 interface.
  3. Pins 2 and 21 are now reserved and are not used for an ARINC-743A time mark input.
  4. Pin 3 is now reserved and is not used for a +5V DC output.
  5. Pins 4 and 22 are no longer used for an RS-232 maintenance port, those pins now provide a second ARINC-429 input channel.  Any of the other RS-232 interfaces can be used for accessing the maintenance/installation interface.
  6. Pin 11 is now reserved and is no longer used for the 1 PPS function.
  7. Pin 35 is now reserved and is no longer used as a suppression output.



-------------
Steve Lindsley
Avidyne Engineering


Posted By: ansond
Date Posted: 02 Jul 2021 at 10:45pm
@AviSteve - would it be possible to get the pinout map for the new 200?  Is there a datasheet somewhere that we can get access to? 

I believe that my installer did in fact route the maintenance serial port off of 4/22 and 26(gnd)... assuming that 26 is unchanged... does Avidyne have any recommendations on were 4 and 22 should be routed to?  Thanks!!

Doug


Posted By: teeth6
Date Posted: 09 Jul 2021 at 6:14pm
Apparently, the Skytrax 100 is not upgradable to the dual band Skytrax 200…..only the 100B is.  The cost to trade the 100 for the 200 is $1250 plus labor. I’ve been wanting the dual band for quite awhile but wonder if this is the most cost effective way to go at $1250 plus. Any comments would be appreciated on any other options. My ADS-B out is the Avidyne APX transponder. 


Posted By: dmtidler
Date Posted: 09 Jul 2021 at 6:55pm
Originally posted by teeth6 teeth6 wrote:

Apparently, the Skytrax 100 is not upgradable to the dual band Skytrax 200…..only the 100B is.  The cost to trade the 100 for the 200 is $1250 plus labor. I’ve been wanting the dual band for quite awhile but wonder if this is the most cost effective way to go at $1250 plus. Any comments would be appreciated on any other options. My ADS-B out is the Avidyne APX transponder. 

FYI - I've been asking questions about this as well. Avidyne sales tells me that the MLB100/SkyTrax100 trade-in first involves an Avidyne Dealer removing the original MLB100/SkyTrax100 and sending it in as an RMA exchange. Once Avidyne receives the old UAT, then they will ship the SkyTrax200 back to the Avidyne Dealer for install. In other words, this very simple box swap and settings update is going to take days to complete as well as possibly two trips to the Avidyne Dealer. 

I was hoping Avidyne would have a quicker process where one could buy the SkyTrax200 for the $2500 list price and then Avidyne would refund the $1250 upon receipt of the old MLB100/SkyTrax100. That way the trade-in could be done in one short dealer visit.


Posted By: teeth6
Date Posted: 09 Jul 2021 at 8:12pm
Interesting but that’s not the way it was explained to me after speaking with Avidyne and my shop. I’m told the shop can order the 200 and perform the removal and installation  once the new unit is available. The shop would then send in the exchange unit. 


Posted By: dmtidler
Date Posted: 09 Jul 2021 at 8:23pm
Originally posted by teeth6 teeth6 wrote:

Interesting but that’s not the way it was explained to me after speaking with Avidyne and my shop. I’m told the shop can order the 200 and perform the removal and installation  once the new unit is available. The shop would then send in the exchange unit. 

I'll ask some more questions next week; your described exchange method seems like much less of a hassle for the end user. BTW - have you heard when or if the new units are going to be available?


Posted By: teeth6
Date Posted: 09 Jul 2021 at 8:28pm
I could be wrong, but I believe they are available now. My shop ordered one in advance to keep on the shelf. 


Posted By: scotthess
Date Posted: 17 Jul 2021 at 10:53pm
Does the compatibility with the EX-500 require 4.2.2 software? Thank you.


Posted By: AviSteve
Date Posted: 20 Jul 2021 at 1:01pm
Originally posted by scotthess scotthess wrote:

Does the compatibility with the EX-500 require 4.2.2 software? Thank you.
Yes, 4.2.2 is required.


-------------
Steve Lindsley
Avidyne Engineering


Posted By: scotthess
Date Posted: 03 Aug 2021 at 6:05pm
Thank you Steve. My dealer says the update is not yet available. Do you know when it will be?

Scott


Posted By: AviSteve
Date Posted: 04 Aug 2021 at 10:54am
Originally posted by scotthess scotthess wrote:

Thank you Steve. My dealer says the update is not yet available. Do you know when it will be?

Scott
You mean 4.2.2?  It's already available.


-------------
Steve Lindsley
Avidyne Engineering


Posted By: scotthess
Date Posted: 04 Aug 2021 at 12:33pm
No, the Skytrax 100B upgrade to the 200…. Is that available yet?

Thank you


Posted By: AviSteve
Date Posted: 05 Aug 2021 at 10:47am
It's already available.

-------------
Steve Lindsley
Avidyne Engineering


Posted By: dmtidler
Date Posted: 05 Aug 2021 at 7:23pm
Just traded-in my MLB100/SkyTrax100 for the SkyTrax200 per the offer above. The trade-in process and was very straight forward. The physical process of swapping UAT's to SkyTrax200 was very smooth as the MLB100 and SkyTrax200 share the same mounting footprint and pinning. Adjusting the RS-232 settings, AXP340 settings, as well as configuring the the SkyTrax200 port and ADSB settings was also a very quick process.  


Posted By: JohnAJohnson
Date Posted: 14 Aug 2021 at 9:36am
Is the SkyTrax200 configurable to allow filtering of distant aircraft?  I didn't see it in the install manual and as of now, the IFD software has no filter settings (that I can find).

Secondly...  I understand that IFD 10.3 will display WIFI weather and traffic (Stratux, Stratus, etc.).  Would this be direct competition to the SkyTrax200 and if not, can you talk about any advantages the SkyTrax would have over a WIFI source?

And lastly, I have RS232 lines from my IFD540 going to a location that I would want to mount the SkyTrax200.  What would I be missing by connecting the SkyTrax200 to my IFD540 with RS232 only, instead of RS232 and ARINC 429?  I'd rather not run additional lines if RS232 will give me everything.


Posted By: dmtidler
Date Posted: 14 Aug 2021 at 4:25pm
Originally posted by JohnAJohnson JohnAJohnson wrote:

And lastly, I have RS232 lines from my IFD540 going to a location that I would want to mount the SkyTrax200.  What would I be missing by connecting the SkyTrax200 to my IFD540 with RS232 only, instead of RS232 and ARINC 429?  I'd rather not run additional lines if RS232 will give me everything.
AFAIK - as long as you are running IFD software 10.2.0.0 or later, RS232 to a SkyTrax200, SkyTrax100B, or SkyTrax100 is the Avidyne preferred method of installation; I don't think anything is lost with this configuration. In addition to power and ground, I believe it takes four RS232 lines for this configuration. Three RS232 lines between the IFD and SkyTrax for GPS, traffic & weather in, and traffic & weather out. The fourth RS232 line is for pressure altitude input to the SkyTrax from a certified altitude source. 

With an ARINC 429 install, I believe you would still need the four RS232 lines; however, traffic would move from sharing the RS232 lines with weather to using their own additional ARINC 429 lines. I know that with the SkyTrax100, the ARINC 429 traffic display is the Skywatch presentation (like the IFD Trainer app) instead of the ADS-B presentation through RS232. I believe that is also true with the SkyTrax200 and SkyTrax100B, but I could be wrong about that.  



Posted By: dmtidler
Date Posted: 24 Aug 2021 at 3:36pm
Originally posted by JohnAJohnson JohnAJohnson wrote:

Is the SkyTrax200 configurable to allow filtering of distant aircraft?  I didn't see it in the install manual and as of now, the IFD software has no filter settings (that I can find).
In AUX - SETUP - Map Setup there is a map filter for non-TA traffic that defaults to 40 miles. Try lowering that mileage to suppress the more distant traffic.


Posted By: CubedRoot
Date Posted: 01 Oct 2021 at 11:44pm
I have an MLB100 from WAAAYYY back in the day, circa 2017-ish.  I'd love to be able to upgrade this one to the Skytrax200 and take advantage of the better traffic and weather on my IFD540.

I *think* my MLB100 was setup for ARINC429, and I do get weather and TISB traffic on the IFD.  The presentation I see of the traffic is the pointy arrows, not the diamonds.  I don't think I get the little line from the nose of the arrow showing the traffics predicted heading either.

Can I still do the trade-in / upgrade for the new dual band Skytrax, and will it be an easy task for my shop to do?  No wiring changes?  Would it be better to switch to RS232 for the wiring? 


Posted By: teeth6
Date Posted: 02 Oct 2021 at 7:54am
I’m glad the process went smoothly.  I’m doing the same process with the trade next week.  How many hours were involved in the install and setup?


Posted By: paulr
Date Posted: 07 Oct 2021 at 8:44am
I just had my original MLB100 replaced with the SkyTrax 200. The shop charged me 6hr of labor with the following entry: "Removed existing Avidyne MLB100. Installed customer supplied MLB200 rewired GPS RS232 wiring at IFD 540 to work with MLB 200. Per Avidyne Skytrax 200 IM 600-00335-000 May 2021 Rev 2."


Posted By: teeth6
Date Posted: 07 Oct 2021 at 9:37am
Paul, that’s quite a bit more than it took someone else for the same install.  Perhaps, yours took more wiring. Did you buy the unit directly from Avidyne.  I notice it said “customer supplied. “


Posted By: dmtidler
Date Posted: 07 Oct 2021 at 10:41am
There were no wiring changes for my upgrade from the MLB100 to the SkyTrax200. Years ago when 10.2.0 was released, I had the IFD RS232 GPS output to my MLB100 changed to use ADS-B+ (G) format data. This involved putting the MLB100 GPS input on its own IFD RS232 output port. Previous to 10.2.0, the MLB100 GPS input had shared the Aviation format data from the IFD with two other devices on the same RS232 port.

As I recall, prior to 10.2.0, Aviation format data was required for the MLB100 and the IFD could only output Aviation format on one RS232 port.


Posted By: Ibraham
Date Posted: 04 Nov 2021 at 9:42pm
Can the same antenna from MLB 100 be used for the SkyTrax 200 ?


Posted By: teeth6
Date Posted: 04 Nov 2021 at 9:45pm
yes it can.  I just did the conversion and although there was a problem with the new 200, the same antenna was used 


Posted By: Ibraham
Date Posted: 04 Nov 2021 at 10:14pm
Great, thank you


Posted By: teeth6
Date Posted: 11 Nov 2021 at 8:59pm
Has anyone who has done the Skytrax 100 trade in to a Skytrax 200 seen a "maintenance required" message on their traffic thumbnail?  See photo.  My shop has tried everything that Avidyne has suggested and still it persists.  I am wondering if anyone else has seen and solved this.  The Skytrax 200 works perfectly with traffic and weather otherwise. 




Posted By: AviSteve
Date Posted: 11 Nov 2021 at 10:15pm
What are your Mx mode configuration settings?

-------------
Steve Lindsley
Avidyne Engineering


Posted By: teeth6
Date Posted: 12 Nov 2021 at 9:45am
I am not sure but I know Mike Salmon reviewed the settings with my shop.  I will check today and report back.  So far, they removed unused pins from the harness that could cause interference and checked settings that Mike advised.


Posted By: dmtidler
Date Posted: 12 Nov 2021 at 2:37pm
What RS-232 GPS protocol is your IFD sending to the SkyTrax200? With this trade-in, my IFD now sends ADS-B+(G2) RS-232 GPS data to the SkyTrax200. I get the "Maint Required" traffic thumbnail message at system startup; however, the message disappears as soon as the IFD determines its GPS position. 


Posted By: teeth6
Date Posted: 12 Nov 2021 at 2:53pm
These are the settings we were told to use.  I have the red X in the thumbnail until it gets a position, but then the “maintenance required “ persists for the whole flight. 




Posted By: AviSteve
Date Posted: 12 Nov 2021 at 4:04pm
I'm thinking something got lost in the translation when speaking with tech support.  The channel 1 output should be ADS-B+(G2).  I just checked with Mike Salmon and he's in agreement with that setting (as dmtidler said).

-------------
Steve Lindsley
Avidyne Engineering


Posted By: dmtidler
Date Posted: 13 Nov 2021 at 12:55am
Originally posted by teeth6 teeth6 wrote:

These are the settings we were told to use.  I have the red X in the thumbnail until it gets a position, but then the “maintenance required “ persists for the whole flight. 



To clarify, I too get the red X in the traffic thumbnail until the IFD gets a position at which point I get a single momentary "Maintenance Required" that only lasts a couple of seconds at most.

I'm curious with your SkyTrax100, did you have a persistent "Degraded" or similar message in the traffic thumbnail? If not, was your traffic display the ADS-B display (aircraft represented as triangular wedges with predicted track lines) or the TAS style Skywatch display (aircraft represented as diamonds like seen in the IFD Trainer App)?


Posted By: teeth6
Date Posted: 13 Nov 2021 at 8:07am
I did not have the persistent degraded message on the 100 (although I did see it rarely) and the traffic symbols were the triangular shapes pointing in the direction of travel with an up or down arrow if they were climbing or descending. Why do you ask?
I’m going to make that setting change on channel 1 output today and see if it makes a difference 


Posted By: dmtidler
Date Posted: 13 Nov 2021 at 9:17am
Your RS-232 channel 2 output is Aviation; do you know if that is going to the SkyTrax200? If so, is it also going to other equipment too? For instance, my Aviation data is currently shared with a JPI engine monitor and a 406 ELT. 


Posted By: teeth6
Date Posted: 13 Nov 2021 at 1:54pm
I really don't know if the Aviation on channel 2 output is going to the SkyTrax.  I did make that setting change that was suggested but the message still persists? :(
I guess I'll just have to wait to see what Avidyne comes up with.  I left the new setting in place as the traffic and weather still seem to be working fine.



Posted By: dmtidler
Date Posted: 13 Nov 2021 at 4:33pm
As I understand it, just like the SkyTrax100 when set up for the ADS-B traffic display, needs the same RS-232 outputs and inputs from the IFD. The IFD RS-232 input and output that were set to SkyTrax Tfc+WX both become CapStone HS Trfc+Wx. The IFD RS-232 output that was ideally ADS-B+ (G) preferably becomes ADS-B+ (G2); however, should also work if it stays ADS-B+ (G). 

Did you have an IFD RS-232 ADS-B+ (G) output set before the SkyTrax100 to SkyTrax200 trade-in? BTW - a picture of your IFD Main RS232 Config page from before the trade in could be very helpful.
If your IFD did not have that output, then my guess is that the CHNL 2 Aviation Output is providing the RS-232 GPS signal to your SkyTrax. If that is the case and provided your SkyTrax100 was the only user of Aviation data connected to the CHNL2 output, then changing the CHNL 2 output to ADS-B+ (G2) should ultimately work. The SkyTrax200 settings may have to be adjusted if it doesn't automatically detect the new RS-232 configuration.

If your IFD RS-232 CHNL2 output Aviation data was shared with other devices as well as the SkyTrax100, then you may need to have the now SkyTrax200 GPS RS-232 wire separated and put on its own RS-232 CHNL ADS-B+ (G2) output so that Aviation data can continue to be provided to the other devices. 

My personal experience with Aviation GPS data to the MLB100/SkyTrax100 displaying ADS-B traffic (not SkyPath) was a persistent "degraded" message in the traffic thumbnail which is why I asked if you were seeing that message before the trade-in.




Posted By: teeth6
Date Posted: 13 Nov 2021 at 5:02pm
Unfortunately, some of this discussion is above my pay grade :) but this is a photo of my RS-232 page before the upgrade to the Skytrax 200.  I'm not sure how to determine if the Channel 2 Aviation Out services the Skytrax or anything else.  It is the BOTTOM box that has the ADSB.




Posted By: dmtidler
Date Posted: 13 Nov 2021 at 5:32pm
From the pictures, it appears your SkyTrax100 was getting ADS-B+ (G) from the CHNL 1 output of your  IFD550 and the traffic & weather feed from CHNL 1 input and output of your IFD540. Was your IFD550 ever tried with a CHNL 1 output of ADS-B+ (G2)? Looks to me like your IFD540 CHNL 1 input and output should both be set to Capstone HS Trfc+Wx as your original picture from yesterday showed.

BTW - Was your IFD540 recently replaced? I noticed the Avidyne logos on the IFD540 in the picture above is not the same as for the IFD540 picture from yesterday.





Posted By: teeth6
Date Posted: 13 Nov 2021 at 6:23pm
Boy, are you observant!   Yes, my 540 was replaced about 6 months ago.  Would you suggest I go back to the same Capstone setting as before on Channel 1 in and out and then try ADS-B +(G2) on channel 1 out on the 550?


Posted By: dmtidler
Date Posted: 13 Nov 2021 at 7:11pm
Originally posted by teeth6 teeth6 wrote:

Boy, are you observant!   Yes, my 540 was replaced about 6 months ago.  Would you suggest I go back to the same Capstone setting as before on Channel 1 in and out and then try ADS-B +(G2) on channel 1 out on the 550?

Yes, I would go back to the same Capstone settings on your IFD540 and try changing the ADS-B+ (G) to ADS-B+ (G2) on your IFD550. I'm not overly hopeful that will correct the issue; however, those are the identical settings I am using successfully on my SkyTrax200 as well as the Avidyne recommended settings. 

If that doesn't work, I would think the settings in the SkyTrax200 would need to be checked.

AFAIK - the only other RS-232 input the SkyTrax200 requires is a pressure altitude input. I'm assuming that is wired to come directly from your encoder (like my airplane is wired) or from another altitude source because I didn't see any corresponding RS-232 output from your IFDs. I don't believe your SkyTrax100 would have worked properly without that pressure altitude input. 


Posted By: teeth6
Date Posted: 29 Nov 2021 at 6:55pm
...So after a bunch more troubleshooting, it appears this is now a known issue and Avidyne is coming out with new software for the Skytrax 200 to address this "maintenance required" problem.  They are suggesting I stay with the Capstone setting on the Channel 1 IN and the ADS-B+(G2) on the OUT.  The software should be available in the next few days.


Posted By: teeth6
Date Posted: 07 Dec 2021 at 9:02pm
So....I guess I spoke to soon.  The SB is out and the new software was installed in the Skytrax 200 but unfortunately, I am still seeing the "maintenance required" message on the traffic thumbnail.  I guess it is back to the drawing board but everyone seems to be out of answers at this point.


Posted By: programmer@pcmforles
Date Posted: 11 Jan 2022 at 1:11am
Has anyone wired their SkyTrax 200 up to their Aspen Pro and what unlock did you need to display traffic?    The Sky Trax 200 manual says an unlock may be needed but not which one, and Aspen was not sure.    It is a Capstone format that I believe is compatible/same as the Garmin formats so I think it may require the Garmin ADSB unlock card.   


Posted By: LeeMajors
Date Posted: 24 May 2022 at 12:38am
Does Avidyne ever do Osh specials where they sell and install on-site upgrades from 100B’s to 200’s?

Would be worth it if they’d come and hook it all up, had their laptop to double check the configuration talking with the IFD, and make sure it’s good before you leave.


Posted By: AviSteve
Date Posted: 24 May 2022 at 8:49am
We haven't in the past.  I don't expect that to change.

-------------
Steve Lindsley
Avidyne Engineering


Posted By: LeeMajors
Date Posted: 24 May 2022 at 10:02am
Shame.  Not sure I am worried about having a next generation ADS-B product until I get mine working 100% and the biggest issue is it requiring a laptop with the software and a serial port with an old enough OS to work the interface and going through and confirming port settings and such.

Unfortunately Gardner-Lowe didn't map the avionics install with it and provide it to the previous owner and thus I don't know which wires go to where and it requires us to either guess at the settings or go pin by pin.

It's a weird thing, if I use Capstone Wx/Tfc on my MLB100 in my Duke I get weather but no traffic.  If I set it to Capstone Hi I lose Weather and Traffic.

My 540 was updated by Carpenter last year so I could have the enroute synthetic vision (and they dumped all the settings including the WiFi output) and your tech support people were kind enough to send me the file to load it back in but I'm a little leery of doing it myself and my avionics guy hasn't been available (his house flooded and he has no spare time as he rebuilds) and my buddy Thom Duncan (we went to school and used to play pool together) who is brilliant says "bring it down and leave it on the ramp and we'll get to it or I can put you on the schedule... next Spring.  :D 

He fixed my Aspen problem we were struggling with in about 15 minutes over text message.  Amazing.  Good for Thom to be so good that everyone keeps you busy but it would be nice to have someone who knows this and wants the sale to be able to say "We'll include one hour of install to R&R the units and one hour of programming hookup with purchase at regular price at Osh".  

Just smart business really.




Posted By: dmtidler
Date Posted: 24 May 2022 at 11:57am
I'm confused...do you have an MLB100/SkyTrax100 or a SkyTrax100B? The upgrade/update paths to a SkyTrax200 are different depending on what you already have installed. 

BTW - I have personally seen the MLB100/SkyTrax100 as well as the SkyTrax200 updated and/or configured with Windows 10 computers using their USB ports. The MLB100/SkyTrax100 update and configuration used a Tripp Lite Keyspan High-Speed USB to serial port adapter as well as the Avidyne UAT Console program. The SkyTrax200 configuration used a USB to USB-C cable and the PuTTY serial interface program.


Posted By: CubedRoot
Date Posted: 24 May 2022 at 3:11pm
I imagine the wiring changes would make this a challenge to do.  Some of the installs had different wiring


Posted By: LeeMajors
Date Posted: 24 May 2022 at 11:38pm
Originally posted by CubedRoot CubedRoot wrote:

I imagine the wiring changes would make this a challenge to do.  Some of the installs had different wiring
That’s why you offer it at 2 hours.  Doesn’t take long to swap the box, but if you find the wiring is going to be problematic when you pull the harness and have a look at the configuration page on the 540 or whatever it’s connected to, you’d probably know whether it could be done inside that or not.

Depends on the complexity of the install really.


Posted By: LeeMajors
Date Posted: 07 Aug 2022 at 1:48pm
Hello all, back from Osh and man was that AWESOME!!  Had a great time.

Back on this since I had to use my iPad for traffic and not the 540 due to I think the SkyTrax 100 configuration.

To the point of this discussion I have an opportunity to buy a SkyTrax100B from a local buddy who pulled one out and went to a remote 345 (or whatever they are) with a GTN750 upgrade from his aging 530.

Is Avidyne still offering the free upgrade of the 100B to the 200B for dual band and are the software bugs still present?

Thanks, hope everyone who went to Osh had a great time!


Posted By: dmtidler
Date Posted: 07 Aug 2022 at 3:21pm
Originally posted by LeeMajors LeeMajors wrote:

Hello all, back from Osh and man was that AWESOME!!  Had a great time.

Back on this since I had to use my iPad for traffic and not the 540 due to I think the SkyTrax 100 configuration.

To the point of this discussion I have an opportunity to buy a SkyTrax100B from a local buddy who pulled one out and went to a remote 345 (or whatever they are) with a GTN750 upgrade from his aging 530.

Is Avidyne still offering the free upgrade of the 100B to the 200B for dual band and are the software bugs still present?

Thanks, hope everyone who went to Osh had a great time!

As of today at:  https://www.avidyne.com/product/skytrax200-adsb-dual-band-receiver/?cn-reloaded=1" rel="nofollow - SkyTrax 200 Dual Band ADS-B IN Receiver | Avidyne Avionics

Existing Avidyne customers with the single-band Avidyne SkyTrax100B receiver can have their units upgraded to SkyTrax200 dual-band capability. For a limited time, this software upgrade is being made available free of charge. Dealer labor to perform the upgrade is not included.

AFAIK - the latest SkyTrax200 software release is 1.0.1; this was released last September to correct possible false ADSB targets associated with enabling the 1090MHz receiver. The corrected anomaly is described in Avidyne SIL 606-00190-002 found here:  https://www.avidyne.com/product/skytrax200-adsb-dual-band-receiver/#tab-id-3" rel="nofollow - SkyTrax 200 Dual Band ADS-B IN Receiver | Avidyne Avionics  


Posted By: LeeMajors
Date Posted: 07 Aug 2022 at 5:05pm
Originally posted by dmtidler dmtidler wrote:


As of today at:  https://www.avidyne.com/product/skytrax200-adsb-dual-band-receiver/?cn-reloaded=1" rel="nofollow - SkyTrax 200 Dual Band ADS-B IN Receiver | Avidyne Avionics

Existing Avidyne customers with the single-band Avidyne SkyTrax100B receiver can have their units upgraded to SkyTrax200 dual-band capability. For a limited time, this software upgrade is being made available free of charge. Dealer labor to perform the upgrade is not included.

AFAIK - the latest SkyTrax200 software release is 1.0.1; this was released last September to correct possible false ADSB targets associated with enabling the 1090MHz receiver. The corrected anomaly is described in Avidyne SIL  tel:606-00190-002" rel="nofollow - 606-00190-002 found here:  https://www.avidyne.com/product/skytrax200-adsb-dual-band-receiver/#tab-id-3" rel="nofollow - SkyTrax 200 Dual Band ADS-B IN Receiver | Avidyne Avionics  
Great, thanks.  

I saw that first part on the Avidyne page but I didn’t know if it was old news.  I’ve seen pages before with sale prices and other promotions that are not accurate and wanted to ask to make sure before I grab it from him and see if Thom Duncan or Carpenter here in Nashville can do the update then put it in and figure out which pin is going to which 540 pin and plot it once and for all so my 540 works right.

The more I fly behind the 540 the more I like it.  I wish they’d come out with a newer unit that had a little more screen real estate and a higher pixel display.  I’d put that in my Duke if it used the same connectors and put the 540 in the Cherokee 180 I have a couple partners in that my son is learning on.


Posted By: atomsite
Date Posted: 14 Sep 2022 at 1:26pm
Can the following SkyTrax be upgraded to a SkyTrax200 by upgrading the firmware? Or will it have to be replaced?

SKYTRAX100 RECEIVER, ARINC429 OPTION WITH CONNECTOR KIT
P/N 200-00270-000
S/N 17170001


Posted By: CubedRoot
Date Posted: 14 Sep 2022 at 2:18pm
The original Skytrax 100 is not firmware upgradeable to a 200.  Only the 100B models are firmware upgradable. 

I just sent my old Skytrax 100 in for a tradein swap to a 200.  I know this pain for a fact. lol.   However, its an easy swap/upgrade when the new unit arrives.  Good chance the wiring is exactly the same, so the labor cost will be pretty nill.


Posted By: atomsite
Date Posted: 14 Sep 2022 at 6:43pm
Does Avidyne still offer a special trade-in price for the SkyTrax100 to SkyTrax200 upgrade? If so, what is the cost?


Posted By: Sanjiv
Date Posted: 21 Dec 2022 at 1:20pm
I just replaced MBL100 with the new SkyTrax200 unit. While it is all pin compatible and everything seems to work, I am unable to get the Pressure Altitude recognized on SkyTrax. I took some screenshots of MLB config data before replacement and that shows correct recognization and acknowledgement of Encoder data. Please see attached, also note that the config data was captured after IFD540 RS232 settings were already updated to Skytrax which should explain the GPS failure shown in captures. But the original config data is as shows.



MLB was installed in 2017 when we used to get weather off RS232 and traffic off ARINC 429, so the config might resemble that. Later during upgrades, we disabled ARINC IN at IFD end and switched traffic to existing RS232 protocols Wx+Trf. Attached shows the [proper recognization of Pressure altitude correctly of 1025 ft. 


Now with SkyTrax upgrade, I config the port 1 with config command and the unit autodetected port 2 as Garmin ADSB+ so that part is all good. But it never detected the ICARUS pressure altitude, So, I also tried to manually configure port3 for ICARUS 9600 and it makes no difference. ERRMON still shows no PA data. As a result, the traffic announced on IFD540 shows incorrect target altitude. I also have a GDL50 installed and can compare the traffic on Skytrax another ADSB to validate. Here are the traces from Skytrax confirmed. What else should I be checking? 

> 

comstat

COM port status

 

Port    RX baud RX handler                     TX baud TX handler

1       115200  Capstone                       115200  Capstone

2       38400   Garmin ADS-B+ GPS              38400   Garmin ADS-B+ GPS

3       9600    Icarus Altitude                9600    Auto-detect

4       9600    Auto-detect                    9600    Auto-detect

5       115200  Command                        115200  Command

>errmon

Failure/warning status monitor

 

Status

------

ADSB............................Enabled

TAS/TCAS........................External

Pressure altitude...............Invalid

Geometric altitude..............Valid

GPS position....................Valid

Position/Altitude...............Warning

 

Failures

--------

Receiver........................Okay

HW/SW mismatch..................Okay

FPGA flight image...............Okay

 

Warnings

--------

ICAO address....................Okay

Velocity........................Okay

External TAS/TCAS...............None



-------------
PA28-236 @N14


Posted By: Ibraham
Date Posted: 22 Dec 2022 at 10:29am
This is from the Skytrax 200 install manual


Posted By: Sanjiv
Date Posted: 28 Dec 2022 at 7:33am
@Ibraham Something doesn't look right with this output. I thought port5 was dedicated for command. Shows a diff port in your comstat. Also I don't see any pressure altitude port detected or configured there. Are you getting pressure altitude from ARINC instead? 

-------------
PA28-236 @N14


Posted By: Sanjiv
Date Posted: 28 Dec 2022 at 7:37am
Issue was resolved. The ground wire from solder sleeve of the cable coming from encoder had come lose at the skytrax connector end. It detected ICARUS on port 3 now and it seems to be good. 

-------------
PA28-236 @N14


Posted By: Ibraham
Date Posted: 28 Dec 2022 at 10:30am
That was from the installation manual


Posted By: atomsite
Date Posted: 13 Mar 2023 at 5:05pm
I have a SkyTrax 100. Is the $1,250 rebate still available if I trade it in for a SkyTrax 200?


Posted By: AviSteve
Date Posted: 14 Mar 2023 at 10:40am
Originally posted by atomsite atomsite wrote:

I have a SkyTrax 100. Is the $1,250 rebate still available if I trade it in for a SkyTrax 200?
Yes, that promotion is still available.  Contact your dealer or email sales@avidyne.com.


-------------
Steve Lindsley
Avidyne Engineering


Posted By: atomsite
Date Posted: 22 Mar 2023 at 3:42am
I have a SkyTrax100 connected to an IFD550 using RS-232. Can I send traffic and weather to a Dynon HDX using an unused RS-232 line from the IFD550?



Posted By: AviSteve
Date Posted: 22 Mar 2023 at 10:30am
Originally posted by atomsite atomsite wrote:

I have a SkyTrax100 connected to an IFD550 using RS-232. Can I send traffic and weather to a Dynon HDX using an unused RS-232 line from the IFD550?
No


-------------
Steve Lindsley
Avidyne Engineering


Posted By: atomsite
Date Posted: 23 Mar 2023 at 3:30am
What do you suggest? is there another RS-232 line on the SkyTrax that can be connected to the Dynon HDX? Basically, how do I get traffic+weather on both the IFD550 and HDX with a SkyTrax? 



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