External GPS for Foreflight/Garmin pilot

I don't have much faith in the reliability or durability of any processor that doesn't have a fan. People seem to think that because their electronics are now wrapped in attractive, minimalist cases, that they are better or will "just work." In many ways you're actually sacrificing performance for aesthetics but that's what sells. There are so many devices being sold today that can't handle any extended load without locking up and (maybe) rebooting. Lookup the max operating temp of an iPad, its something like 95 degrees F, that's going to happen pretty fast in the sun with the screen on. If it had a fan, nobody would buy it but it would be much more robust.
A good example is my asus router, it would start dropping tons of packets whenever someone did a large download over WiFi and would need a reboot/cool down before it could be usable again. I dremeled a hole in its pointless case, put a 80mm fan over it blowing onto the heatsink, and it has never done that again.

edit: 80mm fan not 120mm
 
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JMK said:
I don't have much faith in the reliability or durability of any processor that doesn't have a fan. People seem to think that because their electronics are now wrapped in attractive, minimalist cases, that they are better or will "just work." In many ways you're actually sacrificing performance for aesthetics but that's what sells. There are so many devices being sold today that can't handle any extended load without locking up and (maybe) rebooting. Lookup the max operating temp of an iPad, its something like 95 degrees F, that's going to happen pretty fast in the sun with the screen on. If it had a fan, nobody would buy it but it would be much more robust.
A good example is my asus router, it would start dropping tons of packets whenever someone did a large download over WiFi and would need a reboot/cool down before it could be usable again. I dremeled a hole in its pointless case, put a 120mm fan over it blowing onto the heatsink, and it has never done that again.
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Pretty sure the 2S has a fan.

*edit* yes it does.
 
Roger Roger said:
Pretty sure the 2S has a fan.

*edit* yes it does.
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I wasn't aware of that, that's good but it kind of sounds like it's only for the battery.




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JMK said:
I wasn't aware of that, that's good but it kind of sounds like it's only for the battery.




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Shrug...whatever. I’m just sayin for a piece of workplace safety equipment, and the problems that even the stratux pimpers admitted are endemic, ill take the Stratus even for the extra $$. Only problem we’ve had with ours were when some idiot (raises hand) dropped it 4’ onto a concrete floor while playing with the suction cup. It took sending it back twice to get it fixed right after that, but they didn’t charge us for either one.
 
Roger Roger said:
Shrug...whatever. I’m just sayin for a piece of workplace safety equipment, and the problems that even the stratux pimpers admitted are endemic, ill take the Stratus even for the extra $$. Only problem we’ve had with ours were when some idiot (raises hand) dropped it 4’ onto a concrete floor while playing with the suction cup. It took sending it back twice to get it fixed right after that, but they didn’t charge us for either one.
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I think another big difference in stratux vs stratus is who is paying for it and as you said, workplace safety equipment. Aviation employers probably don't want the liability of using an open source project for safety. Maybe I'm wrong but I'm guessing most of us using stratux are using it for private use/training or at an employer that doesn't spend money on that kind of stuff. Most of us using stratux are probably already tinkerer's too, so messing around with cables or components isn't viewed as a negative or problem.
 
JMK said:
I think another big difference in stratux vs stratus is who is paying for it and as you said, workplace safety equipment. Aviation employers probably don't want the liability of using an open source project for safety. Maybe I'm wrong but I'm guessing most of us using stratux are using it for private use/training or at an employer that doesn't spend money on that kind of stuff. Most of us using stratux are probably already tinkerer's too, so messing around with cables or components isn't viewed as a negative or problem.
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That’s fair, I’m a tinkerer too, but im this case I wanted to be able to put it in the airplane, pair it to the EFBs, and leave it alone. And so far once we got the drop damage worked out, it has.
 
Roger Roger said:
Shrug...whatever. I’m just sayin for a piece of workplace safety equipment, and the problems that even the stratux pimpers admitted are endemic, ill take the Stratus even for the extra $$. Only problem we’ve had with ours were when some idiot (raises hand) dropped it 4’ onto a concrete floor while playing with the suction cup. It took sending it back twice to get it fixed right after that, but they didn’t charge us for either one.
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Heck, if that's the goal, skip the Stratus and go to FlightStream. No dicking around with a portable. Direct feed from the certified equipment.

Before I sold mine, I had a few Stratus issues, including overheating, and on forums with a higher piston GA percentage, a number if threads discussing Stratus problems and poor customer service. That's to be expected from any consumer product, DIY or not.
 
MidlifeFlyer said:
My stratus overheated.
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I use the external antenna for ADS-B and have it placed somewhere it picks up GPS fine but is still out of the sun. If I really wanted to keep it completely out of the sun I would use the external GPS antenna but I've never had a problem where I keep it and I have a vent pointed right at it for good measure.
 
GoDawgsGo said:
I use the external antenna for ADS-B and have it placed somewhere it picks up GPS fine but is still out of the sun. If I really wanted to keep it completely out of the sun I would use the external GPS antenna but I've never had a problem where I keep it and I have a vent pointed right at it for good measure.
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I only mentioned my overheat because @Roger Roger's post suggested this was a non-issue with a Stratus (OTOH, my iPad has never overheated in the >7 years I've been using one iflight) . Of course, where you put it and how you care for it makes difference.
 
Here’s another huge shout out for the Stratux. Easy to buy, build, and use. The GPS is a must for my non-enabled iPad, but having all of the extra SA in terms of weather and traffic is invaluable, especially on true cross-country flights in small aircraft without weather radar.
 
Hi...does anyone know the Hz rate of the Ipads internal GPS receiver? How about the Hz rate of a 430W?
The internal GPS on my Asus TF700 is 1 Hz I believe. I found on approach that my position on the TF700 approach plate was different than the 430W.By using an external 10 Hz GPS receiver those positions correlated much better.
 
Garmin GLO 2 with my iPad Mini. Works very well for me as a backup. I used all three . . .the 160, the Elf and the GLO2. The Elf is really temperature sensitive. The 160 disconnected "once in awhile" during flights. No problem with the GLO2. Not that it really mattered, but I like the GLONASS availability too.
 
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