XM/Nexrad vs. ADS-B: opinions sought?

killbilly

Vocals, Lyrics, Triangle, Washboard, Kittens
Trying to compare some apples and oranges, and I'd be interested in the thoughts of the more experienced. The mission is for recreational and later business flying. Piston singles mainly with some multi down the road.

I've got ForeFlight on my iPad. I like it. I'd like to have some kind of datalink weather on it for SA.

One option is to go with getting something like the Stratus ADS-B receiver. It's about $700, no monthly fee, connects with ForeFlight and gets the ADS-B weather and METARS and all the other stuff that ADS-B offers.

Now, I also happen to have an older WxWorks receiver from when I was using the AnywhereMap ATC back in 2007. That can be retrofitted with a receiver ($200) plus a USB module ($81) and then an XM subscription ($50 a month) which will perform the same function. This would be the way to go, definitely, since a new kit would be about $1200.

People have been telling me that the ADS-B weather is better because it's more frequently updated, doesn't require subscription, and is going to be required anyway at some point.

XM/Nexrad folks are saying that the ADS-B coverage isn't nearly as good, and that the way XM shows storms is considerably more detailed and more accurate than ADS-B. They stress that they show you a "complete" picture of a storm.

I don't know enough about the weather data to make a decision. Perhaps I should.

Looking at it from a cost standpoint, they even out at roughly 6 months of use, and then the recurring XM/Nexrad cost is an ongoing $50 a month.

The question I'm trying answer, I guess, is whether or not the $50 is worth it in terms of information and increased SA/safety. I'm not sure it is for me.

I am presently a VFR-only pilot, however, I will begin the IFR training around October, I think. Once complete, I believe I'll get a lot more utility out of these devices.

So. What do you guys think?
 
We have foreflight but we also have wireless internet, XM weather, and ADS-B with the G1000. I would say we get more reliable weather out of using the XM but like you said ADS-B is the standard of the future.
 
We have foreflight but we also have wireless internet, XM weather, and ADS-B with the G1000. I would say we get more reliable weather out of using the XM but like you said ADS-B is the standard of the future.

Good points.

I should have said that this would be in non-G1000 aircraft. I do have access to a few, and while I think G1000 is neat, it's a little further on down the road for me. Right now the rental price difference doesn't make a lot of sense.
 
It is nice to have the information but up until two years ago I would do the old fashioned thing and call for weather on 122.0. Worked just as well.
 
l
We have foreflight but we also have wireless internet, XM weather, and ADS-B with the G1000. I would say we get more reliable weather out of using the XM but like you said ADS-B is the standard of the future.
Holy overkill!! :)

Just curious, why you have xm, when if you have a wifi connection you would get the same info over-layed on Foreflight? Even if the xm is on the G1000 why spend the money on a subscription even? Or the ads-b, I would like just one, besides the Wx radar. Something for long range planning. I think in your set up the wifi would be the most valuable tool, as you can get weather from multiple sources and not just aviation weather.
 
One option is to go with getting something like the Stratus ADS-B receiver. It's about $700, no monthly fee, connects with ForeFlight and gets the ADS-B weather and METARS and all the other stuff that ADS-B offers.

Now, I also happen to have an older WxWorks receiver from when I was using the AnywhereMap ATC back in 2007. That can be retrofitted with a receiver ($200) plus a USB module ($81) and then an XM subscription ($50 a month) which will perform the same function. This would be the way to go, definitely, since a new kit would be about $1200.

People have been telling me that the ADS-B weather is better because it's more frequently updated, doesn't require subscription, and is going to be required anyway at some point.

XM/Nexrad folks are saying that the ADS-B coverage isn't nearly as good, and that the way XM shows storms is considerably more detailed and more accurate than ADS-B. They stress that they show you a "complete" picture of a storm.

I don't know enough about the weather data to make a decision. Perhaps I should.

I would go the ADS-B route. Likely to be around longer. And $600/year for Nexrad is going to add up.

You can get weather on flightwatch for free, and neither is telling you anything that flightwatch won't. XM/Nexrad data is anywhere from 2-20 minutes old, probably averages 5 minutes based on what I usually see. Since I am most interested in avoiding T-storms (or lines of them), and they move a lot in 5 minutes, it is of limited use to me. Looking out the window is almost always more accurate.

Neither replaces getting a forecast, which you always need anyway. I would probably make do without either, but go the ADS-B route if I were flying something everyday during summer that lacked weather radar.
 
I've tried both wsi and xm satellite weather. With wsi you can get notams and on XM you can not. But you can get XM radio too, so I guess it balances out. Never used ADS-B.


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I would go the ADS-B route. Likely to be around longer. And $600/year for Nexrad is going to add up.

You can get weather on flightwatch for free, and neither is telling you anything that flightwatch won't. XM/Nexrad data is anywhere from 2-20 minutes old, probably averages 5 minutes based on what I usually see. Since I am most interested in avoiding T-storms (or lines of them), and they move a lot in 5 minutes, it is of limited use to me. Looking out the window is almost always more accurate.

Neither replaces getting a forecast, which you always need anyway. I would probably make do without either, but go the ADS-B route if I were flying something everyday during summer that lacked weather radar.

All good points. And I've been known to call flightwatch. I guess I just like seeing the big picture....in a picture?

Like many low-time PPLs, my weather knowledge certainly isn't as good as a professional's, but I don't have a weather radar, either. I also agree that the Mk1 eyeball is a pretty darn good. The ADS-B, though, is more like 2-5 minutes old rather than 2-20. The refresh rate is considerably higher.

If anything, I'd like to have something validate the assessments I make with my eyes.
 
All good points. And I've been known to call flightwatch. I guess I just like seeing the big picture....in a picture?

Like many low-time PPLs, my weather knowledge certainly isn't as good as a professional's, but I don't have a weather radar, either. I also agree that the Mk1 eyeball is a pretty darn good. The ADS-B, though, is more like 2-5 minutes old rather than 2-20. The refresh rate is considerably higher.

If anything, I'd like to have something validate the assessments I make with my eyes.

Weather radar is good for tactical decision making and weather avoidance, where XM weather is good for strategic decision making and longer range decision making. I.E. You can use the weather radar to avoid cells that are, say, within 50 miles of where you're at, and XM radar is good to make decisions hundreds of miles away with regard to deviations.

That being said, I would NEVER use XM "radar" to dodge cells, as they're simply too dynamic. Unless you're using it to go around an entire system, it's not a whole lot of use in my opinion, which comes from using both on board weather radar and XM at various points in my career.

That being said, I wish we had the XM stuff where I'm at. It'd make decision making a whole lot easier some days.

Also, the only validation that you need for your decision making is not getting the crap kicked out of yourself. If you penetrate a thunderstorm, you're going to know it long before the XM tells you.
 
Weather radar is good for tactical decision making and weather avoidance, where XM weather is good for strategic decision making and longer range decision making. I.E. You can use the weather radar to avoid cells that are, say, within 50 miles of where you're at, and XM radar is good to make decisions hundreds of miles away with regard to deviations.

That being said, I would NEVER use XM "radar" to dodge cells, as they're simply too dynamic. Unless you're using it to go around an entire system, it's not a whole lot of use in my opinion, which comes from using both on board weather radar and XM at various points in my career.

That being said, I wish we had the XM stuff where I'm at. It'd make decision making a whole lot easier some days.

In what I'm flying, I rarely care much about the weather more than 300 miles away, simply because it will change before it is a factor for me. And the forecast will tell me more about what is going to happen that far out than a radar snapshot will.

Definitely something I will look at if I have access to it. Most useful to me is the poor sucker 50 miles ahead of me... I ask ATC if he got through :)
 
We have XM weather in our aircraft with the Aviator package. It is very useful for the big picture and cell dodging but would be absolutely usless if you're already in the middle of a line of storms in IMC and looking for a way out. The articles I'm seeing gives an average of 8 minutes between refreshes but I have personally seen it to average about double that and more sometimes. Even at 8 minutes, a cell moving just 10-15 mph is completely off from where it is dipecting it on your MFD.

If you do get the XM, pay up and get the Aviator package due to the Winds Aloft and Freezing Level components. Well worth it IMO.
 
I'd go ADS-B just because I'm cheap. ADF or a phone with music (plus an aux line into the headset) to replace the XM Radio.

You'd have to fly a lot to make the $600/yr or whatever it is for XM worth it.
 
l
Holy overkill!! :)

Just curious, why you have xm, when if you have a wifi connection you would get the same info over-layed on Foreflight? Even if the xm is on the G1000 why spend the money on a subscription even? Or the ads-b, I would like just one, besides the Wx radar. Something for long range planning. I think in your set up the wifi would be the most valuable tool, as you can get weather from multiple sources and not just aviation weather.
It's a King Air B200

The XM is for music and weather, the internet is for the boss to work and the ADS-B came with the G1000.
 
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