uAvionix has decided to not use Mode C because it cannot deliver adequate performance : SkyEcho has an omnidirectional antenna- hence no azimuth detection is possible The use of signal strength is unreliable as a distance measure Mode C transponders don’t transmit unless triggered by a ground radar or TCAS. This doesn’t happen in many [...]
Ian McFarlane of Burn Gliding Club provided this example: “I was at Burn Gliding Club yesterday (25th August 2022) and took a student on a winch launch sortie (we were typically gaining about 1200ft AGL in light winds). As I flew the downwind leg (in an ASK-21 Glider) I observed a small GA aircraft approximately 500ft [...]
Ensure that the device is mounted vertically (power connector facing the ground) Minimize metal obstructions towards the front of the aircraft Power up well before departure so that GPS has time to acquire all satellites
CAA have specified that the Beacons will broadcast 978MHz UAT ADS-B messages with an Emitter Category of ‘Point Obstacle’. The location broadcast by the Beacon will be based on the geographical position of the Beacon as reported by the Beacon’s built-in GNSS position source. The altitude broadcast will be a fixed altitude in feet above [...]
Fully charge the device Power on and leave the device in an open area with very good visibility of the whole sky (away from hangars etc) Leave this way for a few hours so that it can acquire the full almanac
Airspace users equipped with 978MHz UAT ADS-B IN and within range of these broadcasts should be able to receive real-time alerting of site activity from the ADS-B Obstruction Beacon if their avionics/Electronic Flight Bag application receives 978MHz UAT ADS-B IN data and supports the display of 978Mhz UAT ADS-B Point Obstacles. Some avionics/Electronic Flight Bag [...]
Hold down the power button until the lights flash (about 10 seconds). This re-sets the wireless system to no password.
CAA has provided the following guidance for GA pilots: “Pilots observing the electronic depiction of an ADS-B Obstruction Beacon during the trial, should recognise that associated flying activities are underway, assess the location and vertical extent of the activity, avoiding the immediate vicinity of the beacon in accordance with their avoidance techniques when observing the [...]
The prime objective of SkyEcho is air-air surveillance. However, the CASA AC envisages SkyEcho being used for situational awareness. In Australia, it is envisaged that Airservices Australia will, in due course, enable the display of SkyEcho with a different symbology for the purposes of ATC situational awareness. Different symbology is required so that the ATC [...]
Address Qualifier Field Encoding In accordance with DO-282, Beacons will broadcast an Address Qualifier value of 5, meaning the Address Type is ‘Fixed ADS-B Beacon’, using a non-ICAO, state assigned unique 24-bit address. 24-bit Address Field As qualified by the above, each Beacon will broadcast a fixed non-ICAO 24- bit address (Hex Code). These will [...]
The objective of SkyEcho was initially to meet the United Kingdom Conspicuity device market. See https://www.caa.co.uk/General-aviation/Aircraft-ownership-and-maintenance/Electronic-Conspicuity-devices/ The UK CAA says “To reduce the safety risk of airborne conflict between GA in uncontrolled UK airspace we have developed a minimum technical specification for low power, lightweight, portable Electronic Conspicuity Devices that operates using ADS-B.” In the [...]
tailBeaconX is a replacement for your existing transponder. tailBeaconX meets the requirements for use in all Mode A/C/S transponder required airspace as well as airspace requiring ADS-B Out. If you are looking for a retrofit solution to work alongside your existing transponder you might be interested in the original tailBeacon. Note tailBeacon approval is limited [...]
Yes! tailBeaconX meets the performance requirements of 14 CFR 91.227.
Yes! tailBeaconX is a 1090MHz ADS-B transponder meeting worldwide ADS-B performance requirements.
Yes, Nav Canada recently updated its ADS-B performance requirements to include tailBeaconX as a lower-cost alternative to traditional diversity transponders.
Why is this Obstruction Beacon trial being undertaken? The CAA’s Airspace Modernisation Strategy (AMS) outlines a range of new digital flight information services, including FIS-B and TIS-B (Flight Information Service – Broadcast and Traffic Information Service – Broadcast). ADS-B Obstruction Beacons are another element of these digital flight information services. Several GA representative organisations have [...]
No! The tailBeaconX Mode S transponder meets the performance requirements of TSO-C112e Class 1 Level 2els, and 1090 ES ADS-B transmitter TSO-C166b Class B1S. You are cleared into the flight levels and over 250 knots!
No, because the tailBeaconX is a 1090Mhz transmitter it cannot support anonymous transmissions.
No, tailBeaconX provides a rear position light which meets the performance requirements of TSO-C30c, but no other lighting capabilities.
Although a little more involved than a standard tailBeacon, the tailBeaconX installation is still much simpler than comparable equipment. The tailBeaconX replaces the rear position light on the tail of the aircraft using the existing power and ground wires. The tailBeaconX does require a serial connection to a control head on the panel of the [...]