Brian-StevesAircraft wrote:Page 28 of the SkyBeacon TSO installation manual shows the Basic configuration screen of the unit when logged in via the smart phone app. In that configuration you can set the ADS-B in capability as either 978Mhz, 1090Mhz or both.. There are three settings..

I would think that since those settings are within the configuration of the device then it would be capable of transmitting on those frequency's.. Would have to call uAvionix to be sure but it seems pretty black and white...

The support page is here https://uavionix.com/support/skybeacon/
You can check out the installation and install videos for lots of info.

Brian

Pretty sure the config question is about IN capability (978/1090) and is only for reporting purposes. The Skybeacon is definitely not 1090 compatible on the OUT side.

Since I don't see much actual experience with the unit, I'll chime in with mine:

When you include install costs, it's by far the cheapest solution. The installation was dirt simple. We dorked around for a bit but if you were efficient it definitely could be done in 15 minutes. If you don't have a wingtip strobe, you can get one out of the install (although mine does have some radio noise, so I've just left it off). From a compliance perspective, I got a perfect score on my PARS report.

Why did I choose skybeacon? Well, I'm not going over 18,000', and I *might* fly to Canada someday. I might not. I might own the same plane at that time, I might not. They might have their act together and require satellite-based 1090ES capability when I go on this theoretical flight, or they might not. I figured, I'm not going to spend an extra few thousand dollars on all these what-ifs. My KT76A has been bombproof, and finding a replacement KT76A should be easier and easier and cheaper and cheaper if mine ever does goes west. I was primarily looking for a solution that would keep me compliant and nothing more - I have IN capability elsewhere, I'm not going above 18,000', and I might might might have a need for it in Canada someday, but might not. I definitely wasn't going to spend a bunch of money for a pretty screen.

And the next medical will probably be the Basic kind. That alone will keep me out of Canada

I just did it on my Stearman. It was actually easy to do:

skiermanmike wrote:
Pretty sure the config question is about IN capability (978/1090) and is only for reporting purposes. The Skybeacon is definitely not 1090 compatible on the OUT side.

This is something I did not know... I had know idea that there was a difference... Going to have to read up more on the systems so I am better informed..

Thanks..

Brian

Brian-StevesAircraft wrote:

skiermanmike wrote:
Pretty sure the config question is about IN capability (978/1090) and is only for reporting purposes. The Skybeacon is definitely not 1090 compatible on the OUT side.

This is something I did not know... I had know idea that there was a difference... Going to have to read up more on the systems so I am better informed..

Thanks..

Brian

I think Brian and Steve are first class guys. They have never worked on my plane but I know a bunch of folks that use them. Never have heard a complaint. I was in their shop yesterday and saw the gascolator they are producing. Really nice work https://www.stevesaircraft.com/gascolator.php

Several months ago, I "pre-purchased" a Uavionix Tailbeacon, pending approval (TSO, STC, etc)
They advised me back in april to go ahead & reserve my rebate,
as they were turning in their last batch of required paperwork & anticipated FAA approval in short order.
I'm still waiting for them to get the required approvals--
I emailed them a while back asking if they had any sort of guess on just when that approval was gonna happen, but I never heard anything back.
I'm getting a little antsy now as I don't wanna blow my rebate window--
90 days to install & 60 more days to test fly, so about 5 months total.
That window will slam shut for me in early September.

Anyway, has anyone had any problems with their skybeacon?
A friend of mine put one on his Mooney,
the proving flight was fine but a while later he got a letter from FAA telling him that it had dropped it's reporting connection on a flight.
Apparently if it does that very many times, the FAA will want to take some sort of enforcement action?
Dunno if it was a glitch in the unit or on the FAA's end--
he contacted Uavionix & got an initial response but nothing on his follow-ups.
I don't think he's had any more trouble, but he doesn't fly very often either.
I'm just trying to get a feel whether this was a weird, one-time thing,
or if other people have had the same problem.

hotrod180 wrote:Several months ago, I "pre-purchased" a Uavionix Tailbeacon, pending approval (TSO, STC, etc)
They advised me back in april to go ahead & reserve my rebate,
as they were turning in their last batch of required paperwork & anticipated FAA approval in short order.
I'm still waiting for them to get the required approvals--
I emailed them a while back asking if they had any sort of guess on just when that approval was gonna happen, but I never heard anything back.
I'm getting a little antsy now as I don't wanna blow my rebate window--
90 days to install & 60 more days to test fly, so about 5 months total.
That window will slam shut for me in early September.

Anyway, has anyone had any problems with their skybeacon?
A friend of mine put one on his Mooney,
the proving flight was fine but a while later he got a letter from FAA telling him that it had dropped it's reporting connection on a flight.
Apparently if it does that very many times, the FAA will want to take some sort of enforcement action?
Dunno if it was a glitch in the unit or on the FAA's end--
he contacted Uavionix & got an initial response but nothing on his follow-ups.
I don't think he's had any more trouble, but he doesn't fly very often either.
I'm just trying to get a feel whether this was a weird, one-time thing,
or if other people have had the same problem.

I've heard similar stories of FAA letters from folks with full on ADS-B transponders, costing well north of $4 K. There was no detectable issue with those transponders...so assume it's a glitch in the FAA system.....surprise, surprise.

My Skybeacon seems to work fine. It does on occasion cause a slight sound in my radio receivers, like a swishing sound. And, yes, I verified it's the Skybeacon doing this. So, I called the company, and they said that, yes, they're aware of that and working on trying to figure it out. They said it's not in all units, and different radios don't seem to change it. It shows up on both my comms. But, it seems to start right after avionics on, then disappears after a few minutes. I flew more than an hour today and it appeared for a few minutes on the ground, then went away.

In any case, that's the only "problem" I've had with the unit. And, frankly, if that's the worst, I can live with it.

I had to conduct two "validation flights", since the first one failed to meet the standards. But, in that case, ATC kept me out of the airspace, though I was close. Second flight, I just climbed up to 11500 and drove around for an hour. Be cautious of steepish turns. They want you to do some turns, just keep them fairly shallow.

And, if you have problems with the rebate process, send me a PM and I'll get you the "trouble line" for rebates. The link's been taken down since they ran out of rebates.

MTV

I guess I am out of luck on rebates. Am thinking of waiting tell sometime next year anyway

qmdv wrote:I guess I am out of luck on rebates. Am thinking of waiting tell sometime next year anyway

When FAA announced that the rebate money ran out, they also said to check back weekly,
as some funding may become re-available if people let their rebate window expire.
Somebody I know just got in on this second chance rebate money.

https://www.faa.gov/nextgen/equipadsb/rebate/

I'm spending the winter helping rebuild a super cub that someone ground looped on pavement. It had the skybeacon installed on the wing that spent much of the loop dragging on the ground. The ground loop bent both spars in that wing. It bent the single bolt that holds the nav light fairing on the wing, and broke the rivets that hold the nav light mounting plate onto that fairing. However the antenna on the skybeacon did not bend or break, just had abrasion. It still functioned fine after the wreck. I thought this was a testament to the build quality of the little things, as ugly as they are.

Further update. My Skybeacon was installed in April. Made a number of flights with it. In September, I got "the phone call" from an FAA person in Washington, DC, notifying me that several of my flights had included error messages. And, that I should get that fixed.

I requested that FAA person (who was a total gentleman and absolutely not threatening in any way) send me via email, the reports that included errors, so that I could forward them to uAvionix, which he did and I did.

It turns out that uAvionix had a firmware upgrade available. When I got home, I completed the firmware upgrade. I then flew a couple more times, letting the FAA gent know I'd flown and requested a report on those. He reported that those flights included no errors, so he said he'd close the case.

I asked what would happen if an aircraft owner couldn't correct errors. His response was that with repeated error reports, and failure of the owner to correct those, the FAA would effectively "turn off" that beacon's code in their system. So, worst case, you'd have spent a bunch of $$ but still wouldn't have access to ADS-B airspace after the 2020 deadline.

He said there's no intent by the FAA to fine anyone, or take any other action other than just "unfriending" your beacon. Joy.

I learned a couple other things during my conversations with him:

1. The WAAS enabled GPS incorporated in the Skybeacon (or the other source of GPS you're using with any other ADS-B out device) takes a while to derive an accurate position. This device requires a WAAS accurate position before you fly. My Skybeacon blinks a red light when the GPS hasn't stabilized yet. If you fly before that happens, you'll get an error message. So, make sure you give the unit a bit of time prior to takeoff to stabilize.

2. The FAA compares your track with an ADS-B coverage map. So, at least theoretically, they can see when you drop out of coverage, and that won't show up as an error. Theoretically. The FAA sent me a screenshot of one of my flights, with the track overlain on their coverage map, and I could see where I'd been outside coverage, and that flight had passed all parameters.

3. ANY error message is effectively a failing grade for a particular flight. The theory is this stuff will/may be used for traffic separation, etc. so all flights have to have "perfect" performance.

Good luck.

MTV

I had the same decision to make. IE: Just buy a new transponder and be done with it or buy the uAvionix.
I just installed the uAvionix Tail Beacon that was recently approved. My A&P put it on the tail of my 8GCBC Scout in about an hour and a half, and it works fine!
It takes about 15 to 20 minutes to configure via an internet connection. It linked up to my old mode C King Transponder right away.
So far, so good.

Randy

asa wrote:However the antenna on the skybeacon did not bend or break, just had abrasion.

Maybe they should build them to absorb some energy and not bend spars...

Thanks for the info Mike! I’ve had mine on for about a year and been very happy with it. One thing to note, this last week they put out another firmware update...but it was the first I had seen. I wasn’t very happy when I learned that you have to have a windows based laptop with WiFi to do the update. The tech guy I talked to said that the theme of the week was unhappy Apple owners. Anyway, I found a laptop and got it done. I did have some problems with their install working correctly but luckily got through to their tech support and he showed me a way to work around it to install the update.

Grassstrippilot wrote:Thanks for the info Mike! I’ve had mine on for about a year and been very happy with it. One thing to note, this last week they put out another firmware update...but it was the first I had seen. I wasn’t very happy when I learned that you have to have a windows based laptop with WiFi to do the update. The tech guy I talked to said that the theme of the week was unhappy Apple owners. Anyway, I found a laptop and got it done. I did have some problems with their install working correctly but luckily got through to their tech support and he showed me a way to work around it to install the update.

Oh, goody! Another update? I’ll have to look and see. Their updates are not only requiring a Windows computer, but the installation is anything but intuitive. Fortunately, their tech help is pretty good. But I doubt tech help actually gets anything done with all the calls.

Oh, and, since the beacon is certificated, these updates are supposed to be entered in the aircrafts logbooks, and signed by an A & P mechanic. Grrrrr.

MTV

I wondered about that. [emoji849]. I’ll have to have remember to have him sign it when I see him next.

mtv wrote:….. The WAAS enabled GPS incorporated in the Skybeacon (or the other source of GPS you're using with any other ADS-B out device) takes a while to derive an accurate position. This device requires a WAAS accurate position before you fly. My Skybeacon blinks a red light when the GPS hasn't stabilized yet. If you fly before that happens, you'll get an error message. So, make sure you give the unit a bit of time prior to takeoff to stabilize. ...

I got an error redflag on the first, short flight with my Tailbeacon.
The factory tech dude told me that it was likely that I didn't allow my legacy avionics sufficient warmup time--
specifically the encoder.
My subsequent half-hour-in-rule-airspace flight went fine.
I've checked a couple flights since that one, they were fine also.
FWIW here's a link to the FAA's performance report user's guide website,
all about how to request & understand a performance report.

https://adsbperformance.faa.gov/PAPRUsersGuide.pdf

Grassstrippilot wrote:Thanks for the info Mike! I’ve had mine on for about a year and been very happy with it. One thing to note, this last week they put out another firmware update...but it was the first I had seen. I wasn’t very happy when I learned that you have to have a windows based laptop with WiFi to do the update. The tech guy I talked to said that the theme of the week was unhappy Apple owners. Anyway, I found a laptop and got it done. I did have some problems with their install working correctly but luckily got through to their tech support and he showed me a way to work around it to install the update.

It's retarded that it requires a laptop at all. Bake the firmware update into the android and ios app and be done with it.

That’s exactly what I told them. Apparently doing updates is kind of standard this way, so they say. So getting it passed by the FAA the “accepted” way is why they did it. I told them it was a pretty big lack of foresight and planning from the user standpoint. I doubt they will ever change it too. So hopefully they don’t do a lot of updates because it’s a pain finding a laptop to barrow. Here is what their tech people told me and a post I made to FB about this.


So here is the response I got from Uavionix. I’ve been a big fan of this product but this is a serious flaw in my opinion. Not only are they making the assumption that everyone has a laptop but that the laptop is Windows based too. Guess I have to start looking for a neighbor with a laptop.

“Per FAA requirements, The 1.4.0 update must be performed with a windows 7 or higher computer with wi-fi capabilities. On the service bulliten page you will seen links to the updater tool, and the 1.4.0 firmware. The updater tool must be installed to access the firmware file. Here are some instructions;
-Download the updater tool and the firmware, open the tool and connect to your skyBeacon by selecting the "Scan" option.
-After a successful connection the "Update ADS-B" box should be highlighted, click on this box and it will ask you to locate the firmware file.
-Most likely this will be located in your downloads folder.
-Select the updated firmware file, and the update process should initiate.”

Next response from tech support after I asked for clarification.

“Not-too happy apple customers has been a common theme of this week so far. We realize this in an inconvenience, but cannot stray away from the FAA's required install procedures for the update. In many cases I have had customers be able to borrow a laptop for the update from their A&P, FBO, FSDO, friends, family or hangar mates. I know this Is not ideal, but at the moment this is the only approved method.”

Grassstrippilot wrote:That’s exactly what I told them. Apparently doing updates is kind of standard this way, so they say. So getting it passed by the FAA the “accepted” way is why they did it. I told them it was a pretty big lack of foresight and planning from the user standpoint. I doubt they will ever change it too. So hopefully they don’t do a lot of updates because it’s a pain finding a laptop to barrow. Here is what their tech people told me and a post I made to FB about this.


So here is the response I got from Uavionix. I’ve been a big fan of this product but this is a serious flaw in my opinion. Not only are they making the assumption that everyone has a laptop but that the laptop is Windows based too. Guess I have to start looking for a neighbor with a laptop.

“Per FAA requirements, The 1.4.0 update must be performed with a windows 7 or higher computer with wi-fi capabilities. On the service bulliten page you will seen links to the updater tool, and the 1.4.0 firmware. The updater tool must be installed to access the firmware file. Here are some instructions;
-Download the updater tool and the firmware, open the tool and connect to your skyBeacon by selecting the "Scan" option.
-After a successful connection the "Update ADS-B" box should be highlighted, click on this box and it will ask you to locate the firmware file.
-Most likely this will be located in your downloads folder.
-Select the updated firmware file, and the update process should initiate.”

Next response from tech support after I asked for clarification.

“Not-too happy apple customers has been a common theme of this week so far. We realize this in an inconvenience, but cannot stray away from the FAA's required install procedures for the update. In many cases I have had customers be able to borrow a laptop for the update from their A&P, FBO, FSDO, friends, family or hangar mates. I know this Is not ideal, but at the moment this is the only approved method.”

Not only that, but if you're doing this update inside a hangar, the Skybeacon is trying to acquire a GPS satellite position, and won't let you update till it does. If you're in a hangar, of course, you're not going to get a GPS solution.

On the installation page for the update, in bottom right corner, there's a button that says something about GPS. You need to click that, and THEN, and only then, will the update install.

Took me two tries and a long wait on hold via phone to get THAT little bit of information. Apparently, the tech folks must assume everyone is parking the airplane outside when uploading firmware.

There's no question that they could have made a lot of this stuff MUCH simpler.

And, fortunately, firmware 1.4.0 is the current firmware, and that's what I uploaded earlier. So, I don't have to go through that again.

MTV