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ADS-B in the midwest

S

Smilin' Jack

Well Known Member
My wife and I just completed a rush trip this last weekend to Nebraska from Georgia to visit an old friend in Hospice. I recently completed an install of a GTN 650 and have it hooked up to two Dynon skyview displays with the 12-2 update and have passes the FAA ADS-B test site.
In north west Kansas both the Dynon displays and my foreflight with ADS-B running a Stratus lost all ADS-B signals even at 8000 feet going out and at 10,000 feet on the return flight. Yes we flew wrong altitude with ATC blessings going east bound. The partial loss of the ADS-b signal in Nebraska and NW Kansas was surprising.

I had thought all the ADS-B stations were up and running. There was not a lot of traffic this weekend due to the severe weather and winds but we did see a few airlines on the foreflight and a couple other planes. With all the weather the ADS-B radar returns would have been great in those areas but we bounced deviated a lot
And made it home safe and sound.

For those that live out there how has your coverage of ADS-B been?

Even on our corporate flights at upper flight levels We notice reduced coverage in this area


Smilin' Jack
 
Jack,
Did you lose traffic and weather?
Did you check to see if you were receiving ground stations?
I have lost TIS-B on many occasions but I always get weather and I show many ground stations.
My lack of TIS-B has usually been improper set-up of software changes/issues.
 
Mark, like I said there were not too may folks out flying last weekend, the stratus2 picked up the airlines above us but both lost the ground stations that according to the map Miles posted were in the area where there are none.

The Dynon ADS-B has cut offs in distant and altitudes above you that I don't see any settings to change.
Sometimes I wonder if a dual ADS-B antenna would work better than a single antenna on the bottom of the plane...

Jack
 
There are two distinct coverage categories, FIS weather and TIS traffic. The first step to determine what the issue is, is to look at the signal strength of the ground based stations. If no ground reception, then no FIS or TIS. If you are seeing the ground stations you may only receive the weather and not the TIS. This happens quite a bit and has some to do with your setup and a lot to do with the FAA ADSB system. I don't believe adding an antenna on top will do you much good at this point. It sounds like you already have an external antenna. Next time you experience the TIS dropout, check if you are receiving FIS. I have yet to see a FIS dropout, but the TIS system drops out quite a lot. For me it usually comes back in a few minutes. I would also check if your transponder is set up properly. You can pass the FAA test, but still not be set up properly. The transponder needs to tell the ground stations that you are capable of receiving dual bands.
 
Bill,
When I get home from this corporate trip in Mexico I will have to take a look at where to find if the Dynon's are receiving this or that, on the Skyview it states on the bottom right of the screen ADSB Ok and on the left bottom it gives information on the receiving of radar images. I have noted when flying on this long trip that when I entered Kansas City area the ADSB disappeared and was replaced by TIS.
Still learning, the Skyview updating on weather some times shows a lot of reddish bands or blocks on the screen on my SV700 but not on the SV1000
So might have another issue. I did notice on my flight that I brought up on Flight aware and looked at the track log and centers with ADSB capability it was noted on the right side of the log. Others that do not have ADSB capability it did not. I had asked ATLanta center and Denver if they were up and running on ADSB and they stated not yet.

Jack
 
Hi Jack,
The Flight aware ads-b stations that you see in your track log are reported by volunteers, those are not the coverage areas. Anyone can volunteer and get a free ads-b receiver and connect it to the internet. The holes are caused by lack of volunteers. BTW, Flight aware has not figured out that the data they are receiving from the flight aware stations is based upon 29.92 baro. You will notice your altitude is off when in the track log of your flight when based upon the ads-b data. I have spoken to them about this and they are working on a fix.
 
The reports that showed up were with centers, and approach controls. It states the faculties collecting the data so perhaps they got it figured out.
Jack
 
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