ADSB IN PICKING UP MY OWN PLANE?

My plane has Garmin GTX 330 that just had the ES upgrade done by Garmin. I have a GNS430W that according to my avionics shop, now just needs a wire run from the GNS430W to the GTX330 and then I should be ADS-B out compliant. I have not had the wire installed yet.

I use a Stratus 2S and an iPad mini to receive ADS-B in. Today, I noticed several times on my iPad an ADS-B target showing 300 ft directly below me going the same velocity and direction of my flight. It spooked me a couple of times till I figured out the indication had to be coming from my own transponder.

As I said before, my transponder has not been wired to receive the input from the GPS yet, but I am positive that the ADS-B in I'm seeing on the iPad is from my own transponder.

Has anyone seen this before or know what might be going on?

Thanks,

Curt

This is well-known, and is called "ghosting". ATC radar is picking up your 1200 squawk. ADSB ground stations are sending up this unknown target (someone nearby with ADSB-out must be triggering the ground station). Since your N number wasn't attached to the data, your display doesn't filter it out. Once you have your ADSB-out working, it should send your N number, and your display should filter it out.
BTW, it's not too hard to add the wire yourself, if you are so inclined. Your 430W needs to have relatively new software (look in the hidden set up menu, for RS232 options. If you see 'ADSB+" you're all set. If you don't see the +, you need new software).

What Bob said. Hop down to X35 and we can help put the extra wire in. It's not hard.

Saint Aviation - Thanks!

After being told by a large avionics outfit that they would have to remove my entire avionics rack to wire my GNS430W to the GTX330, with the labor estimate increasing from 3 hours to closer to 6, plus software updates, I took Jesse up on his invitation and flew down to X35, arriving late afternoon Wednesday. At Jesse's invitation, had dinner with his lovely family and spent the night as his guest. Jesse and his guys had me wired up, test flight (with error free FAA report) and ready to go by 11 a.m. the following day. I can highly recommend Jesse and his team...very nice young men who were very careful with my plane, and a pleasure to do business with.

RV9Otter said:

After being told by a large avionics outfit that they would have to remove my entire avionics rack to wire my GNS430W to the GTX330, with the labor estimate increasing from 3 hours to closer to 6, plus software updates, I took Jesse up on his invitation and flew down to X35, arriving late afternoon Wednesday.

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Wow! That's ridiculous...my baby sister could run one wire from the DB connector on the 430W to the transponder in less than 3 hours. Remove the entire rack???? WTF?

I'd be sure to steer clear of that "large avionics outfit" in the future (of course, it's Experimental, so you can do all that yourself...but glad that Jesse got you set up; sounds like a great experience overall!).

Good to know...

I had a similar situation that spooked me on a flight during the Thanksgiving holiday. I have a Status 2S but no ADSB out yet. I was on flight following with a discreet code. Loving the traffic awareness and it pointing out some things to me long before ATC was comforting, until I see a target a few hundred feed from my altitude almost right under me, going the ams direction and speed. I called ATC to ask if they saw another target and they said the did not. Eventually the target disappeared. It livened up an an otherwise mundane 2 hour flight. I prefer mundane... ADSB being added next week...

RV7A Flyer said:

Wow! That's ridiculous...my baby sister could run one wire from the DB connector on the 430W to the transponder in less than 3 hours. Remove the entire rack???? WTF?

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I will hire your baby sister today if she can guarantee she can do that job on every aircraft in 3 hours without ever seeing it!

Honestly I get inquires like this all the time and my answer is I don't know how long it will take until I do it. On some aircraft it can be extremely difficult to access the rack connectors while others aren't too bad. Most shops will tend to quote on the high side (including myself) as they/we have learned from experience that what 'sounds' simple (one wire) doesn't always turn out that way.

Working on your own aircraft at your leisure is not the same thing as trying to run a business. I'm pretty sure "RV7A flyer" doesn't do avionics installations for a living so casting aspersions at "large avionics shops" with comments about how long a job should take is baseless.

I have flown in some friends planes that have TIS-A and no ADS-B. From time to time, they will get "ghost" targets which almost always turn out to be own-ship. I have TIS-A, ADS-B In and Out, and I have had a ghost once or twice. Not sure what was causes it, but it is fleeting / goes away within a few seconds.