Stratux ADS-B Dual Band Receiver Aviation Weather and Traffic - AHRS, Battery Pack, Suction Mount, Internal WAAS GPS for Skydemon

No problems, just follow instructions. Switch off power saver. Works great.

I’ve been interested in this device for several years and finally decided to purchase it. I'm an American pilot living in the UK, so I was cautious as to how it performed here in the UK. After using the system for a couple of flights, I wanted to share my feedback. 1) Initial Setup: The Admin page is user-friendly. Watching the YouTube video tutorials (some videos could use an update) helped me successfully set up the AHRS and adjust it to the right side of the aircraft, following the video instructions. Beware that we use Skydemon in Europe. And despite a few attempts, I eventually managed to connect it. There isn’t a Strutux option in Skydemon. You choose SkyEcho 2 instead (picture attached). 2) First Flight Attempt: a. ADHRS: I discovered that Skydemon’s synthetic attitude indicator was utilising data from the AHRS of Stratux instead of its own GPS and attitude sensors on my iPad. Whilst I hadn’t originally considered this, it made sense once I thought about it. I originally calibrated the Stratux at home, but after mounting it in the aircraft, on its side, on the right side window, above the luggage door (Piper Arrow IV), I had recalibrated the AHRS while seated in the aircraft before starting up the engine (I performed this calibration on my Skydemon on my iPad as well as the Skydemon on my co-pilot’s mobile phone). At first, it appeared to work well during taxi, but at takeoff and during the flight, I did notice some fluctuations with the synthetic attitude indicator of Skydemon, which occasionally seemed to lose its orientation. On a 30-minute flight, the indicator lost its reference several times. With two Skydemons connected to the Stratux (recalibrated on the ground before engine startup), both devices exhibited the exact same simultaneous behaviour, which raised some concerns about the Stratux AHRS consistency. b. Multiple Aircraft: An unusual occurrence during my flight was seeing eight aircraft in a circle around mine. Initially, I struggled to explain this, but I suspect it relates to how Stratux picks up limited Mode S data. It seems to gather altitude estimates but struggles with directional information. I need to confirm this further (photo attached). c. Weather: I was unable to receive any weather data. This is due to the lack of weather stations outside US territories. This was a bit disappointing, but it's essential to understand the limitations outside the US (ADS-B Weather Tower map attached). 3) Second Flight Attempt: a. AHRS: For my next flight, I repositioned the Stratux from the baggage window to the rear seat window, mounting it upright on the right side of the aircraft. This adjustment seemed to improve performance, as I didn't experience as many issues with the Skydemon attitude indicator – but it wasn’t as flawless as without it, using just Skydemon and the iPad alone. Of course, I recalibrated the AHRS of Stratux before engine startup. b. Multiple Aircraft: I still observed the same pattern with multiple aircraft around my aircraft, reinforcing my earlier theory. 4) Support: After my experiences, I reached out to Crew Dog Electronics to gain further insights. Although I received a prompt response, I was provided links to YouTube videos (which I had already viewed), a Discord group, a GitHub link, and a tower location URL. While I appreciate the prompt response, I was hoping for more specific advice from experience, so I’ll likely consult the Discord community for additional support. Overall Review: If considering this product for use outside the United States, be aware that some capabilities may be limited, particularly regarding weather data. This is largely due to the availability of US-specific technology rather than any shortcomings of the unit itself, I would guess. I will continue to evaluate the Skydemon attitude indicator (connected to Stratux) to see if mounting it upright resolves the orientation issues. On the positive side, I now have visibility of other aircraft, which is beneficial for IFR flying in IMC conditions. I do like the added battery that enables me to power the Stratux and then feed a USB cable to the battery. I do wonder if it's possible to receive traffic information from Stratux, but without receiving AHRS and allowing my iPad GPS and attitude do the lifting there. I rated it 3 stars out of 5 due to the cost vs my experience with the synthetic attitude, its use outside the US and having to refer to a Discord group for support answers. I’m not a programmer, so GitHub isn’t of any use to me.

Combiné avec ForeFlight ça fonctionne vraiment très bien. J’ai mis une antenne 868 MHz qui me permet de recevoir les trafics Flarm avec une modif soft dispo en open source. L’antenne 1090Mhz permet de recevoir les trafics ADS-B d’autant mieux si vous êtes équipés vous même d’un transponder ADS-B out. ForeFlight vous donne un horizon artificiel de secours avec une vue 3D du terrain. Ventousé à la vitre de l’avion je n’ai jamais eu de soucis de chauffe même en plein été. Par contre c’est top de voir les planeurs en arrivant sur un terrain.... même s’il faut surtout continuer à regarder dehors !! Bon vols à tous !!

The stratux ads-b dual band receiver is an excellent piece of equipment and highly recommended. I use Wing X and previously used another ads-b dual band receiver until I started to get a lot of radio interference from it. The old unit was bulkier and was not easy to move around. I decided to try the stratux ads-b dual band receiver and pair it with my Wing X on my ipad and it has worked flawlessly. The battery it comes with will keep the unit working for 4 or more hours before it needs a recharge. I have a Mooney Ovation with a G1000 and I compared the traffic and weather on my Wing X ipad with the stratux to the G1000 and it was almost exactly the same. The ahrs feature is also very, very good and comparing the G1000 synthetic vision to the ipad Wing X synthetic vision with the stratux is very similar. I recently took a trip IFR from South Florida to North Carolina and back and used the stratux during the trips. I found it to be very accurate and very reliable. The traffic, weather, ahrs and gps functionality were all excellent and I found it to be a great back up to my G1000. Having previously used another ads-b receiver, I can tell you that the stratux is actually a better unit and an excellent purchase because of its ease of use, portability, functionality, gps quality and functionality, accuracy, and excellent weather, traffic, gps positioning and ahrs capabilities. This is a must have for pilots whether flying VFR or IFR as a backup to your regular flight instruments. I highly recommend it.

This seems to work pretty well, even from on the ground. The external antennas make it a little more fragile & cumbersome to store compared to some other brands of ADS-B receivers, but those antennas also seem to pick up signals that the others might miss, which is more important to me, especially if a lot of clouds are around. External antennas also give you the option to mount antennas outside the fuselage, using cables with SMA connectors for further improved performance. For a permanently installed unit, this would seem to be the best way to go. For a portable unit, it's still pretty darn good. The 4 suction cup mount works well. 2 spare cups were included. ...And the package says made in the USA by a Vet. I'm having a hard time finding something to not like. Set up was pretty easy. It came with a power cable that has a switch in it, which is a nice bonus that I was not expecting. You can access the data in the unit directly using a hard IP address in a web browser once WiFi communications have been established. You can even view GPS info & local aircraft traffic there, without using actual flight software. It typically picks up about 10 GPS satellites at once, and that's without plugging in the external GPS antenna. Despite having all that information, altitude is often off by 100 feet or a little more, but that is common on other GPS units that I have too. A G-force indicator & other screens are also available on the basic pages. Calibration of the attitude indicator required probably close to a minute or so of straight & level flight after hitting the zero button. It's probably best done on the ground. The 6-hour battery that came with it actually lasted 5 hours before the unit cut out, then I turned it on again & got another hour, which did total to 6. Perhaps a power connector just got wiggled loose after 5 hours??? The ride was a little bumpy that day. The 6-hour battery that came with it is rated at 10,000mAH, which also means 10 amp-hours. That's a pretty big & chunky battery capacity in such a small package. Most of the others I have seen out there in that physical size carry more like 1/3 of that amount of charge. Your typical little Cessna often has about a 17 Amp-Hour battery for starting the motor. This thing seems to be a lot of bang for the buck. It fits well in this hard case - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09PJ5PPNT?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title

Fantastic! Just got it, so haven't had a chance to use it in the air. However, it was basically plug and play. I turned it on (plugged in the battery) and my iPad recognized the Stratux wifi signal right away. I have Wings X Pro. Stratux associated with it immediately and from my front porch began showing traffic all around. I used Wings X settings to select attitude indicator. Worked perfect and smoothly when I moved the Stratux in pitch and roll. Be sure to point the Stratux correctly forward as indicated on the unit. Otherwise you will get reverse sensing. Can't imagine so much technology being so readily available for us these days! I've been flying for over fifty years and would have never imagined this. Thanks Crew Dog! (And thank you Crew Dog for your military service). Adding. I just took an 800 mile round trip in my non electric Aeronca. I just sat the Stratux on the baggage shelf behind me. Worked great, sending WiFi to my iPad and Wings X Pro. It found satellites quickly and connected to the iPad quickly. The traffic displayed was very helpful, allowing me to see aircraft in my vicinity that I might have missed seeing otherwise. The weather was clear so I didn't have a chance to use the Nexrad weather info. I did buy a larger capacity battery off Amazon for about $20. That battery gave me 8 hours of run time. I used the original battery as a back up standby. Love it!

I've flown with this guy several times now and LOVE it. Not only is it fully featured, but it's reliable and so much less costly than the name brand devices out there. I paired mine to Foreflight and it works like a charm. I use the suction cups and stick it to the rear side window in our club Cherokee. Always gets good reception there with the antennas pointing skyward. I have a friend that lays hers on the dash, but it gets awfully hot there in the summer. Haven't had any problems with the Stratux at all. It's a little work to set up initially, but the instructions are really detailed and very well written, and the web site helps too. Videos are so helpful! I can't say enough how much respect I have for Crew Dog. The packaging was excellent, and the kit is very thoughtfully assembled (I bought the version that's prebuilt with only assembly of the battery-to-unit and suction cup bracket needed). As far as bulkiness, I worried about that, with those big ol' antennas and overall size. But it's not an issue at all after using it a bit. I keep the antennas in a slot in my flight bag and the unit in the main compartment with my headset. Prep for flight takes just a couple mins: screw on the antennas, plug the power cord in and stick it on the window. By the time I get get buckled in and set up my iPad, it's ready to go. I also love that this is a small start-up outfit. I don't mind buying good products from big companies, but I LOVE buying them from small competitors who still think like their own customers and love what they do more than just the profit. You go, Crew Dog!