vlittle
Well Known Member
Monroy has not issued a press release, but their new ATD-300+ is now shipping.
The ATD-300+ adds directional capability to the proven ATD-300 passive traffic monitor. All new units provide this capability, and older units can be returned to the factory for the upgrade.
The only Gotcha is that you have to buy a new antenna (the ANT-300), which just about doubles the installed cost of the system from the non-directional version.
Good news is that the ANT-300 is compact and streamlined (like a shark fin transponder antenna) and can be mounted externally.
I received an upgraded unit a couple of weeks ago, and to test it out, I installed it as a portable (using the provided kit) and fabricated a 12" square ground plane onto which I mounted the ANT-300. I connected the unit to the antenna with a 3' 50-ohm BNC cable.
There is a high wing/low wing switch on the bottom of the ATD-300+. In this case, I set it to "high wing" for testing. On power up, this setting is displayed on the screen.
With the antenna assembly sitting on my dash, I performed a short test flight.
I have another, original ATD-300 permanently installed in my panel, so I used it to compare the performance of the new unit.
Disclaimer: my test installation is far from ideal, so no performance conclusions can be made.
Both units displayed traffic, but often one or the other would display traffic that the other did not. Given that the older unit is properly installed on the bottom of the aircraft, and the "plus" is jury-rigged on the dash, this is likely the explanation.
The ATD-300+ does display the direction sector (45 degree resolution), which is as advertised. I did not get any relative altitude indication, though. This could have been the installation (or lack thereof), so I can't draw any conclusions on this.
The voice warnings are still there (traffic, traffic nearby, check voltage), although they seem a little more excited!
Finally, Jose Monroy did indicate that the speaker output will be modified to an RS-232 output for providing traffic to an external gps/efis and this is mentioned in the brochure. When I received the unit, there was no documentation on this so I'm not sure of the status. Emails to Jose on this have not been answered, although he has been very helpful in general. As a note, the headphone audio will be unaffected by this mod.
The only external sign of modification is a small hole in the bottom of the case for access to a rotary switch that sets high wing/low wing operation.
Here's a link: http://www.monroyaero.com/ATD300+Brochure.pdf
I'm a fan of the Monroy products, and the original ATD-300 has saved my bacon a few times, even in formation. All of the directional smarts are in the antenna which connects with a single cable, making it compact and easy to install.
For more information, contact Jose Monroy [email 'at' monroyaero.com].
Thanks,
Vern
The ATD-300+ adds directional capability to the proven ATD-300 passive traffic monitor. All new units provide this capability, and older units can be returned to the factory for the upgrade.
The only Gotcha is that you have to buy a new antenna (the ANT-300), which just about doubles the installed cost of the system from the non-directional version.
Good news is that the ANT-300 is compact and streamlined (like a shark fin transponder antenna) and can be mounted externally.
I received an upgraded unit a couple of weeks ago, and to test it out, I installed it as a portable (using the provided kit) and fabricated a 12" square ground plane onto which I mounted the ANT-300. I connected the unit to the antenna with a 3' 50-ohm BNC cable.
There is a high wing/low wing switch on the bottom of the ATD-300+. In this case, I set it to "high wing" for testing. On power up, this setting is displayed on the screen.
With the antenna assembly sitting on my dash, I performed a short test flight.
I have another, original ATD-300 permanently installed in my panel, so I used it to compare the performance of the new unit.
Disclaimer: my test installation is far from ideal, so no performance conclusions can be made.
Both units displayed traffic, but often one or the other would display traffic that the other did not. Given that the older unit is properly installed on the bottom of the aircraft, and the "plus" is jury-rigged on the dash, this is likely the explanation.
The ATD-300+ does display the direction sector (45 degree resolution), which is as advertised. I did not get any relative altitude indication, though. This could have been the installation (or lack thereof), so I can't draw any conclusions on this.
The voice warnings are still there (traffic, traffic nearby, check voltage), although they seem a little more excited!
Finally, Jose Monroy did indicate that the speaker output will be modified to an RS-232 output for providing traffic to an external gps/efis and this is mentioned in the brochure. When I received the unit, there was no documentation on this so I'm not sure of the status. Emails to Jose on this have not been answered, although he has been very helpful in general. As a note, the headphone audio will be unaffected by this mod.
The only external sign of modification is a small hole in the bottom of the case for access to a rotary switch that sets high wing/low wing operation.
Here's a link: http://www.monroyaero.com/ATD300+Brochure.pdf
I'm a fan of the Monroy products, and the original ATD-300 has saved my bacon a few times, even in formation. All of the directional smarts are in the antenna which connects with a single cable, making it compact and easy to install.
For more information, contact Jose Monroy [email 'at' monroyaero.com].
Thanks,
Vern
