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Passing an ADS-B performance report with the skyBeacon or tailBeacon

SPX

Well Known Member
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I have a tailBeacon installed on my aircraft, and at any given time, I can get anything to pass the performance report, but not everything at the same time.
I've adjusted the transponder threshold, and that took care of the most prevalent problem .. Mode 3A failure. Now I get the occasional NIC or Flight ID failure. I cannot explain Flight ID failures, but the NIC failure is GPS coverage. Looking at the uAvionix manuals, it looks like the NIC failure often happens from too short of a time between powerup and takeoff. So, I am wondering ..

For those with the tailBeacon or skyBeacon:

1. Are you always getting passing ADS-B performance reports? Or, are you getting some failures occasionally? If you believe that you're getting good performance reports always, how often are you checking?

2. How long are you on the ground before takeoff? I would say it's about ten minutes or so on average for me.

Thanks!
 
So I just sent a request for my last flight on Halloween, all good. Just like the other three I requested last spring after I installed in my right wingtip a Tailbeacon EXP I was gifted. I really don't care at this point what the performance is, I will wait for a letter telling me to look for problems.

The first three reports I was on deck maybe 5 minutes, the latest one 15 minutes as I needed to warm the oil.
 
ADSP reports

I fail every time I depart from my home airport. A3 or altitude, I’m to far away from the ground station. It’s been that way for 3 years, no one cares except the FAA. I’ve never been refused service anywhere in the country.
 
I have the tail bacon.

I check the performance report after every flight, while I'm looking at flightaware.

I get ocassional (one every two months or so) Flight ID failure but no other red squares.

My home base is under the Dallas Bravo outer ring, so I'm flying in "rules airspace" a lot and don't consider it an issue.
 
I'm near Washington DC. - Culpeper VA KCJR. Tailbeacon/GTX327. Check every other/third flight. All pass. Although I'm right in the thick of things being near to DC. Maybe it has more to do with you proximity to ground stations than anything.
 
Northern Minnesota/EchoUAT...I fail every PAPR, usually Baro Alt, until I check a flight no farther than 60 miles north of the Twin Cities. Nobody on the other end of Flight Following has ever had a concern with my airplane....I've decided to quit worrying about it.
 
Mine always Passes, no exceptions unless too many GPS breaks % from too much spirited flying.

What didn't work on my skybeacon was mode 3 or C until I ran a dedicated ground to the firewall forest of tabs.

It gave ATC fits before I figured out it was not sensitivity based, but local nav light ground not cutting it for their sniffer tech. It would replace mode 3A 1200 with the translated mode C altitude and altitude changes were delayed by several second even in perfect coverage conditions.
 
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I think that I finally have my tailBeacon performing as intended. I now consistently pass the PAPR report and almost always end up with zero error anywhere.

In case anyone struggles with this in the future, my solutions:

1. Mode 3A Fail - This was easy, just adjust the transponder threshold.

2. NIC Fail - This one was simple to remedy, but took a while to figure it out. The sky/tailBeacon has its own internal WAAS GPS. Other than via the iOS app, you cannot really monitor its performance except for the first few minutes while the beacons Wi-Fi network is still accessible.

Anyhow, for me the trick has been to turn on the nav lights as soon as I start up the engine, and give it at least ten minutes to get a position lock. Without a position lock, the NIC will fail. So, the simple solution is to slow down and allow a lot of time for the beacon to get a position lock on the GPS.
 
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