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RV-12iS Avionics - XM radio?

M

mweidman

Member
It looks like there were some changes made to the available equipment for the -12iS avionics. There used to be an option with Garmin G3X for ADS-B in with optional XM radio. I no longer see XM radio referenced anywhere but I do see ADS-B in is now standard on Garmin packages. Does that imply XM radio is also now standard, or is that no longer an option?

Order form is here: https://www.vansaircraft.com/order-a-kit/order-rv-12is-avionics/
 
mweidman said:
It looks like there were some changes made to the available equipment for the -12iS avionics. There used to be an option with Garmin G3X for ADS-B in with optional XM radio. I no longer see XM radio referenced anywhere but I do see ADS-B in is now standard on Garmin packages. Does that imply XM radio is also now standard, or is that no longer an option?

Order form is here: https://www.vansaircraft.com/order-a-kit/order-rv-12is-avionics/
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Unfortunately, XM is no longer an option with the kit. That being said, if you really want XM in your system you can buy the GDL51 portable XM receiver and connect it with Bluetooth.
 
Hmm.. they were using the GDL for optional adsb-in, since the GTX 35R didnt support adsb-in.. so is the 45R now standard and theres no GDL at all?

For what its worth, although XM is useful today, I won't be surprised to see it fade away in 5 years from now. Starlink, officially available for GA aircraft last month, can provide high speed (100 Mbps) Wi-Fi/wired access to the internet while in flight.. which means you can stream all the music and in-flight movies you want.. along with weather data. I would not be surprised at all if Garmin develops a device similar to the GDLs, which uses Starlink instead of XM as way to get weather data into the cockpit systems.. data would come in faster since it wouldn't be necessary to wait for the next scheduled broadcast of a particular weather product or NOTAM. Since there's two-way communication.. the device could also provide Wi-Fi to phones/tablets, along with a reliable way to do Pre-Departure Clearances direct into the system. The antenna has gotten smaller, 12"x12", but would need to shrink even more before Garmin could make it into a garmin-level product offering -- so I think its still a ways out.. but it has to be on someone's roadmap already...
 
FWIW, I really enjoy having the XM setup in my airplane. If you want it at all, there are other obvious ways to play music but they are fiddly and distracting enough that I wouldn't bother. Fairly simple touch controls integrated into the G3X is a nice experience. Talking with other pilots I know I'm in the minority on this, but not the only one. If I were building again I would plan to sub in the GDL somewhere along the way.

Garmin may come out with all kinds of things some day. I have a Starlink now and I think a GDL type integrated data link is something I would subscribe to in a heartbeat, but it's a nothing more than a line on a wish-list as far as playing music goes in 2025.

5 years is a good over/under and if we were close enough to meet up down the road I'd bet you a $100 Burrito trip on the over, and be glad to lose. :)
 
Good point, thanks. You have Starlink now? Does the standard Starlink antenna (presumably mounted somewhere inside the aircraft) work in-flight?
 
mweidman said:
Good point, thanks. You have Starlink now? Does the standard Starlink antenna (presumably mounted somewhere inside the aircraft) work in-flight?
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The short answer is that it does not work in the airplane, at least not for me. There was a short period of time with the mini that pilots were successful. Starling closed the door on that pretty quickly with a 100 mph speed limit. To have it work in the air at higher speed requires a plan that most consider cost prohibitive, I don't recall exactly but it was over $200/mo.
 
mweidman said:
Good point, thanks. You have Starlink now? Does the standard Starlink antenna (presumably mounted somewhere inside the aircraft) work in-flight?
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I have it suction cupped in the rear window. It works very very good.. It can cut out momentarily when you are in a steep turn.. but for most "normal" turns as part of a flight plan, its rock solid. I was able to make Facetime calls OK and stream to YouTube OK. Then as Nate said, it disables itself if it is travelling too fast. I also measured the temperature of the plexiglass, since the "antenna" gets very hot -- and there was negligible rise after 15 minutes sitting on the ground with it turned on (the 1/4" air gap between antenna and plexiglass was enough).

As of today, there is still some ambiguity and discrepancies as to what the speed limits are. For the $50 Roam and $165 Roam Unlimited plan, you can travel at max 100. For the $250 Mobile Priority [50GB] plan, its 250. The ambiguity is the speeds.. 100 and 250 what. This link says knots. This link says mph. Through my own testing, the limit is mph.. so unless you want to slow down to about 85kts, then you're going to have to fork over $250/month.. which isn't worth it in most cases.. just based on how many days/hours average pilots fly per month.
 
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