Best 'out of the box' combo for skyecho2?

[danny_galaga]

I am going to buy one soon. I don't have a tablet yet, and reading though a couple of threads here I see several people had trouble with android. This is a bummer because I was going to get a galaxy. So please list your combo of efb software and tablet brand and whether that combo worked straight outta the box with your skyecho2. I'll hold off getting a tablet. Im too lazy to fiddle with settings 😄

 

 

Edited January 13, 2023 by danny_galaga

[Thruster88]

I have a 5yo Samsung s3 tablet, ozrunways and SkyEcho2. Has always worked. 

 

I do lose the ozrunways telstra delivered traffic when the tablet is wifi ing with the SkyEcho2. Suspect this is due to age of tablet not being able to do both?, it is a 3g unit, old.   

[coljones]

I have a 2 yo Samsung tablet, RWY and SkyEcho2. The combo can be set up to pick up both ASSB and OzRunways traffic. If you, also, get the Speedify app it works like a breeze.  The OzRunways knowlege base has a variety of details 

[Thruster88]

54 minutes ago, coljones said:

I have a 2 yo Samsung tablet, RWY and SkyEcho2. The combo can be set up to pick up both ASSB and OzRunways traffic. If you, also, get the Speedify app it works like a breeze.  The OzRunways knowlege base has a variety of details 

I must be doing something wrong. Just tried ozrunways with SkyEcho2 at home on my new Samsung phone, have mobile coverage but can't get oz traffic and adsb traffic at the same time. Knowledge base has no info for android on this issue.  

[coljones]

1. try Speedify. It combines data from Wi-Fi and data from mobile into 1 stream. it is free and gives you 2GB / month of streaming data.  In use, except updates, RWY doesnt use much data and Speedify can be disabled when you aren't using SkyEcho.

 

or 2. A bit trickier

2.1 manually connect (not auto connect) to the SkyEcho-xxx via 192.164.1.4 and setup the skyecho ICAO, callsign, transmit etc.

2.2 disconnect from the sky echo but leave Wi-Fi on (Wi-Fi not connected to anything) If you are doing this at home you might have to prevent the tablet from autoconnection to the home Wi-Fi.

 

at this point the tablet will not try to talk via Wi-Fi but will route data via the mobile network.  As the SkEcho picks up ADSB-in data it will send messages out via port4000 on Wi-Fi which will be picked up by the tablet (and RWY if it is setup to listen for GDL-90 (UDP port4000)).

 

I am lucky, I live under the Mascot northerly flightpath (there goes another on) so it is easy for me to test it. (Now ANZ106 @15,00 feet)

 

Part of my prep at home is to configure the SkyEcho and have it set up for the next flight (QFA737 just went past at 3000').  I have had a bit of finger trouble such as leaving the ICAO address set to the previous plane, this confuses ADSB consolidation sites as it thinks that there are 2 planes in the one spot.  If your transponder has ADSB out the skyecho out should be turned off. (BAW16 just went past at 1900' - might be something wrong with its baro)

 

Cheers

(QFA043 just went past at 2000')

 

 

Edited January 13, 2023 by coljones
spelling

[Neil_S]

Hi Danny,

 

Not sure if you wanted ipad info too.

I have ipad mini 5, AVPlan and Skyecho2. No problems with setup or use.

 

Cheers,

Neil

Edited January 13, 2023 by Neil_S

[danny_galaga]

1 hour ago, Neil_S said:

Hi Danny,

 

Not sure if you wanted ipad info too.

I have ipad mini 5, AVPlan and Skyecho2. No problems with setup or use.

 

Cheers,

Neil

Yes, that's exactly what I want to hear! If say ten people here have the combo of iPad/avplan working seamlessly, and two have some other combo that isn't quite as straightforward, then I'm going with the crowd 😃

 

All my life I've, for one reason or another gone with the option less used, and often felt frustrated by that choice. This time, I'm going to be with the in crowd 😄

[tillmanr]

I ran a Skyecho for a couple of years connecting easily with my iPad 9.7 and backup mini.  Easy instructions from Ozrunways to get ICAO registration and then setup on the iPads. Simples

[coljones]

2 hours ago, danny_galaga said:

Yes, that's exactly what I want to hear! If say ten people here have the combo of iPad/avplan working seamlessly, and two have some other combo that isn't quite as straightforward, then I'm going with the crowd 😃

 

All my life I've, for one reason or another gone with the option less used, and often felt frustrated by that choice. This time, I'm going to be with the in crowd 😄

The Android combo may give 30 seconds of pain but it has given years of gain.

Edited January 13, 2023 by coljones

[Kyle Communications]

I have a Samsung tablet and Ipads and the android version of Ozrunways and Avplan are both crap. Very slow and just not nice to use. I would stick with the Ipad versions

 

[coljones]

1 hour ago, Kyle Communications said:

I have a Samsung tablet and Ipads and the android version of Ozrunways and Avplan are both crap. Very slow and just not nice to use. I would stick with the Ipad versions

 

Which Samsung do you have?

[Kyle Communications]

Galaxy TAB A.   SM-T515. not impressed at all..the Ipad is far far better

 

[coljones]

I don't fly beyond 150kts VFR. 

 

I have not experienced any performance issues with RWY on Android. 

 

Because of the bulk of OzR maps and plates it is best to have a 64gb 4/5G tablet.

 

I find the bigger tablets a problem with causing obstructions and would prefer 7-8 inch.

 

Col

[RossK]

Danny, depends on what type of pain you want.

The Skyecho with ipad, just works, no connection issues

The Skyecho with Samsung (Android) requires 30 seconds of changing System settings and then works.

I've had 2 Ipad overheat issues, none with the Samsung.

Samsung tablet was $400 cheaper than the equivalent Ipad, I could buy 2 Samsung tablets for one Ipad and have change to spare.

Avplan has more features on the Ipad vesion than the Android one

So pick your poison.

[danny_galaga]

3 hours ago, RossK said:

Danny, depends on what type of pain you want.

The Skyecho with ipad, just works, no connection issues

The Skyecho with Samsung (Android) requires 30 seconds of changing System settings and then works.

I've had 2 Ipad overheat issues, none with the Samsung.

Samsung tablet was $400 cheaper than the equivalent Ipad, I could buy 2 Samsung tablets for one Ipad and have change to spare.

Avplan has more features on the Ipad vesion than the Android one

So pick your poison.

Now I'm more confused than ever 😄

 

I THINK cooling will be ok as I will be using a RAM mount, so plenty of air circulating around. When you say 30 seconds of fiddling. Is that a once off, or every time you want to pair it? If every time, then that's a problem because sure as eggs imma forget to do that until I'm in the air, where I don't want to be fiddling.

[RossK]

26 minutes ago, danny_galaga said:

Now I'm more confused than ever 😄

 

I THINK cooling will be ok as I will be using a RAM mount, so plenty of air circulating around. When you say 30 seconds of fiddling. Is that a once off, or every time you want to pair it? If every time, then that's a problem because sure as eggs imma forget to do that until I'm in the air, where I don't want to be fiddling.

The Android problem is Skyecho connects to the tablet via wifi, so your EFB thinks this is an internet source, which it's not. So you have to tell the tablet that your EFB only uses Mobile Data, so you get ADSB traffic from the Skyecho Wifi and EFB traffic from the mobile data. The Apple versions of the EFBs seem to have this function integrated, so it's easier. 

 

For Android, you can set it up so it's a once off.

Basically, you change the settings so Av-Plan or Oz Rwy only uses mobile data, not wifi data. Which means your EFB will always be using mobile data, even for chart and ERSA upgrades.

If you're not concerned with you Mobile Data usage, you can set it once and forget it.

Tight arses like me like to use WIFI at home to reduce our mobile data usage, so we switch back and forth each flight.

 

I've had an Ipad overheat in a RAM mount after 25 minutes into a flight. This was the second time it happened, so I cracked it and bought the Samsung, and sold the Ipad for more than double that.

 

I haven't decided which I prefer actually.

The Ipad is easier to use and the EFBs have more functions, some of which I do actually miss. 

But the Android tablets are significantly cheaper and so far, I've not had it overheat. Even though I've had backups when it's happened with the Ipads, is a major pain and a huge distraction. 

 

With the overheat issue, I'm in a perspex bubble, so worst case scenario.

Edited January 16, 2023 by RossK

[RossK]

I've been reminded of something that I omitted above.

Any other apps that need internet that you want to use whilst the Skyecho is connected also need to be set to mobile data only.

ie, web browser, weather apps, spotify, etc

[kgwilson]

If you don't have Ozrunways or Avplan, Enroute Flight Navigation is a free navigation App that runs on anything Android and has the Skyecho as a traffic receiver interface which works really well. I use it on my phone and my Teclast tablet. Wifi connects automatically & yes you do not want other apps trying to use WiFi at the same time. Any app that allows GDL90 as an interface protocol will work with the SE2.

[graham brown]

Went Narromine last week and one of my sky echo’s was dead. It would not charge up and dead as a door nail. Home now and pulled it apart and checked the batteries. 0.97 volt. Connected a variable supply and meter to monitor the current and slowly charged it up to 3.7 volt or so. Then connected to the charger and charged it fully up over night. Works fine now but I still need to check the battery capacity.

I reckon it happened when I put it away in the case but left the suction cap on the plane. The cord in the pouch probably pushed the on/off button so it went flat. It can’t happen if the suction cap is in there as it holds the lid and pouch away from the switch.

 

[danny_galaga]

On 17/01/2023 at 10:07 AM, kgwilson said:

If you don't have Ozrunways or Avplan, Enroute Flight Navigation is a free navigation App that runs on anything Android and has the Skyecho as a traffic receiver interface which works really well. I use it on my phone and my Teclast tablet. Wifi connects automatically & yes you do not want other apps trying to use WiFi at the same time. Any app that allows GDL90 as an interface protocol will work with the SE2.

 

Handy to know. Might install Enroute Flight Navigation on my android phone so I can experiment once I get the skyecho2. There will be a bit of a difference though to a tablet other than size since the tablet will JUST be for the plane, and will have minimal apps on it, while my phone has dozens installed that may or may not want to use wifi.

 

Will order th se2 today and try and apply for that subsidy too.

Edited January 18, 2023 by danny_galaga

[danny_galaga]

SE2 ordered. 

[Old Koreelah]

I bought my SE2 months ago, before the start date of the rebate scheme. I waited until recent days to apply for the rebate, allowing plenty of time for the bugs to be ironed out of the system. Two hours wasted today; just as I was on the home straight, the plurry site dropped me out. 

Might start again in a week, after my blood pressure has recovered.

[kgwilson]

On 18/01/2023 at 10:08 AM, graham brown said:

Went Narromine last week and one of my sky echo’s was dead. It would not charge up and dead as a door nail. Home now and pulled it apart and checked the batteries. 0.97 volt. Connected a variable supply and meter to monitor the current and slowly charged it up to 3.7 volt or so. Then connected to the charger and charged it fully up over night. Works fine now but I still need to check the battery capacity.

I reckon it happened when I put it away in the case but left the suction cap on the plane. The cord in the pouch probably pushed the on/off button so it went flat. It can’t happen if the suction cap is in there as it holds the lid and pouch away from the switch.

 

They must have changed the packaging. The new ones come in a hard cover zippered case with the SE2 and suction cup in separate moulded compartments so there is nothing that can switch it on when packed.

Edited January 19, 2023 by kgwilson

[kgwilson]

I just had a look at mine and the suction cup does sit about 5mm higher than the SE2 in the case. It is a fairly hard cover though and the USB cable doesn't take up much room so I reckon there would have to be a lot of pressure to switch it on & the SE2 switch is recessed as well.

[coljones]

5 hours ago, kgwilson said:

They must have changed the packaging. The new ones come in a hard cover zippered case with the SE2 and suction cup in separate moulded compartments so there is nothing that can switch it on when packed.

The SE2 can easily be accidentally switched on in the case. I turn mine upside down (button in) to stop accidents.  I also use a bit of doubled over duct tape in the slot to assist with pulling it out.