The service allowed for a higher broadcast bandwidth, which means more aviation weather products in a standard subscription. More on that in a minute.Ī few years ago, the merging of Sirius Satellite Weather with XM Radio brought into play a second constellation of satellites and a corporate division called SiriusXM Aviation. That’s not always the case with ADS-B-delivered FIS-B weather, and the deal breaker is you might need to be airborne to receive anything. Coverage is mostly limited to North America, but you’re almost always guaranteed reliable coverage on the ground if the antenna has a clear view of the satellites. The first-gen SiriusXM satellites (seven in total) were launched in 2000 and operate on the S-band spectrum. Garmin’s new aera 760 GPS is compatible with the GDL-series weather receivers for SXM and FIS-B data, and internet weather over a Wi-Fi connection. Back then, having weather in the cockpit not supplied by an expensive, heavy radar system or hard-to-interpret “atmospherics” device (like a Stormscope) was a real novelty.
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Garmin brought satellite weather to the cockpit with its GDL 69 permanent-mount XMWX (and Sirius XM entertainment) solution, plus several portable GPS units, including the GPSMAP 396, 496, 696 and aera 500/796. Weather-fanatic pilots started flying with datalink weather receivers long before ADS-B came on the scene. Subscription-Based SXM Satellite Broadcast In this article, we’ll help sort it all out, with a look first at weather tech. And where will you mount the unit? No, it’s not an easy decision. Then, figure out where you want to display this data-on a portable navigator or on a panel display or on a tablet app-or all of the above. You’ll also have to select a weather source, either subscription satellite broadcast datalink weather from SiriusXM or ground-based no-cost ADS-B data. The weather receiver you think you want (or already have) may work with your panel gear, but not with your favorite tablet app, and vice versa. And there’s more to it than selecting the hardware. There are dozens of portable receivers at various price points, plus a handful of higher-priced, permanent-mount receivers to choose from. But if you haven’t shopped the market lately, get ready for overload. For most of us, the tablet computer that’s become a staple in the flight bag just isn’t complete without a wireless weather receiver.