Discussion about Avidyne TAS600 being able to see and display standalone ADS-B contacts – eg SkyEcho 2 in aircraft not equipped with transponder. Someone else has said from the manual:
SkyTrax600/TAS600(A) Release 2 (TAS-A Application Software 510-00296-000 or higher – See Section 4.3.3 of Installation Manual 600-00282-000) adds 1090ES ADS-B In capability, which permits the TAS to receive the position of nearby aircraft directly from other 1090ES equipped aircraft, indirectly using ADS-R rebroadcasts from UAT equipped aircraft, and from the ground for non-participating (aircraft without ADS-B broadcasts) using TIS-B. This information can provide a more accurate depiction of ADS-B traffic. The active TAS data is merged with the ADS-B data to provide a single hybrid indication of each aircraft using the best data available.So does this mean it can display standalone ADS-B devices? And how would it look on say a Sandel EHSI or G1000 display?
Also how does the software get updated – is it a new build standard or retrofit?
And is there an easy way to check software standard?
Many thanks for anyone who can help with info
Yes, the TAS6xx boxes can be upgraded to TAS6xxA, with a change of the main PCB and a payment of a few k.
Then it will show ADS-B OUT traffic which has SIL=1 or higher. See e.g. here. If the carrying aircraft also has a Mode S transponder then the receiving TAS6xxA box will correctly show it as a single target, because both the Mode S txp and the SkyEcho2 (with some conditions required) are radiating the same 24 bit aircraft ID. See here.
Most ADS-B OUT emitters in the UK are SIL=0 and will not be visible at all on a TAS6xxA.
There is no TIS in Europe.
The stuff about ground station re-transmission I don’t know but I am certain it is not viable in the long run – see e.g. this. The systems we are seeing now are IMHO just cynical marketing exercises to sell the countless and largely mutually incompatible EC boxes; it is much cheaper to do this than to buy advert space in mags (which nobody reads anyway) and it gets you favourable PR on social media.
The display on a Sandel EHSI should be fine, so Avidyne tell me. I know a TAS605 works with a SN3500 (like the RAF got in its Grobs) and I would be extremely interested to know that a TAS605A also works with it 
This far I have not seen a real live example, and I won’t go for the TAS “A” upgrade until I have seen it.
I think my SN3500 is v4.something and this is not critical to the traffic display. Avidyne swear blind that the ARINC429 traffic data stream is identical from a TAS605 or a TAS605A, but cannot lend me an “A” box presently.
BTW a TAS6xxA also needs a WAAS GPS input, to display ADS-B traffic.
