Just thinking about buying something to runs SkyDemon in flight so any experiences/recommendations much appreciated. Looking initially at Samsung Galaxy Tab S 8.4-inch Tablet.
I’d rather not touch anything iXXXX – except with a hammer perhaps 
Anyway, I have a Nexus 7, and it is very good with hours and hours of battery capacity (if that is an issue). The only thing is, when flying the Cub it is too large, so then I switch to the Nexus 5. But I would imagine a Galaxy Tab with an Amoled screen to be the best because of the screen, and it is also better build quality than the Nexus 7, but rather large with 8 inches.
When it comes to Android, I think you get what you pay for. Samsung do great devices, but the best are just as expensive as the iPad. Plenty of cheap models around, but performance is a lot worse (as is screen readablity outdoors).
A great exception to that are the Google Nexus devices. Great hardware at a very good price. I’ve been using them for some years now and very happy. Some Samsung devices are grossly overpriced.
An external GPS will probably improve reliability, but it’s one extra thing to keep charged.
I use a plug-in external GPS for that reason. On one of my planes, I have radio batteries, intercom batteries, and (2x) headset batteries. That’s enough! On the other plane, with generator, I run the iPad mini with onboard power passed through the Bad Elf plug-in, using a cable I made for the purpose.
My GNS2000 is always connected to the airplane power, and so is my ipad mini in my kneeboard.
An external GPS will probably improve reliability, but it’s one extra thing to keep charged.
Not necessarily. I use the iPad with an external Bad Elf that lives on top of the dash at the end of an extension cable. No need to charge it, it’s powered off the iPad and doesn’t impinge much on the iPad’s battery life. There is also a cable (which I don’t have) that allows simultaneous charging of the iPad and connection of the Bad Elf.
Hi,
I’m not sure if this is a SkyDemon problem or a misunderstanding on my side. If it were a SkyDemon problem, I suppose I should file a bug report.
Sometimes (I’ve had two occasions now, for LJLJ and EDDK), SkyDemon presents me with an ATIS frequency lower than 118.000 which I cannot tune into (I do realize now, I could have used NAV for that, but didn’t figure that during flight).
SkyDemon gives you 112.700 for LJLJ, though the correct one IMO should be 128,175 (That’s also what the controller at LJLJ told me on approach).
SkyDemon has 112.150 for EDDK. The AIP actually provides both: 112.150 and 132.125. Besides those, Google gives me 122.100.
Partly I may have answered my own question already while I typed this. Is it common practice for aerodromes to operate multiple ATIS frequencies, some of them > 118.00 and some < 118.000?
In that case, I would consider it a nuisance, but not a bug, for SkyDemon to provide only one (arbitrary) of those frequencies in-flight.
Current info:
If you can’t tune it, it can’t be right – unless the ATIS is being transmitted also on a VOR ident frequency but even then it isn’t right to show it as “ATIS” because not everybody flying VFR will have a NAV receiver.
The screenshot shows both frequencies.
At the time of the flight, I only had 112.7 available (relying on SD). I suppose I could have double-checked with the printed approach charts that I had as a back-up, but it didn’t occur to me and I was busy navigating around Ljubljana anyway. So I ended up calling Tower with no ATIS and he passed me the active runway and QNH, no worries.
The question remains why are those two frequencies published?
A VOR can have a voice channel and this is a cheap way to get a backup ATIS.
File a bug report with SkyDemon, when there are multiple frequencies in the AIP, they should favor the one that is in the VHF range.
In case of flying IFR and experiencing a total com-failure it is good practice to check the VOR freqs of your destination airport (listen to the ident) for a message that ATC may have left there for you …
provided that the VOR receiver is still working
