Automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast

ADS-B, which consists of two different services, "ADS-B Out" and "ADS-B In", could be replacing radar as the primary surveillance method for controlling aircraft worldwide. In the United States, ADS-B is an integral component of the NextGen national airspace strategy for upgrading or enhancing aviation infrastructure and operations. The ADS-B system can also provide traffic and government generated graphical weather information through TIS-B and FIS-B applications.[6] ADS-B enhances safety by making an aircraft visible, realtime, to ATC and to other appropriately equipped ADS-B aircraft with position and velocity data transmitted every second. ADS-B data can be recorded and downloaded for post-flight analysis. ADS-B also provides the data infrastructure for inexpensive flight tracking, planning, and dispatch.[6] - wikipedia

 I love having NEXRAD weather on board Sally. XMWeather was particularly useful during my last trip to Texas/Georgia and played a significant role in my enroute flight planning. However XM has a costly subscription tied to it and I'm always looking for ways to save my aviation dollars. I've been learning about ADSB but wasn't quite ready to switch over until I saw a post in SCFLIER.COM about a good deal on a Garmin GDL-39 ADS-B IN portable receiver. I decided to take the plunge and experiment with this new technology.

(First, General Aviation people are just great to work with. The seller took the time to thoroughly test the device and its sub-components BEFORE concluding the transaction.The deal went off without a hitch.)

I eventually plan to attach this to my 696 and remove the XMWeather antenna, but for testing purposes I'll run Garmin Pilot on my Android tablet and use Bluetooth as the connection technology. My first attempt failed. The tablet could find the device but gave an error code say it failed to connect. After multiple iterations and numerous Google searches it was time to call the experts. Garmin Support picked up immediately, asked a few questions and walked me through resetting the GDL39. Bingo, it works! ...at least sitting on my desk at home.

An added advantage for me is Traffic Information Service (TIS) for any aircraft that is transmitting ADS-B Out. Right now that only includes the Airlines and a few corporate jets so I'm not going to give up using Flight Following on my cross country trips.

Another technology in the cockpit. Remember to look outside!