Monroy Portable Traffic Alert System

[DeflectionShot]

Anyone here have any experience using this? I am thinking of getting one but want to make sure it's worth the investment. I looked at the Stratus ADS-B portables for my Foreflight I-pad mini but the traffic alerting is restricted to aircraft with ADS-B OUT which must be installed on the aircraft. Besides I am not sure I would get ADS-B coverage in my part of the country (prairies).

https://www.aircraftspruce.ca/catalog/a ... raffic.php

[vanNostrum]

'' I am thinking of getting one but want to make sure it's worth the investment''


No experience with the Monroy system

I have a Zaon XRX PCAS thet I used for a short time in 2008 IIRC
It detects transponder equipped traffic and displays a primary target and two secondaries at any given moment
It gives distance,relative altitude, whether climbing or descending and where to look , in one of four quadrants
It did pick up traffic near and far as advertised
With the traffic  insight , some times  I did notice a lag between a change in the relative position and  the display on the screen
Some times in bussy traffic areas like the circuit, it did not picked up all the traffic inmediately
Other times it did picked up traffic that was close enough but I had not seen and prompted me to re doubled my effort to scan outside

Do I think it is worth it?
Yes as long you understand its limitations
CAN'T EMPHASISE ENOUGH [font=verdana][size=2px]It [/size][/font][size=1em]IT IS NOT A SUBSTITUTE FOR PROPER SCANNING![/size]
It wilL NOT PICK UP ALL THE TRAFFIC ALL OF THE TIMES
Think of it as carrying another person helping to spot traffic, nothing else
Dont fall into a false sense of security , keep your scan as sharp as if you never had installed the equipment
Remember that when your attention is on the screen you are not looking outside
Having said this, I did like it and found it help full
It is one more tool

[DeflectionShot]

[quote]It is one more tool [/quote]

Thanks VanNostrum. I was looking at this as an enhancement given the many uncontrolled airports around here. I was also interested in the Zaon TCAS products but apparently they don't make them any more. The XRX looked a little bulky to me ;-).

[tommywcom]

I have been using my Monroy for a couple of years now. It works as advertised.


I didn't pay extra for the external antenna version so I don't know the actual direction of the traffic. But I do get alerts when I'm supposed to. Of course, there are also times when I eyeballed traffic but no alert (but that can be due to various reasons).


It does have some idiosyncrasies like everything else. Eg. Sometimes the audio alert would take place but the LCD shows nothing. In my experience, it does mean there is traffic but somehow the visual is not there.


I would imagine that this product will end up being EOL'ed soon (ie. Stopped being made) because it's US made and almost all planes will have ADB-S in a couple of years. So I don't know if support will become an issue like the Zaon (although Zaon just plain disappeared).


Overall, I'm very happy with the product. I think it's well worth the money.

[ramjet555]

A school I worked for in Montreal used these.
When they work, they are very accurate and reliable.


I had one that kept showing traffic that did not exist.


It would give the impression that an aircraft was following you
with constant never ending alerts that just did not exist.


You could test it every way you wanted, on the ground or in the air
and it was very good at issuing warnings for the aircraft that you did not see.


Its not until use one that you discover how many aircraft are around that you have not seen
or cannot see.


It's worth its weight in gold when it works.
When they fail, its a false sense of security and the lack of warning in a busy area raises
the collision risk.


Ramjet