Sirius XM Weather Feed Support

potatohead

potatohead

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I desperately need iFly to support Sirius XM Weather for at least two primary reasons:
  1. Flying in remote areas without cellular service and not being able to get ADS-B until we are in the air, is awful. If we could get XM Weather while on the ground we'd be able to make make safe Go/NoGo decisions while still on the ground.
  2. And, having the more timely (and accurate) radar is a game changer for in-flight decision making when one must divert for weather.
https://www.siriusxm.com/aviation

One final reason. I absolutely do not want to buy that other EFB software. I think iFlyEFB works great on a $129 8" Samsung tablet. I cannot do that with a the other EFB.

Are you unable to do this because Garmin won't open their systems to you? Sounds like a monopoly to me. Shall we call our legislators?
 
Upvote 3 Downvote
I do know that AP has tried to interoperate with other Garmin products in the past, and Garmin has never been receptive to cooperation with them. I think that's the biggest problem--there is no XM receiver out there that will allow AP to connect iFly to it.
 
Maybe we can "kill two birds with one stone". I understand Garmin's desire to limit enabling their competition. They are in this to make money and allowing people to use Garmin products on anything but the Garmin EFB would conflict with those goals. That said, somehow FF got access. Did they have to buy their way in? I don't know. But what iFly approaches Sirius XM Weather group? Sirius is in the market to make money too! Is seems like they would benefit from a more open hardware provider to increase their subscriber numbers. Do they even know iFly exists? They need to know there is another EFB platform that would like to use their WX feed and they need to know it can't because presumably Garmin isn't allowing it. Sirius has perhaps only three options: 1) Ignore iFly, 2) Contractually require Garmin to open their system, or 3) find another company to compete with Garmin. That sounds like a 66% chance this will work. Could we get the iFly guys to approach Sirius XM WX and talk to them about this? If we are lucky and they choose option 2 that might, be the 2nd bird, and open iFly to receiving ADS-B data from Garmin products too. Wouldn't that be a nice bonus?!
 
I'm not saying what you suggest can't be done. However, ForeFlight is owned by Boeing, and AP is a small, independent business. The doors that open to one won't always open to the other.
 
I totally agree. Last I looked Boeing was a bit larger 😛

That said, I think we first need to know if AP is interested in building the integration into iFlyEFB. It's pointless to get XM WX on board if AP isn't willing. After we have that confirmation, AP and the rest of the interested iFly users could contact Sirius XM and let them find a way to make the data feed available to AP. If those door shuts at least we know we tried, but if enough potential subscribers knock on XM's door, maybe they will listen.

Let's see if this threat gets more traction. The new forum only has 92 members right now.
 
I thought I should bump this thread to the top to see if we get comments from new members. Granted I'm being selfish about this feature request, because of an upcoming 1,000 mile x-country where I know I'm going to miss having it.
 
I might be missing something. I know the Sirius wx is good, but is it that much better than what we could get w wx from the FIS-B uplink?
On the planning side, Windy.com does some pretty neat stuff. Have had good luck w their projection accuracy.
 
bobw75087 said:
I might be missing something. I know the Sirius wx is good, but is it that much better than what we could get w wx from the FIS-B uplink?
On the planning side, Windy.com does some pretty neat stuff. Have had good luck w their projection accuracy.
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Re-read bullet #1 in the OP. His use case is being on the ground in the boonies with no other data available.
 
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It appears that the only way to get Sirius XM is a SiriusXM SXAR1 or a Garmin device. Can a non-Garmin EFB connect to any of the Garmin devices for Sirius XM data? Is the data feed from a SiriusXM SXAR1 in an open format that will connect to any EFB if the EFB is capable of reading the data stream? It appears that the SiriusXM SXAR1 does connect via Bluetooth which is good. That way, one can use ADS-B in via WiFi for TIS-B and Sirius XM via BT for weather. Can a user select which ADS-B in services to turn on or off? Or is ADS-B in an all-or-nothing service?
 
@Gatormyk: Replies 2-5 in this thread address some of your questions.
 
Cobra said:
@Gatormyk: Replies 2-5 in this thread address some of your questions.
Click to expand...
No mention of the SiriusXM SXAR1 and it appears it is no longer being manufactured. So currently if you want Sirius XM in small planes, you gotta drink the Garmin Kool-Aid. Unfortunate....
 
@Gatormyk I agree there is currently limited XM WX receiver hardware, but that's exactly why I posted this. SiriusXM is in the business to sell data feeds subscriptions. If we knock on the SiriusXM door, they may either 1) make a more open receiver, or 2) contractually require Garmin to open their hardware. However I don't think we should approach SiriusXM until we know if AP would be willing (and have the time to) incorporate this data feed into iFlyEFB. Admittedly XM WX is not for every pilot, but the lack of it will may keep some pilots from using iFlyEFB. Maybe @Cobra could setup a survey in order to gauge the demand to help them prioritize the product development roadmap.

And for those still wondering the difference between ADS-B and SiriusXM WX, here is an AOPA Air Safety Institute comparison that covers a lot of the relevant differences.
 
potatohead said:
Maybe @Cobra could setup a survey in order to gauge the demand to help them prioritize the product development roadmap.
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I think your OP/this thread already takes care of that. Folks can vote on your original post at the top of this thread.
 
I have a 396 GPS mounted in a panel and presently it's only function is to provide a screen for Sirius XM wx and music ocassionally. Sure would be nice for that IFLY EFB to pick that feature up. And that 396 could go to the museum. Any chance of that?
 
Just in case people want a bit more up-to-date information about this topic. I just got notice via FAASaftey that they are doing a webinar on SiriusXM vs ADS-B. If you participate you also get WINGS credits :)

Click here for more information about this FAASafety seminar scheduled for November 16th, 2023 at 19:00 EST
 
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