Is XM Weather Worth It VS Adsb in?
 

I currently have a sentry with FF.
Just wondering if anyone has FF with XM Weather and what your thoughts are?

Ask some of our Canadian members - XM is the only choice up there.

In a nutshell, XM offers a larger number of specialized weather products, and offers slightly higher radar resolution than FIS-B (ADSB-IN). The data may be more recent as well, by a matter of several minutes.

If it were a race, XM would win by a comfortable margin. But when you throw in the cost factor, the tables are turned.

FIS-B is 100% free in the USA. Receivers can be built or bought, both at very low cost.

XM has varying subscription levels, but even the most basic is $40+ dollars per month. Dedicated XM receiving equipment must be purchased. $$$

So do you want the Cadillac for $40 (or more) per month, or will you take the Buick for free?

Up here in the great white North we don't have FIS-B, nor are we likely to.

Some people have reported getting signals from some of the US ground stations in certain spots if they're high enough.

XM is our only option if you want real-time weather. The two downsides are 1) you have to pay for the subscription, and 2) the coverage area does not go very far North.

It is definitely a nice to have. Would be nicer if you could get the weather and music on the same subscription.

I have both XM (primary) and ADS-b. I prefer XM but don't like the cost. I may choose to discontinue and some point in the future but right now I'm still playing the game with Sirius XM.

One item to consider is that XM is available on the ground before you launch. Also with having both side by side XM has some better feature that are not included with ADS-b but seems that ADS-b is catching up and adding more features

I noticed when flying near the coast the sentry is “marginal” a lot, thats what got me thinking about XM.

Since last week, I've been pondering the same; XM vs. ADS-B.

I did some flying out in the Gulf behind the last hurricane, inspecting platform damage. Normally, there is good radar and ADS-B coverage in the populated lease blocks, along with ZHU communication. There was none in the wake of the storm. The StrikeFinder paid for itself, along with the money spent to sync it to aircraft heading a bit earlier this year.

The patrols were five hours and it would have been nice to get a satellite picture at set intervals. I'm too far out for coastal radar coverage so that does not play into the consideration.

Can anyone comment on the XM satellite image products, do they have IR satellite images as well? I'm prepping before sunrise.

I'm also thinking about an HF radio.

A great side-by-side comparison of ADS-B vs. XM
 

Thanks mshac, I've read the article and a few others (most through Sporty's iPad News), but I would like to see if XM has Gulf of Mexico specific satellite products like FF has. Of course, once out in the Gulf XM would provide the radar images along the coast, what I'm facing on the way back onshore.

I'm lucky with the ADS-B. There is an antenna overlooking my hangar ramp. I have everything on the ground before departure.

Attached is an image of Sirius's service and plan prices. I have Sirius for my vehicles, no breaks for the additional services.

They do broadcast satellite images, saw one of the Gulf.

As far as Radar (times do not include actual transmission times; antenna to processor, processor to repeater, repeater to aircraft)

• ADS-B:
  • Within 250 nm of aircraft
    • Transmits every 2½ minutes
    • Updated every 5 minutes
  • Over 250 nm
    • Low resolution
    • Updated every 15 minutes
  • Lighting
    • Cloud - Ground
• XM:
  • Transmits and updates every 2½ minutes
  • Lighting
    • Cloud - Cloud (developing activity)
    • Cloud - Ground (dissipating activity)