Scale Soaring Forum - Which Vario

Lars Wikstrom Team Member Offline Posts: 53 Reigate, Surrey, UK	Which Vario 03/15/10 at 11:50:31 Hi, I am thinking about buying a Vario to understand how high or low height I am flying at. What would you suggest? My TX is MC-24 in 35 Mhz. Many thanks Lars
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Barry_Cole Championship Member Offline Fly Wookie Airlines Posts: 866 Hampshire UK	Re: Which Vario Reply #1 - 03/15/10 at 11:53:56 Lars, The piccolario. Not the cheapest, but still the best. BC
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Andy.Meade High Flyer Offline Posts: 285 Stratford upon Avon	Re: Which Vario Reply #2 - 03/15/10 at 14:04:58 Anyone use the Jeti system? Was thinking of the upgrade to 2.4 later (much later!) this year, so was contemplating that as it has the vario plug in for the RX.
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Roberto Alonso

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Re: Which Vario
Reply #3 - 03/15/10 at 14:24:52

I feel not many people will have enough hands-on experience with a range of varios to be able to say this one or that one is best (not discrediting Barry, far from my intention!).

I'll put my bit in saying that I'm very happy with a WStech unit I bought second hand: vario tone, nice altitude, voltage and weak signal announcements in a female voice, and several TX-selectable modes of operation which I have grown fond of despite not thinking much of them at first. Specifically, when thermalling in weak conditions on the slope I like a mode that instead of altitude readouts gives me altitude change every half a minute or so ("plus twenty", "minus ten", etc). Very nice.

Then again, i could be using the worst one in the market and not know it. In that case, any one will be sweet! Wink

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B Sharp

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Re: Which Vario
Reply #4 - 03/15/10 at 14:44:27

Hi Lars. I had a Picalorio for a couple of years and it was good.
I am now using the "Sky Assistant" from Pitlab of Poland. It does everything that the Picalorio did + a bit more. It reports back vario, altitude, Rx voltage, rate of climb, radio events, range issues etc automaticly or at the flick of a switch. It also logs every flight for a number of parameters - altitude, Rx voltage, PPM signal, radio events (glitches or interferance), temperature, rate of climb, etc, etc. This can then be downloaded to a PC and saved. This can then be displayed on a graph format. I have found it very easy to programme (PC interface) and very easy to use.
Brian.

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Marklincs Buddy Box Member Offline Scale Soaring is Fun Posts: 41 Lincolnshire,UK	Re: Which Vario Reply #5 - 03/15/10 at 15:35:47 I have just gone for one of these: http://www.rc-electronics.org/ the altimeter pro 2 and T1000 should be here tomorrow! total cost 184 pounds but seen one in action and looking forward to playing with it.
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Lars Wikstrom

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Reigate, Surrey, UK

Re: Which Vario
Reply #6 - 03/15/10 at 19:59:25

Thanks for all good advice, after your good advice and reading, I also like the SkyMaster but I think the possible trouble of connecting an TEK module might make me buy a Picolario Undecided

we will see, clearly the SkyMaster has many good features and a better price.
Where would you recommend you would by the Picolario or does anyone have a second hand?

Thanks Lars

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Elliot Howells High Flyer Offline Posts: 377 Shropshire	Re: Which Vario Reply #7 - 03/15/10 at 20:52:03 WSTech also has TEK probe if you want it
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Elliot Howells

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Re: Which Vario
Reply #8 - 03/15/10 at 20:57:34

Andy.Meade wrote on 03/15/10 at 14:04:58:

Anyone use the Jeti system? Was thinking of the upgrade to 2.4 later (much later!) this year, so was contemplating that as it has the vario plug in for the RX.

Hi have the Jeti Vario Andy, it's okay, but sadly not a patch on a 'proper' vario as far as i can tell. Main problem is the lack of variable tones, the nice warm moo moo's of the wstech / piccolario etc. are much more tolerable than the computery beeps of the Jeti module. Good for height readings though and at £50 a bargain I guess....

The rest of the Duplex stuff is ace though and highly recommended.

Ell.

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flyingseale

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Scale Soaring is Fun

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Dorset, UK

Re: Which Vario
Reply #9 - 03/15/10 at 22:55:58

I decided to go down the Jeti route. I haven't yet bought a vario but will do so soon. From what I've read it can be programmed to tell you (beep) when it reaches a certain height which will be useful for knowing when to release from a tow. It can also tell you (different beeps) whether climbing or sinking. And it logs maximum height...useful to know just how high you were in that boomer of a thermal, I guess.

What it doesn't do it tell you (voice) your actual height so you'd have to get a helper to read the display for you unless you wanted to take your eyes off the model and do it yourself! And it doesn't have an earpiece, so everyone can be annoyed by your beeping. Although you can turn the beeping off using a switch on the tx if you have a spare slot on your receiver. Finally, it doesn't tell you the receiver voltage, but this is built into other parts of the Jeti telemetry anyway.

All in all I guess anyone who has used a 'proper' vario would consider the Jeti offering to be a step backwards, but for £50 I can get information that I've never had before so it's got to be worth a try. And there's always the hope that they bring out a better Jetibox and Vario in the future...please?

Mike

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Graham Stanley

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Coventry UK

Re: Which Vario
Reply #10 - 03/16/10 at 09:15:00

Hi Lars

I have had a couple of Jeti vario since they came out. I also have a couple of Piccolario and have owned them for a long time. The Jeti has some very good features, but as a glider vario it's not a patch on the Piccolario. If I were buying a vario, as opposed to just an altimeter, I would be going the Piccolario or Sky-assistant route until Jeti sort out much better vario tones.

For use in my tugs, Jeti is the best, as I can set an alarm height and rate of climb / descent alarms etc... But for thermal hunting the Jeti tones are simply on or off, not the progressive and subtle changes of a "proper" vario.

For reasons I have not yet got to the bottom of, my Jeti vario does not always log the maximums etc.. from each flight. The range of the duplex feedback is less than the radio control range, and it seems that a reset might occur if the feedback signal is lost, loosing for instance the maximum altitude. More testing needed to resolve this this year.

Also see Neil Stainton's site http://www.hyperflight.co.uk/products.asp?cat=Variometers

Graham

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« Last Edit: 03/16/10 at 09:24:40 by Graham Stanley »

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chas Team Member Offline Posts: 96	Re: Which Vario Reply #11 - 03/16/10 at 10:26:51 And if anyone wants to sell a Picolario (in metres) I would be interested in purchasing !! regards Chas. sandhays..
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B Sharp

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Re: Which Vario
Reply #12 - 03/16/10 at 14:45:00

Hi Guys.
I have discovered the Pitlab Sky Assistant has all the features that you mention and at a price of just over £200 from Nei Stainton at Hyperflight it is a good buy. You can programme alarms for altitude , voltages, rate of climb/sink, etc. You can also program the vario for the rate of sink of your individual glider so that normal glide path is silent rather than a continuous groaning tone.
It is certainly proving to be a more useful unit than my Picalorio.
Brian.

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Lars Wikstrom Team Member Offline Posts: 53 Reigate, Surrey, UK	Re: Which Vario Reply #13 - 03/16/10 at 20:38:02 Hi, After reading all your contributions I think I am getting back to the Skyassistant or the WStech, having a probe seems a good idea and tuning the Skyassistant for normal sink a big plus. I now only have to find better glases to see the glider or go from 4 to 6 meter. Thanks Lars Many thanks Lars
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Roberto Alonso Team Member Offline a.k.a. zero-zero Posts: 96 Spain	Re: Which Vario Reply #14 - 03/17/10 at 10:19:03 For what is worth, the WSTech unit can be adjusted to "normal" sink too. Never bothered to do so myself and it probably wouldn't help much, since the vario jumps from model to model purely on my whim.
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