The Anywhere Map Quadra
Handheld GPS has come a long way in aviation. Gone are the days of remote mounted antennas, and monochrome displays. Today, Handheld GPS systems are fully functional primary use displays that allow for full color displays, terrain mapping, weather updates and imaging, touchscreens and even use in automobiles. I looked at several units at Sun n Fun 2010 this year as all the major players were present. Garmin, King, Avmap, and Anywhere Map. Quick side note, I have been told that Lowrance Aviation products is no longer supporting the aviation sector.
Here’s what I found as needed features for my GPS of choice:
Touchscreen – Touchscreen GPS systems allow for the use of the entire screen and the ability to point and pick what the user wants at a given moment rather than the use of menus or a cursor. Further, touchscreen would allow for a more compact handheld device overall. Those of you who used older Garmin units can attest to the difficulty of mounting a large handheld GPS in a small two place aircraft.
Full Color Vivid Terrain – As aviators we need to stay in the sky and away from hard terrain and any GPS function, like terrain mapping, would be a welcome addition to the safety of the aircraft and its occupants. Although the majority of my flying is done in “Flatland Florida”, terrain mapping with obstacle avoidance is useful for pointing out any far reaching antennas in the area. For those pilots that fly in areas with actual terrain, the terrain function can be a godsend for providing situational awareness.
Full Color Updatable Weather – Why not? Everyone runs into weather difficulties at some point while aviating and the situational awareness offered for the addition of XM weather updates is wonderful. I am in no way stating that you should skirt weather by using your weather capable GPS to find “holes” to fly through, as thunderstorms especially should be given a wide berth. However, the information of what weather is where in your flight path and how the Air Traffic Controllers are describing the weather will allow you to make a more informed decision on your best options to proceed. It’s very enlightening to have that kind of technology aboard a 63 year old airplane but one should not be lured into a false security due to the technology.
Sectional Charts – Wouldn’t it be neat to see your course plotted over a sectional chart in your GPS? Yeah I thought that would be neat too. The advantage here is that the sectional charts would be at your fingertips in a different way. Ever try to fold out or refold a sectional chart in rough weather? Yep that was no fun. That’s why I thought it would be great to just look and recognize where you are on the unit and the chart at the same time! Think of it as a new form of pilotage.
VNAV – I had this function on another GPS unit I once owned and missed it. It allowed a precise decent profile to pattern altitude based on a certain altitude to arrive at the destination airport above the airport elevation. This function typically adjusts for speed and is displayed as virtual decent to fly while inbound to the destination.
A word of caution: Don’t forget to be aware of your surroundings while using VNAV with a GPS. If you are not careful you could fly into something hard that would ruin your day that was placed between you and the airport. This is where the GPS having a terrain function would assist greatly, not to mention some looking out the windows in VFR weather.
Price – We all know that avionics are pricy but I didn’t want to spend a fortune on a unit. A computer buddy of mine told me once about new technology, “The technology advancement will double while the price comes down by half. Just wait”. So I also looked for the best value and deal in handheld GPS systems knowing that most of the units should be able to fit my criteria.
Ability to Expand and Update – We all have bought electronics that became out of date in short order. I wanted to attempt to have a Handheld GPS unit that I could expand with the addition of traffic or other uses over a period of 3-5 years. This would give me good life in the hardware and technology while allowing me to not have to purchase the next best thing and relearn the new product every time something new comes out in the market.
Wireless capability – Read this one as Bluetooth capability. The reason this is important is that I didn’t want to have difficulty linking several sources to the GPS due to additional wires in the cockpit. Remember, it’s a handheld and not an installed GPS. I also didn’t want to have an external GPS antenna to feed the unit data so it would have to have an internal antenna unit. Typically Weather Worxs XM weather receivers are using Bluetooth technology to link weather to the GPS and the same can be said for the traffic sources.
So I perused the grounds at Sun n Fun in a push button happy mode looking for a GPS to review based on the following personal criteria and settled on the Anywhere Map Quadra system (named for the Spanish explorer and navigator) you will find reviewed below.
The Unit
I chose the Quadra EFB unit to review. It’s small, but not short on uses. This unit is weather capable but also can provide VFR sectional charts in a GPS overlay as well as digital low enroute IFR and even geo-referenced approach plates for approach procedures. This allows the pilot to see the aircraft fly over the plate and reference all the arrivals (STARs) and departures (SIDs) in the plate. Neat huh?
Another great feature that is provided to the Quadra EFB and its sister unit the Quadra MAX is the seamless view of the sectionals. The EFB also has the low enroute IFR Charts. I have not seen another GPS do this before. Additional items like VORs, airspace boundaries, private airports, Victor airways, terrain awareness and warning system (TAWS), along with XM weather, obstacles (not terrain), state lines, lakes, and TFRs can be displayed over the top of any of the digital chart background for a totally custom and interactive moving map.
The unit itself is fits in your shirt pocket and is no bigger than a typical Blackberry Smart phone. The mount for the unit will fit most airplane yokes and other mounts are available from Anywhere Map if you have a unique mounting need.
How to use it
Plug and play is the format here. It needs no special tasks to bring the unit up to speed so just power it up and let it acquire your position. As I noted before there are lots of ways to make the Quadra “look” and do what you are looking for regarding your flying. Personally I prefer Track-up viewing and other parameters regarding the navigation of the aircraft. The Quadra is unique that you can choose from 5 basic screens/ views including terrain, low enroute, weather, night and even an emergency screen. Further you can even create your own by tweaking the information shown on a certain basic view and have a saved personal view that you like best.
Flying
Like McDonalds has proven, pictures usually work better than words and pilots are no exception when flying. The D with an arrow through it is “fly direct”. The picture of the “Pilot” will allow the user to create certain notifications for the flight including activating fuel pumps, fuel tank switch reminders, a spiral dive warning and even a landing gear notification. A picture of a “Tool Box” allows the pilot to access menus including a logbook for the flights used, trip meter, weight and balance (E6B), overall GPS settings and more. The “PP” logo allows the pilot to access the Pocket plates IFR approach plates mode of the unit. There are also pictures of a magnifying glass for the zoom feature and an emergency icon (an exclamation point) to press in an emergency situation. On the whole, the unit has all the icons / functions needed to allow the pilot to use the unit for any situation in flight.
The unit is unique in that if you have weather information you can program the Quadra to add that information to any screen view that is used. Each view is totally customizable for the user. I tended to use the sectional page for the VFR flying that I do the most. I added weather to that view and also added callouts for frequencies.
Using the Quadra in flight is easy. For my mounting preference I like not to have to look down so I added it to a RAM mount I had in the airplane to put it just below my sight line. When I was flying that allowed a quick look slightly down to see course information and the other features of interest.
The Quadra seemed to update quickly during turns in the airplane and also was fairly easy to navigate with when flying. I changed zoom views as well as destinations while in the air and the Quadra picked up those requests up promptly.
After landing at the airport, I selected “Taxi Diagram” by touching it on the screen and actual airport diagram showed up on the screen. This feature will allow the user to see where exactly they are on the airport for ease of taxiing. This feature is usually included in only the most expensive of units but with the Quadra it’s a standard feature.
Upsides
Ease of Update and downloads – Most GPS systems must have a special program or cable to download updates. The Quadra is different. Through a WIFI enabled connection the Quadra does all its updates and all on its own. The user just pulls up the update section screen of the unit and the Quadra tells the user what updates are needed and asks which ones the user would like to install. It’s very simple.
Another great feature is the ease of updates for the software that makes the unit run. The Control Vision staff is always looking to improve their units. As an Anywhere Map customer you’ll be privy to new features and formats for your Quadra that are free of charge.
Database Costs – While we are speaking of downloads, the Quadra has very reasonable costs to keep it current every year. The cost to keep a Quadra Basic or MAX current is only $115 per year. With the max that includes current Sectional Charts and Taxi Diagrams. The cost for the IFR friendly EFB version is only $260 per year. Other manufacturers units charge twice or three times that to keep current.
Weather – Adding weather is as simple as asking the Anywhere Map staff. All of the Quadra Systems can handle weather with the addition of the Bluetooth hardware WX Worx system. Its $695 and has no wires running to the Quadra.
Price - The price for what the unit offers the price is not only competitive but the best in its class. Better than that, I’m told that offers show up time to time on the www.anywheremap.com website for discounts and upgrades for the Quadra.
Downsides
Only a few downsides exist and they are not deal breakers in my opinion.
Zoom - The zoom is for viewing is not a conventional “+” or “–“ but a selection from the main viewing page to another menu that allows the user to choose a certain range for detail. For me, I would have rather pressed a “zoom in” or “zoom out” selection on the main screen and see what works best for my certain need at a particular time. Also I found that a 15 mile zoom selection would have been useful to a certain degree. At the time that this article went to press I spoke to an Anywhere Map tech member and he told me that a revised zoom feature is in the works.
Portrait Mode - I’d like to use the unit in this mode as I like the longer axis to be vertical but the Quadra does not currently work in that mode. However, the manufacturers of the Quadra, Control Vision, noted that there is a forthcoming update, free of charge, which Quadra users can download to their unit for that very use.
Separate Weather Equipment – for those using the weather capabilities of the unit a XM weather works interface is needed. The good news is that the Quadra “sees” the weather equipment via a Bluetooth link to the unit meaning that the Quadra has no bundle of wires running to it besides the power cord. The bad news is that the user needs to find a place for the weather box in the aircraft and make sure it receives 12volt power from a socket plug. This is not a major hurdle given the fact you will be getting weather updates in the airplane.
Verdict
It’s a keeper. I thought the unit delivered solidly on the tasks that I saw as needed GPS elements for my flying uses. The Quadra can perform a variety of uses that the other GPS handhelds can and at a fraction of the cost. The user interface takes some getting used to when coming from another manufacturer but once you have figured out the flow of the menus using the device is really easy. This unit is now my GPS of choice due to its size, simplicity, value and available functions.
Additional information on the unit reviewed in this article can be found at www.anywheremap.com .
About the author: Herk Strumpf is a vintage airplane enthusiast / pilot and button pusher that has been reprimanded in the past for asking the hostess to see “Bob” at the local Bob Evans Restaurant. herkstrumpf@yahoo.com