Account Renewal

[tarbat]

Good reply Airnav Dev.  I accept that many will find the network excellent value for money.

Its just a pity that there's no way of making the cost relative to the use.  I simply can't get value from it using it for just a couple of hours per month, whereas others using it 24x7 pay the same amount.

I'm not complaining.  Just thinking that you could probably retain network users like me by offering alternatives to a flat-fee annual subscription.  At least I can continue to use Planeplotter.

We have quality and we will continue to work nonstop to add more features.
All we want is to keep our customers happy and we will continue to work to achieve their needs/suggestions.

Hope that includes getting Flight IDs for all aircraft, including Loganair, Flybe, etc.  Thats way more important to me than the network!!

[tarbat]

Well, that's it.  9pm and network access has gone :(   Someone let me know if any Radarboxes get sold to anyone in Orkney, Shetland, or the Western Isles, because I've got no way of seeing if they ever appear on the network now!!!

[RodBearden]

Can't spot any yet, Tarbat, but I'll keep a lookout for you :-)

Rod

[tarbat]

This pictures shows so clearly why I'll stick with Planeplotter.  I could never get this coverage with the Radarbox network in my part of the country.

[Allocator]

I wonder why not?  I can see stuff almost down to ground level at Edinburgh and Newcastle on a quiet Sunday morning using the Network.

[tarbat]

Well, I've got no way of comparing now, but yesterday when I was testing out the Radarbox network before losing it, I was getting nothing in the central belt.

You've got me wondering now whether there has always been something wrong with my connection to the Radarbox network........

[Allocator]

I've tried to capture these 2 shots at more or less the same time - only about 30 seconds between the two.  PP at the top and RB at the bottom.  RB will be 5 minutes delayed of course.

[tarbat]

Surprised that you can't see the aircraft I'm sharing on the RB network - BMA751 and COA97 for example.  I'm really wondering whether there's a problem with my connection to the RB network now.  Maybe a firewall problem?

Does RB definately still upload aircraft to the RB network when your sub expires?

Here's what's on my RB map - http://www.tarbat.gofreeserve.com/radarbox.htm

[Allocator]

If you are PQ, then I can see your ac on PP.  I've also got IS, PW showing too.
KT
Here's another shot of your area, these must be your RB shared tracks?

[tarbat]

Okay, thanks.  Yes, looks like my sharing on the RB network is working okay.

Now I've got to decide whether to continue sharing on the RB network as well as the PP network.  Unfortunately, sharing networks are a bit like religions.  The more people that join your religion (network), the better it is for everyone in that religion (network).

Anyway, at least today the skies are busy once again.

[Terry]

This is a Q. for Tarbat.
                                 After reading the above posts i was curious to see just what the volume of traffic is like around your part of the world,and am happy to report that i don`t think i`ve seen so many a/c over and off the n/w of the country,plus with the users in N Ireland a/c way out into the N Atlantic.
       
           Regards Terry.

[EK01]

Tarbat,

Just wondering if your RB is having problems with coverage of the Central Belt. I stay in this area and there is plenty traffic in this area on a daily basis. Lots of transatlantic flights will track over Newcastle and then head for Glasgow before heading west. This , in addition, to the local Glasgow, Edinburgh and Prestwick flights. As Allocator says there is usually plenty happening in this area.

[bratters]

Interesting thread.

Network is a facility based on symbiotic relationships between individual participating users and Airnav, the latter in the capacity of enabler.

Basically if two RB users wish share data with each other, Airnav acts as facilitator and charges for the service.

Just how much that service is worth, either to the individual user or to Airnav itself, will ultimately be established in the old-fashioned way - market forces.
If you don't want the information in the first place, you're certainly not going to pay for it and you will probably untick your share flight data box on principle.
If on the other hand you particularly want the service, you will know what you are prepared to pay, taking into consideration alternative means available.
If however you just see Network as a bit of an extra and not an essential part of RB, then I suspect you will only be happy with a very  "nominal" fee.

Is £50 up front nominal? Hmmm........

[tarbat]

Well, I didn't normally use the network most of the time.  However, when making the decision yesterday on whether to pay for another year, I did check the RB network for a couple of hours.  There was practically nothing in the central belt, other than the high-level transatlantic aircraft that I can receive on my own hardware anyway.

For the RB network to be worthwhile to me, I need RB users north of me covering Orkney, Shetland, and in particular the Western Isles.  I tend to lose coverage over Lewis, Harris, etc., and would really like to see aircraft tracking west of the Western Isles.

[bratters]

Exactly tarbat. Unless you particularly want to see aircraft at a range in excess of say 100nm or you have a blind spots, Network is not a necessity.

That makes the economic viabilty of the system "fragile" in as much as a withdrawal of subscribers in any numbers would lead to its immediate collapse - nobody is going to pay anything for non-existent information - much the position you find yourself in.

The big unknown factor in the debate is just how much the cash flow means to Airnav.