2
$\begingroup$

I have a Garmin 530 in a Cessna 550.

It has a constant display of NXRG:x:xx in the upper right corner of a map page. It changes color (yellow and green are common) and the value of x:xx changes to some sort of code (see pictures)

Any idea what this is telling me?

enter image description here

enter image description here

Improve this question
$\endgroup$

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
4
$\begingroup$

It looks like the "weather product age" for NEXRAD weather data, i.e. how old the current data you're seeing is (see Pilot's Guide, p.13). The number is contextual, based on the weather information type:

The age of the displayed weather product—or the effective time of Winds Aloft predictions—is shown in the upper right corner of the display. For example, if NEXRAD is displayed, “0:05” indicates that the data are five minutes old. If Winds Aloft predictions are being displayed, “10:00” indicates the effective time for the displayed prediction is 10:00 AM.

In the first image, the data is 15 minutes old, in the second it's 6 minutes old.

The information and images on p.72 show that NXRG is "Region NEXRAD" and NXCO is "CONUS NEXRAD". P.70 also mentions NXRD, which seems to be just "NEXRAD" and it's used when no data is available.

As for the color, the manual says:

When the age of the displayed XM Weather product reaches one half of its expiration time, the color of the displayed time changes from green to amber

NEXRAD data is good for 30 minutes per the Guide, and that matches with the color change at 15 minutes in the first image.

Note: although the manual talks about SiriusXM providing NEXRAD data, ADS-B radar data is also from NEXRAD. Presumably the display uses the same abbreviations, regardless of which service provides the NEXRAD data.

Improve this answer
$\endgroup$
2
  • $\begingroup$ I brushed over that because the airplane does not have XM data. It DOES have ADS-B In however and this may be subject to the same display. In the manual, it has that data line as NXRD and the accompanying photo has NXCO (p. 70 same document.) $\endgroup$
    – dawg
    Sep 3, 2020 at 20:27
  • $\begingroup$ @dawg That would make sense, ADS-B radar is NEXRAD too. I'll update my answer to clarify that; thanks for sharing that info! $\endgroup$
    – Pondlife
    Sep 3, 2020 at 22:44

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .