Remote outlet control.

[Stan Schrek]

Just had a Reiff heater system installed. I'm looking for advice on a remote cellular outlet control. My plane is hangared. No wifi available. Can anyone advise of a system they have had success with?

[William Hughes]

I looked into a cellular switch a few years ago when my aircraft was out at a remote field and the costs just didn't make it worth it at the time. I ended up using a 7/24 block heater timer I picked up a Canadian Tire for a about $30.00. I would set the aircraft up for heat (small ceramic / fan electric heaters in the cabin and engine) and then set the time to come on a few hours before I planned to go flying.

I would either set it up a few days before during a nice day, or when putting the aircraft away, or if I had a scheduled flight.

Worked a treat and it was cheap. But I did have to plan a few days ahead.

[Tomoharu Nishino]

I've been using the Regal Pro from FST LLC (fstllc.com). Dual outlets which can switch independently, and can power two engine heaters (if you have a twin), or an engine heater and space heater for the cabin, if you want to warm the inside of the plane up. I chose them because they were one of the few available to be able to switch two outlets, and simultaneously handle the load of two engine heaters.

You interact with the switch by sending text messages to it. You can turn each outlet on and off independently. And you can also turn an outlet on, and set it to shut off after a specified number of minutes. It will respond with text messages reporting on status. You can also control which numbers it will accept commands from. The iphone app is really just a GUI front end that just generates and sends the appropriate text message. Not particularly elegant, but it works. The switch is on the AT&T cellular network, but you buy text messages in bulk and they expire after a few months.

They do seem to be a small shop, so support is a bit hit or miss. The current versions of their product has a 4G cellular unit in it. I was very surprised to learn that the unit I purchased in 2015 had a 2G cellular unit in it, which got bricked when AT&T turned off the 2G network on 12/31/2016. Worse, though was the fact that even though AT&T had public notices up regarding the shutdown of the 2G networks for months, I received a notice from FST on 12/30/2016 (1 day before the shutdown, and just when I actually started to need the preheater) informing me of the impending shutdown, and providing me with an option for a paid ($175) upgrade to a 4G unit---even though I had just paid $375 just 12 months prior. Needless to say, I was unhappy about this development.

The explanation that was given to me was that they 4G unites were not available previously (not sure I buy that), they only got evaluation units for the 4G cellular module right around the time AT&T announced the shutdown. It took them a while to test the new module. Then (and this is where the small shop part comes in), they started to inform customers in batches so that they could stagger the anticipated upgrade demand. Hence my receiving the notice one day prior to the network shutdown. I understand the constraints of small businesses, but still wonder if things couldn't have been handled better.

I'm waiting to get the 4G upgraded unit back, so I haven't tested out the new units.

My 2 cents.

Tomoharu

[Michael Bryant]

Numerous problems with the Witura switches, I bought one and will not buy another.

We recently bought the U-Phone-It cellular switch (also made by FST) thru Aircraft Spruce (exclusive distributor). Made in the USA, 4G, 2 independent outlets. Activated by call or text. Expensive at $292.00 (including shipping IIRC) but we felt we need to be able to depend on the switch.

Spruce has other options, as does FST, LLC you would order from them direct,

[Stan Schrek]

For now I simply picked up a 7 day programmable outlet control. I can get to the hangar a couple of times during the week and can set it for a weekend flight as the forecast permits.
Thank you for the input.