In general, the Garmin GDL51, GDL52, and Sirius SXAR1 XM receivers provide more weather products (such as lightning, cloud tops, storm tracks) with greater coverage than the Sentry or other ADS-B receivers, while also avoiding issues like coverage gaps and minimum reception altitudes. The Sentry, however, does not require a weather subscription. Below is a table with a full comparison of weather products.
| DATA | ADS-B WEATHER VIA Sentry | SIRIUSXM WX VIA Garmin GDL51, GDL52, or SXAR1 | NOTES |
| METARs | Yes. Low altitude stations provide data within 250-500nm. High altitude stations provide wider coverage | Yes, CONUS, Alaska, Canada, Mexico, Central America, northern S. America, Caribbean, and Hawaii | |
| TAFs | Yes, within 250-500nm | Yes, CONUS, Alaska, Canada, Mexico, Central America, northern S. America, Caribbean, and Hawaii | |
| Winds/Temps Aloft | Yes, within 500-1,000nm | Yes, CONUS, S. Canada, and Puerto Rico | |
| Graphical Winds Aloft | No | Yes, CONUS, S. Canada, and Puerto Rico | |
| PIREPs | Yes, within 250-500nm | Yes, CONUS, Alaska, Canada, and PR | |
|
Composite Radar |
Yes, for CONUS and some local U.S. regions elsewhere | Yes, CONUS | ADS-B NEXRAD is hi-resolution within 250nm ring, lower resolution outside of that. |
| Base Reflectivity Radar | No | Yes, CONUS, S. Canada, and PR south to Grenada | |
| NEXRAD Storm Cell Attributes | No | Yes, CONUS and PR south to Grenada | |
| Radar Echo Tops | No | Yes, CONUS | Requires ForeFlight version 8.3 or newer. |
| Cloud Tops | Yes, CONUS | Yes, CONUS, S. Canada, N. Mexico | Requires ForeFlight version 8.3 or newer. |
| Graphical Turbulence | Yes, CONUS | Yes, CONUS, S. Canada, N. Mexico | |
| Graphical Freezing Level | Yes, CONUS | Yes, CONUS, S. Canada, N. Mexico | |
| Graphical Icing Level | No | Yes, CONUS, S. Canada, N. Mexico | |
| Lightning | Yes, CONUS | Yes, CONUS, Canada, Mexico, Central America, northern S. America, and Caribbean | |
| Surface Analysis | No | Yes, CONUS | |
| Surface Wind | No | Yes, CONUS | |
| Surface Wind Analysis | No | Yes, CONUS | |
| TFRs | Yes, within 100nm | Yes, CONUS, S. Canada, and PR | |
| NOTAMs | Yes, within 100nm | No | |
| AIRMET/SIGMET | Yes, within 250-500nm | Yes, CONUS | |
| Special Use Airspace status | Yes, within 250-500nm | No | |
| Reception Coverage | See latest map for enroute coverage | CONUS and S. Canada, ground or airborne (with sky in view). See coverage map | ADS-B generally available above 2,500' AGL but gaps exist |
| Month Fee | No | Yes | GDL51, GDL52, & SXAR1 require the SiriusXM Pilot For ForeFlight subscription |
| ForeFlight Subscription | Required | Required | ForeFlight plans and pricing |
Notes: Distance ranges refer to distance from transmitting ground stations currently being received.
ForeFlight Mobile 10.2 or later required for use with GDL51 or GDL52.
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