September, 2004 AVIONICS, ELECTRICS, & CONTROLS

Sep 2 - Karla called me at the track and said my Mid-Continent Turn Coordinator came in today.  I'll check that out next week, when I am home.  I am here at NHIS for another 5 day racing weekend.  I am updating the web site during my down time at the track.  Also did more followup with the BMA discussion group and Eckhard on the transponder/encoder issue.  0.5 hr

  got the Mid-Continent turn coordinator.

Sep 3 - Got a call from Gene about my Panel Planner email.  I'd written them on Monday that I wanted a refund, and I'd gotten no reply to that email, so I'd called Discover yesterday to dispute the charge on my account.  Gene said they'd had a fire in the office, and that's why no reply.   I had offered to work with them on debugging their new Java version, and Gene indicated he was willing to work with me on it.   I had quite a number of issues I was not happy about; regarding their production version, their web site, their update process, their delivery process, and other issues.  He helped me take care of a problem that had come up in Panel Planner Java on Monday, just before I gave up on the product.  Gene is the President of One Mile Up.   Every time I talk to him, I feel better about the aforementioned "issues".  He seems like he gives a damn, so I am always quite willing to be very flexible with people like that.  Anyway, Gene & I got things back on track, and he had me send my panel file to their developer, Andres, who fixed the corruption in it and sent it back.  So, that got me hot on Panel Planner again, and I spent a bunch of time playing with it and figuring out how it works & making notes on what doesn't work or I can't figure out.  4.5 hr

Sep 6 - worked on Panel Planner Java version.  Sent some more questions & suggestions to Andres.  2.0 hr

Sep 7 - Continuing the big "round & round" about the altitude encoder for the transponder.  Eckhard continues to insist it must be a TSOd encoder.  I called EAA and talked to Mark in their Aviation Services Department about it.  He referred me to the "Equipping a Homebuilt for IFR" document, which I already have read many times.  He said that I, as the builder, provide an affidavit certifying that it meets the TSO spec, based on what the EFIS manufacturer said, and on the fact that it (presumably) passes the calibration tests.  He also said I can, as the mfg, certify that it performs to the spec, or I can just install it myself.  He reiterated that amateur-built aircraft are NOT required to meet TSO.   Then I called Todd at GRT.  He suggested I just hook it up myself and bypass Eckhard.  He said they have over 300 planes flying with it, but some shops still refuse to certify it.  He said the GRT EFIS meets the TSO spec, and he will send me an email stating that.  I sent emails to Greg at BMA and Todd at GRT about this.   In the evening, I got a response from Greg on it.   He said he has over 500 in the field, and they have no problems.  He reiterated that it's up to ME to verify that it works correctly.  He would not say his does meet the TSO spec.  I did get a straightforward reply from Todd at GRT, though, saying that their encoder does meet the TSO spec.  I forwarded that to Eckhard.   I also got the new Pillar Point Avionics low fuel indicators (actually their OLD style).  After bench testing them, I decided I liked the new style better, after all that trouble, so I packed up the old style to send back to Dennis at P-P.   5.0 hr

Sep 8 - Received my Grand Rapids Technologies (GRT) EFIS.  It was packed well, but not as fancy as BMA.  The GRT also came with all cables, and the BMA didn't.  On the other hand, the cables that the BMA came with were complete, enclosed cables, while the GRT was more like lots of individual wires to connectors & needing to be connected to the connectors.  It's interesting to see the differences in approach each manufacturer uses on their hardware.  I also received a reply from BMA regarding my request to return the BMA autopilot.  They want a 20% ($700!!!) restocking fee.  That, and Greg's reticence on the TSO issue, is not making me smile about BMA right now. 

I still have no response from Andres at One Mile Up on my Panel Planner questions & suggestions.  That about tears it for me and Panel Planner.  I thought maybe I could work with them, but their responsiveness is just TERRIBLE.   AUG, '05 update - I tried Panel Planner again, and it's the same old crap again.

I bench tested the GRT EFIS, after spending a bunch of time untangling and connecting all the loose wires.  The GRT EFIS consistently shows my altitude as 130' more than the BMA does.  The GRT magnetometer apparently works differently than the BMA magnetometer.  If you turn the BMA mag, the heading changes.  With the GRT the heading changes are picked up primarily by the AHRS, and the mag is just a correction factor.  I also hooked up an ammeter, and measured how much current each EFIS draws.  The BMA is about 3.5a, and the GRT is a bit over 2a.  I has some problems powering up both EFIS systems at once, even though the Radio Shack power supply is 25a (I recently exchanged the transformer-based 10a power supply for a smaller, lighter, switching 25a).  I had some questions about the operation of the GRT EFIS, and I emailed them to Todd at GRT.   Todd replied with answers, including telling me that I'll need to recalibrate the altimeter.   4.5 hr

  I received my GRT EFIS system after waiting about 6 weeks.

  Here is the LT side of my panel, with the BMA EFIS, GRT EFIS, and Garmin 530 (just a picture for now) set into place.  This is just about where they will go.

  Here is the bench testing setup for the GRT EFIS. 

Sep 9 - More work on bench testing GRT EFIS.  It still does not always come up, even when powered alone.  I think the time it didn't come up with the BMA EFIS was just coincidence.  Input voltage was 13.84, so that seemed good.  Called Todd & talked about issues.  He'd said they'd seen the powerup issue, but he thought it should have been fixed in my unit.  He said they will send me a new display.  In the afternoon, I noticed that my wind generator was severely damaged, so I spent the rest of the afternoon dealing with that.  Also spent some more time in the evening bench testing the GRT EFIS.   2.5 hr

Sep 11-12 - gone to Fulton, NY for RV Forums

Sep 13 - I decided over the weekend to keep the BMA autopilot and return the Turn Coordinator.  Instead of the Tru-Trak a/p, I will get a third EFIS, the Dynon.  The reason I wanted to swap out the a/p was because the T-T has its own attitude reference system.  With 2 EFIS systems, I need a TC.  Between the money I save by not swapping out the BMA a/p, and the money I will get back by returning the TC, that will pay for 2/3 of the Dynon.  Then I will have even more backup and useful cross-checking info at hand.  If I had it all to do over again, I'd get the T-T a/p and the BMA and GRT EFISs.  But this new plan will give me a third attitude reference system, so if one goes bad, I'll know which 2 to believe.  2.0 hr

  so this is now what my panel will look like, with all 3 EFIS systems.  I plan to use a simple automotive CD & MP3 player, probably with Sirius satellite radio.

Sep 16 - Ordered my Dynon EFIS system.  They said it would take 2-3 months to get it!  Received new GRT monitor.  Spent a couple hours bench testing the GRT and BMA EFISs.  Reported a problem to BMA about how the heading bug works erratically.  Late night work on BMA troubleshooting and attempting BMA software update.  5.0 hr

Sep 17 - Resume BMA update troubleshooting.  Finally got some files from Bob, the tech at BMA, and got the BMA update done.  I didn't think the software update helped much with the heading bug problem.  The problem with the heading bug is the way they handle quick turns of the knob, versus slow turns.  If you turn it slowly, the bug moves slowly.  That's fine.  If you turn it more quickly, the heading bug move quickly.  Sounds normal so far.  But if you turn the knob TOO quickly, more than a "medium" speed, then the CPU ignores it and moves the heading bug slowly.  So, if you turn the knob a bit too quickly, the knob moves slowly.  Then if you slow down your knob turning rate a bit, the heading bug speeds up.  I found this very annoying, and very easy to repeatedly overshoot what you're aiming for.  Greg kind of gaffed it off on the discussion group, so I gave up trying to talk about it.  2.5 hr

Sep 22 - got my new Pillar Point low fuel level indicators (their old style).  Didn't like them as much as the new ones, so I sent the old style back.

  This is the new style indicator for the Pillar Point low fuel warning system.

Sep 23 - Been busy cutting & splitting firewood for the coming winter.  Also laid up a couple days with a quite smashed big toe.  Received Dynon magnetometer and OAT probe.   

  I received my order for the Dynon magnetometer and OAT probe.  The probe is HUGE!  The little thing under it is the BMA OAT probe, for comparison.  The BMA CPU/AHRS and A/P servos are BIG and HEAVY, compared to the others, but for the other components, the BMA is the smallest.  When I ordered my Dynon EFIS, I asked that the magnetometer and OAT probe be sent now, so I got them pretty quickly.  The EFIS will take 2-3 months.

  Here are the magnetometers for the 3 EFIS systems.  L-R is Dynon, BMA, GRT.  These are all oriented as they must be in the plane (fwd is up in this pic).  The GRT is huge and the Dynon mounts oddly.

Sep 24 - Still hashing over the TSO encoder issue with Eckhard.  Sent email to Portland, ME FSDO about it, requesting their ruling on the matter.  1.0 hr

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