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-   -   Pix of the new GRT Horizon Hxr Installation (https://vansairforce.net/community/showthread.php?t=110224)

bweiss 02-27-2014 01:59 PM

Jay,
The new panel looks great. I am sure you will enjoy flying it. Tom helped me on my plane as well and you are right, his work is perfection. Up in the northern states we are still hangar bound with temps below zero and lots of snow. I hope to get out this weekend weather permitting.

Tim 8-A 02-27-2014 04:48 PM

It seems like it was yesterday when you were trying to decide which way to go.
I had the SX in my 8a and loved it. The EIS 4000 is bullet proof, you have a good combo and I'm sure you will love it.

Walt 02-27-2014 05:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jjhoneck (Post 857793)
Here's a kicker: After a bunch of troubleshooting, we discovered that the GRT Horizon can switch INTERNALLY (with a soft button) between the Garmin 300 and the GRT.

In other words, the gawd-awful-to-wire switch with 26 wires going to it is redundant. It is not needed at all.

Well, that's not entirely true. IF the GRT screen ever goes totally blank, switching the switch to the 300 side will take the GRT entirely out of the loop. But with it switched to (what we thought was) the GRT, the EFIS can actually see both the 300 and the GRT's own GPS.

The irksome thing about this is that the guy who drew up the electrical diagram for us was obviously unfamiliar with the Horizon Hxr's capabilities. We wired it up PRECISELY to the specs provided, and it turned out to be unnecessary. We received bad information that cost us a day and a half, plus materials.

In defense of Stein and his guys, as much as I like GRT equipment, it seems like everytime I install or have to modify the wiring I'm on the phone with them to get info that is not readily available in the diagrams or the text of the install manual. Their manuals and sample diagrams leave too much to the imagination and sometimes what I/we "assume" is correct because that's the way it "normally" is, may not be true with the GRT. So if you ask me the problem here was likely not with Stein but with GRT's lack of supporting documentation.

jjhoneck 02-27-2014 08:07 PM

Our autopilot is a terrific TruTrack Digiflight II. The thing has been perfect, so we kept it in the panel.

We flew 1.5 hours today. The GRT (and all other avionics) worked perfectly -- EXCEPT the GRT still isn't talking to the autopilot. Argh.

When I engage the autopilot, it starts tracking...something. It ain't the course to the destination in either the Garmin or the GRT, but it very precisely and persistently tracks it! lol

But everything else was AWESOME. Ran a stall regime to calibrate our airspeed indicator, swung the magnetometer on a nearby compass rose, and flew a couple Highway In The Sky approaches. Wow, those are COOL.

I plan to spend an hour or three on the phone with Stein tomorrow, going through every single setting.

Walt 02-27-2014 08:46 PM

And don't forget for the new system to be "legal" you will need to certify the new transponder/altimeter/altitude encoder (assuming you are now using the GRT as the encoder).

jjhoneck 02-27-2014 08:55 PM

Speaking of which -- how do I determine the discrete code to program into the GRT's transponder that is transmitted? The N number part is obvious, but there's another code that it's asking for. The guys at Stein didn't know.

Here's a pix from today's flight. Wow, what a difference!


Walt 02-27-2014 09:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jjhoneck (Post 858085)
Speaking of which -- how do I determine the discrete code to program into the GRT's transponder that is transmitted? The N number part is obvious, but there's another code that it's asking for. The guys at Stein didn't know.

Go to the FAA website and pull up your N number, the hex and octal codes are both listed.

http://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinqu...m_Inquiry.aspx

jjhoneck 02-28-2014 09:17 AM

Thanks, Walt!

catmandu 02-28-2014 04:48 PM

Jay, don't try to squeeze the black out of the stick, it can't be done.

Less PC tips for flying available via PM. :D

BobTurner 02-28-2014 06:04 PM

26 wires?
 
Once you get things sorted out, I can pretty much promise you that you'll always use the EFIS to control the autopilot - it's just much easier. (You also get heading hold, and VOR, ILS tracking if you have a nav, which the TT won't handle on its own.)
But having that switch so you can run the autopilot directly off the G300, in the event of an EFIS failure, is not a bad idea. I only count 9 wires: 2 ARINC and one Serial; one triplet from the EFIS, one triplet from the G300, and one triplet to the autopilot. What are all the other wires for?


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