SDS CDI vs Pmag

[rv6ejguy]

Will do Wednesday. I'm still catching up after Reno.

[rv6ejguy]

I got an email today asking about the CPI2 face plate size.

Initially, we were planning an instrument with about a 2.75 X 2.75 inch square footprint in order to fit the larger LCD screen. We could also go up to a standard 3 1/8 round face. Our original goal was to take up minimal panel space for new builds but perhaps many existing aircraft will have a spare round instrument hole open.

Any preference? Should we offer both?

[Chkaharyer99]

Thanks for asking.

My 1st preference is a 3 - 1/2" multi-color display, sized to fit standard 3-1/8" instrument cutout.

Second preference would be a standard round instrument, the size you use in your SDS EM-5 FI system.

BTW, I met and spoke with Bill Beaton at Reno about his experiences with the SDS system. All good.

[rv6ejguy]

On the CPI2, we looked at doing a color MFD but the development costs put that outside the market for this device which is intended mainly to compete with the P mag, Surefly, Electroair and Lightspeed ignition systems. Most of these have no or no standard human interface available. Also, since programming is nil or minimal, it does not warrant such a display for just showing timing, MAP and a few other simple parametera 99% of the time.

The larger 12 X 2 display simply won't fit into a 2.25 round package along with decent sized buttons so it must be larger than that.

Appreciate the comments and glad you talked to Bill who's been flying and racing our stuff.

[6 Gun]

I suggest that you make the unit blind behind the panel and WIFI the out put to a Droid pad that will show what the SDS EI is doing in graphs.Program the unit through WIFI and have as many programs as you want like for each altitude you fly,climb,and descent,LOP and best MPG.And that's just the start of possibilities.
Thanks Bob

[rv6ejguy]

Originally Posted by 6 Gun

I suggest that you make the unit blind behind the panel and WIFI the out put to a Droid pad that will show what the SDS EI is doing in graphs.Program the unit through WIFI and have as many programs as you want like for each altitude you fly,climb,and descent,LOP and best MPG.And that's just the start of possibilities.
Thanks Bob

For blind mounting you could just use the existing CPI.

There just isn't much to do with an ignition controller that requires such a screen or interface and we couldn't justify development the development time or expense in this market.

A complete engine controller with fuel and spark, that's a different matter because there's a lot more going on and you want a lot more info available. The next gen EM-X will be quite different in this regard and other regards but that's another project, separate from the CPI.

[Toobuilder]

A D-10 style head unit would service the steam as well as glass crowd, but I struggle with devoting that much real estate to an ignition system. The current CPI has some great SA features, but really, once it is programmed you really don't pay any attention to it. It's not an EMS... It's a "set and forget".

[Larry DeCamp]

Yes, I am mounting 2ea CPI in -4 with limited panel. The boxes will go in a hinge down mounting from the bottom of the instrument panel. Logic used is you do need to fiddle with it from the cockpit initially as opposed to the avionics deck under the boot cowl.

[tspear]

Thinking way outside the box.
You really only need the screen for setup, or trying to determine what a problem is. So after configured, 99.9% of the time it is wasted space.
Therefore, a miniature version of something like this:
http://www.eclipserackmount.com/prod...xoCy5AQAvD_BwE

The screen, and any controls slide and hide into the panel.
So when not used, the front face could be a 1/2in tall and three/four inches wide....

Tim

[DanH]

Ross, for CPI, perhaps a Wifi or USB connection to a remotely mounted controller isn't so crazy. It really is set-and-forget for most people.

The EDIS ignition I'm flying is set up via USB. Works great. It's only a pain when trying to use my clunky old laptop in the RV-8 cockpit while flying, something only us wackos tend to do. I'd LOVE a connection to my android phone, hard wired or wifi.