Odyssey et al.

[morlino]

This is really starting to sound good.

I'm in the early stages of building my wings, are there any things to consider now? I assume this system works with Van's resistive fuel sending units. Anything special need to be done with the pitot? Anything else that should be thought about early on?

Edit: changed "resistive fuel gauges" to "resistive fuel sending units"

[JohnR]

Rainier, I look forward to seeing the unit at Osh. Sounds great!

[BillC]

Sounds very interesting but what is the resolution of the Odyssey? The Enigma also looks nice in the pictures but only has 1/4 VGA or 320X240 resolution (big pixels), while both the GRT and Dynon have over twice the resolution.

[craigvince]

So let me see if I understand. I haven't started on my panel yet, but priced a basic 6-pack plus very basic engine guages from Van's and ACS. It was over $5k for a basic vaccuum system round guage VFR panel. Or I could save $1k and buy an Odyssey. Hmmmm, I think I need to add this up again. Could it possibly be that it's cheaper (excuse me: less expensive) to have a 10" glass panel than to have a 50 year old technology panel?

[Ironflight]

Originally Posted by craigvince

Could it possibly be that it's cheaper (excuse me: less expensive) to have a 10" glass panel than to have a 50 year old technology panel?

I did the math several years ago when deciding to go steam or glass on my -8 project, and comparing apples to apples (IFR quality gauges, HSI cpability, etc...) the panel came out the same price either way! That was quite awhile ago in technological terms, so I am not surprised that with all the new systems coming out, the price point has tipped in favor of glass!

Paul

[Nomex Maximus]

Rainier -

Looks so good I might be persuaded to go glass panel even thugh I have a strong preference for steam gauges so far. And your price is excellent.

I work as an avionics software engineer doing FMS and flight display software for C-130, 787, 737, etc, and your stuff looks so much better than what we put into airliners and state of the art military aircraft. Looking at what you guys are doing makes me dread going to work tomorrow to wrestle with antique software driving MCDUs. The people I work with don't have a flying bone in their bodies, nor do they have a passion for flight.

Get that Odyssey working and I will probably buy one. It looks like a way better value than Garmin. Now if we could just get Innodyn to do with turbines what you guys are doing with flight displays...

--Nomex

[rjtjrt]

Quote "All of this in addition to our own databases which are open source, including maps - both raster and vector supported at the same time"

Ranier
Does this mean we can import maps (?topo maps) into yor data base.
At the moment the most useful program for me is using a PDA with a mapping program (Oziexplorer ot Fugawi) to display a GPS moving map with the actual aviation chart as the map.
If you could allow a Geo-Tiff of Tiff etc map to be imported into your unit it would sell like hotcakes in non USA areas, where most GPS and EFIS units maps are rudimentary. If we could import the maps we like (ie scan our own or buy digital maps from various sources) it would solve a very big problem for the non USA world.
John

[Rainier Lamers]

All our COM radios have external audio input. This is mainly intended for connection to our panels for voice promts and warnings but nothing stops you from mixing in a little music !

Rainier

Originally Posted by gpiney

While I think of it, What are the chances of getting an 'External Audio' input somewhere for IPods or MP3 players? Or just the capability of wiring such to the black box.

[Rainier Lamers]

You are quite correct. In order to tackle this, we only distribute through local outlets which have the ability to service/repair your instrument. We tend to face a much more severe situation here in South Africa. Returning an American instrument for repairs is a major nightmare, very costly and very time consuming (never mind customs - I can tell you long stories about customs).
So, we don't do that. But that is not all. You see, when we started with these instruments (Enigma in particular), we said to ourselves, fine, we can upgrade software with features as they become available - but what about the hardware ? It is a fact that development in semiconductors is rampant and in order to be able to keep ones instrument really up to date, it will sooner or later be required to ugrade some or other hardware. So, we made things modular. The one item that is most in line for hardware upgrade is the processor and memory. Everything else is quite secondary and much less likely to need changing. So, we put this on a little PCB on its own, quick and easy to unplug and replace when the time comes.
Enigma consists of 5 modules, Odyssey has 6.
The spin-off of this is that repairs, if ever required are quick and easy to affect.
This brings us to a "sticky" point. Our instruments are low cost. Not because we use cheap stuff (if you have any electronic knowledge and open one up, you'll see instantly), but because, simply put, we make less money on these things. Much less. The distributors get a big chunk (highest in the industry by far). This is because we see them as part of us and we need them for local support. It has to be worth while for them as it can get costly (people and materials). Shipping from South Africa is VERY expensive.
All this FORCES us to make our instruments as reliable as possible. We simply cannot afford an instrument having to be shipped back to South Africa. Never mind the time and money, it will result in an unhappy customer. That is the very last thing we want.

Rainier
CEO MGL Avionics

Originally Posted by apatti

Can you design one that makes toast as well. I am sure you have to exhaust all that heat somewhere. It doesn't seem like it would take much to add a toast feature. Just a couple of lines of code...

I am not sure I'd want to be an engineer at MGL! The scope creep (also called creeping elegance) must be rampant! Just kidding, I imagine it is a heck of a lot of fun! Best of luck to you.

Seriously, as someone who is facing the panel building phase very soon, any innovations that will cut down on the wiring would be great. However, it is also important to maintain flexibility and serviceability. If everything is in one unit, and you have to remove it for repair, you could be grounded for a while. I'd hate to have to cancel a flight just because I my toaster needed repair.

[Rainier Lamers]

Not much - consider what kind of AOA system you want to use. Our instruments support both single ended (Dynon style) as well as differential (AFS style).

Rainier

Originally Posted by morlino

This is really starting to sound good.

I'm in the early stages of building my wings, are there any things to consider now? I assume this system works with Van's resistive fuel gauges. Anything special need to be done with the pitot? Anything else that should be thought about early on?