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More frustration with Dynon

Top Cat

Well Known Member
I started a thread recently reporting that during flight the map portion of my SkyViw went from orange to red…as if I was flying in a TFR. I checked before flight, and after, the nearest TFR to my position was a stadium TFR in Columbia SC for the Gamecocks game which was surface to 3000' and nowhere near me.

Another poster noted that he'd flown in NC and SC, where I am, and had encountered the screen going red. I heard from others that in FL there was some kind of ADSB test causing issues but nothing was noted in the FAA TFR notifications.

I called Dynon Tech Support and the guy I spoke with was borderline rude…cut me off half-way through explaining the issue and said 'we know about it, its a software glitch and it'll be fixed in SV 13.1 in early January. Okay?

Had to go to UK on family matter and thought by time I returned 'maybe' the situation would be resolved. Alas, no.

Flew today, everything normal except that map part of screen is red as if I was in a TFR. If you press the + or - signs on the Touch screen the regular map appears underneath the red but goes all red once you take your finger off.
Its possible to fly but the red blanks out many features such as lakes, rivers, roads, and more importantly airspace boundaries so I didn't feel comfortable flying too far with such poor information. My iPad was offering much better info through Foreflight.

It's been 2 weeks since my call to Dynon Tech so I called today…8 times with no answer from anyone, not even the receptionist. Hey, if it's the Xmas party I get it…why not just say you're closed and will be back tomorrow?

Just called again…receptionist answered. I asked for a supervisor or someone in management level and she passed me on to a guy….no answer, back to voice mail.

This is the second big problem I've had with Dynon and the Skyview screen in 18 months on a brand new SLSA. I have to say, for me, the level of customer service leaves a lot to be desired. I know others have said different but this is my actual experience.

Right now I'm faced with not being able to fly farther than the local area since the map function is basically useless. So far Dynon haven't put out anything about this glitch or that they have a 'fix' which won't be out till 'early January' meaning maybe a month to six weeks before there's a suitable fix?

Went to the avionics shop on the field to see if they'd heard anything but they hadn't.
 
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On the Dynon Forum the issue is being discussed, and Dynon have posted.

One guy wrote:-

"I am also having the problem. These are not TFRs, but FDC NOTAMs for military activity (radar jamming flights) off the east coast. They do not expire until Dec 18th. So if you fly in that area (southeast coast and a couple hundred miles inland) and use SkyView w/Dynon ADSB, you have to turn off TFR notifications in the Maps Menu (not too comforting). I know tech support is looking into the issue. I spoke to the AOPA govt folks, and they say these NOTAMs are fairly standard, and they have no reports of other manufacturers ADSB showing the false TFRs."

If turning off TFR notifications is the temporary 'fix' why isn't Dynon saying this? The guy I spoke to in tech Support said it was a software glitch that they are aware of which runs contrary to the statements about military testing. I still haven't seen NOTAMS about it.

Confusing and frustrating.
 
I had rudeness from Dynon tech last month for a D-180 repair. I thought it bad business on their part. Some companies don't get it...
 
Would a sectional or WAC chart work in the meantime while DYNON works out the bugs? Never had a problem using either of these or high altitude charts for that matter. :)

Cheers, Hans
 
Hans,

Yes it would, and it does.

The problem is trying to get information from Dynon, or a response to the issue, whatever the issue turns out to be. How would we know if it IS a bug or something else?

I tried calling them, and when I finally got a guy on the phone he was curt and short with me. Hey dude, I'm a customer with a question!

Is the problem a software glitch, or is it because the military are conducting some test and failed to file a NOTAM that us little guys could see would cause a problem? A little pro-active info would save a lot of time and trouble.

Either way…I've called Dynon 9 times today..the last one asking to speak with someone at the customer service management level. Receptionist passed me over to a guy…who wasn't there, only voice mail. That was a couple of hours ago, otherwise no response.
 
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said 'we know about it, its a software glitch and it'll be fixed in SV 13.1 in early January. Okay?.

Didn't he say here they knew of the glitch would patch it in Jan. I guess I don't understand the further phone calls at that point..
 
Didn't he say here they knew of the glitch would patch it in Jan. I guess I don't understand the further phone calls at that point..

Its because Dynon's Tech Support is telling me 'its a software glitch' whilst on their own Forum they said this just yesterday:=

"It's really a NOTAM that we suspect is broadcast over the ADS-B system because it has to do with ADS-B availability. However, it shouldn't be depicted as a TFR (there is no flight restriction)."

Someone said they already uploaded a diagnostic file from their unit for Dynon to analyze.

So, is it a glitch, is it a NOTAM, will it clear on its own, does it need a software patch?

If its a software glitch affecting those of us in the Eastern/Southeastern USA do we have to wait several weeks until a fix is released as part of a bigger software OS update or is the 'fix' available now as a smaller file?

This is what I would have asked today?.but there wasn't anyone there.
 
from dynon's forum, quote from dynon..

It's really a NOTAM that we suspect is broadcast over the ADS-B system because it has to do with ADS-B availability. However, it shouldn't be depicted as a TFR (there is no flight restriction).

But to really analyze this and get a fix in, we really need to see a diagnostic log from someone who is on the east coast and is experiencing this. So if you're still seeing it (you should until the 18th, I think), after you land, please follow the directions on this page to extract and upload the data we need to see what you're seeing.
 
**** technology!@

It was quite refreshing yesterday jumping into a little Champ with no electrics and nothing but a map and compass as I was heading north to nothing but lakes and roads.

Don't take this the wrong way Top Cat, but it's great having all this technology in the cockpit now, but unfortunately, things don't work as they should.

I don't understand why you can't fly further than the local area without the Skyview map system?

Don
 
Don, I've flown a Champ, a Cub and once owned a DH Tiger Moth bi-plane. I know what you're trying to say.

However…I now have an RV-12…everything's on the screen. Tech says my screen may have a software glitch…or not.. I simply called to get some answers and in 10 call attempts only spoke to a receptionist and a Tech guy who was offhand and gave conflicting info.

I already had to send the unit back (at my expense) earlier in the year due to a memory problem (known by Dynon) and I was down for almost a month.

Sorry, I just find them frustrating to deal with.
 
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Not sure why this thread is in the RV-12 forum. This is a dynon issue, and should be in their forum or in another area on this site. Also u sure why this would keep you from flying. VFR. dead reckoning and see and avoid. Technology has made pilots paranoid.
 
Not sure why this thread is in the RV-12 forum. This is a dynon issue, and should be in their forum or in another area on this site. Also u sure why this would keep you from flying. VFR. dead reckoning and see and avoid. Technology has made pilots paranoid.

Earlier this year my SkyView unit failed in flight. All I was left with was the Garmin radio and a blank screen.

Despite living close to a major Class B airport I was lucky enough to be fairly close to my home field (uncontrolled) so I was able to land with no kind of instrumentation at all other than my judgement of speed, engine sound and the seat of my pants.

Look, I'm just trying to find out what the problem is and by posting here I thought some others may have experienced the same thing in their RV-12 and so shed some insight.

Sorry if I'm paranoid but having had that experience, and then told I may have a software glitch in my unit that may be fixed in a few weeks, I'm leaning on the side of caution.
 
I'm not sure why some folks look down their nose at new tech. Yeah, you need to be able to use a map when the screen goes dark, but why not embrace any improvement in technology that reduces work load?

I have the D180 which has been pretty much trouble free in the four years I've Ben flying my 12, but I can sympathize with anyone who spent big bucks for cutting edge tech and is not getting the advertised performance.
 
Top Cat,

I realize glitches like this can be very frustarating and your natural tendency is to want answers NOW. It seems to me that the Dynon folks have acknowledged on their forum that their software is incorrectly handling this condition. That means to me that they are scrambling to find a fix. But my 50 years in the computer industry has taught me that some issues are not easily resolved, especially if caused by a unique set of circumstances, such as this seems to be. My past experience with the Dynon folks in resolving a couple of tricky issues with the D180 back in the early days was that they really do care and are generally quite responsive.

Please take the following in the (positive) spirit it is intended. I suggest you take a couple of deep breaths, give the phone a rest, and let the techs at Dynon have a few days to go off and work on the problem. Sounds like you, as I do, have Foreflight to use in the meantime to augment the Skyview. That gives you ten times the information we had when we learned to fly instuments back in the day!

BTW, did you ever meet up with retired C-130 pilot Graham Pritchard who used to live in Fort Hill?
 
Top Cat,

I feel for you. I have had several, well documented issues with my Skyview system. I've also run into "Mr. Pleasant" on the service desk. There is room for improvement. However, I will add, that Dynon eventually fixed each of my issues and I must give them props for that. Customer service is a tough business and I think they are trying, but I know that doesn't help when you want to use the equipment you paid good money for and it's not working properly. Hang in there.
 
Top Cat,
I hear you loud and clear. The General Aviation Experimental group of buyers is a VERY small group of people to market products to. If a company provides bad customer service which is very obviously the case here word gets around to everyone in our market niche pretty fast. I would think that Dynon's management would stress the importance of customer service and treating people well if they want to stay afloat. Bad customer service only lasts so long in this business. Good luck with your situation.
 
Doing some research on my own?.the military testing along the East Coast and up to 100-200 miles inland was supposed to be during Septmber, presumably its gone along longer or been delayed.

I'm wondering if it's a blanket area but maybe just for Class A and above although it's affecting those airplanes below with ADSB-IN. Perhaps the authorities figured there weren't that many to be affected?

In the Skyview manual you can change the opacity of the TFR display by
MAP MENU > MAP ITEMS > OPACITY and I think in the same area you can switch TFRs off entirely although I'll have to tinker with this the next time I go to the hangar. Perhaps someone can post it here?
For me if I could reduce the thick redness on the display so that I could utilize the map features better it would be an improvement.

On a thread on the Dynon Forum regarding the SFRA in the DC area, a while back Dynon produced a .dfg file (active_tfr_none.dfg) which maybe does the change of opacity or removes the level of color fill-in leaving the edges of the SFRA displayed for reference. Again, not sure.

Seems that the exercise may end on Dec 18th so 'maybe' on that date the issue will go away?
 
Not sure why this thread is in the RV-12 forum. Also u sure why this would keep you from flying. VFR. dead reckoning and see and avoid. Technology has made pilots paranoid.


Don Patrick said:
I don't understand why you can't fly further than the local area without the Skyview map system?

I don't have any time in the 12, but my guess would be you don't have any instruments/engine parameters with the screen inop?

This did not occur to me until now - with 100% digital cockpits, the engine parameters are only available when the screen is.

Of course if it's only the map, then nevermind. But still an interesting thought.. if a software bug can "take out" rendering the screen for whatever reason, I'd be apprehensive. Good luck getting it resolved.
 
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from dynon's forum, quote from dynon..

It's really a NOTAM that we suspect is broadcast over the ADS-B system because it has to do with ADS-B availability. However, it shouldn't be depicted as a TFR (there is no flight restriction).

But to really analyze this and get a fix in, we really need to see a diagnostic log from someone who is on the east coast and is experiencing this. So if you're still seeing it (you should until the 18th, I think), after you land, please follow the directions on this page to extract and upload the data we need to see what you're seeing.

And, someone else posted that

"It DID also show up as a TFR on my Stratus/foreflight..."

So perhaps this is a problem on the *FAA* side, broadcasting a NOTAM via ADS-B in a format that is interpreted by (apparently, more than one) user as a TFR?

I have no idea what the message/packet formats are for ADS-B, but this seems possible to me. It could be as simple as a single bit being wrong, depending on the header fields, for example.
 
I know I'm in the minority here as everyone is telling Topcat to relax, but in this forum Dynon constantly brags on their customer service...I don't blame TC for holding them to their promise. At Oshkosh they were telling customers that their system is perfect for IFR. They aren't selling these systems at a price point or under the suggestion that these are part time screens and you should always have your iPad running.

2 months on a software glitch that makes a screen useless would not be acceptable to me any more than it is for Topcat. A rude customer service guy would certainly be discussed in here as well. I see nothing wrong with how TC has handled this. We can't treat these screens as if losing them can't kill someone. Any distraction at the wrong time can kill someone. Dynon needs to feel some customer dissatisfaction, then like every other company they will react. That's how it worked with the freezing pitot tubes which for two years were called impossible by Dynon. If Dynon software guys are taking weekends off....then this issue doesn't really have their attention yet. This forum has quite a bit of power of persuasion. Don't persuade TC to relax, persuade Dynon to treat these issues as emergencies. IMHO.
 
I know I'm in the minority here as everyone is telling Topcat to relax, but in this forum Dynon constantly brags on their customer service...I don't blame TC for holding them to their promise. At Oshkosh they were telling customers that their system is perfect for IFR. They aren't selling these systems at a price point or under the suggestion that these are part time screens and you should always have your iPad running.

2 months on a software glitch that makes a screen useless would not be acceptable to me any more than it is for Topcat. A rude customer service guy would certainly be discussed in here as well. I see nothing wrong with how TC has handled this. We can't treat these screens as if losing them can't kill someone. Any distraction at the wrong time can kill someone. Dynon needs to feel some customer dissatisfaction, then like every other company they will react. That's how it worked with the freezing pitot tubes which for two years were called impossible by Dynon. If Dynon software guys are taking weekends off....then this issue doesn't really have their attention yet. This forum has quite a bit of power of persuasion. Don't persuade TC to relax, persuade Dynon to treat these issues as emergencies. IMHO.

+1, Could not have agreed more.
 
2 months on a software glitch that makes a screen useless would not be acceptable to me any more than it is for Topcat.

I would agree if that were the case. But the OP stated this turned the "map portion" of his display red. That does not affect the PFD, and even this issue can be resolved by turning off TFR displays (if I'm wrong here I apologize and will eat my words). Definitely an annoyance, but this is still experimental aviation and we are on the cutting edge. Dynon acknowledged a bug in how their system handles a specific Notam and is working to fix it.

There is certainly no excuse for rude service, but this doesn't seem to be a safety of flight issue as some are suggesting.

Best of luck getting it resolved, however.

Chris
 
During the past 24 hours I've done some research on the issue and possible remedies.

On the Dynon Forum, on a thread related to the DC SFRA, local pilots complained that their SkyView screens were covered in the thick red color of an active TFR display. This can be made worse by compiling TFRs in or near to the SFRA.

This is the same result I'm experiencing now. You can go into the MAPS area of SkyView and change the opacity of the TFR so the underlying map details are easier to read. I believe you can even 'empty' the TFR display or switch off TFRs from your display altogether.
The latter may seem a bit drastic, and doest 'fix the problem', but if you still check TFRs before a flight, as I do, then this may be preferable when there is an issue, as I'm having in SC, and is more livable than a screen with a heavy red color masking most of the map features.
Tomorrow I'll go to the hangar and see if I can reduce the opacity to 'light' (you can select 'medium' I think).

On the Dynon Forum Dynon did provide some .dfg files which essentially does what I described above in that you can change the opacity, or select TFRs off etc

I finally did get to speak with a guy from Dynon today from the management level. I explained my frustration with Dynon's customer service and the offhand Tech Support guys and he apologized and was making notes.
He explained that they now believe there isn't a software glitch with SkyView but that the fault comes from the info inputted to the ADSB system falsely indicating that the military testing is a TFR when it isn't and the issue arises as SkyView tries to cope with this. The testing is supposed to end by Dec 18th so perhaps then the map section of the screen will return to normal.

I asked him why Dynon wasn't being pro-active in publishing an outline of the problem and explaining that some pilots in the Southeast and East Coast were experiencing problems on their SkyView displays. I asked why Dynon hadn't offered the remedies they produced on the Dynon Forum for the DC SFRA as a way of alleviating the current 'problem'.

I mentioned my previous issue with the memory module causing the Skyview to completely fail in flight, and that the avionics shop on my field had a few other owners complain of the same issue. I added that I've heard quite a few negatives about Dynon customer service from other owners recently.
I also said that I really like the Skyview unit but have been frustrated recently with Dynon and their customer service.
He didn't really have any answers and as of just now I've not seen the current issue addressed anywhere by Dynon including on the thread relating to this on their own Forum.
 
I would agree if that were the case. But the OP stated this turned the "map portion" of his display red. That does not affect the PFD, and even this issue can be resolved by turning off TFR displays (if I'm wrong here I apologize and will eat my words). Definitely an annoyance, but this is still experimental aviation and we are on the cutting edge. Dynon acknowledged a bug in how their system handles a specific Notam and is working to fix it.

There is certainly no excuse for rude service, but this doesn't seem to be a safety of flight issue as some are suggesting.

Best of luck getting it resolved, however.

Chris

Chris,

Earlier this year my SkyView unit failed in flight. All I was left with was the Garmin radio and a blank screen.

Despite living close to a major Class B airport I was lucky enough to be fairly close to my home field (uncontrolled) so I was able to land with no kind of instrumentation at all other than my judgement of speed, engine sound and the seat of my pants.

When I talked to Dynon they were aware that some SkyViews were built with faulty memory modules, and this is what I had. My frustration THEN was that they knew this and yet I had to pay $150 shipping/insurance to return it and they said it would take 10 business days to replace. On day 10 I called and it was still on the bench. When I asked if they would return it with all the software up to date they said they normally didn't do this (?) and it would take another day or two to do this. By the time I got the unit back it was close to a month of down time for an almost brand new RV12 SLSA, and I had to pay $150 for the experience.

This thread further adds to the frustration when, as of today, it's taken over two weeks from a first call to Tech Support to finally talking to someone about what exactly IS the problem I'm having now with the red screen. Yesterday I called Dynon 9 times throughout the day from home and the hangar and the avionics shop trying to find out more info.

You may have already known about turning off the TFR function but I didn't and haven't found it in the manual, along with how to change the opacity of the TFR display. Until today I wasn't even exactly sure what the problem is.

I live close to a Class B and a Class C along with numerous MOAs and military bases. Not long ago an F16 collided with a light aircraft not far from me, it can be busy airspace. Having already experienced a total display failure…yes no flight instruments, engine instruments, transponder, ADSB etc…just a radio I'm concerned to say the least.

With that in mind I'm erring on the side of caution especially having already experience a total failure, and then with a Tech Support guy initially suggesting my unit had a 'software glitch' which he told me ( two weeks ago) would be fixed sometime in early January.

Not trying to belabor the issue just trying to answer your points.
 
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Customer Service???

I'm an avid supporter of Dynon for a variety of reasons - but, it sounds like your have experienced bad customer service. I think that the least Dynon can do for you at this time is to refund the cost of shipping your avionics to them. What say you Dynon?
 
He explained that they now believe there isn't a software glitch with SkyView but that the fault comes from the info inputted to the ADSB system falsely indicating that the military testing is a TFR when it isn't and the issue arises as SkyView tries to cope with this. The testing is supposed to end by Dec 18th so perhaps then the map section of the screen will return to normal.

If this does, indeed, turn out to be the case (incorrect data from FAA via ADS-B), what would you expect an avionics manufacturer to do, exactly? Override the FAA information somehow?

Bad customer service is certainly fair game for complaints, here and elsewhere. I've done it myself for various manufacturers.

But a fault in official data from the government seems unfair to pin on the EFIS manufacturer (if that's what it turns out to be), does it not?
 
If this does, indeed, turn out to be the case (incorrect data from FAA via ADS-B), what would you expect an avionics manufacturer to do, exactly? Override the FAA information somehow?

Bad customer service is certainly fair game for complaints, here and elsewhere. I've done it myself for various manufacturers.

But a fault in official data from the government seems unfair to pin on the EFIS manufacturer (if that's what it turns out to be), does it not?

I agree with you. Its not their fault if the ADSB system turns out to be the culprit by feeding erroneous data into SkyView EFIS.

However, what's frustrating to me is that after almost three weeks of this, and Dynon knowing about the issue, there's nothing from them to explain this or a suggestion to customers to maybe use the mitigating remedies they know about from the DC SFRA experience.
Further, when I first called Tech Support, the guy's response was rude and curt and explained away as a 'software glitch' that would be fixed in the next firmware cycle possibly weeks away. He cut me off with 'we've already had calls about this and we know about it.'
When, like me, you have a map section that is almost totally obscured by a thick red 'tomato soup' color, and you make numerous calls to them and no one answers it can be frustrating.

When you say :_
"But a fault in official data from the government seems unfair to pin on the EFIS manufacturer (if that's what it turns out to be), does it not?"

?remember that this hasn't been offered publicly from Dynon it's only because I pestered them.

A little pro-active information and explanation from the manufacturer regarding a known issue would prevent them from having to deal with numerous phone calls and inquiries, and do wonders for their reputation, don't you think?
 
I agree with you. Its not their fault if the ADSB system turns out to be the culprit by feeding erroneous data into SkyView EFIS.

However, what's frustrating to me is that after almost three weeks of this, and Dynon knowing about the issue, there's nothing from them to explain this or a suggestion to customers to maybe use the mitigating remedies they know about from the DC SFRA experience.
Further, when I first called Tech Support, the guy's response was rude and curt and explained away as a 'software glitch' that would be fixed in the next firmware cycle possibly weeks away. He cut me off with 'we've already had calls about this and we know about it.'
When, like me, you have a map section that is almost totally obscured by a thick red 'tomato soup' color, and you make numerous calls to them and no one answers it can be frustrating.

When you say :_
"But a fault in official data from the government seems unfair to pin on the EFIS manufacturer (if that's what it turns out to be), does it not?"

?remember that this hasn't been offered publicly from Dynon it's only because I pestered them.

A little pro-active information and explanation from the manufacturer regarding a known issue would prevent them from having to deal with numerous phone calls and inquiries, and do wonders for their reputation, don't you think?

OK, but I think you made your point, numerous times, both here and on the Dynon forums. You're unhappy with their response. We got it.

Now you have a solution (it's actually been there all along, on p. 7-81 of the User's Guide, telling you how to turn down the opacity of TFRs), and they said they're looking into it, AND it apparently has happened with at least one other manufacturer, so it might not be a problem with their software at all.

If you're just venting about bad customer service, then fine, but I think you're reaching the point of diminishing marginal utility.

As for the source of the problem, how about we wait and see what Dynon finds out from the diagnostic logs?
 
OK, but I think you made your point, numerous times, both here and on the Dynon forums. You're unhappy with their response. We got it.

Now you have a solution (it's actually been there all along, on p. 7-81 of the User's Guide, telling you how to turn down the opacity of TFRs), and they said they're looking into it, AND it apparently has happened with at least one other manufacturer, so it might not be a problem with their software at all.

If you're just venting about bad customer service, then fine, but I think you're reaching the point of diminishing marginal utility.

As for the source of the problem, how about we wait and see what Dynon finds out from the diagnostic logs?

I answer your questions and address your points and then you say I keep making the same point numerous times? I dunno, maybe you didn't read the earlier posts?

I'm quite happy to let it be!
 
Which other manufacturer has it happened to?

Somebody reported on the Dynon forum:

"It DID also show up as a TFR on my Stratus/foreflight, and in there I was able to tell it was for ADSB AND TIS Traffic interference..."

So this indicates to me that it is likely a problem with the data being broadcast over ADS-B.
 
So a summary of what we know, and a few thoughts:

A couple of weeks ago, the first reports of the enormous TFR over the east coast showed up on our forum. It took us some time to get a data log that contained it (we're in WA; TFRs are broadcast for the area near the transmitting ADS-B station), so we weren't initially sure what to make of it. During that uncertainty, it's possible that our technical support team jumped to the conclusion that there was a bug in SkyView. It's definitely the sort of thing that smells a bit like a software bug, but we don't think it's one inside of SkyView in this case.

What we know so far, as of right now:
  • The "TFRs" that people are seeing on the east coast are NOTAMs (actually, all TFRs are NOTAMs) that are being identified as TFRs by the bits in the ADS-B data stream that identify what type of information a particular record is.
  • Non-TFR NOTAMs are normally appropriately ignored by SkyView's TFR drawing. However, since these NOTAMs are being categorized as TFRs, they're displayed like other TFRs.
  • It looks like at least some other systems devices that receive TFRs over the ADS-B radio broadcast (UAT/978) are seeing the same thing.
  • It appears that programs and apps that get receive TFRs via an internet connection are not seeing this phenomenon, which is why some thought it to be a bug in SkyView.
  • The NOTAMs in question definitely aren't TFRs; It's not clear why they're tagged as TFRs. They seem to all have to do with outages the ADS-B system, which is we suspect why they're being treated differently than other non-TFR NOTAMs that are broadcast (just a hunch).
  • We're reaching out to other folks in the industry and the the FAA to figure out if this is by design, a categorization mistake, or something else.
  • Whether there are any adjustments to SkyView's software that might be appropriate are dependent on the above questions, and are still TBD.
  • In the meantime, you can reduce the visual prominence of these TFRs by turning down the interior opacity/shading of the TFRs in MAP MENU > MAP ITEMS > TFR OPACITY. If you go down to 0%, you'll have red outline similar to how other airspaces are depicted. You can also play with the zoom level that the TFRs are shown at in the same menu to affect when they're shown.

As for the other comments about various aspects of our company and support: First, thank you for speaking up. We try hard to support a fleet of thousands of aircraft that fly behind our products. I think we delight our customers most of the time. On rare occasion, we get it wrong or fall short of your expectations. I don't want to get into a public back and forth about individual cases, but if there's anything that we can do for any of you, please reach out to me in a PM for a more personal conversation.

Michael Schofield
Dynon Avionics
 
This also showed up on my 796 through ADSB. I mentioned it to a controller and he said others were also complaining about it.
 
I have been having red screens for my last several flights during this problem period. Before launching this past Saturday, I set my Skyview's TFR opacity to 20% and went flying. I could see the TFR outline for our football stadium but everything else looked as expected while flying around Columbia, SC.

In the meantime, you can reduce the visual prominence of these TFRs by turning down the interior opacity/shading of the TFRs in MAP MENU > MAP ITEMS > TFR OPACITY. If you go down to 0%, you'll have red outline similar to how other airspaces are depicted.
Dynon Avionics
 
It was a relief to read Michael Schofield's response to this thread. As a future avionics buyer, it means a lot to me when I see a company respond to an issue like this in a thoughtful, detailed, polite and sincere manner.
 
A quick update here. We've been talking to the FAA and it's definitely an encoding issue on their end that they'll be looking into deeper and will fix.

This is the 3rd or 4th time that SkyView pilots have found problems with the ADS-B data or configuration of the system as a whole. You guys are probably the biggest daily users of both the In and Out side of the system at the moment. The experimental community is basically finding and clearing the glitches for the rest of the fleet's benefit after 2020 :). In fact we've often (including this time) been the only ones that let them know that there's a problem.
 
Ironic...

A quick update here. We've been talking to the FAA and it's definitely an encoding issue on their end that they'll be looking into deeper and will fix.

This is the 3rd or 4th time that SkyView pilots have found problems with the ADS-B data or configuration of the system as a whole. You guys are probably the biggest daily users of both the In and Out side of the system at the moment. The experimental community is basically finding and clearing the glitches for the rest of the fleet's benefit after 2020 :). In fact we've often (including this time) been the only ones that let them know that there's a problem.

This is ironic and a little frustrating as the FAA ADSB implementation has been anything but friendly to the experimental community. While a little clearer now, the rules as initially rolled out were vague about how to be compliant in 2020 without a certified system. I think meeting the performance standard is now acceptable. Very pleased that Dynon is regularly in contact with them.

Question for Michael/tech support at Dynon: I understood earlier in the year that the FAA would stop activating the ADSB system for experimental systems that broadcast GPS signals with SIL=0 as earlier as the end of this year. Existing Skyview systems were apparently going to have a S/W upgrade to broadcast SIL>0 that would possibly get us through to 2020 (eventually would need SIL=2 but this would maintain ADSB activation into 2016 prior to having to upgrade the quality of our GPS inputs) Did I understand this correctly and is the current Skyview software upgraded to SIL>0? If not, when? Thanks for the update
 
Brent,
The FAA has delayed the change for SIL=0 devices until the end of January. Dynon has not yet released software to upgrade our systems to SIL>0, but we are on track to do so well before the FAA's change. We'll have a more detailed description soon.

--Ian @ Dynon
 
Thanks,

Brent,
The FAA has delayed the change for SIL=0 devices until the end of January. Dynon has not yet released software to upgrade our systems to SIL>0, but we are on track to do so well before the FAA's change. We'll have a more detailed description soon.

--Ian @ Dynon

Appreciate the quick reply. B
 
Dynon Frustration

Could the thread title be changed? Dynon did nothing wrong and has been very responsive and transparent. Title casts a negative connotation for Dynon.
 
I agree with Bill Dicus. How about changing the thread title from "More frustration with Dynon" to "More Satisfaction with Dynon"?
 
I agree with Bill Dicus. How about changing the thread title from "More frustration with Dynon" to "More Satisfaction with Dynon"?

Concur. They are getting a rap, they don't deserve.
No company is perfect, but the level of support and attention I have received from Dynon techs, over the last two years, has been stellar.

I will continue to use Dynon for my avionic needs.
 
To close the book on this:

The FAA has investigated and found they did improperly uplink a "SPECIAL NOTICE" NOTAM as a TFR. Dynon's system received a TFR over ADS-B with no way to tell it was anything but. On top of this, there was an error in the transmitted data with one of the points of the outline being over near Africa instead of in Florida. This caused different mapping systems to draw it differently (including not drawing it at all).

The error was only in ADS-B uplinks. Any device that got it's data any off the internet would not have seen this or if you called Flight Service they would not have had it as a TFR either.

One element that made this situation more obvious on SkyView than other systems is that our default settings shade the inside of TFR's red to make it clear you are inside a TFR. SkyView does have a TFR opacity adjustment in the map settings. If you prefer to only see outlines of TFRs and not have the interior shaded, you can adjust this to zero at any time. The outlines of the TFR will remain in red.

We're sorry that this caused confusion among our customers, but in reviewing what happened here, there is no way for Dynon to protect against showing a TFR like this when ADS-B tells us it's there.

--Ian @ Dynon

P.S. Thanks to everyone that helped us and the FAA identify and get to the root cause of this issue. With your datalogs, we were able to give the FAA the exact data they had sent over ADS-B and quickly demonstrate that the issue was in the raw ADS-B data.
 
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