What's new
Van's Air Force

Don't miss anything! Register now for full access to the definitive RV support community.

Panel Upgrade

Status
Not open for further replies.
Plans page 42M-05, Rev 2, Step 1, Fig 1

The picture of the 25-pin female D-Sub connector has the sockets numbered
incorrectly. When looking at the wire side, locations 1 & 14 should be on the
left, not the right side. Move the wire that you put into location 8 to location 6.
See THIS picture, and THIS picture of female D-Sub connectors.
 
Last edited:
Finally got to the hangar after the long weekend and switched that pin, which was in position 8, to position 6. The LED's, autopilot disconnect light, and eyeball light now illuminate properly and the intensity is controlled by the dimmer pot.

This picture shows the D25 from the wire side and the two dimmer wires are in positions 7 & 8 when you count from the left (or are able to see the little numbers). Moved the wire in 8 over to 6 and everything now works as it should.
i-QsrdPVq-L.jpg


:D
i-7sCrPSg-L.jpg


Thanks to np12 and Joe.

I am sending in Van's Builder Feedback form on this. Joe already sent one, but I will reinforce it, 42M-05 needs to be revised.
 
Tony,
As I recall there is a set up option to control the dimmer between the dash control and the Skyview panel , worth confirming you are on the right one?

Happy THanksgiving to all

Ben,

I found that the SkyView does not switch control of screen brightness to the Van's dimmer knob when you change the SV setting to "EXTERNAL". I am pretty sure that function will only work if you have a Dynon dimmer control knob installed. It is a Dynon optional part for $45. The Van's dimmer pot controls the intensity of the switch LED's, the AP disconnect LED, and the cockpit light on the roll bar. The switch LED's come on when a switch is activated. The cockpit light and the AP disconnect LED illuminate when the NAV lights are on.
 
Ben,

I found that the SkyView does not switch control of screen brightness to the Van's dimmer knob when you change the SV setting to "EXTERNAL". I am pretty sure that function will only work if you have a Dynon dimmer control knob installed. It is a Dynon optional part for $45. The Van's dimmer pot controls the intensity of the switch LED's, the AP disconnect LED, and the cockpit light on the roll bar. The switch LED's come on when a switch is activated. The cockpit light and the AP disconnect LED illuminate when the NAV lights are on.

Tony, you are correct.

The separate dimmer knob for the RV-12 is to allow for lighting control regardless of whether the airplane is Garmin or Dynon equipped. The control of the screen brightness is still done separately.

I also fwded a note to engineering regarding the need for a plans correction.
 
Final tasks

Working on final tasks. Adding wire ties in tunnels and instrument deck, reinstalling controls that had to be taken out for access.

The wire bundle in the forward tunnel is somewhat fatter than before. Still, things clean up nicely. That big adel clamp will be replaced, I just used a big one to aid organizing the new harnesses.
i-gL9Rjt5-L.jpg


The over-rudder wire-way is a huge improvement over the adel clamps that were used on the early builds. There is also a new bracket bolted to the bottom of the center rudder bearings to help position the wire bundle. I didn't have that before.
i-CxVhgbN-L.jpg


So this is what ADSB weather looks like: :cool:
i-scmtTZp-L.jpg

There is an ADSB tower on my aerodrome on the hill behind my hangar and I didn't even have to move her outside the hangar to get a weather report. These screen pages are the defaults, I will want to do some decluttering later.

I still have a lot of little things to do before I am flying again but getting it done.
 
Last edited:
Tony, your wire bundle/tunnel look amazingly tidy. Textbook. Thought I did a decent job, but mine looks like a mess beside yours. Well done...as usual.

Your pictures are worth putting into the Van's installation instructions.
 
Yes, that would be Bob. His web site is www.rbogash.com
Bogey was influential in my decision to do the upgrade to SV. Bob does beta testing for Dynon and is very knowledgeable regarding the products. He tested SVT, GPS-2020, and HDX. He also has influence at the Mothership and has submitted many suggestions to improve the 12, all of which I am sure, have been well considered and some adopted. His 12 was built as a pre-SV plane and he installed the SV using the conversion harnesses. It works well, but he advised me going with all new harnesses and that was a good recommendation. It is perhaps more time consuming and a bit more expensive, but brings the airplane up to the very latest functionality. He did recommend some minor non-factory changes like the slotted engine cables and deleting the eyeball light, etc. that I chose to not do. I pretty much wanted the airplane to conform to factory specifications. He also thinks I spend too much time making things unnecessarily neat. He likes his panel to look like his well used B737 with wear and tear, worts and all. He will write you a tough love letter if he doesn't like what you are doing. I get them all the time. But his heart is gold, I love the guy. He flies his 12 down from Jefco to sit and have lunch with me in the hangar and comment on my progress and discuss world issues. His friendship is comforting.
 
Last edited:
Tony, your wire bundle/tunnel look amazingly tidy. Textbook. Thought I did a decent job, but mine looks like a mess beside yours. Well done...as usual.

Your pictures are worth putting into the Van's installation instructions.

Although Brent is correct about Tony's work, his own wins the prize everywhere it goes!
 
I agree it is the cleanest install I have seen. Looks very nice! The only thing I could suggest is the use of the non-beveled nippy cutters to get a clean edge on the cable ties cutoff....and that comes from an IA friend who hates those sharp edges on the cut off ends of the cable ties.

https://www.radioshack.com/products/radioshack-5-nippy-cutter

Great suggestion - thanks for the tip, cactuspilot. Those sharp edges are killers. I'm going to get one of those nippers or grind down a hardware store side cutter.
 
Before and After -- Thoughts & cost

Before:

i-X4tsQM8-L.jpg


The D180 panel was a pretty good panel. I flew it for 6 years and 386 hours and it is all you need for VFR. But I was looking for something new and exciting, and the need to meet the 2020 mandate was a monkey on my back.

After:

i-FbmfFDV-L.jpg


I should include in this thread some discussion of cost. The factory avionics kit is not inexpensive! I bought the SV Touch, ADSB in and out and the knobs modules for $17,040. I reused the autopilot servos already installed. I spent an additional $900 for all new harnesses and misc small parts to complete the installation according to the latest plans. The total was $17,940. To offset this, I sold the old panel components for $6,226. That includes returning the D180 and AP74 to Dynon for the rebate. The net difference was $11,714.

To meet 2020 mandate with the old panel I was considering a transponder upgrade for about $3000. I know you can do it cheaper, but I liked the transponder change-out for simplicity and neatness. If I offset the $11,714 by $3000 I would have spent, my upgrade cost (adjusted for 2020 mandate) works out to about $8,800. Not too bad, all things considered, relative to airplane avionics.

I had hoped to get the $500 rebate from FAA for ADSB out, but it turns out that the Dynon GPS 2020 does not qualify for the rebate because it is not TSO’d. Oh well, as my Bro said, “The Lord giveth, and the Lord taketh away”.

Do I recommend ripping all the avionics and wiring out and replacing everything? Well, it is a lot of work. My plane has been down for 8 weeks and I have about 120 hours work, and a good chunk of money, in the upgrade. But, it was a good winter time project and I am excited about the new panel and looking forward to a lot of fun flying with it. Worth it to me.
 
Last edited:
When Tony offered his Dynon D-100 Dual Display Kit for sale back in October I jumped on it. I just finished the install and set up the screen rotations per my liking. Very clean installation. So I?m running two Dynon EFIS/EMS, Garmin 296, and a mini iPad with ForeFlight.

Doesn?t get any better than this. Thanks Tony?
-
2hcg6sk.png

-
2u55hug.png
 
Beautiful job Tony, it really came out great. I like your rationale, a net cost of about $8800 for a brand new panel is a bargain. Thanks so much for your photos and documentation, I am installing the exact panel right now and it really helped (my install is not nearly as complex since mine is a new build). Can't wait to power up for the first time....getting close.
dma4w8.jpg

3096jc5.jpg
 
When Tony offered his Dynon D-100 Dual Display Kit for sale back in October I jumped on it. I just finished the install and set up the screen rotations per my liking. Very clean installation. So I?m running two Dynon EFIS/EMS, Garmin 296, and a mini iPad with ForeFlight.

Doesn?t get any better than this. Thanks Tony?
-
2hcg6sk.png

-
2u55hug.png

Jim...how/what are you using for your tablet hanger...and how mounted?
 
Jim...how/what are you using for your tablet hanger...and how mounted?

You buy one of these? http://www.ebay.com/itm/Slim-PU-Lea...hash=item4d28ad9425:m:maCA5-7cix2q4nEIBOgG_xg and strip the plastic holder out. Then bend 0.062 aluminum at a 45 degree angle. The plastic holder is held to the aluminum with double-sided foam tape. Then the whole assembly is held to the bottom of the instrument bay with three strips of self-adhesive Velcro. Works great and can be easily removed. The iPad covers up three switches that are not used on my 12 ? Nav Lights, Landing Light, and AP. I have all three switches marked INOP. Three rubber bumper thingies keep the holder from vibrating against the instrument panel.
-
6zpl78.png

-
r23jn7.png

-
28i867k.png
 
You buy one of these? http://www.ebay.com/itm/Slim-PU-Lea...hash=item4d28ad9425:m:maCA5-7cix2q4nEIBOgG_xg and strip the plastic holder out. Then bend 0.062 aluminum at a 45 degree angle. The plastic holder is held to the aluminum with double-sided foam tape. Then the whole assembly is held to the bottom of the instrument bay with three strips of self-adhesive Velcro. Works great and can be easily removed. The iPad covers up three switches that are not used on my 12 ? Nav Lights, Landing Light, and AP. I have all three switches marked INOP. Three rubber bumper thingies keep the holder from vibrating against the instrument panel.
-
6zpl78.png

-
r23jn7.png

-
28i867k.png

Jim,

I like it...I don't have switches, but will have to adjust height overlap not to block G3X....
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top