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Bendix King AV8OR handheld GPS

phiku said:
I will try to get one for 1 or 2 weeks to test it.

Two more question:
Is it really true that the updates (Jeppesen DB) (not only firmware) are for free at the moment?

Does the unit provide terrain warning on the display (similiar to Garmin - the closer you are to the terrain, the color in the map will be red instead of yellow or no color)?
I've only seen in pictures a terrain-overview for my route on the lower row of the display.
Click to expand...

Not sure about free updates, I thought you had to pay for them. I will check and see because my DB is now out of date.

The terrain-overview on the lower part of the page is the Smart Profile view which can be turned on and off. There is also a whole different page called relative terrain where you can see the terrain warnings in different colors as it shows in the picture below.

dvt-pan.png
 
I think that topo view is customizable too right!? I've never had a need for it yet because it's pretty flat in NJ but I think I remember seeing user sensitivity settings in the menus or the manual someplace.

I think all the software and firmware updates are free. Also, you get a coupon for a free one-time database update (in the box). I used my free database update at the same time I updated my software and firmware back in December. Worked very well.

I do remember seeing a half price link for database updates on the Bendix site, but I can't say if teh AV8OR qualified, or what you had to do for the discount.
 
AV8OR waypoint files

Although partially covered in earlier postings, has anyone found an easy way of:

a). converting Garmin .mps format waypoint files to the .txt format needed by the AV8OR.

b). uploading the whole lot in one batch to the AV8OR.

Ditto route files?

Duncan.
 
thanks to Tom and Andy,

This was what I wanted to know.
I think I will get one of these units. The price is unbeatable for a air/street navigation system. The features are similiar to Garmin's.

My only prob will be to get one of these units in Switzerland. But I have time and can wait until the season begins in spring.
 
AV8OR

What is the overall consensus on these now that they've been out for awhile?
For those that own them, would you buy it again, or would you have gone for a Garmin?
Thanks for your opinions.
 
Man, I hate to answer questions like this. I feel like I am jinxing myself. AND, I don't get paid by Honeywell for the advertising!!!

I really like mine though. I never wanted a Garmin. And of the remaining choices, I got the one I wanted. It hasn't been a disappointment. I've used it a ton in the car too. There don't seem to be too many posters in here, but by the record count, I would think there have to be a fair amount of users. It will be interesting to see if you get any answers. For what it's worth, I got off the fence months ago and am glad I did. Now I just hope to be able to get many years of use out of it. I can see it being a great back-up GPS someday in the future when maybe I have a permanent panel GPS of some sort.

One thing that comes to mind that I think will be a great next-gen feature will be a 5.25" screen (or so). It seems to me that the entire face of the unit could be an LCD, without expanding the size of the unit itself (save for maybe having to shift the orientation of some sockets and whatnot). Battery draw will be slightly higher, but I don't think it should be a deal breaker by any means. And I'd be happy to take a free one from Honeywell and be a beta guy for them!!:D

Oh, one last thought. Having used the touch screen for a while now, I can't see ever wanting anything different. I can't remember the Garmins very well, but I think they were push button and toggle type operations right!? The AV8OR use is a joy.
 
>> Great! When you get a list of all of the private airports for AZ, can you share?

I have a file that you can import into the AV8OR of the private airports in AZ. It does not include any Heli pads but I think at this point I have all the private runways included.

Anyone interested, PM me your email address and I will forward.
 
captainron said:
What is the overall consensus on these now that they've been out for awhile?
For those that own them, would you buy it again, or would you have gone for a Garmin?
Thanks for your opinions.
Click to expand...


I had a Garmin 195 for several years, so my comparison is with that.
Very impressed with the AV8OR. 'Half' the cost of an equivalent Garmin.
Biggest 'plus' is that I can input data via the on-screen keyboard in flight or call-up airspce info just by touching on the map; this is not a practical proposition (in flight) with a Garmin (scrolling throuhg the alphabet with a stiff button). Navigating through the system is quite intuitive. No proprietary data cards, takes a mobile phone battery and $35 per Jepp update (same as Garmin).


Downside is that it is not as physically robust or as waterproof as a Garmin. There is no E6B or W&B calculator (I really miss the latter, but this is expected to be added in future upgrades; or can a macro be loaded to the data card to handle this??). Short battery life (1.5 hrs max.). I've had it hang once in automotive mode and had to take out the battery to recover!


Duncan.
 
I've had the AV80R for about two months now and have been really impressed with it's simplicity, but also its power both in flying and driving mode.

I purchased the larger battery to help with everyones biggest complaint, but now I have another...Anyone figure out how to use the big battery with the mounting equipment supplied with the unit?

The big battery and new cover sticks out so far out the back of the unit that the snap on holder that attaches to the yoke mount or windshield mount wont attach.

looks like i might have to get several of the small batteries instead since I rent my aircraft and they don't always have a working 12V supply.

Anyone come up with another solution yet?
 
jimha2005 said:
I've had the AV80R for about two months now and have been really impressed with it's simplicity, but also its power both in flying and driving mode.

I purchased the larger battery to help with everyones biggest complaint, but now I have another...Anyone figure out how to use the big battery with the mounting equipment supplied with the unit?

The big battery and new cover sticks out so far out the back of the unit that the snap on holder that attaches to the yoke mount or windshield mount wont attach.

looks like i might have to get several of the small batteries instead since I rent my aircraft and they don't always have a working 12V supply.

Anyone come up with another solution yet?
Click to expand...

Jim,
I was about to purchase the larger battery until I read this!

Have you tried leaving the battery cover off? The mount would then hold the battery in. Just wondering.

I like the AV8OR also. I just got the WX Worx receiver and will be posting some screen shots pretty soon.

Mark
 
Hi, new to the forum here - Did you know that there is a free update to the AV8OR available for you to download?

The latest update - Version 1.04 ? can be downloaded by going to the wingman services site at:

https://www.bendixking.com/wingman/Gps/download/wucontent.jsp

Highlights of version 1.04 include:
? Traffic Interface to the ZAON Portable Collision Avoidance System (PCAS XRX)
? New weather products ? Graphical PIREPS, TFRs, and lightning
? Weather overlays on the map page
? GPS NMEA autopilot output
? Ability to save multiple flight logs
? Smart Profile view with obstacles
? Improved text viewing
? ?..and more!
 
jimha2005 said:
The big battery and new cover sticks out so far out the back of the unit that the snap on holder that attaches to the yoke mount or windshield mount wont attach.
Click to expand...

From the owner's manual (Pilot's Guide) on page 2-4, it seems to indicate that the battery comes with a new mounting bracket. I remember someone talking about using cell phone batteries from ebay as a cheaper alternative. Maybe that solution is going to leave you with mounting issues. I would call Honeywell though and find out the deal. In the US and Canada: 1-877-712-2386

Table 2-4 Optional Equipment
ITEM PART NUMBER DESCRIPTION
1 005-03702-0014 1600,mAh Battery, (with mounting
bracket)

Let us know what you find out!:)
 
RickWoodall said:
Anyone else have issues with the actual frame holder? I love the gps, but the actual frame that the unit snaps into to hold it seems almost to big..if you hit a bump or dont angle it enough for the unit to be "scooped" into so gravity keeps it there..its falls out. Did i just get a bum frame or am i slow? :-(
Click to expand...

Are you physically snapping it in place? If so, I think you have a bad frame. I drop the bottom in the frame and then pulll the top tab forward until it actually clicks into place. It has never come out accidentally. I have to push the tab back to get the AV8OR back out. There doesn't seem to be any room for error in mounting the unit in the frame.
 
Mark Burns said:
Jim,
I was about to purchase the larger battery until I read this!

Have you tried leaving the battery cover off? The mount would then hold the battery in. Just wondering.

I like the AV8OR also. I just got the WX Worx receiver and will be posting some screen shots pretty soon.

Mark
Click to expand...

Hi Mark - The larger cover doesn't add much thickness. The bigger battery is about 3 times the orignal's thickness and since the clip fits snug to back of the case - there is no way it will work.

I've even thought about cutting the clip out to accomodate the battery - but since the edge of the battery is right on the clips centerline - that would get into that attachment area.

So no go on that.

I was hopeing someone had tried an alternate mount or had some other advice.

Jim
 
AndyRV7 said:
From the owner's manual (Pilot's Guide) on page 2-4, it seems to indicate that the battery comes with a new mounting bracket. I remember someone talking about using cell phone batteries from ebay as a cheaper alternative. Maybe that solution is going to leave you with mounting issues. I would call Honeywell though and find out the deal. In the US and Canada: 1-877-712-2386

Table 2-4 Optional Equipment
ITEM PART NUMBER DESCRIPTION
1 005-03702-0014 1600,mAh Battery, (with mounting
bracket)

Let us know what you find out!:)
Click to expand...

Thanks Andy,

I got the larger battery through Sporty's - It came with a bigger cover -but not a new bracket.

I will call Honeywell and see what they suggest and let everyone know.

Jim
 
jimha2005 said:
Thanks Andy,

I got the larger battery through Sporty's - It came with a bigger cover -but not a new bracket.

Jim
Click to expand...

I have the bigger battery and the supplied hardware that came with the unit fitted with no mods. Either HW has changed the mounting hardware or you are over thinking this :)

Will post photo once I find the camera
 
Scrabo said:
I have the bigger battery and the supplied hardware that came with the unit fitted with no mods. Either HW has changed the mounting hardware or you are over thinking this :)

Will post photo once I find the camera
Click to expand...

I looked at mine today and noticed the mounting bracket has 3/8" of space over the battery cover when using the small battery. Is the bigger battery really that large? It's looking like there where some early mounting brackets shipped that where smaller.

What's the part number on the larger battery? The NOK- number?

Mark
 
Last edited:
Scrabo said:
I knew I had a photo somewhere..... AV8OR with extended life battery and original hardware

aDSC05658.jpg
Click to expand...

Wow - that is definately not the same bracket that I have.

Looks like I may have gotten an older one as mine leaves no gap between the bracket and the back of the case.

I talked to honeywelll - they seemed confused. They have a new part number (005-03702-0015) which is not mentioned in the manual - but is a bracket for both size batteries which looks like what you show here. They say that is what I should have got.

I'm trying to get in touch with Sporty's now, to see what's going on.

Thanks Everyone!
 
Wow, so there IS a second bracket. Mine is definitely the "old" standard battery size one.

av8orbracket.jpg


I guess the other bracket should come with the battery like it seems to indicate in the manual. It will be interesting to see how this plays out. I'm sure Honeywell is caught off guard here but will take care of the problem.
 
I took some more

This one is the extra battery and the cover that came with it
DSC05661.JPG


This is the 'out of the box' holder

DSC05662.JPG


Extended life battery fitted

DSC05663.JPG


Standard 'out of the box' holder fitted over extended life battery

DSC05664.JPG
 
Looks like the included bracket for the newer shipments is one that works with either battery. I guess us early adopters got the low profile bracket only. Anybody in that position is probably going to have to get a )hopefully free) new style bracket from Honeywell.

Might be a P.I.T.A to get one, but they seem to be more than willing to address problems as they pop up.
 
AndyRV7 said:
I guess us early adopters got the low profile bracket only. QUOTE]

I got my AV8OR directly from Honeywell as part of their employee offer - so you might be right that they changed the bracket from the original June 08 launch.
Click to expand...
 
I spoke with Sporty's today and they worked it out with their Honeywell rep.

Apparently the bracket is also supposed to come with the larger battery. They are getting one shipped out to me as quickly as possible. I have to give a good plug to Sporty's here - they handled this very quickly and professionally.

Thanks to everyone for their help - I really thought I was losing it when I got the new battery and couldn't make it work. Since I didn't see anyone else complaining - I couldn't figure out what was going on!

Jim
 
I was trying to show someone at the airfield yesterday the AV8OR as they were interested in maybe purchasing one, so over a cup of coffee I let them play with it in demo mode - after a couple of minutes he asked how to set the altitude for the demo flight - I had to be honest and say I didn't know.

Can it be done ?
 
Scrabo said:
I was trying to show someone at the airfield yesterday the AV8OR as they were interested in maybe purchasing one, so over a cup of coffee I let them play with it in demo mode - after a couple of minutes he asked how to set the altitude for the demo flight - I had to be honest and say I didn't know.

Can it be done ?
Click to expand...


Sure, just go to Setup and then to Demo Setup. There is a field for starting altitude and direction of flight.
 
AV8OR and hands free phoning

I'm curious as to people's experiences using the AV8OR in a car with a cell phone. I am very interested in getting one, but I would need to use mine hands free in my car. For instance, do the speaker and microphone work well? Incidentally, I have a Nokia (6101, I think) cell phone (AT&T service). I mention that because sometimes there is a difficulty in pairing bluetooth devices. I am also looking at the ATC, so any feedback on that unit in this respect would be helpful.
 
Does the AV80R ship with a free database update in the box, and what is the deal with updating the roads database, just have to buy a new card?
 
Sledgehammer said:
I'm curious as to people's experiences using the AV8OR in a car with a cell phone. I am very interested in getting one, but I would need to use mine hands free in my car. For instance, do the speaker and microphone work well? Incidentally, I have a Nokia (6101, I think) cell phone (AT&T service). I mention that because sometimes there is a difficulty in pairing bluetooth devices. I am also looking at the ATC, so any feedback on that unit in this respect would be helpful.
Click to expand...


I've gotten mine to work with a Verizon LG phone. I think it worked fine in my apartment, but I can't see how ANY device could be succesful in a car (with the windows open??). Kind of like trying to talk to people using the speaker-phone portion of your phone, while the phone is near your lap. Sure it works, but is it very good for what you are trying to do??? Maybe not? To be fair though, I never tried outside my apartment.
 
flypig687 said:
Does the AV80R ship with a free database update in the box, and what is the deal with updating the roads database, just have to buy a new card?
Click to expand...

It does come with a coupon for a air database update. Not sure about updating the actual roads portion. There was some discussion about it in here and it seemed expensive at a glance (although, not frequently needed). But someone made a logical argument for getting cheaper updates at some point. I have not felt like I needed to yet, but maybe someday.
 
Does the AV80R have terrain alerts and extended center lines?

According to the Sportys page the AV80R is not WAAS, doesn't have a traffic interface which it does indeed have. It also says no about center lines and terrain alerts, so i want to make sure.
 
I called Bendix/King to activate my free database update, since i just got my AV80R this week. After I took care of the update activation I asked if they are going to be offering automotive database updating in the future. For what its worth, the person on the other end of the line said that is being worked on currently and will be avaliable some time soon.
 
Battery Test!

Well, I found a plane with no 12V socket in it. My normal rental planes are in for work, so I paid up for the newer R-model Cessna. Can you believe that the 12V socket isn't included in these? Or not the ones my school owns anyway!!

So I was going to fly from Caldwell (CDW) in North Jersey to Cape May Co. (WWD) on Thursday. I decided to fly the Philly side of the state on the way down and then come back up the coast. Fortunately, I had done a flight plan using the VORs as a back-up in case the GPS ever quit. Otherwise, I don't think I would have been able to make the trip. You have to wedge yourself between Philadelphia's air space and Mc Guire (WRI). I also wanted to stay out of Alert A-220. So I figured I could turn on my GPS when I got near Robbinsville VOR at the top of A-220 and then thread the needle to South Jersey, where the airspace issues went away. So I turned down the backlight to one notch from the bottom and departed Caldwell.

It looks like the AV8OR doesn't log while it is in sleep mode, which I used between visual checkpoints on my flight plan. There is one blip between Philly and Atlantic City, where I woke the AV8OR back up to make sure I was clear of A-220 before I began tracking Cedar Lake VOR and then visual to Cape May.

On the way home, I was worried about New York. I just called up Atlantic City approach from Wildwood after departing Cape May, and flew about a mile offshore all the way to Asbury Park. I tuned Robbinsville back in but it would have been a longer ride home by VOR, so once I was as far inland as I cared to be, I turned the AV8OR back on and flew closer to direct.

The battery was 3 out of 4 bars when I left Caldwell. I guess I will make sure I use the wall socket adapter when I am doing my flight plans the night before so I have full charge if I need it. But when I landed, I was still at 2 bars. This shouldn't be a surprise since they claim about 1.5 hours of use at full backlight I think (or close to that anyway???). But then again, who wants to test that near New York's space. Also, I had no problem seeing the AV8OR in the Cessna. I may have had to shield it with my hand once or twice to make sure I was seeing the finer details around me, but it worked very well at that time of the day with a low back light setting. Maybe someday when I know where I am going better, I may have to run the GPS on battery the whole flight and see what kind of time I can get out of the battery.

So it was a creative plan and a great flight to the beach. Sure was better than going to work!!:)

CapeMayGPSLogSM.jpg
 
Good luck with using the 12v adaptor!
This produces A LOT of RFI, to the extent that (in the car) the radio (own-brand Toyota) will not function properly.


Duncan.
 
Dunkan said:
Good luck with using the 12v adaptor!
This produces A LOT of RFI, to the extent that (in the car) the radio (own-brand Toyota) will not function properly.


Duncan.
Click to expand...

Yep,
Ford F-150, same thing.

But, in the airplane I don't hear any extra noise on the radio (I-Com A200) even with the squelch pulled out.

Mark
 
I've never had a hint of trouble in the plane or car. I drive a 2005 Honda for what it's worth. Hey, but now that you mention it, I do get about 3-4 MPG better mileage in the car when I have the AV8OR plugged in ... :D
 
Photo of XM weather on the AV80R

I got the WxWorx bluetooth box installed a few weeks ago and I've been enjoying having XM weather in the airplane.

Here's a photo from yesterday afternoon with the weak cold front just reaching the Louisiana line. The outer ring is 50nm.


my.php
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Cool shot of the weather mark. Something I still don't need yet but hope to!!

I flew my AV8OR in another plane with no 12v socket today. I wasn't worried about the airspace as much this time so I let it run the whole time. I made a couple waypoint entries, checked a couple airport info pages, and panned the map a little. The battery started warning me it was low about 2 hours into the flight, on my way home. I flew it for about another half hour and tied down before I shut the unit. The battery was still going. I logged 2.5 on the hobbs. This was at the second lowest backlight setting. Still plenty of visibility in a Skyhawk. Never had to shade the screen once. I was going to keep it running inside the school to see when it would power off but I got bored with the experiment so I called it a day. You guys that bought the bigger battery should do pretty well. As it is, I got all the flight time out of mine that I needed. The longest rental flights I can usually sneak in are 3 hours hobbs, and that is in better weather when I don't have to heat the engine or de-ice!!:)
 
I just wanted to say:
I've got the AV8OR. And am happy with it.
Got the bigger battery with it. But in the aircraft I use it always with the 12V-plug.

Here in Europe it works great for me. The XM-weather is no option in Europe, but all other stuff is nice and great.

By the way, did someone of you already a "working" copy of the SD-Card? I just wanted to make sure to have a safety-copy, in case i will loose the original.

Phil
 
I think there may be a new firmware online - GPS 006-004

?The lowest brightness setting was further decreased. Pilots have complained the display is too bright at night.

? Intelligent upgrading for both the firmware and software was added. This will allow the user to download the newest firmware or software to the SD card and the next time the AV8OR is turned on, it will automatically update firmware or software. The user will still have to calibrate the touch screen when the process is finished.

?The MAC address for Bluetooth device was made visible to allow an alternative method of identification.
 
Scrabo said:
?The lowest brightness setting was further decreased. Pilots have complained the display is too bright at night.
Click to expand...

I'm glad to see this. I still haven't flown mine at night, but this is one of the things I pointed out to them a while back. They shrugged it off and told me that nobody else had mentioned it. Good to see they took another look.
 
I updated my firmware tonight. Two cautions though. Unless I am missing the obvious, I think there are two points in the instrutions that might cause you a problem.

First, at some point during the firmware download, the instructions reference a path that starts with D:\Documents and Settings. Actually, there is no mention of the appropriate path, but this is the one in the picture. It seems to be an oversight on Honeywell's part. What they are trying to get you to do is download the firmware files to your AV8OR so an auto updater can do the rest of the work for you. The instructions leave you hanging though. I ended up downloading the files to my C: drive but the dates were Februaury, so I couldn't tell if that was the current update when I went to browse for it later. I ended up pointing to the Update Kit folder in the AV8OR itself and redownloading. That's the first part.

Second, the instructions have a fork in the road. If you have a certain file in your AV8OR (found in the system info screen), you are supposed to skip to near the end off the instructions and continue from there. You are supposed to be able to hold and release the reset button on the back of the unit and get the AV8OR to auto-update when it reboots. But I couldn't get the auto-update page to pop up like they said it would. This may have something to do with choosing the incorrect download path in the step above.

I got a little frustrated, but finally went back and looked at the other fork in the road, which amounted to a much more manual update. It walks you through finding and pointing to the files you want and then having the update process using the pointed-to files. In the end, this manual method worked.

It seems like the Honeywell instructions are pretty good, but lacking one or two key pieces of info, like the actual path you are supposed to use to download the update files.

I can confirm that they put what seems to be one lower backlight setting in the slider bar. It seems if anything to be fine or even a little dark. But night and day different from the next notch up the slider.

I'd be curious to know how you guys make out with this update. Maybe I just missed the obvious, like I said!?

Good luck.
 
I just applied it 5 mins ago and the auto update was fine, it does depend on the version you were updating from ( Start of step 3) - whole process took less than 2 mins.

A lot easier than the previous firmware update which the previous poster seems to have had to do.
 
What path did you use to download the update files?

And yes, I jumped from v2 to v4, but I seemed to have the indicated file to be able to jump forward in the install instructions. The manual update was about a 3 minute job, and not very difficult. You just had to point to all three new files manually in the update function on the system info page.
 
I used whatever path it suggested at the time I ran the update program, something like 'My Documents/AV8ORFirmwareupdate' or something
 
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