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Slaved screen for the rear seat?

RBD

RBD

Well Known Member
Do any of the EFIS companies sell a screen for the rear seat? This should be a fairly simple thing to do, and I would think that nearly every tandem airplane owner with a glass panel would buy one. To clarify, I'm talking about a small LCD screen that is a display only, and is driven by the instrumentation up front.
 
The G2 version of MGL odyssey or voyager can do this, I'm using a car DVD player on my pilot side that will be able to play movies or show the EFIS screen.
 
Chris is correct, the G2 has a standard 15 pin VGA connector (same as your PC) that outputs the image as you see it on the actual EFIS screen.
This means you can connect any VGA compatible monitor (and that means a huge range of cheap monitors).
In-car entertainment screens tend to be quite OK and are inexpensive - look for something that works reasonably well in sunlight and can accept a VGA feed (most can so you can connect a laptop or similar).

If the run from the EFIS to the screen is quite long (say 6 feet or more), be sure to get a good quality 75 ohm matched VGA cable to avoid degraded display quality on your second screen.
Also, be absolutley certain of your power supply wiring to your external screen, in particular the ground run. If the screens ground goes open circuit but the supply is connected, it will try and use the VGA signal ground to the EFIS which is not a good thing (maximum ground currents are limited due to the use of ferrite EMI suppression).

Rainier
CEO MGL Avionics

RBD said:
Do any of the EFIS companies sell a screen for the rear seat? This should be a fairly simple thing to do, and I would think that nearly every tandem airplane owner with a glass panel would buy one. To clarify, I'm talking about a small LCD screen that is a display only, and is driven by the instrumentation up front.
Click to expand...
 
BIG THANKS

Rainier Lamers said:
Chris is correct, the G2 has a standard 15 pin VGA connector (same as your PC) that outputs the image as you see it on the actual EFIS screen.
This means you can connect any VGA compatible monitor (and that means a huge range of cheap monitors).

Rainier
CEO MGL Avionics
Click to expand...

Rainier, thanks for making this available.

I had asked about doing this very thing 3 or 4 years ago, "everybody" said it could not be done.

Guess you proved them wrong.
 
VGA cable problem

I am planning to slave a sunlight readable monitor built into a custom headrest on my RV-8 from a MGL Voyager G2. Problem - Holes not large enough in spar/bulkheads to fit a standard VGA plug/lead.

Possible solutions:

1. Use 5 AWG22 shielded wires made into a bundle (R, G, B, H sync and V Sync and their respective grounds) with ferrite ring at EFIS end.

2. Chop up a matched 75 ohm VGA cable and re-wire to a 15 pin connector when through the holes. Downside is this cable is PVC which is not recommended for aviation.

What do you think and any other solutions?

Bob Ellis
90% done 99% to go (well it feels like it!)
www.rv-8.co.uk
 
We are working on a project that use data from RS-232 from Dynon and transmit by bluetooth, that data will be received in an iPad or iPhone and the App will show efis and ems information. ;)
 
Maybe i'm missing something obvious, but if you use a Dynon or GRT based sytem, you get an ability to add a second screen and use it to display more data. Does that not extend to adding a third, if desired? If not, why not a larger single screen up front and the second one in the back? No need for it to be completely "dumb", why not leave it as an EFIS that the passenger can control, so the GIB could swap between EFIS, engine, GPS, etc. displays?

Or am I missing something?
 
Snowflake said:
Maybe i'm missing something obvious, but if you use a Dynon or GRT based sytem, you get an ability to add a second screen and use it to display more data. Does that not extend to adding a third, if desired? If not, why not a larger single screen up front and the second one in the back? No need for it to be completely "dumb", why not leave it as an EFIS that the passenger can control, so the GIB could swap between EFIS, engine, GPS, etc. displays?

Or am I missing something?
Click to expand...

Yes, but you are paying for the entire screen capabilities. If you don't need those capabilities, you can save the money and just have a screen mirroring the front screen.
 
I'm with the RUBBER-PIE-CHICKEN!

I would only want to give the GIB something to look at and it has to be very thin so you don't take up more space in the back seat.

The GIB doesn't has full controls back there anyway, so let them have fun, fly a little and maybe be your relief pilot on long trips too.
 
Snowflake said:
Maybe i'm missing something obvious, but if you use a Dynon or GRT based sytem, you get an ability to add a second screen and use it to display more data. Does that not extend to adding a third, if desired? If not, why not a larger single screen up front and the second one in the back? No need for it to be completely "dumb", why not leave it as an EFIS that the passenger can control, so the GIB could swap between EFIS, engine, GPS, etc. displays?

Or am I missing something?
Click to expand...

No objection to that, except what people *really* want is a cheaper EFIS.
The Trutrak Gemini stuff looks good here. You don't really need a magnetometer for the GIB, GPS data works fine.

Now, it is quite likely that there will soon be an iPhone app for flight/engine data for the GIB......


V
 
iHud provides flight data (GPS and gyro/tilt/g sensor based) for the iPhone. The iPhone4 is capable of proper gyro-based display (coordinated turns will show the horizon tilted, unlike on the iPhone3 where a coordinated turn looks like straight and level), but the software is still being updated. There are other apps that do this as well.

The 3G equipped iPad has GPS and the same sensors as the iPhone4, which in theory means it could do the same. And it's thin, and it could do in-flight movies/entertainment for the guy-in-back. And it's reasonably cheap. All that's missing is a mount, although the RAM mounts would probably be more than adequate.
 
Snowflake said:
iHud provides flight data (GPS and gyro/tilt/g sensor based) for the iPhone. The iPhone4 is capable of proper gyro-based display (coordinated turns will show the horizon tilted, unlike on the iPhone3 where a coordinated turn looks like straight and level), but the software is still being updated. There are other apps that do this as well.

The 3G equipped iPad has GPS and the same sensors as the iPhone4, which in theory means it could do the same. And it's thin, and it could do in-flight movies/entertainment for the guy-in-back. And it's reasonably cheap. All that's missing is a mount, although the RAM mounts would probably be more than adequate.
Click to expand...

Check TruTrak site for their iPhone EMS.

V
 
Snowflake said:
Maybe i'm missing something obvious, but if you use a Dynon or GRT based sytem, you get an ability to add a second screen and use it to display more data. Does that not extend to adding a third, if desired? If not, why not a larger single screen up front and the second one in the back? No need for it to be completely "dumb", why not leave it as an EFIS that the passenger can control, so the GIB could swap between EFIS, engine, GPS, etc. displays?

Or am I missing something?
Click to expand...

Ben is planning some kind of super-duper GRT setup in his -8 and has promised me a fully capable EFIS in the back. I guess you just spend more money when your GIB is an Instrument-rated pilot... :cool: Not that I don't enjoy being a vegetable in the passenger seat when Ben flies, but I'd like to be able to help him out when he wants an extra set of hands & eyes.
 
Last edited:
KatieB said:
Ben is planning some kind of super-duper GRT setup in his -8 and has promised me a fully capable EFIS in the back. I guess you just spend more money when your GIB is an Instrument-rated pilot... :cool:
Click to expand...

FYI - I have played around with mounting a GRT EFIS for the back-seater in the -8, and couldn't come up with a satisfactory solution because of the depth of the display. It is easy to make it very hard to get in and out of the back seat. We ended up with a mount for a 396 back there, and that works out pretty well.

I understand the OP's desire to put in a flat panel - there just isn't much depth!

Paul
 
Back seat panel

Greetings,
I have been flying with a back seat panel in my RV-8 for about 400 hours. It has been a tremendous improvement for the backseater to fly, monitor the approach, check the map, etc. They can set the altimeter, set up most of the approach, set altitudes, climbs and descents
I have the GRT system and it is a flawless setup for 3 screens. I ran a wire bundle along with ethernet cable to the back seat.
I cut a .063 panel and have it mounted on 4 adel clamps. 2 of the clamps serve as the padding for the front seat back rails - they also keep my front seat shoulder harnesses in place. I have the GRT screen just low enough to clear the front seat back and it fits well. I traced the roll bar outline on a piece of cardboard and then cut the panel. I came up with a quadrangle looking panel that is about 8 inches tall. The only thing mounted is the GRT display and a clamp for a small piece of paper to write notes/freqs etc.
I cannot send a picture as I am deployed right now - home in July.
In the words of Kevin Horton "my favorite way to engineer - light, cheap and simple" or something like that.

Bruce "FM" Edwards
RV-8 391FM, flying 469 hours
3 GRT HX displays, GNS-430, digiflight VSGV
 
Bruce. Whilst my wring issue in post #5 is yet to be resolved ( i kept it here and not electrical for people who search slaving rear screens) your idea of the 4 Adel clamps is great and I will be looking to adopt that. Thanks for the post.

Regards
Bob
www.rv-8.co.uk
 
OK, I've been through this thread back and forth and seem to get conflicting information.

I'd like to add a "dumb" (slave) screen to the rear seat. I'd like to have the ability to display whatever is shown on the front display or, at the flip of a switch, movies/video... Seems that some manufacturers of EFIS offer VGA outputs for just such a purpose, does GRT? If not, is there a way to intercept and convert the data for a "display only" screen?
 
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