Garmin Knowledge Needed....

Hello All. I am in the process of troubleshooting avionics and in need of some expertise. I have the following items:

GMA 340
GNS 530W (Com 1)
SL 30 (Com 2)
GTX 330 ES

All are wired through an Approach Fast Stack Pro-G Hub but I am having some issues.

First, the GMA 340 has barely and volume in the headset and the intercom does NOT seem to be working (but this may be due to the volume issue. Additionally, whichever "Com/Mic" switch is selected, it blinks continuously.

Second, the GNS 530 does not seem to be getting power. A check of the Part no. indicates that it "should" power on with an input of 11-33v. Connections all look good. Thoughts? Ideas?

Third, SL 30 seems to go into "TX" when "Com 2" is selected on the GMA 340. [This is more likely an audio panel issue but I wanted to break it out.] When "Com 1" is selected or audio panel is turned off, transmit light goes out. Suggestions?

Finally, GTX 330 ES does not power on.

All of the units were collected over the years and are of dubious history so it is possible I bought trash. If that's the case, are there any suggestions on who might be able to assess the units' serviceability and repair as necessary?

Should I just send my rack to someone to have them professionally wired so that they work right?

I appreciate your reading to this point. Any suggestions or pointers would be greatly appreciated.

I would start with Approach

Gunny,

Since you have the Approach Fast Stack Hub, and since Tim Haas at Approach is a cracker jack avionics guru, I would send the stack up there and see if he can sort it out. He has never failed me.

Semper fi,

Steve

Hey Gunny,

Your post points in many directions, and just might bring up zero or a multitude of responses. From one former Marine to another, find a certified Garmin dealer in your area and have your equipment bench tested. It all isn’t plug and play and doesn’t last a life time so your stuff needs to be inspected since it has a checkered past. Once you know what you have then make your next decision as to which way you go from that knowledge base.

Semper Fi

Steve Ashby said:

Gunny,

Since you have the Approach Fast Stack Hub, and since Tim Haas at Approach is a cracker jack avionics guru, I would send the stack up there and see if he can sort it out. He has never failed me.

Semper fi,

Steve

Click to expand...

Thanks, Steve. I'll contact him....

KleensRV6 said:

Hey Gunny,

Your post points in many directions, and just might bring up zero or a multitude of responses. From one former Marine to another, find a certified Garmin dealer in your area and have your equipment bench tested. It all isn?t plug and play and doesn?t last a life time so your stuff needs to be inspected since it has a checkered past. Once you know what you have then make your next decision as to which way you go from that knowledge base.

Semper Fi

Click to expand...

Not sure if anyone would look at the GNS 530 since Garmin no longer supports it....

Steve Ashby said:

Since you have the Approach Fast Stack Hub, and since Tim Haas at Approach is a cracker jack avionics guru, I would send the stack up there and see if he can sort it out. He has never failed me.

Click to expand...

This is great advice.

Remember the units do not get power via the Fast Stack hub so make sure they are properly connected to their 12v source.

FredMagare said:

Not sure if anyone would look at the GNS 530 since Garmin no longer supports it....

Click to expand...

That's not exactly true...I'm no huge fan of Garmin, but they're still supporting the 430/530 line, just not *producing* them anymore.

What "support" means in terms of bug fixes, etc., remains to be seen, but there are hundreds of thousands of these things in the field, and they didn't just drop support for them.

FredMagare said:

Thanks, Steve. I'll contact him....

Click to expand...

Tim will definitely take care of you! He will talk you through checking your airplane and he will gladly accept all of your equipment of dubious history and do appropriate bench checks. I would start by double checking all of your power, ground, and lighting wires that are pigtailed off of the Approach Fast Stack cables and their power and ground sources.

Update

Solved the vexing problem with the GMA 340. Apparently, I had transposed the mic and phone jacks in the DB9 connector which led to a "hot mike" situation, over riding IC/music input functions, and leading to the SL 30 transmit problem. Corrected and all is well.

Still not getting power to the GNS 530 or the GTX 330. Tracing down the part numbers shows that both are supposed to power from 11-33v. A check of all the designated power and ground pins shows +12v on power and solid grounds. No pins seem bent. Working with a local avionics shop to repair if necessary.

Thank your for the guidance and suggestions.