Digiflight II/AF-3500 and a 496?

I have a question for anyone running a similar panel. I have a Garmin 496, and will be running an AF-3500 and a TruTrak autopilot. I'm trying not to over buy, so I'm thinking of using a Digiflight II. I won't be flying IFR, so I don't need vertical guidance or coupled approaches or anything like that.

My question is about how well the autopilot will perform the the setup listed above. Trutrak wants the gps output set to "fast", but the AF-3500 needs it set to "normal". Lucas at Trutrak tells me the autopilot may wander a bit when following the gps while the output is set to normal. Have any of you experienced this, or does it work fine? If so, did changing the autopilot settings help? If I get the Digiflight II, it won't have gpss, so I would connect it to the gps and EFIS with a serial line, not the ARINC module.

Thanks,

Not sure I understand the "fast" and "normal" nomenclature. The TT setting is a baud rate...

Normal and Fast

The 496 can output data once every second, fast, or once every two seconds, slow, or so I'm told. The Trutrak and the AF-3500 each prefer different speeds.

I seriously doubt that you will see any AP performance difference between fast and regular mode. In fast mode the 496 sends less data at a faster update rate, we use the extra data that is available in regular mode for map course line drawing.

Rob Hickman
Advanced Flight Systems

"Fast" would be 9600 baud in this case, and I seriously doubt that AFS "prefers" it any slower than that.. I don't think you'll have any troubles having it set on 9600...

Good info

Thanks everyone. I always appreciate the quick responses on the forums, especially when someone like Rob chimes in.

A friends setup.

Craig23 said:

I have a question for anyone running a similar panel. I have a Garmin 496, and will be running an AF-3500 and a TruTrak autopilot. I'm trying not to over buy, so I'm thinking of using a Digiflight II. I won't be flying IFR, so I don't need vertical guidance or coupled approaches or anything like that.

Click to expand...

Here is almost the exact setup you are describing.

ADI, not Digiflight is only difference.

All works just fine. Just finished 2nd year of use.