S

sneedrv-6

Well Known Member
I have a DigiFlight II VSGV.Just got it back from the company with the update to allow it to work better with the advanced flight Efis. Today I noticed that in level flight with the AP on say at 6,000 feet if I put my finger over the light sensor of the AP head that auto dims the face of the AP the plane climbs about 400 feet. Remove you finger from the light sensor and the plane drops back to 6,000. It started to really get interesting when I was flying an approach (gps) and removed the black electrical tape from the light sensor, you guesses it, the plane dove 400 feet. I'll be call TT Monday but thought I would post this to see if anyone else can test and I think this could be a safety issue.

Jason
RV-6 Dual AHRS Advanced Flight.
430w
AP is vertical and horizontal

Awesome aircraft photography!
Sneedimages.com
 
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I cannot imagine how the light sensor (to dim the screen) could possibly be linked to the ALT hold or rate of climb. This is gonna be interesting! Keep us informed.
 
is this with the new display (blue) maybe?

or still the old one (greenish)...?

given the fact, that there is a history of EMI problems, that could only be rectified using an external db-25 filter (been there, done that) i can certainly imagine something like this happening...
will be very interesting to see wheter anyone else reports the same problem/can reproduce it.

kind of proves my (general, not a/p or trutrak related) experience that the actual wiring itself is easy. the problems appear with EMI, RFI, incompatible serial links and other undocumented stuff similar to this.

keep us updated!

rgds,
bernie
 
i suggest (if not already done) to contact lucas at trutrak and maybe post in their forum as well...

sounds like a bug could have been introduced by the new display...

was about to send in ours for the upgrade, but may want to sit this one out first... thanks for the info.

bernie
 
shucks, I just sent mine and expected to get it tomorrow. I sure will be testing it to see if mine will do the same. Thanks for the heads up!

Mehrdad
RV7A - IO360M1B
 
Nuts is right - mine is likewise meant to undergo surgury tomorrow!

Question for the OP - do you have the filter on the back that was recommended for those of us who experienced transients when keying the mic? This symptom sounds similar to the "mild" version of that glitch.
 
Can any one elaborate a bit more on the filter or DB25 as what it is and what is it suppose to do? Sorry if I sound ignorant in this regard, it is because I am :)

Mine had the green screen which went out twice but it always functioned properly no issues with mic or auto dimming function.

Regards
Mehrdad
RV7A-IO360M1B

P.S. What version of software do you have now that is misbehaving?
 
New Screen

I've flying mine with the new blue screen for a couple of weeks. I need to contact Lucas tomorrow as well. My unit has been shutting off under bizarre circumstances. I have had it shut off when changing frequencies, when I covered the light sensor and hit the PTT button. I've been able to duplicate this after suspecting a problem. Seems to be sensitive to any electrical changes.

I love the blue screen and I'm hoping this is minor issue that can be quickly resolved. I'm confident in TruTrak.
 
Tested mine today.. it did climb.. but only 60 feet and after that, it wanted to go back down to original altitude (while sensor still covered)... Removing the finger from the sensor initiated immediate correction back to original alt...

This is the regular VSGV w/ new blue screen.. not AFS model..
 
regarding the db25 filter:

there were earlier issues with the digiflight series (no matter which screen in that case) where it would cause pitch excursions when transmitting on com1 for example. we're not flying yet, but had it happen when testing the autopilot on the ground.
source was traced to radio frequency interference coming through the main connector into the unit. someone else found out the trick with the db25 filter, then spread it on the net.
here's the one we're using:
https://www.distrelec.ch/ishopWebFr...r/is/125806/and/id/is/01/and/series/is/1.html
there are other sources for similar filters in the u.s.
they plug inline between the connector and the autopilot navhead. the problem went away instantly. according to lucas, when asked why they don't incorporate the fix internally, he mentioned it to be impossible for them to retrofit the filter function in the current hardware due to space/pcb constraints. and he claims the problem to appear too randomly to warrant supplying the filter with the autopilot. they aren't that expensive ($25 or so) compared to the autopilot but just another one of the 10000 unnecessary hassles in airplane building. first you need to detect a. that you have a problem, b. that you're not the only one, c. what the cause is, d. find a fix somewhere in the forums, e. find, f. order, g. pay, h. have it shipped, i. then wait and wonder wheter it will fix the problem...

service has been excellent by trutrak but me thinks, given the situation, they should supply these filters free of charge to whoever encounters the problem if not with every autopilot at delivery...

the fact that these filters were even required in the first part shows that there is an underlying EMI/RFI problem in the design.

so it didn't surprise me at all that somebody finds the dimmer(of the new screen) to cause erratic behaviour.

displays/backlights are common "noise generators" and put a new/different one internally into a device that's already critical in that regard and you might end up with a situation like this. wonder why they didn't catch that one during testing though...

i have high regards in trutrak and am sure they will provide a fix.
also it's important to know, that once you have tested the installation under all electrical configurations, ptt presses, dimmer settings etc... and found no problems the units should function just fine and reliably. this is due diligence, but should be a caution for anyone wanting to test it "out of the box" right away in the air. be careful, there might be nasty surprises.

the vsgv version and AFS version are technically identical except for different software loads and button labels as i understand. so these emi/rfi issues affect all in the same way.

rgds, bernie
 
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Here is the thread on the TruTrak forum about the RF issue and the "solution" that fixed it.

Although it sounds similar, if the SOURCE of the RF issue is internal with the new Blue screen, I don't know that the filter would either help or hurt.

If those of you experiencing the problem will provide TruTrak the answer to the question of whether or not you have the filter installed, it might at least eliminate that as a cause or cure.
 
It is a Monday isn't it?

We have confirmed this "phenomenon" in units that have the new display, but the older magnetometer style circuit boards. We are looking into the solution for this right now. As soon as we have the answer, I'll post on here and our own forum.

To answer a few other questions, I doubt the addition of the filter on the back of the unit will cure this particular problem. This is an internal problem, not an external one like the other RF issues seen by customers.

We don't supply the filters with the units because the number of people experiencing the RF/pitch change problem is quite few. Also, the units do have capacitance filters on the boards themselves and are protected as best we can. But when you have a large external RF source (such as a comm), you are hitting the AP with more than it can handle on its own. The gyros are very sensitive to these spikes in energy. The ideal solution is to find the source of the errant RF in your aircraft and eliminate it, but that is time consuming. The filter seems to do the trick in 99% of cases.

Ok, back to the topic at hand. No AFS Pilot units will be affected by this problem. As long as it has the EFIS/AP buttons, it's good to go regardless of if it's had the display changed or not.

Digiflight II units that still have the magnetometer in them (show HDG in the top left with no GPS signal), are susceptible to this problem. We should have a fix for this very soon and will take care of anyone who has this issue. Thank you all for your patience.
 
thanks lucas for correcting me / updating everyone.

when the dust settles, we'll be sending ours in for the afs&display upgrade.

rgds,
bernie
 
flyvans.com said:
thanks lucas for correcting me / updating everyone.

when the dust settles, we'll be sending ours in for the afs&display upgrade.

rgds,
bernie
Click to expand...

If you're sending in to update to the AFS Pilot version, go ahead. There is a fee associated with that but it converts it with the new boards that do not experience this problem. Let me know what you'd like to do. Thanks!
 
I received mine this morning with the updated screen and sure enough is misbehaving? it is climbing about 100 feet and stays there till I remove my finger. I also don't get "GPSV flagged" or "GPSV Armed" any more when I am on a GPS approach. I did two approaches and it followed the vertical guidance only once. Not sure why it did not follow the vertical even though both were exact same approach/altitudes.

Mehrdad
RV7A - IO360M1B
 
TT will fix all these bugs fast but it goes to show you that even people that have tons and tons of experience making AP's also have teething pains with new stuff.....
 
Bavafa said:
I received mine this morning with the updated screen and sure enough is misbehaving? it is climbing about 100 feet and stays there till I remove my finger. I also don't get "GPSV flagged" or "GPSV Armed" any more when I am on a GPS approach. I did two approaches and it followed the vertical guidance only once. Not sure why it did not follow the vertical even though both were exact same approach/altitudes.

Mehrdad
RV7A - IO360M1B
Click to expand...

We are working on everything right now. The annunciation bug will be fixed soon. The AP will still fly the approach as before, but the annunciation is not there for the GS. Both of these issues are top priority right now. Thanks!
 
The problem with the dimmer has been resolved. We were able to modify the units to prevent this problem, regardless of the circuit boards installed.

We are still working on the GPSV annunciation issue. I will let everyone know as soon as a fix is ready. This fix will require a software update, which as you all know requires sending the unit back to us.

Thanks for your patience!
 
Lucas,

My AP is back in the mail to you. You should get it Monday or Tuesday. What is the GPSV annunciation issue? Does my unit have it? Thanks for all the help!

Jason
 
sneedrv-6 said:
Lucas,

My AP is back in the mail to you. You should get it Monday or Tuesday. What is the GPSV annunciation issue? Does my unit have it? Thanks for all the help!

Jason
Click to expand...

I just replied to your email, but I'll post here to get the word out.

We have also now fixed the software issue with the GPSV annunciation for glideslope coupling. Something got changed in one of the revisions that made it just say GPSV, instead of GPSV ARM, GPSV DN etc. This has been resolved also. Thanks!
 
TrutrakTech said:
The problem with the dimmer has been resolved. We were able to modify the units to prevent this problem, regardless of the circuit boards installed.

We are still working on the GPSV annunciation issue. I will let everyone know as soon as a fix is ready. This fix will require a software update, which as you all know requires sending the unit back to us.

Thanks for your patience!
Click to expand...

For those of us not yet flying, and therefore not able to test if we are having the problem, how do we identify the units suspect of needing the fix???

A list of models, and serial numbers would be nice.

If we have one of the units that are suspect, should we just send it in for update/fix, or wait till the plane is flying and confirm any issues before sending it in??

Thanks in advance.
 
Mike S said:
For those of us not yet flying, and therefore not able to test if we are having the problem, how do we identify the units suspect of needing the fix???

A list of models, and serial numbers would be nice.

If we have one of the units that are suspect, should we just send it in for update/fix, or wait till the plane is flying and confirm any issues before sending it in??

Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...

Hi Mike,

I think I might be able to help you out. If you have the old display (not the dark colored one), then you're immune to the dimmer problem. If your display fails and we replace it, you still won't have the dimmer problem.

If you have software older than version 2.30, you do not have the GSPV annunciation problem. If you send your unit in for update, you will not have to worry about it as we are now shipping version 2.32 that is corrected. I hope this helps!
 
TrutrakTech said:
Hi Mike,

I think I might be able to help you out. If you have the old display (not the dark colored one), then you're immune to the dimmer problem. If your display fails and we replace it, you still won't have the dimmer problem.

If you have software older than version 2.30, you do not have the GSPV annunciation problem. If you send your unit in for update, you will not have to worry about it as we are now shipping version 2.32 that is corrected. I hope this helps!
Click to expand...

My unit is a flat pack, I beelieve it is a little over 2 years old.

As "dark colored one" is not too descriptive, I am not sure is it is the one with issues. "Dark colored" is totally subjective-----
 
Mike S said:
My unit is a flat pack, I beelieve it is a little over 2 years old.

As "dark colored one" is not too descriptive, I am not sure is it is the one with issues. "Dark colored" is totally subjective-----
Click to expand...

LOL, fair enough. The display you have is green when lit, and sort of clear looking when powered off. The new displays are completely black when powered off and have a bluish-black backlit with white digits when lit.

If you're flat pack is 2 years old and have the green display, yours will not have this problem. Thanks!
 
TrutrakTech said:
LOL, fair enough. The display you have is green when lit, and sort of clear looking when powered off. The new displays are completely black when powered off and have a bluish-black backlit with white digits when lit.

If you're flat pack is 2 years old and have the green display, yours will not have this problem. Thanks!
Click to expand...

Lucas, thanks for the response, this one I can figure out.

I really do appreciate you taking part in these forums. It is comforting to know you are out there.
 
Lucas,
Are we to send our units back for the fixes or should we wait till are contacted by you?

I just got mine back this Monday where I discovered the same bugs.

I appreciate your hard work and fast replies.

Mehrdad
RV7A- IO360M1B
 
Mehrdad,

I think due to the reasonably small number of units affected, let's have you just go ahead and give me a call to get it updated. Thanks!
 
Lucas,
Great and thanks. It would be awesome if it can be done without sending it. I will give you a call on Monday.

Mehrdad
RV7A - IO360M1B
 
autopilot

After almost 2 years since I upgraded my panel I thought everything would be working when I received my autopilot back from Trutrak after I found the issue with the auto display dim sensor. Now when I engage my autopilot it pretty much puts the plane in a right 90 degree bank and the nose heads for the the ground. Thinking that I need to do a mag calibration to solve the issue I have now wasted 2 days trying to get the autopilot to even say mag calibration. I followed the manual exactly (print and online version). I am assuming I just have a bad autopilot but if anyone can confirm that they can get into the mag calibration screen with the new updated autopilots for AFS. When my AP powers up it says D-IIF VSGV 2.32.

Thanks a bunch,

Jason
 
sneedrv-6 said:
After almost 2 years since I upgraded my panel I thought everything would be working when I received my autopilot back from Trutrak after I found the issue with the auto display dim sensor. Now when I engage my autopilot it pretty much puts the plane in a right 90 degree bank and the nose heads for the the ground. Thinking that I need to do a mag calibration to solve the issue I have now wasted 2 days trying to get the autopilot to even say mag calibration. I followed the manual exactly (print and online version). I am assuming I just have a bad autopilot but if anyone can confirm that they can get into the mag calibration screen with the new updated autopilots for AFS. When my AP powers up it says D-IIF VSGV 2.32.

Thanks a bunch,

Jason
Click to expand...

I believe they are fixing that issue free of charge. Call them.
 
A/P

Jason,
Which A/P do you have? AFS or Difi II VSVG. I have the AFS and I am no expert but I do not think it has a mag calibration because there is no magometer in the AFS version. Can't remember what it says on power up, but I can check for you.
Brent
 
(different Jason here). I just upgraded to the AFS version and have experienced similar issues reported by the other Jason. The A/P does not always engage, and when it does, it banks violently to the left and then right. Since nothing has changed in my harness, it must be the A/P. I am hoping to get a replacement from Trutrak.

As for the magnetometer question, Trutrak has removed those from all the new systems (including the AFS). The A/P now only relies on an internal gyro and allows you to manually set the bank angle if you do not have a GPS/Nav feed.

Jason
 
ap

My AP is in the mail to Lucas, I guess we will see what happens. I had really big problems, basically my AP was turned into a push button to crash box after the upgrade. I could only leave the AP engaged for about 10 seconds. I do not have the AFS AP but I have the upgraded Trutrak with vertical. I was told the only difference is the AFS AP has another button called efis which all you have to push to engage the AP and have the EFIS control it. I figured I would save a little money and just push a couple more buttons.

Thanks!
 
Update

Received new AFS A/P head from Trutrak and my problems are now gone... things work like they should. Although, I am a little perturbed that the AFS autopilot can no longer be driven directly from the GNS430W... The EFIS has to always be in the picture. So, if I have an EFIS failure, I cannot use the GNS430W to directly drive the AFS autopilot. :(
 
Can someone confirm this? My autopilot is to some degree the backup for the EFIS, so this is very undesirable in my setup.

Also, what is to be gained by using the AFS version of the software?

schu
 
I have a switch on my panel that takes the efis out of the picture and connects the 430w directly to the AP. Even with a dual efis system if you lost the PFD you can't shoot a GPS approach with the MFD, in this case I would want to have the 430w control the AP while shooting an approach while I watch the MFD for attitude, altitude, and speed. I guess there is a chance this switch will not work when I get my AP back but I would think it would still work. I know Rob has the ability to allow the efis to just pass the data from the 430 to the ap, because this is what he does once you are on the approach, at that point the data is just flowing from the 430w to the AP (unless something big has changed)...

Jason
 
sneedrv-6 said:
I have a switch on my panel that takes the efis out of the picture and connects the 430w directly to the AP. Even with a dual efis system if you lost the PFD you can't shoot a GPS approach with the MFD, in this case I would want to have the 430w control the AP while shooting an approach while I watch the MFD for attitude, altitude, and speed. I guess there is a chance this switch will not work when I get my AP back but I would think it would still work. I know Rob has the ability to allow the efis to just pass the data from the 430 to the ap, because this is what he does once you are on the approach, at that point the data is just flowing from the 430w to the AP (unless something big has changed)...

Jason
Click to expand...

If we are talking about the AFS autopilot for Trutrak, you cannot have the GNS430W drive it directly without the EFIS unless you are already in approach mode. I have raised this issue with Trutrak and they say it was designed that way because it is being sold as an integration with the AFS EFIS and not as a stand-alone system. I personally think that is a bunch of hogwash. The autopilot should be able to get lateral navigation guidance directly from the GPS without the EFIS if one so desires. My current panel is already setup with a source select switch for the A/P that I used with my II VSGV system prior to having it upgraded to the AFS system (now it is kinda useless) I would think this would only require a software change to support this capability, but Trutrak seems unwilling to address my concerns.
 
jrouault said:
If we are talking about the AFS autopilot for Trutrak, you cannot have the GNS430W drive it directly without the EFIS unless you are already in approach mode. I have raised this issue with Trutrak and they say it was designed that way because it is being sold as an integration with the AFS EFIS and not as a stand-alone system. I personally think that is a bunch of hogwash. The autopilot should be able to get lateral navigation guidance directly from the GPS without the EFIS if one so desires. My current panel is already setup with a source select switch for the A/P that I used with my II VSGV system prior to having it upgraded to the AFS system (now it is kinda useless) I would think this would only require a software change to support this capability, but Trutrak seems unwilling to address my concerns.
Click to expand...

In another post TT said that you still have the ability to connect the NMEA/Serial output of the GPS directly to the AFS autopilot. If this works the same way as the "normal" II APs, this will give you lateral guidance if you REMOVE the AFS source data stream (either through failure, powering it down, or wiring in a shutoff switch between the AFS and the AP). It will still require you to press the MODE button (or equivalent on the AFS version) to slave to the GPS steering, but that should be all.

I keep telling TT they should market this as a feature, and also have the MODE button soft-switch to the NMEA source. Still, it's nice to know it is there as a backup.
 
interesting...
thank you jason for posting this!

now that the backup magnetometer will be out plus the apparent incapacity of backup gps nav i wonder wheter paying 250$ for a get-some-loose-some proposition is worth it? i know i will have to do it to get the full afs integration that i'm counting on... but i always regarded the operational/hardware independence (but tight integration) of the autopilot and efis as a strong selling point vs the all-in-one dynon and bma setups (which have other advantages such as price and software capability).
now, this makes this selling point obsolete!

confirm, without the efis source (but direct hookup of a gps to the trutrak) the afs version is no longer able to fly a simple track and altitude including vs?
heck, why would it even need it's own gps hookup anyway?!

that would be big-time lame and get me seriously p...ed!
no wonder nobody knew since obviously documentation and software versioning on behalf of trutrak is less than transparent!

always had great customer service by luke @ tt and believe it's a wonderful product and a great company with an excellent reputation.
but unnecessary limitations like these are missing the sign of the times! also i'd rather have the capability of downloading the latest firmware and installing it myself just like every other device does these days (heck even flashing pc bios is practically dummy-proof nowadays).
this is even more important when one lives in europe and shipping is always an extra hassle!

my 20cts,

rgds, bernie
 
flyvans.com said:
interesting...
thank you jason for posting this!

now that the backup magnetometer will be out plus the apparent incapacity of backup gps nav i wonder wheter paying 250$ for a get-some-loose-some proposition is worth it? i know i will have to do it to get the full afs integration that i'm counting on... but i always regarded the operational/hardware independence (but tight integration) of the autopilot and efis as a strong selling point vs the all-in-one dynon and bma setups (which have other advantages such as price and software capability).
now, this makes this selling point obsolete!

confirm, without the efis source (but direct hookup of a gps to the trutrak) the afs version is no longer able to fly a simple track and altitude including vs?
heck, why would it even need it's own gps hookup anyway?!

that would be big-time lame and get me seriously p...ed!
no wonder nobody knew since obviously documentation and software versioning on behalf of trutrak is less than transparent!

always had great customer service by luke @ tt and believe it's a wonderful product and a great company with an excellent reputation.
but unnecessary limitations like these are missing the sign of the times! also i'd rather have the capability of downloading the latest firmware and installing it myself just like every other device does these days (heck even flashing pc bios is practically dummy-proof nowadays).
this is even more important when one lives in europe and shipping is always an extra hassle!

my 20cts,

rgds, bernie
Click to expand...

Yes, I am kinda regretting I did the upgrade to the AFS pilot. You get some nice integrated functionality with the AFS EFIS, but you also lose some basic functionality. At this point I am not sure the trade-off is worth it. Maybe I will change my mind after flying the integrated AFS setup for a while.

See thread in the Trutrak forum: http://trutrakap.com/forum/showthread.php?p=571#post571
 
I have not done much research on this issue, I am concentrating on trying to get everything working, spent a ton of $ to have an IFR bird able to shoot GPS approaches more than a year ago and still send parts back and forth to companies. I do know that Lucas told me I do not gain anything by upgrading to the AFS pilot EXCEPT I have to 2-3 more buttons to get the AP in gpss steering and altitude, but Lucas also thought I should have mag. calibration in my unit which it now appears from reading the forum I should not have it. One of the things I hate about these experimental companies is that they make a unit and the documentation, then years go by and the unit is so different the user guide does not even go with the unit. I will say that Rob and AFS is better than the norm on this topic.

When I designed my panel I thought if I lost the PFD I could still shoot an approach with the MFD. After the install I found out this is not true (unless I just lost the display and the unit was still working.) I found this out while flying and my PFD decided to stop working (bad power supply). At any rate I actually split the nav signal coming from the 430w and sent it to both AFS screens, I use to be able to pull the fuse on my PFD and still hand fly an ILS off the MFD but I think Rob said this will not work with the new software (I need to test this). At any rate, I REALLY do not like the thought of flying IMC without the AP, in fact, the only way I would do it is if the AP crapped out with in IMC and I would get direct vectors to VFR conditions. I would encourage everyone to fail your PFD and then assume you were in IMC and have to shoot an approach to Minimums, what would you do?
 
Again, it appears some people are posting potentially incorrect information here.

This conversation would probably be better held on the TruTrak forum, which they monitor more frequently.

My understanding is that the AFS version still has an auxiliary GPS input, so if this is hooked directly to the GPS and the EFIS fails the AP will still have direct input from the GPS (Serial, lateral guidance only).

The "lack" of the backup magnetometer is not a "loss," it was an upgrade. Too many pilots had challenges ever getting the magnetometer sufficiently calibrated in the panel environment to make it consistently reliable, so they changed the "emergency mode" (no GPS signal) to "Gyro Assisted Heading Hold." If you have your hand held (or primary) GPS hooked up to the Serial connection, this mode should never be engaged even if your EFIS quits.

Likewise, I do not fully understand the AFS EFIS but it is my understanding that when hooked to the AP you gain the ability to couple to Nav and ILS as well as GPS approaches, and also to use the EFIS heading set and altitude set bugs. These features would require the TT Sorcerer without the EFIS, an additional $4250 price difference. Maybe I'm silly, but that sounds like a doubling of the utility using the same autopilot, features well worth having.

Furthermore, it seems that there is some uncertainty as to whether you can use a DPDT switch between the AP ARINC input lines and the EFIS / GNS 430W ARINC Output lines, allowing you select the GPS as your data source. For that you will require either confirmation from TT or experimentation - the biggest holdup would be if the AFS requires different output settings from the 430W than the TT can "read." But, if it DOES work then my expectation would be that it will then work identically to a II VSGV coupled directly to a 430/430W.

My point is, before you all go boo-hooing about what you think you don't have, why not find out the facts?

:cool:
 
Let me see if I can put out some of these fires.

First, software updates in the field. Yes, we wish we had done this initially. However, the Digiflight II series and Sorcerer series autopilot core hardwares were designed 5-6 years ago. At that time we didn't think it would be necessary or prudent to add that capability. If you're at all familiar with our EFIS, you'll notice we rectified that previous mistake. Future products will be able to have the software updated in the field.

COMPLETELY redesigning the hardware in 90% of our product line is not an option as redesigning the hardware would also require an entire rewrite of the software. The code is developed to work with the hardware currently in the unit.

Second, the AFS Pilot is designed for full integration with the AFS EFIS, NOT a 430W. In the event of an EFIS failure, you still retain the basic AP modes, i.e. track mode, alt hold, and vertical speed select. There are only three buttons on the unit and a lot of features to get done with those buttons. Button layering with varying degrees of time delays is not something we want to include in the unit as it will GREATLY decrease the ease of use. It is still important to add an RS232 connection to the AP. That gives the track mode its info so that the bank angle backup mode will never even be seen.

Third, removal of the magnetometer. Bill is correct. We removed the magnetometer because we found it to be unreliable in too many uncontrollable conditions. The bank angle mode gives VERY reliable performance for a backup mode. It's much more stable at keeping you on course than the magnetic backup mode was. While we aren't retrofitting units that have the magnetometer free of charge anymore, we are no longer using it in DII units.

jrouault: I'll be happy to refund your $250 if you want to send the AFS Pilot back to us and I'll send you a DII VSGV.

As I said on our forum, I will bring this subject up with the engineer when I talk to him next week. I will gladly post up with any info I gather from that conversation.

I hope I've answered at least SOME of the questions here. One thing I must mention is that I've never been dishonest about the features, functions, and capabilities of either unit. I've been up front with everyone who has inquired.

If anyone would like to discuss anything with me one on one, please feel free to PM me. Thanks!
 
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