J

jimgreen

Well Known Member
I have a D100 and D120. Install seems to have gone OK and the DSAB works fine. I love the system so far, though I'm not flying yet.
The problem is my PC and Dynon don't recognise each other. I've tried 2 different laptops so far and tomorrow I'll be looking for a new USB/RS232 adapter.
I've read all the threads I can find on this. Seems to have been going on several years. Is there now a consensus on the reason for this and the fix?
Dynon tech support didn't have a magic bullet - suggested trying different computers and adapters.
Rather than developing a large collection of adapter cords, I thought I'd ask.
Thanks.
 
try these ideas

I have had similar problems on occasion and would suggest you try the following:
1. If you have a 496 or similar installed on the RS232 bus disconnect it completely before trying to connect the Dynons as it interfers with the RS232 port that the Dynons use for updates
2. There are different drivers for the prolific usb/serial converter, go to the prolific site and check them out, if when trying them out the laptop mistakenly identifies a microsoft intellipoint device then there is a replacement driver that will work. I believe I have the PL2303 Prolific DriverInstaller V110 installed (cant check it at home as only loads when the cable is plugged in which is at the hangar)
Good luck
 
Yep, important that all connected instruments / radios be OFF when you try to update. That includes turning off HS34 / AP74 while updating the 120. To be sure, pull CBs or, like the fellow above said, disconnect the Garmin x86 hand held unit to make sure it doesn't self-boot on battery power.
 
If you are using the serial to USB lead, make sure you install the driver for it - yep, it needs one. It then tells your computer which port it is using, then the Dynon sees the connection.

I had to buy a W*nd*ws laptop to update the darn thing - didn't want to use Parallels on my Mac and have Gates software lurking.... :rolleyes:

Vista is rubbish by the way.... :eek:
 
Success!

Thanks for the replies guys.
Didn't need to buy or steal anything.
After reading the help section of Dynon support program I realised that it is important to plug things in, in a specific order.

1. Turned on the laptop and allowed to stabilise for 2 or 3 minutes. Shut down the browser and disabled Wifi. Opened Dynon support program.
2. Plugged serial adapter into computer.
3. Powered up D100 EFIS but left EMS off
4. Connected the serial adapter to D100.

I don't know how much of this is necessary but it worked like a charm for me.Once I had communication the update to 5.4 was a snap, though I was surprised that it took about 10 minutes. Don't forget to back up before updating.
 
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Something else very important to do is make sure your laptop has a fully charged battery PLUS plug the thing into the ac power to ensure the laptop doesn't lose power during the update operation.
 
..And with SkyView, you plug in a USB stick and turn it on.

The D10/D100 products were first introduced in 2002, when serial was popular and 64MB of flash storage cost $100+. Serial updating isn't as simple as USB updating, but it does show that we support products for a very long time.
 
Yes the new way is a much more painless way...

Thousands of devices out in the world still use serial to update firmware. This is not unique to the EFIS world...and yes most if not all of them face the same challenges that EFIS makers do as far as drivers, operating systems, hardware, computers, ports, usb converters etc. Do the math on the number of variables involved and it is a miracle it works at all.

When they stopped putting real serial ports on laptops, the issues went up drastically.

I am still thankfull that EFIS makers even allow customers to update firmware. Imagine if you had to send it back in everytime you wanted to load an update....

dynonsupport said:
..And with SkyView, you plug in a USB stick and turn it on.

The D10/D100 products were first introduced in 2002, when serial was popular and 64MB of flash storage cost $100+. Serial updating isn't as simple as USB updating, but it does show that we support products for a very long time.
Click to expand...
 
dynonsupport said:
..And with SkyView, you plug in a USB stick and turn it on.

The D10/D100 products were first introduced in 2002, when serial was popular and 64MB of flash storage cost $100+. Serial updating isn't as simple as USB updating, but it does show that we support products for a very long time.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I often wondered about that. Why use a serial connector instead of USB? Maybe you wizards could design an adaptor ...

I had the same problems when my trusty ol' laptop went belly-up. I bought a new laptop running Windows 7, and it would connect but not communicate. Tried every combination and downloaded all new drivers. No joy.

I did buy a new serial-serial connector, just in case the wiring had gone south for some reason. Haven't used it yet. Since I can't go to LOE this weekend, maybe I'll experiment with the laptop, the new serial cable and your recommended sequence of connection.
 
Everything worked OK...

I hooked up my laptop running Windows 7 last weekend to update the firmware on my Dynons and it all went well. I completely removed the Garmin 396 from the panel (I needed to update they software anyway) and it booted up like a charm. Apparently, my previous attempts with the Garmin in the panel -- even turned off -- caused some interference.
 
Disconnect 496

Had the same issue hence the tip to disconnect the 496. Even with it switched off I received continuous checksum/retry errors in particular with the HS34 update which would not complete. With the 496 completely disconnected from the RS232 lines the updates completed with no errors.
 
Just for other people's reference, you do need to unplug all serial devices that share the wires with the update plug, not just turn them off. A device that is turned off still has electrical connections to the wires that can interfere with the data on the lines.
 
As we are talking of improvements etc, have some sympathy for us Mac users. No support, I had to buy a W*ndows machine to do my updates :(
Any chance of Mac support in the future ?
 
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