Ken Martin

Ken Martin

Well Known Member
Other then Garmin (obviously), can anyone tell me which EFIS systems have a working 2 way communication setup with the Garmin 430/530 & GNS 480?

Thanks,

Ken
 
Ken,
What do you mean by "two way" communication?

May of the experimental EFIS companies have ARINC-429 converters or have ARINC-429 built in, which allows a lot of functionality with the 430/480 products.

In Dynon's case, the ARINC-429 converter is the HS-34 for the D10 and D100 products. This allows us to receive VOR/ILS data as well as GPS data, GPS steering, and GPS vertical nav. We send back OBS, heading, airspeed, and some other data to the 430.

We don't have ARINC for the SkyView system yet but we are working on it.
 
Depends on what you mean by "2-way."

The Dynon Legacy units will display all HSI/flight instrument (e.g. TAS, Course, needles, GS) from the 480 and 430, and you can set the OBS course for Nav using the EFIS. Since they don't have moving map nor internal navigation capabilities, you must do your flight planning on the Garmin unit (which is just fine for many of us, making the Dynon the choice for the price-conscious). Dynon's new Skyview units have limited connectivity, serial only, but will have full integration later including all of the gee-whiz moving map and HITS, etc.

GRT integrates fine with both the 430/530 series and the 480, and I believe that MOST of the other EFISes do as well (but I'm not as familiar with them). Another interesting choice is the TruTrak EFIS. Think of that one as a top-notch experimental autopilot with a 6-pack and EMS as a "bonus." Coupled with a GNS 480, the TruTrak provides the best AP currently available with an interesting EFIS presentation for a good bang-for-the-buck.

The EFIS market is now very confusing because of the overlap of functionality between different pieces of your avionics. I recommend that people consider their entire SYSTEM, not just their EFIS, when purchasing. You may find that the gee-whiz features aren't really needed for your intended mission, or that you already have functionality in one unit (such as moving map on the Garmins) that you don't feel you need duplicated in an EFIS.

In the end, almost all of the available units are good; you just need to decide which one is right for you.
 
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I have a 480 connected to a GRT Horizon (not HX). The two work well together except for the "OBS" function from the GRT back to the 480.

What I mean is that when using the VOR as the nav source on the 480, I get a "flagged" indicator on the 480 even though the 480 is driving the "needles" on on GRT correctly.
 
By 2 way I mean both transmit and receive. I've heard many systems will receive data from the Garmin units but can no longer transmit "to". I'm hearing Garmin did this to control who can integrate with their systems??
 
ARINC-429 is a standard. There is no issue sending the 430 data, no need to work with Garmin on it. Any manufacturer can develop for it.

But it still matters what you want to send to it. As mentioned, we can send OBS to the 430 for virtual VOR on GPS or actual VOR on the NAV side. GRT doesn't send this data.

Beyond that, there isn't much to send to the 430 from an EFIS. We send data so the 430 can calculate winds aloft, but a EFIS can do that by itself. You could do flight plan sharing if your EFIS has an internal GPS database. Not sure what else you might want to send. You really get 95% of the functionality that most people want by just listening. If you are trying to use the VOR on a 430 without another control head, then you do need an EFIS that can transmit the OBS to it.
 
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dynonsupport said:
ARINC-429 is a standard. There is no issue sending the 430 data, no need to work with Garmin on it. Any manufacturer can develop for it.
Click to expand...

No.
This is not allways the case and certainly not for the Garmin units.
Garmin modifies the way some labels are used and unless you know what they are doing you will not be able to use the label stream from the Garmins correctly.
As Garmin, presumably for obvious reasons, will not tell anybody what they are doing you have to reverse engineer.
We had to do this and managed with quite incredible assistance from a VAN's list member....

For our EFIS units, you can find a document on our wesite listing how to connect and how to configure both Garmin as well as MGL to get maximum use out of the system which includes using the Garmin as a source GPS as well as downloading and using Garmin routes/Flightplans as navigation cues inside the MGL EFIS (including the usefull "live flightplan"). The Garmin, in turn gets a lot of labels from the MGL EFIS.
It appears to work quite well...

Rainier
CEO MGL Avionics
 
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