WhirlyGirl

WhirlyGirl

Member
My hubby and I recently reconfigured the layout of our RV-4 panel. Trying to keep costs down, we originally decided to keep the old Val Com 760 and PSE PM501 combo that was in our plane when we bought it last year.

Last week, we had a change of heart and decided to upgrade the radio. Tomorrow, a new Garmin GTR 200 is due to arrive and I'm excited to get it installed and try it out!

Does anyone have a favorite combo for the 2 user-defined soft keys? (I'm leaning toward Pilot ISO and Music ON/OFF.)

We don't have any other Garmin products so we won't experience picking up nearby airport info (bummer), but I'm so looking forward to stereo intercom and quality music.
 
Garmin GTR 200

Jeanette,

I have a GTR 200 in my RV-4 and love it. I wired the stero line to a small Jack in the airplane that I can plug my music into. I tried various combinations of the pilot defined user keys and seem to like having the PTT (bottom) and the music on/off (top) the best. I almost always listen to music and when I am flying cross country I find it is easier to use the PTT up on the radio with my left hand than the one on the stick.

The latest update to the GTR 200 has some features to enhance the music. Not really equalizer quality but a vast improvement. The music and radio quality in the built in intercom through the headsets is outstanding. I was able to completely remove the older Dave Clark ISOCOMM intercom I was using.

I also don't have the frequency capability to tie into because the only other Garmin product I have is the 296 GPS. I could probably tap into that but I am already using the two outputs for the autopilot and the Gemini PFD.

You will like it, guaranteed,
Oly Olson
 
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Oly,

Since we both have -4's...what setting did you use for Cockpit Noise...Normal or High?

I would assume an open cockpit would be about as noisy as you can get and need the 'High' setting but it is pretty darn loud in a -4 with no interior to dampen noise when I compare the noise level to something like a C172. A simple interior is on our project list this summer...for now, thank goodness for ANR headsets!
 
Subscribed to this thread. :):) I'm within a day or two of powering mine up for the first time, and I'm excited about going through all the test functions.
 
Tested unit today on the ground

A yucky low layer of clouds in the valley kept me grounded today, but we finished install last night and got to ground test everything!

I hopped in the front and hubby in the rear seat and we taxied out to the runup area at Sutter County while a friend used a handheld to listen to our transmissions.

Front and rear PTT's all work and reception was clear as a bell from both the handheld and some NorCal transmissions we picked up. We sat out there and listened to music, set up our volumes a little more than the default settings, and the best part: however our plane was wired before with the OLD ValCom 760 we heard every actuation of the flaps, fuel pump and nav lights through the intercom. ANNOYING. Today, it was crystal clear and quiet! I cannot wait to get back in the air!!

Setup so far: It's a good idea to get familiar with the Pilot Guide, but navigating the radio is very intuitive once you play with it.

Soft Keys - PTT, Music ON/OFF
*I chose these 2 options because I didn't feel I needed ISO and I can access User List and Emergency by other means easily. Having a backup PTT could be handy and shutting off music quickly as well.

I entered 19 of the 20 available USER list frequencies quickly and easily...love the access to this via the small knob.

COM Mute Music - OFF
COM ICS Mute - OFF
ICS Mute Music - OFF
COM 3D Audio - ON *We really liked this when I kicked on 'Monitor' on the Standby Freq and the audio came in from our 1-2 o'clock.
ICS 3D Audio - OFF *We tried it, didn't care for it.
Cockpit Noise - HIGH *Talked on the intercom through runup...everything sounded great. Can't wait to try in flight!
Bass Boost - MED
Equalizer - ROCK
Key Beeps - COM
Contrast - 0 (default)

ICS Vol - 60% (Up from the 50% default)
ICS SQ - Auto
Music Vol - 50% (Default setting is great...and I use my iPhone to set the music volume to a point where I can listen and hear transmissions well.)

I might as well add our goofs as well (being the new aircraft owners that we are). We just finished a whole panel upgrade to include a new 4-function flight grip. My dear husband soldered the momentary switch for the PTT and then we didn't test it. The switch has 3 solder points, one common, one for momentary ON and another for momentary OFF. Guess which one we had first? :rolleyes:;)

Other than that, the radio install was about as simple and straight forward as you can get...especially with the 2-place harness all wired up from ACS.

Hope this helps someone!
 
GTR Radio Setup

Jeanette,

Glad the radio setup went well and you are happy with the radio, I certainly am. I realize the setup is pilot preference but you might give some consideration to having the COM mute both the music and the ICS. We all like to listen to music and chat with our back seaters but if you don't set up the radio to mute the music & ICS you WILL miss radio calls from center/tower. Don't ask me why I know that. But hey I've been married 33 years so I'm used to getting yelled at (pun intended- I got a good one).

As far as the noise goes, when I had my old Narco 810 radio I put a noise filter inline to the radio and it helped a little but when I installed an alternator noise filter, ALL the extraneous noise was eliminated for good.

I like the 3D audio as well and my music setup is close to yours. When you fly around a bit you'll end up tweaking it some more, have fun.

Oly
 
olyolson said:
I realize the setup is pilot preference but you might give some consideration to having the COM mute both the music and the ICS. We all like to listen to music and chat with our back seaters but if you don't set up the radio to mute the music & ICS you WILL miss radio calls from center/tower. Don't ask me why I know that. But hey I've been married 33 years so I'm used to getting yelled at (pun intended- I got a good one).
Click to expand...

:p

Oly, I have to concur with you on this point and I originally wanted the COM to atleast mute the music, but my other half convinced me otherwise. Chances are when we are in a busy radio environment we won't have music on in the first place. Time will tell and I'm sure settings will change.

Right now I'm stuck staring at blue skies everyday up in the foothills over my house and this pesky valley fog lingering all day where our plane is hangared.

This stinks.
 
WhirlyGirl said:
Other than that, the radio install was about as simple and straight forward as you can get...especially with the 2-place harness all wired up from ACS.
Click to expand...
The harness ACS sent me had right and left swapped on the connections... So when I turn on the 3D audio mode, the left and right audio channels are reversed. I still haven't fixed it, but will look at it once the weather warms up.

There's an internal "test" screen on the 200 that does a wiring check and will give you some feedback on your installation. I suggest checking it just to be sure, and for anyone else installing one I suggest checking ACS's pinouts before you put it in the airplane... It may save you some head scratching later.
 
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