GMA 240 Audio Panel Features
Any ideas on the audio panel? Is there something clearly better than the GMA240 in the $1K range? Anything with bluetooth?
Hello Dudley,
Good question. You simply cannot find a better audio panel in this price range than the GMA 240. All the great dedicated controls and annunciators and full stereo support for intercom and music make the GMA 240 a pleasure to use, and at a minimum advertised price of $845, it is also the price value leader.
When customers are comparing audio panels, we always ask them to consider the human factors of the various controls. Most of us have been intimidated or confused by audio panels in the past, and we wanted the GMA 240 to be the most intuitive, easy to use audio panel on the market.
Here is just a brief summary of some of the user interface aspects of the GMA 240 that make it so popular in homebuilts.
Music Volume Control
Some audio panels don't have music volume control at all or use buttons for volume control and only control the volume for one of the two music sources. The GMA 240 has a music volume knob (just like the radio in your car) that can be conveniently used to control the volume of the music you are listening to whether you are listening to Music 1 or Music 2.
Music 1-2 Selection
Some audio panels don't have any front panel controls to select between multiple music sources or have a music source input that can only be heard by the passengers. The GMA 240 has a dedicated Music 1-2 button and lights. Either music source can be heard by both crew and passengers. This is a particularly important feature if you have SXM music from the G3X Touch display wired into Music 2 and want to use Music 1 (front panel or rear jack) for a portable music player.
Rapid Music On/Off
Some audio panels have no provision to rapidly turn the selected music source on/off leaving you to have to fumble with the controls on the music source each time you want to perform this function. The GMA 240 has a dedicated Music On/Off button with annunciator to efficiently perform this function multiple times throughout a typical flight.
Intercom Volume Knobs
Some audio panels have a dual knob intercom (ICS) volume control. The inner knob serves both pilot and copilot and the outer knob serves the passengers. The GMA240 has separate ICS volume controls for pilot and copilot on separate sides of the audio panel and the copilot volume knob also serves the passengers. Since the most common occupancy of an experimental aircraft when more than just the pilot is onboard is 2, giving the copilot his/her own volume knob on the right side and sharing that with passengers like the GMA 240 does is very desirable.
Music Muting
Some audio panels use a single button control that forces you to rotate through three choices for music muting (ICS/RADIO/ON). ?ON? means both which might be confusing. The GMA 240 has separate buttons and annunciators to control whether the intercom and/or radio causes the music to be muted. Nothing could be simpler, and you have immediate access to turn either muting selection on/off without having to rotate through several choices.
Rapid Pilot Isolate
Some audio panels use a control that forces you to rotate through multiple choices to go into pilot isolation. The GMA 240 has a dedicated single button with annunciator for clear, rapid access to this important feature.
One of the earlier posters in this thread who commented on the GMA 240 is sharing out of date information. While it is true that early models of the GMA 240 would, in very rare cases, blow an internal fuse, this circuit protection was revised in early 2013 and there have been NO reports of issues since then. In the unlikely event that anyone with
any GMA 240 has any issues with this circuit protection, please contact us and we will take care of the repair.
With regard to Bluetooth, we have heard of customers installing one of the readily available small A2DP Bluetooth receivers and wiring it to one of the two music inputs on the P2402 rear connector, but haven't had any feedback on how well this works.
Thanks,
Steve