Tankerpilot75
Well Known Member
I don’t believe in vendor bashing but after two agonizing months of trying to get my new Horizon EX EFIS units to communicate GPSS data to my TruTrac Vizion 385 autopilot it’s time to let the VAF crowd know about my problems.
Upgrading the Horizon WS EFIS with the new EX EFIS requires installation of a separate ARINC module for GPS to autopilot communications. In my case because my old WS units were not wired for GNAV functionality I also had to run two new wires for the ARINC C1/C2 input from my G430 pins 46 & 47 (ARINC 1A/1B out). I talked to the people that originally built my panel (Aerotronics) and they kindly guided me through this process and after I screwed up the DPDT switch on my panel that selects between EFIS autopilot and FMS autopilot inputs they even made me a new pre-wired switch with labels to replace the damaged DPDT switch at no charge.
I live 45 miles from where my RV7A is hangared and it takes approximately one hour to commute to the hanger. In the last two months I’ve put almost 3,000 miles on my vehicle making this commute trying to resolve the EFIS to autopilot communication issue. Aerotronics has spent hours on the phone with me trying to help me with this problem. GRT - has voicemail that says leave a message. They sometimes replied.
Prior to AirVenture I asked if someone from GRT would look at my panel and see if they could figure it out if I brought the airplane to Oshkosh. I also asked Aerotronics and Andrew (now Bendix King formerly TruTrac) if they would look at my panel at AirVenture. Tuesday night at AirVenture both Andrew (TruTrac) and Andre (Aerotronics) came to my airplane and tried to identify the problem. GRT wouldn’t come by.
Both Andrew and Andre both said the autopilot appeared to be working right, the new DPDT switch correctly wired, and the other wiring changes (C1/C2) inputs to the ARINC module were correctly done with continuity checks confirming my work. Andre spent two and a half hours at my plan, checking wiring, swapping EFIS units, doing loop checks, etc. I couldn’t have asked for more expertise than what I received. He finally said it appears to be a possible software issue and would talk to GRT - if he could get a hold of them.
Wednesday morning with the weather threatening havoc that evening I decided to leave AirVenture (like a bunch of other folks) but before leaving I dropped by the GRT booth and told them the results of the previous night and that Andre in particular spent over two and a half hours trying to troubleshoot the problem. I asked them what they were going to do and they “promised” a resolution this week. They wanted me to disappear because potential customers were hearing the conversation.
On Wednesday evening this week I called Jeff DeFouw at GRT (he only works evenings) and also sent an email (another one). His response was “try swapping out the old WS with the new EX and see if that restores EFIS to autopilot communication and we’ll consider making a harness to directly link the ARINC module to the autopilot to see if that will provide GPSS data to the autopilot.”
Another trip to the airport today, swapped out units and now have ARINC 429 communication errors displayed on my G430. Called GRT to get their help and again - only got voicemail!
I called Walt at Experimental Aircraft Services prior to AirVenture and he said he won’t work on panels with GRT Avionics because of their poor to non-existent tech support. A number of other well known avionics shop also won’t install GRT equipment because of poor tech support. Now I’m facing a situation where I have less capability than I had before I decided to “upgrade “ my EFIS units and inadequate help from the vendor that sold me the products.
I hope the moderators allow this post to be seen and comments made because VAF folks need to know the vendors they spend significant sums of money with. I still believe the GRT units are equal in capability to most of the EFIS units out there but without a responsive and dedicated support system it becomes a buyer beware situation when issues arise. I understand GRT has a total of ten staff, including the owner. Definitely a small business. But if they’re going to continue to sell products to the experimental aviation community then customer support becomes paramount.
I will report back to the VAF community if GRT steps up and resolves my problem.
Upgrading the Horizon WS EFIS with the new EX EFIS requires installation of a separate ARINC module for GPS to autopilot communications. In my case because my old WS units were not wired for GNAV functionality I also had to run two new wires for the ARINC C1/C2 input from my G430 pins 46 & 47 (ARINC 1A/1B out). I talked to the people that originally built my panel (Aerotronics) and they kindly guided me through this process and after I screwed up the DPDT switch on my panel that selects between EFIS autopilot and FMS autopilot inputs they even made me a new pre-wired switch with labels to replace the damaged DPDT switch at no charge.
I live 45 miles from where my RV7A is hangared and it takes approximately one hour to commute to the hanger. In the last two months I’ve put almost 3,000 miles on my vehicle making this commute trying to resolve the EFIS to autopilot communication issue. Aerotronics has spent hours on the phone with me trying to help me with this problem. GRT - has voicemail that says leave a message. They sometimes replied.
Prior to AirVenture I asked if someone from GRT would look at my panel and see if they could figure it out if I brought the airplane to Oshkosh. I also asked Aerotronics and Andrew (now Bendix King formerly TruTrac) if they would look at my panel at AirVenture. Tuesday night at AirVenture both Andrew (TruTrac) and Andre (Aerotronics) came to my airplane and tried to identify the problem. GRT wouldn’t come by.
Both Andrew and Andre both said the autopilot appeared to be working right, the new DPDT switch correctly wired, and the other wiring changes (C1/C2) inputs to the ARINC module were correctly done with continuity checks confirming my work. Andre spent two and a half hours at my plan, checking wiring, swapping EFIS units, doing loop checks, etc. I couldn’t have asked for more expertise than what I received. He finally said it appears to be a possible software issue and would talk to GRT - if he could get a hold of them.
Wednesday morning with the weather threatening havoc that evening I decided to leave AirVenture (like a bunch of other folks) but before leaving I dropped by the GRT booth and told them the results of the previous night and that Andre in particular spent over two and a half hours trying to troubleshoot the problem. I asked them what they were going to do and they “promised” a resolution this week. They wanted me to disappear because potential customers were hearing the conversation.
On Wednesday evening this week I called Jeff DeFouw at GRT (he only works evenings) and also sent an email (another one). His response was “try swapping out the old WS with the new EX and see if that restores EFIS to autopilot communication and we’ll consider making a harness to directly link the ARINC module to the autopilot to see if that will provide GPSS data to the autopilot.”
Another trip to the airport today, swapped out units and now have ARINC 429 communication errors displayed on my G430. Called GRT to get their help and again - only got voicemail!
I called Walt at Experimental Aircraft Services prior to AirVenture and he said he won’t work on panels with GRT Avionics because of their poor to non-existent tech support. A number of other well known avionics shop also won’t install GRT equipment because of poor tech support. Now I’m facing a situation where I have less capability than I had before I decided to “upgrade “ my EFIS units and inadequate help from the vendor that sold me the products.
I hope the moderators allow this post to be seen and comments made because VAF folks need to know the vendors they spend significant sums of money with. I still believe the GRT units are equal in capability to most of the EFIS units out there but without a responsive and dedicated support system it becomes a buyer beware situation when issues arise. I understand GRT has a total of ten staff, including the owner. Definitely a small business. But if they’re going to continue to sell products to the experimental aviation community then customer support becomes paramount.
I will report back to the VAF community if GRT steps up and resolves my problem.