Noah
Well Known Member
There's been a lot of discussion lately about "Which is the best EFIS", or "Which is the best Engine Monitor" - and while I've followed these threads closely since these are things I need to buy soon, these are subjective questions, and generally result in somewhat subjective but well-intentioned responses explaining why one builder selected what (s)he did.
With the mesmerizing array of product possibilities in the marketplace now (especially for avionics), and the high cost for many of these items, it would really hurt to make the wrong decision and have to change something out later on. In other words, these are complex decisions with significant consequences for me and I think for most homebuilders.
So my question is, how do YOU make decisions about major purchases for your RV?
Being an engineer and analytical thinker, I tend to make spreadsheets of all salient features and benefits of all competing products. Then I make lists of the pros and cons of each, taking into account things like time in business, reputation in the marketplace, value, warrantee, etc, and then I weight each of these depending on how important it is to me. Finally, I score each product on a 1-10 scale for each of the weighted items. This all computes out to a score for each competing product. For those who might not be familar, this is called a Pugh Matrix or Decision Chart. I have made several life-changing decisions with this method, like whether to change jobs and move 1800 miles away, etc.(I know, I know, where's the spontaneity ).
All of this is a HUGE effort, and takes LOTS of time to research. I know there must be others out there that make complex decisions in similar fashion, and I think it would make sense for us to share resources and pool our efforts.
My specific problem at hand now is whether to keep the EI MVP-50 engine monitor that came with my substantially complete RV-7A or whether to abandon it in favor of something else. It came with all probes and was a very good value (read: I got it cheap ). SO, does anybody else have a recent spreadsheet or matrix with engine monitor information they'd be willing to share?
Highest Regards,
Noah Forden
RV-7A Finishing
Saunderstown, RI
With the mesmerizing array of product possibilities in the marketplace now (especially for avionics), and the high cost for many of these items, it would really hurt to make the wrong decision and have to change something out later on. In other words, these are complex decisions with significant consequences for me and I think for most homebuilders.
So my question is, how do YOU make decisions about major purchases for your RV?
Being an engineer and analytical thinker, I tend to make spreadsheets of all salient features and benefits of all competing products. Then I make lists of the pros and cons of each, taking into account things like time in business, reputation in the marketplace, value, warrantee, etc, and then I weight each of these depending on how important it is to me. Finally, I score each product on a 1-10 scale for each of the weighted items. This all computes out to a score for each competing product. For those who might not be familar, this is called a Pugh Matrix or Decision Chart. I have made several life-changing decisions with this method, like whether to change jobs and move 1800 miles away, etc.(I know, I know, where's the spontaneity ).
All of this is a HUGE effort, and takes LOTS of time to research. I know there must be others out there that make complex decisions in similar fashion, and I think it would make sense for us to share resources and pool our efforts.
My specific problem at hand now is whether to keep the EI MVP-50 engine monitor that came with my substantially complete RV-7A or whether to abandon it in favor of something else. It came with all probes and was a very good value (read: I got it cheap ). SO, does anybody else have a recent spreadsheet or matrix with engine monitor information they'd be willing to share?
Highest Regards,
Noah Forden
RV-7A Finishing
Saunderstown, RI