intial design release questions....

The IFD540 does not have an inertial unit integrated into the box.  It can however take in actual heading from any number of 3rd party devices and if it does get that heading, then HDG is one of the allowable modes/states of the Nav Source knob that you are referring to.

The question about the back course is moot - the only one in the area is in New Bedford (EWB) and it is out of service, probably until 2014.  So there's no chance an examiner will ask my wife to fly it on her checkride.

But when you guys come up for air I'd be interested in the answer.

Well of course we agree with you but that won't stop 'em from trying.......

We just upgraded the forum so it should be easier to paste pix - I'll start pasting some pictures of the units in action sometime next week I would expect.

Not in office today but I can look at posting pix when return - they were iphone pics with a lot of glare so quality leaves a lot to be desired.....

Had a chance to fly the VOR 21 to 6B6 using the Gardner transition today.  I flew it both on the Avidyne R9 system coupled to the DFC100 autopilot and on the IFD540 system.  It was a nice and blustery/gusty day and as I had expected, both systems flew it flawlessly.

Steve,

How did flying the Minuteman (6B6) VOR 21 work?  Did the readout on the 540 put you right on the end of the runway?

For those who aren't familiar with this approach it is based on the Manchester VOR which is 30 nm away.  Flying it with a normal radio and analog indicator is "challenging" because if you are 1° off you will miss the runway by a half-mile.  I'm wondering if it is easier with the digital radio in the 540.

I use the same technique and it is THE reason why we added the "Aux" line selection to the first generation Entegra PFD display.  Of course that isn't directly relevant here.

However, we do allow you to select a datablock on the IFD540 that gives Destination info (e.g. bearing, and time-to-go and ETA).  Assuming you don't change your destination, that wouldn't matter how you manage your crossfill/box syncing options.   This datablock can be set up to be visible on every IFD page.

Hi Paul,

There is a definite "art" to the various install configurations and what they will and will not support on their own (without the need of external indicators).  We're working our way through that myriad of details this fall but the short answer is that the IFD540 was designed to be a stand alone unit in that one can fly things like a VOR approach without the need of a supporting indicator.   It will be highly dependent on the location in the cockpit of the 540 and some continued negotiation with FAA cert authorities.  So, the official jury is still out on that one but we're optimistic.

As for the Gardner VOR and Minuteman airfield, I fly over them both every day on my daily IFD540 flight tests so I'll drop in and start shooting that VOR 21 from now on.

Hello Paul,

Getting back to your series of questions:

You noted you have a KMA 26.   That audio panel does have a MON function which will be helpful.   Check out my 3 Sep, 12:33pm post to Tim on this thread with respect to freqs and how to use them.  It's a little high-level right now but see if that addresses your questions.

Reference your question about SDR and block diagrams - I wouldn't declare the IFD540 radio to a SDR (software defined radio) in the strictest of senses.  I'm only familiar with SDRs in the context of internet radios where multiple users can "tune" to multiple channels on the same "receiver".    On the contrary, our radio is clearly heavily software dependent and software tunable.    I'm apparently not able to attach an image (like a block diagram) to this forum but think of the IFD540 VHF radio as having 3 main components - RF card (RF section, power supply, transient suppression), Digital card (A-D, databus interface, DSP) and the Mechanicals  (RF shields, heat sink, etc).

Reference your VOR and DME questions - yes, the IFD540 can display a VOR station bearing and distance and that distance is "pseudo-DME" in that it is computed distance, not an actual slant range DME receiver display.  And of course the VOR station can be drawn on the moving map.

Reference your external indicator question - yes, we convert and send the analog data to those legacy nav indicators like the KI 209.   I don't know until I start flying and looking at those test points if you'll sense any visible difference in "feel" or twitchiness.

Keep the questions coming......

Yes, I follow. Here is the scenario I deal with.

Cool, I forgot to mention. With the dual tuners (you answered this above) and for those of us planning dual IDF540 in the radio stack. Is there a plane for a new radio panel or remote one? By my way of counting there would 4 radio inputs there and Avidyne's radio panel supports 3....

Steve,

Willem,

Yes, we recognize that MLX is the only viable weather offering for outside the North American area and for this product to have any real success outside the US, we need to integrate MLX into the IFD540 soon.  As you note, it is not in the initial release but it is very high on our follow-on feature list so that we can fully support the international market.

I'll start posting status updates on the IFD540 development and cert on a different thread in a few weeks.

I do not see support for the MLX770 in the IFD540 product pages.

Hi Steve,

The existing panel is a King KMA 26.  I may replace it for other reasons but I haven't decided yet.  Adding the IFD540 is a pretty expensive upgrade and I'd like to have enough left over to buy a tank of avgas.

I'm now curious about the COM/NAV capabilities of the unit.  Is the receiver an SDR?  Is there a block diagram available?

Can the IFD540 display the VOR direction information on the screen?

Can it calculate and display DME information?

When used with an external indicator such as the KI 209 does the IFD540 decode the VOR information and then convert it to an analog signal for the indicator?  Will the indicator have a different "feel" than it does when used with the KX155A?  Will it be less twitchy when near a VOR?

Oh, and do you mind lots of questions?

I had wondered about the two receivers in the IFD540.  The brochure suggests that the second one is only capable of monitoring the standby frequency.  The active/standby paradigm makes sense for old NAV/COM radios but the IFD hardware is capable of much more.

It sounds like my second COM radio will be useful only as a backup.  The receivers in the IFD540 have access to the frequency database and will be more convenient to use for things like checking an AWOS.  Very cool.

What will be the requirements for the audio panel for this?  In particular, will my existing panel work or will I need to upgrade to an AMX240 or PS7000BT?

Also, is there anything similar for NAV?  I think there would be a limitation because the IFD540 can only drive one indicator.  I suppose a good answer would be "and why would someone be following VORs if they have an IFD540?".

As I flew across the country and kept Com 2 tuned to guard 121.5 it occured to me this seems a waste of a significant piece of hardware. What about having a second tuner installed in the 540 dedicated to 121.5 with separate connections to use Com 3 which is available in most com panels?

Is the red threat also voice annunciated?

Steve,

Steve,

Good Morning AviJake,

AviJake wrote: Yes it will. Do you know your specific dates yet?   I can arrange to provide as in-depth an evaluation/show & tell as we can muster if you want to coordinate a date/time ahead of time. Steve

Larry,

AviJake wrote: ... Out of curiosity, how do you have your 396 wired into the harness today?

In a nutshell, that is our intent.

In your stated scenario, there are about 6 clear moving parts and few hidden ones so one should read into that what you think is prudent but yes, we see the wireless integration of the products for that kind of an operational scenario to be the kind of capability the IFD540 will support.

As a side note, it has been very fun being part of the design team trying to create these kinds of operational scenario based integration questions and work through them.  This is shaping up to be a real leap forward in cockpit capabilities.