GPS failure

I confirmed with TJ today that he is looking into it and gave him the new logs that you sent me.

ksdoc,

I hesitate to post what we found in mine just yet because I'm not sure that I'm "done" and that we actually found the issue.  I haven't had a chance to fly it much yet to prove out the fix, but here's what we found.

I was on my 3rd unit that was malfunctioning so I didn't want to swap without finding something that was actually wrong.  The logs showed that the current unit had GPS issues prior to leaving the factory (my understanding is that they now look for that issue in the logs before delivery - I'm not sure if it was something new they found).  My unit was showing that it had antenna voltage spikes.  I wanted to come back to the dimmer circuit because all 3 units had issues with the dimmer although the installer and Avidyne had ruled that out as a separate issue.  Eventually Avidyne believed that the dimmer voltage and ground pins were reversed.  The installer found all the wiring to be correct, but that the ground pin for the dimmer was a manufactured defect.  Apparently it was just a little shorter than the rest causing intermittent connectivity.  I can see this when flying, but it's a bit curious when I was also having problems on the ground.  Regardless, the installer replaced that pin and the dimmer is now working properly (although I'm not sure I understand why the AviCurve doesn't go up to 100% brightness) so that is something that improved over the past 3 units.  I haven't had any problems with it on my flight back from the shop, but it's worked for longer periods before failing with the prior units so I need some flying hours to gain some confidence.  I also need to put some hours on it so I can send the logs to Avidyne and verify the antenna voltage spikes are gone and that they must have been due to the intermittent ground.

Maybe the 530 is less sensitive to the connection in the tray than the 540.  I'd suggest that the shop should redo the connectors on your tray.  This should all be covered under warranty so it would be a matter of your time and convenience.

* Orest

Luckily, I kept my GNS430W in my panel to provide an approved WAAS signal to my GTX330ES transponder.  So I have a legal backup for IFR flight.  However, I can't couple my autopilot to the 430W.

Steve, what would you suggest we do while we wait for the software release 10.1?  The problem with my unit losing GPS lock seems to be getting worse...

Mike
< ="cosymantecnisbfw" co="cs" id="SILOBFWID" style="width: 0px; height: 0px; display: block;">

Same here.  Of the dozen or so flights I've taken since my install, three or so involved at least one loss of GPS position while in flight.  Last Friday, I had the first experience of no GPS position on the ground at startup, but it had acquired by the time I taxiied for fuel and completed my runup, so it wasn't an issue.

Steve, I haven't contacted anyone at Avidyne about this because I thought all the GPS loss issues were known and being addressed, but it sounds like it'd be a good idea to go ahead and send in my logs.  Could you remind me who to send them to?

Happily, my exchanged unit has been solid.

I go in Monday morning and spend an alarming amount of cash to have the second one installed.  So, I'll have your dealer work with you and maybe we can make some progress. 

 

Ken

 

I verified on my flights over the weekend and to the avionics shop on Monday, that pushing the right knob DOES in fact switch between the views.  (Duh! Operator error).    Not sure how I missed that.  I suspect, that the setup page setting is the default view (heading up or track up)? 

 

I have no more info to report about the issue (where the little airplane is NOT pointing where the ship is pointing in relation to the map.)    But, now that I know how to switch between track / heading / north, maybe I can learn something more. 

My comanche is in the shop having the old Narco Mk12D removed for the second IFD-540.   Just found out that my Shadin doesn't support output to a GPS box (no big deal).    Hopefully, 10.1 will be approved while it is still there, so that I can leave with the new software, to go with my spiffy new hardware. 

 

I feel much better about the situation with these teething pains.  My avionics shop (who has a stellar reputation) says, "Avidyne will 100% get past this and get these little issue resolved".    This is not unheard of for new products.  He pointed out that those who got a big discount to be an early adopter, may expect to suffer a bit in the begininng.    I am hopeful that 10.1 will squash this bug. 

Another case where the FAA super-oversight is a hinderance to safety. 

 

 

Ken

 

 

You still don't have that quite right.

As I note above, if you choose in the user settings HEADING UP, then when you click the bottom right knob in a map view you will select between:

heading up with plane centered; heading up in 240* view; north up with plane centered.

Fortunately, my avionics shop was able to swap my unit for a loaner (their demo box) and send mine back to the factory for warranty service.

Hopefully I'll get it back soon and won't have this problem again.  The loaner IFD540 seems to be working just fine.

Mike
< ="cosymantecnisbfw" co="cs" id="SILOBFWID" style="width: 0px; height: 0px; display: block;">

 

Is it beneficial to send the logs in to verify the failure?