Bug? Bezel display issue

I know that they work, because when the dimmer knob is set to almost nil (but ON), they come on at full bright.

Here is my lighting setup ...

It looks like this is the case with Gring's setup too ...

The VOL, CDI & COM/VOR labels are all dark.

* Orest

I'll be the first to admit that the backlighting design is complex.  I've pasted a snippet from the Install Manual below and highlighted in red a new sentence that got added with the Rel 10.0.3.0 IM update.  It's not directly relevant to what folks are complaining/asking about here but helpful nonetheless.

Photo Maximum

The Photo Maximum sets the maximum brightness when the dimming source is the photocell.   Both the Bezel and Display fields have a range of 50 to 100, and the factory default is 100.

dimBus Transition %

The dimBus Transition % sets the threshold where the aircraft dimming bus takes over from the photocell. Below this threshold, the aircraft dimmer controls the IFD5XX lighting. Both the Bezel and Display fields have a range of 0 to 100, and the factory default is 10.

Note: If it is not desired to hand brightness control over to the dimming bus from the photocell at any point, set dimBus Transition % to 0 (zero).  Doing so will prevent the scenario where, in increasingly darker environments (e.g. flying past sunset into dark night), the display automatically dims and dims and dims and then suddenly jumps to bright.

dimBus Slope

The dimBus Slope sets the sensitivity of the display/bezel to the aircraft dimmer. Both the Bezel and Display fields have a range of 15 to 100, and the factory default is 60.

dimBus Minimum

The dimBus Minimum sets the minimum brightness when the aircraft dimmer is the dimming source. Both the Bezel and Display fields have a range of 1 to 50, and the factory default is 1.

dimBus Maximum

The dimBus Maximum sets the maximum brightness when the aircraft dimmer is the dimming source.  Both the Bezel and Display fields have a range of 50 to 100, and the factory default is 100.

dimBus Curve

The dimBus Curve sets the aircraft dimming bus to either a Proportional Curve or AviCurve on the IFD5XX.

The Proportional Curve tracks the aircraft lighting bus as follows: Maximum night lighting at maximum aircraft lighting bus voltage, Minimum night lighting at minimum aircraft lighting bus voltage (linear in-between).

 

                                                                                                                  

For those who want to use the dimming bus, it's important to calibrate the dimming bus for the IFD.

Dimming Bus Calibration

The section will calibrate the IFD5XX to the aircraft avionics lighting bus.

 

Selection	Description
dimBus Type	DC – select this option if the dimming bus is a DC bus. AC – select this option if the dimming bus is an AC bus. The IFD needs to know the bus type in order to alter internal configuration as well as properly perform the calibration.
dimBus Max Voltage	Sets the maximum aircraft dimming bus voltage. Range is 0 – 28V.
dimBus Min Voltage	Sets the minimum aircraft dimming bus voltage. Range is 0 – 28V.

To calibrate the dimming bus:

1. Select desired dimBus Type;
2. Select the dimBus Max Voltage field;
3. Push the right bezel knob;
4. Set the dimming bus to the maximum value (e.g. full clockwise position on dimming rheostat);
5. Push the right bezel knob to store;

Repeat the process for the minimum value (use full counter-clockwise position of rheostat)

As for triggering the IFD540 generated audible alerts on the ground, there is no real way to do that until Rel 10.1 comes along in the spring.  We've tweaked the design to allow any adjustments to play the volume in your headsets when adjusting.

I don't know if Steve sent him an email directly or not. He's with the Air Force this week. I'll have him check to see if he answered it and post it here.

Thanks