Today's Message Index:
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1. 07:33 AM - dimmer question (Jerry Ricciotti)
2. 03:21 PM - Re: EFIS as only reference??? (Peter Pengilly)
3. 03:25 PM - Re: dimmer question (glaesers)
4. 08:07 PM - Icom A200 Dimmer (Ernest Christley)
Message 1
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Greetings
I am wiring an RV-8 and have two dimmer controls one of which is for
back up instruments and a snake/map light. The wire from the back up
alt,airspeed and mag compass need to be extended to reach the dimmer
control and I want to know if I can connect them all together to one
20awg wire that goes to the dimmer control or should they be extended
separately to the dimmer control? (or does it make no difference)
Jerry
Message 2
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Subject: | EFIS as only reference??? |
I can see that I have not presented my thoughts very well. I am not
advocating certified over uncertified, but well designed products.
I would be very reticent in holding Blue Mountain up as an example of a
well designed system because of their unwillingness to discuss their
design and development process - at least when I have asked them.
To suggest that Windows is only stable when isolated from other software
makes it a completely useless product. The whole point of an operating
system is to act as an interface layer between an application (such as a
piece of EFIS software) and a host system. Windows is not designed as a
real time operating system, sure it can be used as such, but there are
better products available - at a price.
I don't fly large airplanes for a living, but I do design military
aircraft, in particular avionic architectures. I am suggesting that
devices that are required to function reliably should be designed (and
manufactured) in a demonstrably robust way. One way to show that is to
prove to a regulator by jumping through the certification hoops. There
are other ways, of course. As there is little service history for most
of these devices how can we, prospective customers, make an informed
decision as to which one to buy? Its rather difficult in my opinion as
most manufacturers don't make enough data available
The other option is to install a back-up that does have some kind of
provenance. Another EFIS doesn't provide sufficient redundancy for me.
Peter
-----Original Message-----
From: owner-aeroelectric-list-server@matronics.com
[mailto:owner-aeroelectric-list-server@matronics.com] On Behalf Of Terry
Watson
Sent: 19 September 2007 23:45
Subject: RE: AeroElectric-List: EFIS as only reference???
<terry@tcwatson.com>
In general, "Certification" means that at some point the system passed
certain set of criteria and the design was frozen at that point. It
won't
get any better unless something is found to be broken and has to be
fixed,
otherwise it is a design frozen in time, like a Lycomming 0-360 or a
Cessna
172. Sure, they change -but only in ways that won't make them go through
certification again.
I don't know about most of the great looking new low cost EFIS systems,
but
I know for certain that my Bluemountain EFIS/one does not use a Windows
operating system, and I wouldn't veto a system that did. I have read
that
Windows is very stable when it is used in a system that is isolated from
other software. An EFIS is not constantly being exposed to various other
programs, viruses and hackers like a PC is. It is isolated, or used with
limited and tested outside software.
The downside of most "certified" products is that they are the best that
a
company could come up with and get through the tests and to market, at
some
point in the past. If you feel the need for a certified engine, get one,
but
I don't think your certified Lycoming is any more reliable than my
non-certified Superior. If you don't trust non-certified avionics, then
pay
the price for the tried and tested and blessed, but don't expect to get
if
for anything like the price of the non-certified, and don't expect to
have
the advantages of the latest technology.
It would seem that many of those who fly big airplanes for a living tend
not
to trust little airplanes anyway, especially the ones with only one
engine
and certainly not the ones that don't have dual redundant certified IFR
avionics.
And if it wasn't built by "certified" A&P's in a "certified" shop,
forget
about it!
Terry
RV-8A, Superior, True-Trak, Trio, Bluemountain, Airflow Performance --
all
uncertified
And none of it flying yet
-----Original Message-----
From: owner-aeroelectric-list-server@matronics.com
[mailto:owner-aeroelectric-list-server@matronics.com] On Behalf Of Peter
Pengilly
Sent: Wednesday, September 19, 2007 2:37 PM
Subject: RE: AeroElectric-List: EFIS as only reference???
<peter@sportingaero.com>
I know because most of it runs on a Windows based operating system, and
has not been designed from the start to comply with the relevant
standards (if it had Windows would not have been used). There is no way
that Windows anything will ever be compatible with a real time safety
critical system (because it wasn't designed from the outset for that
task). That's not to say it wont work just about all of the time, but do
you want to risk your life on it?
But that's not the point. The point is that you are taking a risk by
using 2 non certified systems to back each other up. Its difficult to
quantify that risk without in depth knowledge of how each system was
designed & built, and that information is difficult to come by. The fact
that Cheltons are so expensive illustrates the issue, very few people on
this list could afford one - come to that I suspect not many could
afford a Garmin G900!
I know that Trutrak makes very good equipment, there are also many other
companies that make rather poor stuff and its difficult to tell by
looking at the outside. Its not about meeting govt standards, industry
standards are just as strict. If it were easy to make a robust system
cheaply I suspect Garmin would be offering one, that their cheapest is
around $50K (I think) might be a hint as to the scale of the problem.
Peter
Message 3
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Subject: | Re: dimmer question |
Electrically, it makes no difference, as long as the one wire is capable of
carrying the current for all 3 lights.
Dennis Glaeser
---------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: dimmer question
From: Jerry Ricciotti
Greetings
I am wiring an RV-8 and have two dimmer controls one of which is for
back up instruments and a snake/map light. The wire from the back up
alt,airspeed and mag compass need to be extended to reach the dimmer
control and I want to know if I can connect them all together to one
20awg wire that goes to the dimmer control or should they be extended
separately to the dimmer control? (or does it make no difference)
Jerry
Message 4
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Subject: | Icom A200 Dimmer |
It took a little experimentation, but I got it done and thought the
information might help someone else.
Dimming the backlight of the Icom A200:
The installation manual for the Icom A200 indicates a lead to supply
+12V for the panel backlight, and another for the backlight's ground.
Using an ohmeter, the indicated ground is tied to all the other
grounds. The backlight will work without that lead being grounded. At
least it did for me.
I passed the +12V through an ON-OFF-ON switch and then to a bus
controlled by the marker light switch. I tied the two ON contacts of
the switch together with a 15 ohm, 1/2 watt resistor. The backlight now
comes on with the marker lights (ie, at night), and is full bright with
the switch up. With the switch down, current has to pass through the
resistor and the backlight is about half as bright. I could have used
and ON-ON switch, but I didn't have one on the shelf. This way I have
more (albeit, useless) options. 8*)
Icom seems to have changed their backlighting scheme over time, but I
bought mine only a few weeks ago. As of August 2007, a 15ohm resistor
in series with the power supply is sufficient to drop the backlight to
half brightness.
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