I'm having trouble figuring out why sometimes when I push CDI/OBS button in order to be able to rotate the OBS, on the right knob instead I get "Push Home" highlighted and below it OBS is grayed out. Rotating the knob obviously does nothing. I'm expecting OBS to be available all the time, but it isnt. It has worked before, but mostly its not available. I didnt see any one else ask this so clearly Im doing something wrong....
I drive the HSI with either a 480 or and SL30, and I get pointers for VORs etc from both no problem.
Instead of going through all my configuration settings here, can someone simply explain under what conditions the OBS is active and when its not please?
Thanks for any help with this!
Jeff - not to confuse the issue above but is there a way we can get SL30 as a display choice for the NAV sources? (I know I can use Ext1, but this would be nice; given theres a bunch of other SL30 related configurations in the menus, it just seems logical.....) thanks for any input.
"OBS" is grayed out on right knob
Re: "OBS" is grayed out on right knob
The OBS function depends on what mode you are in. On an HXr the NAV MODE is the highlighted selection on the left side buttons of the CDI/OBS menu.
If you have something like a 480 or 430 (integrated GPS/VOR/ILS) with the EFIS set to follow the 480/430 GPS/VLOC mode (NAV Mode Source External) then the EFIS will look at the ARINC-429 GPS/VLOC mode to determine GPS or VOR/ILS mode.
If you are in a GPS mode and there's an active flight plan, the OBS will be locked to the flight plan course. You have to put your GPS into OBS mode in order to change the GPS course to the waypoint in that case. For an external GPS this requires the ARINC-429 GPS interface to work properly.
When the current mode is a VOR or localizer the OBS adjustment should always work.
The "EXT1" mode or its alternate names like G480-1 or G430-1 is for 480/430 type devices with integrated GPS/VOR/ILS functions using NAV Mode Source External to switch between them. There is no special mode or name for an SL30 or any other device that's only a GPS or only a VOR/ILS receiver. If you are using NAV Mode Source External, then your choices should be "G480-1" and "NAV2", and you may have "GPS2" if you have another GPS. If you are using NAV Mode Source Internal, then you should have "GPS1", "GPS2" if you have a 2nd GPS, "NAV1", and "NAV2". It's possible to swap which one is NAV1 and NAV2 but the pattern is the same.
If you have something like a 480 or 430 (integrated GPS/VOR/ILS) with the EFIS set to follow the 480/430 GPS/VLOC mode (NAV Mode Source External) then the EFIS will look at the ARINC-429 GPS/VLOC mode to determine GPS or VOR/ILS mode.
If you are in a GPS mode and there's an active flight plan, the OBS will be locked to the flight plan course. You have to put your GPS into OBS mode in order to change the GPS course to the waypoint in that case. For an external GPS this requires the ARINC-429 GPS interface to work properly.
When the current mode is a VOR or localizer the OBS adjustment should always work.
The "EXT1" mode or its alternate names like G480-1 or G430-1 is for 480/430 type devices with integrated GPS/VOR/ILS functions using NAV Mode Source External to switch between them. There is no special mode or name for an SL30 or any other device that's only a GPS or only a VOR/ILS receiver. If you are using NAV Mode Source External, then your choices should be "G480-1" and "NAV2", and you may have "GPS2" if you have another GPS. If you are using NAV Mode Source Internal, then you should have "GPS1", "GPS2" if you have a 2nd GPS, "NAV1", and "NAV2". It's possible to swap which one is NAV1 and NAV2 but the pattern is the same.
Re: "OBS" is grayed out on right knob
Thanks Jeff. But apparently Ive got something wrong.
OBS knob is available & active for twisting (ie not grayed out) before the 480 GPS get its satellite lock. But I watched it go gray as GPS lock was attained and synthetic appeared on the HXr. After that, it stayed gray no matter what nav mode I have the 480 in (ie GPS or VOR - in the 480, nav mode is toggled with the CDI button on its left edge). It also doesnt matter which nav source I have the HXr pointed to, 480-1 or Ext-1 (which is my SL30).
I am set to Nav Mode External in the HXr. And I checked my ARINC on the HXr and both Ch1&2 are counting data, so that would seem to be connected correctly. Also of note when the 480 first boots up, it goes through a self test and sends out ILS needles deflection guidance, and for that I get both laterals and vertical presentations, so to me that would also indicate the ARINC is correct.
Any ideas?
Maybe an unrelated issue, but if it helps any, when flying, I get LOC/ILS lateral guidance (needles) on the HXr from the 480 on the main PDF screen; but I dont get vertical guidance on either my 480s HSI or the HXr needle and I'm not yet sure why......
OBS knob is available & active for twisting (ie not grayed out) before the 480 GPS get its satellite lock. But I watched it go gray as GPS lock was attained and synthetic appeared on the HXr. After that, it stayed gray no matter what nav mode I have the 480 in (ie GPS or VOR - in the 480, nav mode is toggled with the CDI button on its left edge). It also doesnt matter which nav source I have the HXr pointed to, 480-1 or Ext-1 (which is my SL30).
I am set to Nav Mode External in the HXr. And I checked my ARINC on the HXr and both Ch1&2 are counting data, so that would seem to be connected correctly. Also of note when the 480 first boots up, it goes through a self test and sends out ILS needles deflection guidance, and for that I get both laterals and vertical presentations, so to me that would also indicate the ARINC is correct.
Any ideas?
Maybe an unrelated issue, but if it helps any, when flying, I get LOC/ILS lateral guidance (needles) on the HXr from the 480 on the main PDF screen; but I dont get vertical guidance on either my 480s HSI or the HXr needle and I'm not yet sure why......
Re: "OBS" is grayed out on right knob
The mode on the EFIS has to change also. Is the mode on the EFIS actually changing when you change the CDI mode on the 480? The indicators above the airspeed tape should change to white/cyan to match the VOR/ILS mode (NAV1/NAV2 coloring). If the yellow indicators are showing on the PFD they should say "GPS" or "VOR" or "ILS" along the left side.
It sounds like the mode isn't changing on the EFIS. If you previously had analog inputs wired and switched to ARINC, or if you had the old default analog input functions configured from an older system and didn't wire them, they may still be configured for "ILS Tuned", "VOR/ILS Deviations", and "GPS Deviations". You need to turn those off if they are not wired. If you have multiple displays, check all of them.
It sounds like the mode isn't changing on the EFIS. If you previously had analog inputs wired and switched to ARINC, or if you had the old default analog input functions configured from an older system and didn't wire them, they may still be configured for "ILS Tuned", "VOR/ILS Deviations", and "GPS Deviations". You need to turn those off if they are not wired. If you have multiple displays, check all of them.
Re: "OBS" is grayed out on right knob
This is the only install my experimental has had. I wired the panel all on the bench before I put it in the plane, back in 2019. So no old wiring.
I have 2x 12" Hxrs and a Mini-X, 480, SL30, 327 xdpr, GMA240 audio, EIS, and Navworx for ADSB in/out.
But to answer your qu, no the Hxr isnt changing headers to ILS, VOR etc when I toggle the 480s cdi. It also thinks my SL30 is also a GPS as it calls it GPS2 in the header, and after a few seconds, the header changes to red "GPS2 lost". So something is set wrong there too.
I flew it today, and the 480s HSI works for both lateral and vertical guidance for both ILS and GPS approaches, so I know now the 480 is ok. Just not getting any needles data to the Hxrs in 480 ILS/VOR mode....or from the SL30.
Ive atched a screen shot of some of the configuration page. But in general, all Analog inputs are set to off, as are any other mentions of anything Analog. ARINCs 1&2 are counting data, and I have ARINC being sent over Serial=yes.
I'm guessing I'm gonna need to call you and do this live vs here. Thoughts?
***EDIT*** I called into the support line today 31 Jan and talked to John. He suggested I send a demo file to the tech email and I did that a few minutes ago......apparently I cant attach the demo files here.....
I have 2x 12" Hxrs and a Mini-X, 480, SL30, 327 xdpr, GMA240 audio, EIS, and Navworx for ADSB in/out.
But to answer your qu, no the Hxr isnt changing headers to ILS, VOR etc when I toggle the 480s cdi. It also thinks my SL30 is also a GPS as it calls it GPS2 in the header, and after a few seconds, the header changes to red "GPS2 lost". So something is set wrong there too.
I flew it today, and the 480s HSI works for both lateral and vertical guidance for both ILS and GPS approaches, so I know now the 480 is ok. Just not getting any needles data to the Hxrs in 480 ILS/VOR mode....or from the SL30.
Ive atched a screen shot of some of the configuration page. But in general, all Analog inputs are set to off, as are any other mentions of anything Analog. ARINCs 1&2 are counting data, and I have ARINC being sent over Serial=yes.
I'm guessing I'm gonna need to call you and do this live vs here. Thoughts?
***EDIT*** I called into the support line today 31 Jan and talked to John. He suggested I send a demo file to the tech email and I did that a few minutes ago......apparently I cant attach the demo files here.....
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Re: "OBS" is grayed out on right knob
I got the DEMO files. Your 480 has an incorrect ARINC output setting so the EFIS can't see the mode or all the GPS data. One of your ARINC outputs is set to "ARINC 429" and that one needs to be "GAMA 429 NO FP". Don't change the VOR/ILS one, that one is working fine. You can check the received data in SET MENU, Display Unit Maintenance, ARINC Status on any HXr that's wired to the 480 ARINC. When the 480 output is corrected, the "NAV Mode" line should report the "GPS" or "VOR/ILS/RNAV" mode of the 480.
You should not have an "EXT2" enabled anywhere. EXT2 would be for a 2nd 480 or similar combined GPS+NAV receiver if you had one. If your 480 is wired to multiple screens, it should be configured as the same GPS number and NAV number on all screens it is wired to. For example if the 480 ARINC 429 output is wired to both HXrs, then both should have "ARINC GPS Input" set to "GPS1" and "ARINC VOR/ILS Inputs" set to "NAV1". "Analog EXT2 NAV MODE" should be Off.
If your SL30 is wired to multiple screens, it should be SL30-2 everywhere it is configured. You should not have any serial ports configured as SL30-1, or any display link settings enabled for SL30-1. The -2 tells the EFIS it is NAV2 and all screens need to agree on that. I didn't see anything wrong with the SL30 input in the recordings.
You should not have an "EXT2" enabled anywhere. EXT2 would be for a 2nd 480 or similar combined GPS+NAV receiver if you had one. If your 480 is wired to multiple screens, it should be configured as the same GPS number and NAV number on all screens it is wired to. For example if the 480 ARINC 429 output is wired to both HXrs, then both should have "ARINC GPS Input" set to "GPS1" and "ARINC VOR/ILS Inputs" set to "NAV1". "Analog EXT2 NAV MODE" should be Off.
If your SL30 is wired to multiple screens, it should be SL30-2 everywhere it is configured. You should not have any serial ports configured as SL30-1, or any display link settings enabled for SL30-1. The -2 tells the EFIS it is NAV2 and all screens need to agree on that. I didn't see anything wrong with the SL30 input in the recordings.
Re: "OBS" is grayed out on right knob
Thanks Jeff. Seems the Gama Arinc setting on the 480 was the cause of all the issues. I flew it and both 480 and SL30 are now showing up on the Hxr. In order to get the Nav1 label to show for the SL30, I did have to keep the label set to EXT1. This was one of my original questions - having an SL30 label vs NAV1, but I can live with NAV1.
More flights to do to wring everything out, but much better now.
Thanks again!
Mick
More flights to do to wring everything out, but much better now.
Thanks again!
Mick
Re: "OBS" is grayed out on right knob
Your 480 is NAV1. This is configured by the "ARINC VOR/ILS Inputs" setting. Your SL30 should be NAV2. Your SL30 should be configured as SL30-2 everywhere to tell every EFIS it's NAV2. The serial port and display link settings have SL30-1 and SL30-2 for that purpose. You should not have any EXT2 or ARINC or Analog settings set to NAV2 because those would conflict with the SL30-2 being NAV2. If you are using External NAV Mode control, you won't see the text "GPS1" or "NAV1" (or whatever the ARINC is configured as) on your CDI/OBS buttons because those modes are controlled by the 480.
Re: "OBS" is grayed out on right knob
Yes you are correct. I mis-typed. My SL30 is NAV2 and shows up on my screen as NAV2, and is chosen as SL30-2 wherever I'm pointing at it. As such, I believe everything is correct in this regard.
However, let me ask this question to finish this off.....
As in the pic I attached earlier, I have:
NAV EXT1 LABEL= 480-1
NAV EXT2 LABEL= EXT2
There are no other choices for EXT2 LABEL that are not GPSs of some variety. Clearly my SL30 is not a GPS so what should I have chosen for this specific line if not Ext2 ? Note: Ext2 does not show up as my actual label, but NAV2 does. IOW, I have 480-1 and NAV2 showing when I push CDI/OBS. And I'm happy with this.
Thanks again Jeff!
However, let me ask this question to finish this off.....
As in the pic I attached earlier, I have:
NAV EXT1 LABEL= 480-1
NAV EXT2 LABEL= EXT2
There are no other choices for EXT2 LABEL that are not GPSs of some variety. Clearly my SL30 is not a GPS so what should I have chosen for this specific line if not Ext2 ? Note: Ext2 does not show up as my actual label, but NAV2 does. IOW, I have 480-1 and NAV2 showing when I push CDI/OBS. And I'm happy with this.
Thanks again Jeff!
Re: "OBS" is grayed out on right knob
You can't use an EXT label for an SL30 or anything that's just a GPS or just a VOR/ILS receiver. It's used for GPS/VOR/ILS combo units with mode switching like the 480/430/650/etc. The "NAV EXT2 LABEL" setting is not used in your system. It sounds like everything is working correctly now.