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Controlling Garmin SL40 with Skyview

NASA515

Well Known Member
Skyview Ver 6.0 adds the ability to control a VHF Com (or Nav/Com) from the SV. This was primarily to synch with the new Dynon VHF Com rsdio, but also covers other equipment.

This was discussed quite bit on the Dynon Forum - it seemed I would need a three conductor, shielded cable to connect the Garmin Rx, TX, Serial Grd and Shield to a SV Serial Port - so I bought the cable from Steinair.

When I went to engineer the hookup, I ran into some problems, which have now been solved. The question was how to gain access to the SV Serial Port structure - preferably Serial Port 4.

Vans takes the SL-40 RX output (Pin 10) and sends it via their 50000A "magic box" to (NAV/COM Data A) to the SV Pin 10 Serial 4 Tx.

Altho they have a wire connected to SV Pin 9 Serial Radio Rx (Nav/Com Data 2A) from their 50000A Control Box, they made no connection between Pin 3 (RS232 RX) of the SL-40 and their control box.

Yesterday I did it - I added the one missing wire (I originally figured I'd have to add three for Rx, Tx, Serial Ground + grounding the shield.

I do not understand why Vans had Steinair set up the harness the way they did - with two wires present and one missing. Pulling the radio and the rack is a real PITA.

I set up Serial Port 4 - it was easy using Dynon's device selector - just hit SL-40 and it configured the port automatically.

And - VOILA! It all worked perfectly - pushing and pulling the freqs between the SV and the radio. Really, really slick!!!!!!

Now - during ops to an airport, I can just call up the Info page and select and Tune by pushing buttons - Approach - Tower - Ground -- and not using charts, guides, or the Index cards I have been using. Plus - the SV tells me what the freq is that I have tuned or is in Standby - by freq AND by I.D. - instead of me wondering and trying to reverse engineer the freq back to a function or airport.

This is a HUGE improvement to the flow, and makes the Skyview even slicker - thanks Dynon guys!

BTW, I just replaced the Red Cube FF XMTR and the ADAHRS on my airplane - both were giving me problems since first flight. I called Dynon and had replacement units in 24 hours - that is excellent support and service!

Bob Bogash
RV-12
N737G
 
I should have added - what you need to do is run a wire from Pin 3 of the connector at the back of the Radio rack (socket termination, if I recall) to Pin 6 of Cx ES-00062 (a pin) - this is the Cx that goes to the Nav/Com plug on the 50000A Control Box. It's the missing wire from harness WH-00028.

It will take the SL-40 RS232 Tx into the rest of the Vans system via Nav/Com Data 2A, where it leaves the Control Box via Pin 41 of ES-00059 and thence via Harness WH-00020 to the Skyview (Pins 40 and 41 provide entrance into SV Serial Port 4 as Nav/Com Data A and Data 2A.)

Everything in the system is wired up and waiting for the Serial Port 4 activation - EXCEPT for the missing wire from the radio to the Control Box. Don't know why that wire was left out.

Selecting SL-40 in the Serial Port 4 set-up establishes the Baud rate and pre-selects all the appropriate handshake parameters, eliminating a lot more head-scratching and trial-and-error.

Hope the above helps eliminate a lot of head-scratching. Those still building can add the wire before installing the radio rack - assuming it's not been added to the new scratch build harnesses. This is a feature you won't want to miss out on!

Bob Bogash
N737G
 
Skyview and SL40

This is a really great post, Bob. Thanks for another step in helping this electronically naive builder understand bit more about what is going on behind the panel. But it has triggered a bit of a "rant" on my part.

Since being exposed to the electrical part of the RV12 I have been dismayed by the design and almost went EAB because of it. I relented in the interest of just getting it done.

My first disappointment was with the inflexibility of the switchgear arrangements. I did not opt for lights, so much of the switch arrangement just takes up space. I would love to be able to use some of those switches for other things (like the fuel pump) or move some functions (like the trim control to the control stick) but have been reluctant to try to do the changes. Also, I was interested in adding a second comm. but was told "no help from us" when I asked Van's about it.

When installing the engine I wondered why the engine data went through the 5000A instead of direct to the Skyview. Same story a couple of months ago when I installed the ADSB box through the 5000A box instead of direct to the Skyview. To me the functions of the 5000A box are a mystery and I am disappointed with either Van's for not providing a layman's explanation or with myself for not being bright enough to find it.

This stuff should not be that hard. I finished my IFR RV6 14 years ago, wired it myself except for the audio panel, installed first a NavAid and then a TruTrak auto pilot which operates perfectly from an enroute IFR GX55. So I know it can be done by someone like me.

But whenever I think about trying to do something with the RV12 I seem to be stopped dead by printed circuits, proprietary wiring diagrams, unique switches, etc. Now that it is flying, I sometimes feel like taking out the Van's propriety stuff and working it out for myself. If I do it, the first thing to go will be that switchgear in the middle of my panel.

So......I feel a little better now. I realize that I am dealing with a mismatch of two cultures - "locked up" versus "experimental". I'm working to keep this in perspective. In the meantime I am grateful for each clue about the electrical secrets of the RV12. Thanks again for opening things up a little bit more.
 
Rants are good for the soul, Keith! Tony T. (and others) call me the Rant King.

My analysis is that the Control Box is Vans best shot at making all these connections Plug-n-Play, and I commend them for that. Just take all the various units, run their harnesses into the Box, and the Box takes care of the inter-connections and makes it come out right. According to Vans, the Box is mostly just a Pass-Thru device.

In my case, Plug-n-Play became a lot more Plug-n-Pray. I was doing a conversion - updating an existing wiring scheme - set-up for the D-180 - using the adapter harnesses to mesh with the Skyview. Vans did a lot of work to enable builders to install New, Convert from the Old scheme or a partially wired airplane. It was complex for them, and it was complex for us. I spent literally months glued to those wiring diagrams and ultimately tracing many wires, wire-by-wire, to get them to all be handshaking and happy campers. I had many wires, and even complete plugs that had no homes and had a hard time finding homes.

As a long time electronics geek / computer nerd / ham radio operator, I didn't figure I was going to have near as much trouble wiring this baby up as I ultimately did.

Vans - God Bless 'Em - didn't want to tell folks to rip out all the wiring they had installed and start over. In retrospect, they should have. Or I - at least - should have. I should have ordered the new wiring harnesses and ripped out everything in there.. I think I could have ripped it all out in a couple of hours, and by doing so, would have probably saved about 3-4 months on the build (No exaggeration.)

Well, as I always like to say - Experience is what you get from a lot of Bad Experiences......

I agree with you about the "secret" nature of the Control Box. Maybe Vans feels it's very Proprietary and don't want folks stealing their engineering. But, what's needed (or was - for me), was a schematic of the Box - so I could trace wires that went in to where they went out. As it is now - I call it the Jimmy Durante Box - you know - "Take it from the Nose, because only the Nose knows."

But, I added a Fuel Boost Pump switch, and plan to move the Stab Trim to the Control Stick too - so I feel your pain.....

Rant on - it's good for your blood pressure.

Bob Bogash
N737G
 
I am STILL trying to get it sorted out (see my post in the Skyview thread today for instance). Like you, I feel Vans did a good job making a conversion cable setup from 180 to Skyview, but if I had it to do over again, I too would gladly rip out all the stuff and replace it with a new harness. Some of the problems got sorted out here, but many mysteries still remain, and I dread seeing all the smoke when I turn the switches on.
 
I do not understand why Vans had Steinair set up the harness the way they did - with two wires present and one missing. Pulling the radio and the rack is a real PITA.

I can not say for certain it was the case in this instance, but many of these issues are a result of products still in development when the a particular portion of the RV-12 kit design was being finalized.

There are many instances where the electrical system design was developed based on info provided by Dynon engineering (also occurred with other OEM suppliers), only to have them make design changes at a later date.
It is fully understandable that a company the size of Dynon can't keep track of what info they have shared with whom, and inform every one of its OEM customers every time it makes a design change along the way.

Keep in mind (as you said yourself), this is a functionality that is just now being implemented but the SV-1000 system has been in use for quite a while already.
 
I agree, Scott, that neither Vans, nor us, nor maybe even Dynon - knew they were going to push/pull the SL-40 thru the Skyview some day.

Having said that - then there should have been TWO wires missing from the radio harness - one each for Tx and Rx. But, in actuality, one was installed and the other wasn't. As was said in The King and I - THAT, is a Puzzlement.

Bob Bogash
N737G
 
I was just looking Bob, that is a hard one to do because of taking out the entire radio mount to get to those pins. Oh well, that function is VERY important to me and would have it at any cost. My little Ercoupe had a radio mounted down under the panel (ICOM A-210) and it was virtually impossible for me to tune it in flight. I could only exist by putting some freqs in the memory for each trip.
 
I agree, Scott, that neither Vans, nor us, nor maybe even Dynon - knew they were going to push/pull the SL-40 thru the Skyview some day.

Having said that - then there should have been TWO wires missing from the radio harness - one each for Tx and Rx. But, in actuality, one was installed and the other wasn't. As was said in The King and I - THAT, is a Puzzlement.

Bob Bogash
N737G

Not necessarily true.

Van's often gets advanced info from OEM vendors (with the expected non disclosure agreement signed).
Info about a planned COM radio from Dynon has been known for a long time.
So, it would be totally normal for the required wire(s) to exist in the Skyview to control module harness so that they would be present if at a later date someone upgraded from an SL-40 to the Dynon COM radio. The wires would not be needed in the SL-40 harness because with the plug & play architecture, that harness would be removed anyway, and a Dynon radio harness (with the appropriate wires) put in it's place. I think it is entirely possible that Dynon hadn't ever said they planned to support serial interface with Garmin (but I don't know that for certain).

So, if no one at Van's ever knew that other radios would be supported, it makes perfect sense ($) for the wires to have only been added to the portion of the harness that would still be in place if a Dynon COM radio were added.
 
Au contrare, mon ami.

Yes, the Rx and Tx Serial Port 4 wires are present in the harness going from the Control Box to SV. The question is why there is an SL-40 RX wire, but no Tx wire, going from the radio to the Control Box.

Both the Rx and Tx data streams are supported by Vans going through the 50000A Control Box from the Nav/Com plug - through the Box - and on to the Skyview. But, only one of those data streams is provided from the radio because the other wire is missing.

None of this SL-40 support was provided previously - the capability was added in the Ver 6.0 Firmware Update that came out 30 May. Reference the SV Installation Manual - page 4-16 in Revisions "N" vs "O".

The new Dynon COM radio is the SV-COM-C25. This radio does not communicate with the Skyview via a Serial Port, like the SL-40 (and other radios), but via one of the two DB-9 connectors on the back side of the Skyview. These are Skyview Network connectors, and not Serial Ports. (See Fig 96 - page 16-2 of the Rev "O" Manual.

In other words, this is all about the two required wires in the harness from the radio to the Control Box - one is present (for reasons unknown since it was not usable until Firmware 6.0 was released) and one missing.

RV-12 Skyview owners who want to push/pull to their Garmin SL-40 radios will need to add the missing wire.

Bob Bogash
N737G
 
Both the Rx and Tx data streams are supported by Vans going through the 50000A Control Box from the Nav/Com plug - through the Box - and on to the Skyview. But, only one of those data streams is provided from the radio because the other wire is missing.

My understanding of the serial interface protocol is that you only need the wire if you are sending data in that direction. If you are pushing freq. from the SV-1000 to the SL-40, the SL-40 only needs a connection to serial data in. The serial data out is of no use because there is no useful serial data for the SL-40 to send (out) to the SV-1000.
 
The useful data is what the radio is tuned to, because the knobs will still work. This was a VERY timely post as I was going to make 3 wires tomorrow. The cowl and instrument cover is off my plane, just finishing the annual! Now I know I just need to do one wire. However based on prior experience with my particular setup, I will be verifying continuity of those other wires while access to that plug is easy! Just slid the radio out, looks like 6 more screws and I can access that rear plug on the Garmin rack.

Also I had asked in the COMM sub-forum if the wires really needed to be shielded and was told no. My inventory of scrap wire and pins didn't have that.
 
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Checkout the illustration on the top of page 9-1 - Skyview User Guide - Rev "O" - Scott. That's why you want to Push/Pull the radio and need two-way communication.

I can push freqs from Skyview to the SL-30, but that's only half the game.

The SL-40 pushes out its Active and Standby frequencies, which are displayed on top of the Skyview screen. And identified. Very helpful! Very.

If I tune the SL-40 by itself to 119.9, Skyview will display that and show it as Seattle Tower (KSEA TWR.) If I put 118.0 in the Standby on the radio - it will show the same way as KSEA ATIS. It's a thing of beauty!

Skyview performs a Database Reverse Lookup - checking all freqs within 75 miles and then displaying the correct I.D. Pretty fantastic.

Here I am flying from Bremerton to Arlington last week. I make my CTAF calls on Bremerton; after departure, I call Seattle Radio and activate my Flight Plan; then call Seattle Approach for Traffic and Flight Following; next it's Paine Tower for clearance through their Class D; then Arlington AWOS; then Arlington CTAF; then back to Seattle radio to close my Flight Plan.

That's a lot of knob switching on a single radio, and meanwhile, I'm trying to remember who is on what frequency. What number IS that???

The new Skyview tells me all that - makes the Pushing easy and Pulls the data for the freq I'm on.

As far as the missing wire is concerned - I'm not blaming Vans for leaving the wire out, but I am puzzled why the other wire is in. It took me about a month of trying to figure out how I was gonna make this work until I got it figured out. As mentioned previously, I bought a three wire shielded cable to make the connections. It turned out I only needed one wire.

The impact was substantial - again I'm not blaming anyone. The radio and its tray must be removed. To accomplish this, one must remove the panel covering the panel, remove (or take loose) all three instrument panels; remove the radio and its tray; remove the plug at the back of the tray; insert a new pin in the plug, and then reassemble everything. It will take me 2-3 days to do the whole job. That's OK - I was prepared to run three wires and ground the shield.

On the other hand. if the "missing wire" had been installed (as were the other two wires), I wouldn't have had to open my toolbox or lift a screwdriver. All that would have been required would have been entering the Setup Menu and configuring Serial Port 4. A few button pushes and less than 60 seconds.

I spent about a month trying to figure this all out, Scott, studying the Vans Wiring Diagram, the Dynon Installation Manual, and the Garmin Installation and Wiring Diagram, and also coordinating with Dynon. My intention was to share what I learned with the other members of the Forum, and make their lives easier ---- NOT to get into a jousting match with you.

The other guys can decide who is "the King", but they'll still have to go through the above steps to run the missing wire - if they want this exciting new functionality.

Bob Bogash
N737G
 
And of course I just finished carefully tie wrapping all the wiring harnesses behind the panel yesterday..... Oh well, what's another few hours work. Looks like a useful facility to have for the sake of running one wire. Will this work for areas outside the US? I'm not sure of the database setup for SV.
 
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Bill, the documents all call for shielded wires - that's why I bought the cable - but when I pulled the radio to Control Box harness, I found the wires were not shielded, so I went with an unshielded wire.

I tested the system - first with the radio out of the tray, then with it in the tray to ensure functionality. I still have to reinstalled the tray, then the radio and the rest. That's tomorrow's project!

Good luck!

Bob Bogash
N737G
 
I don't believe the guys outside the U.S. are using the Dynon database, but one of the alternative DB's - like Jeppesen. They probably have the appropriate data, but whether the SV will do things like the reverse lookup with them is something you need to check with Dynon on.

Bob Bogash
N737G
 
I can not say for certain it was the case in this instance, but many of these issues are a result of products still in development when the a particular portion of the RV-12 kit design was being finalized.

There are many instances where the electrical system design was developed based on info provided by Dynon engineering (also occurred with other OEM suppliers), only to have them make design changes at a later date.
It is fully understandable that a company the size of Dynon can't keep track of what info they have shared with whom, and inform every one of its OEM customers every time it makes a design change along the way.

Keep in mind (as you said yourself), this is a functionality that is just now being implemented but the SV-1000 system has been in use for quite a while already.

I agree, Scott, that neither Vans, nor us, nor maybe even Dynon - knew they were going to push/pull the SL-40 thru the Skyview some day.

Having said that - then there should have been TWO wires missing from the radio harness - one each for Tx and Rx. But, in actuality, one was installed and the other wasn't. As was said in The King and I - THAT, is a Puzzlement.

Bob Bogash
N737G

I talked with the head project engineer this morning, and confirmed what I had posted previously (quoted above).
The harness was designed per the specification provided by Dynon at the time. They only specified pushing serial data to the radio. Maybe at the time they had no plans for using any return data. In fact, at the release of the 6.0 firmware someone there said they thought that it should still work as is, but that has been found to be incorrect.

So Bob, it was purposefully designed to have just the send wire to the radio, as originally specified by Dynon engineering.
No Puzzlement at all......
 
UPDATE:
ONE WIRE - it worked great! Female in Pin 3 of the Garmin, Male in Pin 6 at the other end of the cable from the Garmin to the AV5000.
Then 2 steps: Dynon System setup - Serial port 4 - select SL40.
Then COMM Setup (a separate menu from Serial) - select SL40.

And 4 of those 6 screws to remove the Garmin rack were a ^&%%^. The bad part is getting that washer IN BETWEEN the rack and the bracket for reattachment. You might make an aluminum spacer with a big slot in it to replace those washers.

What I did was take a sliver of aluminum - thin - 1/8 inch by about 4 inches long. Put a small piece of blue tape on the end, that spans across the end of the sliver and half the washer, leaving the hole open. The washer abuts the end of the sliver so you can gently move it into position while feeding in the screw from the inside with your gigantic finger and thumb...

(You know what they say about a man with big hands? He needs big gloves...)
 
I just glared at that radio tray that has to come out for a while. Nothing is simple it seems. As you say though, it is well worth it for the result it achieves.
 
I reinstalled my radio tray (and the rest of the panel) today too, Bill. I gave up on trying to get those washers in - I'm amazed I did it the first time around. Lots of Blue words then. When I took the tray out - they fell --- into the circuitry of the Fuse/Switch panel below - not good. Took me 3 days to magnetically extract them all (the first three were easy - of course!)

This time, I glued the washers to the tray - no more Blue words from Ole Bob. Worked pretty doggone gone too.

The real Blue words were reserved for reinstalling the plug in the back of the radio tray with those teensy screws, and the Real Blue words were reserved for reattaching the tiny ground pigtail to the back of the tray, where you have to line up the screw, washer, ring terminal, and threaded hole. After accomplishing that feat, I decided I'm qualified to do heart bypass surgery.

I REALLY like the new radio setup. Gave it a good workout. Put in the Tacoma Tower freq in the radio, and the SV popped up with KTIW TWR. Pretty doggone slick!

Scott -I never complained about the missing Pull wire - only puzzled over the unused Push wire. When Dynon came out with this new functionality, I was prepared to hookup three new wires plus the shield. I did, however, think your comment about not needing to Pull freqs from the SL-40 to be very misguided. See above.

Bob Bogash
N737G
 
Scott -I never complained about the missing Pull wire - only puzzled over the unused Push wire. When Dynon came out with this new functionality, I was prepared to hookup three new wires plus the shield.

I think most people that read your posts would see that differently. You your self said others call you the Rant King. I will refrain from commenting....

I did, however, think your comment about not needing to Pull freqs from the SL-40 to be very misguided.

Then I guess you feel the same about Dynon because (as I posted earlier today) they previously said they thought it would work with only the wire to push to the radio.

I think part of the problem is you misunderstand which wire does what, but at this point it doesn't matter.

The way I read it, you are calling me a liar here in the forums.
I have honestly told you that everything that was done was per recommendations from Dynon at the time, but that is apparently not good enough because it does not seem logical to you.

Therefore, the best thing for me to do at this time is raise the white flag and say that I will steer clear of threads where you are participating.

Cheers
 
You'll be able to Push freqs to the Garmin SL-40 - which is nice - but only half the game. The Skyview will not be able to read what freqs the radio has set for Active and Standby, and so not identify - or annunciate - the stations you are tuned to.

Not a bad functionality of you want to avoid the wiring hassle, but you'll probably want the whole enchilada eventually.

Bob Bogash
N737G
 
Hey Scott - I've got no beef with you. But I do wonder about your style sometimes.

Adding the Skyview/Radio connection was something I was really interested in doing - and I began researching it and ordering parts before Firmware 6.0 was even released. There were several threads over on the Dynon Forum covering this. I think it took me about 6 weeks to figure out what I needed to do.

My final "Ah Ha" moment came on Friday. I posted a question on their Forum postulating that all I needed to do was add the one missing wire. That was at 7:05 PM. Their offices were closed for the weekend and I didn't expect an answer until this week. But - a Dynon Employee in Dynon Support responded at 7:36 PM.

He gave me the info I needed to proceed - so I went in Saturday (I rarely go to the Airport on the weekends) anxious to set it up. It worked! I showed my wife what a neat gee-whiz it was.

http://dynonavionics.com/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1331296104

I then re-posted on the Dynon Forum confirming my success.

I very nearly left it at that - maybe the Rant King should have. But, I figured a lot of my pals over on VAF don't belong or read the Dynon stuff. So I started a new thread over here. The strength of this Forum is helping other builders solve problems based on your own personal experience - I've benefited mightily from the postings of others and figured I ought to pay back. I had a lot of hours invested in deciphering this wiring scheme and the tested solution was simple.

So, I posted with a full explanation of the situation. I thought it was pretty straightforward - and got some pretty positive replies - "This is a great post", "this is very timely...", etc.

That's when you stepped in, Scott - you inserted yourself six times in this thread where really no Vans involvement was required (I know you're not speaking for Vans.........") And, you chose to get personal - and continue to follow that tack. I don't figure that's called for. Based on the volume of Private Messages I've received - I'm not alone in that opinion.

As I posted earlier - I tried to help others - and wound up getting squashed. Maybe I need to readjust and become "a Lurker."

Bob Bogash
N737G
 
And of course I just finished carefully tie wrapping all the wiring harnesses behind the panel yesterday..... Oh well, what's another few hours work. Looks like a useful facility to have for the sake of running one wire. Will this work for areas outside the US? I'm not sure of the database setup for SV.

Hi Bob - answer to your question from the Dynon Forum - posted at 9:07 PM Local time last night by a Dynon Employee in Dynon Technical Support:

The radio uses whatever database is already inside SkyView for your maps. There's no additional download or cost. So you can use Jeppesen or PocketFMS data if you are not in the USA and this will provide you with full mapping data as well as radio data.

Sounds like you're good to go. Have fun - you'll like it!

Bob Bogash
N737G
 
That's when you stepped in, Scott

Bob,
I never said your information was incorrect or of no value. It is. And the RV-12 harness will be updated to reflect what Dynon now says the current configuration should be (it has, and probably always will be in a constant state of changing).

So, I do feel your info was of value, that it was a great post and should have been shared.

But I feel that you then slammed me, just for offering an explanation of how the harness ended up configured the way it is (as an answer to your rant about not understanding how or why Van's would have done it this way). And you repeatedly made posts that my explanation made no sense.

So if you feel slammed, I publically apologize. I never meant your info was of no value... just irritated that you couldn't provide the valuable info without ranting about why Van's couldn't get it right.

Over and out.
 
Accepted and appreciated Scott - let's be friends and make-up. Next time I'm in Aurora (on my To-Do short List with my new airplane), we can go out and have a beer. You buy!

Bob Bogash
N737G
 
Great, thanks Bob. Much appreciated! :D

Hi Bob - answer to your question from the Dynon Forum - posted at 9:07 PM Local time last night by a Dynon Employee in Dynon Technical Support:

Sounds like you're good to go. Have fun - you'll like it!

Bob Bogash
N737G
 
You'll be able to Push freqs to the Garmin SL-40 - which is nice - but only half the game. The Skyview will not be able to read what freqs the radio has set for Active and Standby, and so not identify - or annunciate - the stations you are tuned to.

Not a bad functionality of you want to avoid the wiring hassle, but you'll probably want the whole enchilada eventually.

Bob Bogash
N737G
Thanks Bob, The reason I ask is, my plane is in the hanger in Fl. and I'm in N.C. for the summer. I plan on flying it to the "big show" in about a month, and didn't know if I should upgrade to V6.0 before I leave as I'll only have a day or 2 in Fl. before I have to leave, so no time to work on anything. Looks like I'm good to update.
Also a big THANKS for figureing this out. In the same post you quote on the Dynon list, I asked about this back in May, when I had the panel open. Noone there or at Vans could give me an answer. I new someone would figure it out. Thanks again,
 
V6 also has significant autopilot improvements. Oh, it occurred to me that it MIGHT be possible to add the one wire into the Garmin rack plug without taking the rack out - with another person holding a mirror and a set or small bent needle nose pliers. Someone try that... This is possible because the plug on the Garmin has no backshell. The other end of the wire is easy.
 
It would be worth a try, Bill - if you can't do it, nothing lost - you'll have to pull the tray. The problem - I think - is the back of the tray sits so close to the firewall, and the antenna coax/plug connection sits on top of the tray's rack plug.

I figured I was as good as a heart surgeon after doing it by pulling the tray - if you can do it in place, you'll qualify as a brain surgeon.

Mark - if I were you, I'd stick to what you have - you don't want to rip everything apart and two days ain't much. Plus, as Bill mentions, there are major changes to the Autopilot. Actually it's completely revamped - it's now TWO autopilots - a simple VFR one and a complex IFR one - complete with Flight Director. The commands are altogether new and different. I've read and re-read the manual half a dozen times and flown with it about 12 hours and still haven't figured it all out.

The whole Vans connection was a surprise to me - I bought the cable and DB-9 connector fully expecting implementation of this change involved running three wires directly from the Garmin SL-40 to the Skyview (See the SL-40 Installation Manual Figure 5, Page 10 - the bottom three wires - Pins 3, 10, 11 are the RS232 Serial Interface.) I figured the other end would go to one of the Skyview DB-9 connectors on the back of the SV without ever going near the Vans 50000A Control Box. But then I found out those DB-9 plugs are NOT RS232 Serial connections, but rather Dynon Network connectors. So the Vans Control Box became part of the signal loop into the SV Serial Port 4 - and, as they say - the rest is history, as enumerated earlier in this thread.

Bob Bogash
N737G
 
Brain Surgeon Training

Procrastination Pays! After lots of sadness of having to pull the radio tray, I think the answer just come! I am sure I can get one little ol wire plugged into that hole! (now if I can just determine WHICH hole)
30w60lt.jpg
[/IMG]
 
I added this wire last night. Total time, including making the wire, installing, routing and tiewrapping took under 1 hour. Thanks go out to Bob for the ground work and extensive information sharing and to Bill for wondering if this install could be done without removing the radio tray. It can be done without much fuss. THANK YOU! Slane
 
Just Do It!

I just finished mine, took not much more than 10 minutes! I did already have the top cover off the panel however, and my D-Sub pins and pin crimper already out and ready to use. It may sound like a big deal, but with Bob and others information it is really a minor task.

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I added this wire last night. Total time, including making the wire, installing, routing and tiewrapping took under 1 hour. Thanks go out to Bob for the ground work and extensive information sharing and to Bill for wondering if this install could be done without removing the radio tray. It can be done without much fuss. THANK YOU! Slane
 
I AM crying! Too bad you wimps didn't get to pull the radio tray out - it builds character -- but I still don't see how you could gain access with the antenna cx sitting on top of the tray plug etc. I can't even see it. Plus - I could barely see the Garmin pin numbers with a 10X glass and light, even with the plug out.

Next time, I'll pay for you to fly up here and do it for me. I'm still waiting to install the instrument panel cover as I broke a buggered up screw and wound up having to drill out the nutplate !@#$%^&!!!

Bob Bogash
N737G
 
Your screws wouldn't bugger up if you ignored the bad advice of all the Nervous Nellies and ran a tap through your nut plates... They still hold great but the screws go in and come out easily. It is a tip from an EAA video that started a flame war... Note I also use boelube... But screws properly hold by a clamping action of the threads, not by torquing friction of a poor thread fit or interference....
 
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Or just a drop of Boelube on each one the first time, from then on they go in and out easily, but not easily enough to unscrew by themselves.
 
Sorry guys, this screw was BoeLubed (heck, my ex-employer needs the money to send me my retirement check) - I never leave home without it......

I BoeLube everything - Screw still did its thang.

Bob Bogash
N737G
 
Always my luck--things not working

I dutifully added the missing wire, and when configuring Serial Port 4 for the SL-40, I checked the TX and RX counts--the RX counts (via the newly added wire) appears to be working, while no TX activity occurs (the existing wire path). Once back in the functional screens ( I forget which), the change in frequency made via knob twisting shows up as updated raw frequency values on the Skyview (no fancy display on the top bar), while I have, as expected with a zero TX count, no ability to push frequencies from the Skyview to the SL-40. I've done the obvious--Using Skyview 6.0, checked continuity for TX-->RX in both directions, per the wiring diagrams, and verified that the errant path is not shorted to ground.

When configuring, I select Serial Port 4 RX for the SL-40, and the Serial TX port then also configures for SL40, but with no TX count activity. Grasping at straws, I de-configured--selecting "NONE" for the Serial RX, and the attempted configuring the Port 4 TX, but SL40 is not on the selection list for the TX port. If I select, for the TX, the Dynon System, the TX count starts rapidly ratcheting up, but the RX remains frozen.

Any suggestions--fresh goat entrails strewn across the cockpit, or somesuch?
With wiring checked out, I'm now wondering if I have a bum Skyview port, or a bum SL-40.?????
 
Without dragging me bum through the Dynon/Garmin/Vans stuff one more time - I don't believe you need to configure the Rx and TX aspects (or ANY detailed aspects ) of the Serial Port setup.

Go into the Serial Port Setup Menu (I'm operating off memory here), and select the top line (Device setup) - NOT the lower down detailed stuff -- scroll down through the available Devices - you will find SL-40 there - hit SELECT - and all the parameters are set for you.

Bob Bogash
N737G
 
Here is a possibility. You are assuming that the AV5000 is internally connecting the new wire you added to the right pin inputting to the back of the D1000. It is on mine and the other folks who have posted. BUT! In a identical kind of easy situation for the ADSB box (plug the cable into the ADSB port on the av5000 and all is well!) it did not work on mine! The ADSB plug on the av5000 box did properly supply the ADSB box with power and ground. But the two serial wires did NOT make heir way to the d1000 connector! So I put those two wires directly into the right place on the connector that connects to the back of the Skyview. No big deal. You may have to do that with your new wire. Check continuity of it from the Garmin plug to that correct pin on the Skyview connector (check the manual appendix, every pin is identified.)
 
Continuity check

Bob--As I recall, I am not able to just select Serial Port 4-->SL40. I have to select Serial Port 4--> RX-->Apollo/Garmin SL40 (Serial Port 4-->TX-->Does not have an SL40 selection, but selecting the SL40 from the RX side also sets the TX side to SL40). Selecting the SL40 on the RX side is as deep into the details that I get--not seleciton of buad rate/etc.

Bill--Alas, I did do the continuity check from the Skyview plug to the SL-40 plug--everything is connected as shown in the wiring diagrams.

I'll tinker/check again tomorrow morining (before the OAT around here gets above 100)
 
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Then, there's something wrong - you SHOULD be able to select SL-40 from the Serial Port 4 Device selection.

It's interesting the the Vans 50000 Control Box seems to pass some Serial Port Data, and not others, depending upon Serial Number. I don't have an answer to that - but some of the 50000 PC boards pass SL-40 serial data and, apparently, others do not. I can only say I'm only glad mine does, or I'd REALLY be unhappy.

Not addressing the presence of Rx or TX data wires between the SL-40 and the 50000A Control Box, it's puzzling that the pass-thu of the serial data IS - supposedly - present in the Control Box, despite the uncertainty of the Garmin/Dynon future configs to the designers of the Control Box.

Bob Bogash
N737G
 
Timely, For Sure!!

Okay!! You guys have my attention!! I was about to close up the access to my avionics deck. Wow!! How timely is this? I looked, and sure enough, I have no wire in position 3 of the "D" sub that the SL40 plugs in to. Also, disconnected the Nav/Com plug from the AV5000, and sure enough, there is no pin in position 6. Since I have an excess 9 pin harness that was to go to my magnetometer, before converting to the Skyview, I was able to open it up and extract a nice 4 foot wire with a female "D" sub pin already on it. Now, all I have to do is to run the wire and add a "D" sub male connector at the AV5000 end. So, where do I get a pin, and does my approach sound correct??? IF it does, and I can get a male pin on the end of this wire, I'm in like Flynn!! What a fantastic builders group we have. You don't have to be smart. You just need to chat with smart people.

Thanks guys...........Tom
 
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