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Fuel Info from GCR 30P
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Don View Drop Down
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    Posted: 08 Mar 2015 at 12:18pm
Hi guys 
I have a EI GCR 30P engine monitor 
My question is, when powering on the IFD i get the fuel set up page which tells me they are communicating. press enter etc. 
the GCR 30 should be able to get the info from the flight plan on IFD to give me fuel at dest. fuel required for flight plan.  etc. etc. Im not getting that on the GCR 30P delivered from the IFD 540. 
And I am not exactly sure if the IFD is picking up the fuel info from the GCR to display the fuel rings. I usually always launch with full fuel which is 4:30 minutes in flight so i may not be zooming out far enough to see my rings ... I am wondering if the transducer that came with the GCR 30P is not compatible with the IFD .. When dealing with EI I made sure to tell them about the IFD and what I was wanting with the fuel info ... Any help ?? 
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Hi Don,

I'm not familiar with the GCR 30P but I would make the following suggestions:

1.  How does EI say you should configure the GNS-530 to send/receive data to/from the EI device?  What that answer is should be the exact same answer as the Avidyne IFD540.

2.  In the absence of any input from EI, I would suggest the following setup in the IFD540 Maintenance Mode if not already done.  Set the RS-232 configuration page (2nd page in Mx Mode Configuration tab) for the appropriate channel that is physically wired to the EI device to be "Arnav/EI-fuel" for the Input source and "Aviation" for the Output source.

Let me know if that's all set up correctly and we'll go from there.
Steve Jacobson
sjacobson@avidyne.com
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Don View Drop Down
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Thanks Steve 
I will get with EI and see what they say that shouldn't be a problem
As far as maintenance mode I insert fob on start up and that put the box in MX mode and then follow the fuel tab and then go from there ... something an owner can do? or should i let avionics shop do that ?

Don 
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As long as you don't alter any of the configuration settings (unless we find a problem with one of them), then I personally would check out the Mx Mode page on my own.

To get there:

1.  With IFD powered off, insert a FAT32 formatted USB fob.
2.  Power the IFD up.
3.  Note that the unit boots to Maintenance Mode.
4.  You may have to press the left or right side of the AUX button to get to the Configuration tab along the bottom edge.
5.  Once on the Configuration tab, use the outer ring of the  bottom right IFD knob to get to page 2 of 10 (RS 232 Configuration page).
6.  Record or better yet, take a photo of that page and send it to us for a quick evaluation.
7.  When you've got that information recorded, look for, and press the "Done" button on the right side of the page.  You may have to press the left side of the AUX button to jump to a tab that displays that "Done" label as not all Maintenance Mode pages show that.
Steve Jacobson
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Don View Drop Down
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Points: 58 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Don Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 08 Mar 2015 at 5:49pm
Roger that sir, sounds easy I will get that done next week and get back with you, unless it had all to do with operator error which is likely possible !!! 
On a side note, was able to take that tour of the shop in Melbourne and I gotta say you guys are top notch ...WHAT AN IMPRESSIVE THING TO WATCH FROM START TO FINISH !!!!  I would recommend that to anyone !!!!  We could see first hand the amount of care and detail that went into each and every part that is involved in the 540 as well as the other avionics Avidyne builds !!! We were blown away !!! Please pass that along to the team there.. and thanks again !!! 

will be in touch 

Don
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Hi Steve,

 

Along these same lines, I to am installing dual Electronics International CGR 30P instruments on a twin Comanche  along with a total upgrade to include Avidyne IFD 540, 340, and 240, and Aspen Pro and Century 4000 autopilot.  There was no previous Garmin 530 installed.  Attached is the questions and answers by the Avidyne  Tech Rep and the Avionics Installer from earlier inquiries .  The avionics package is still in the install phase to be completed at the end of March.  We were trying to wire and or configure the 540 so that it would accept dual inputs from  each CGR 30P fuel flow.  These units are independent and do not totalize the fuel used  The previous Tech Rep had reference page 4-28 of the IFD 540 POH that would allow the 540 to sum the two fuel flow values so as to give accurate down line fuel projections using the total fuel flow/burn.  However, Based on the latest  installer comments below, it appears that the 540 can only accept one fuel input, which on a twin would only allow for one engine’s fuel flow.  Can you shed some light on this issue, or would it require a hardware or software upgrade as suggested in order to get the fuel projections from the IFD 540 using both left and right engine fuel flows or simply us a single fuel flow from one engine?

 

 

 Initial Question to Avidyne Tech Rep from installer

 

From: Phillip McAuliffe
Sent: Thursday, February 05, 2015 10:27 AM
To: Avidyne Technical Support
Subject:

 

We are installing an IFD540 in a twin Comanche along with dual Electronic International CGR-30P engine monitors.  The engine monitors do not have a combined fuel flow (Lf + Rt) available, so can we wire fuel flow data into 2 serial ports in the IFD540 and let it do the math?

 

Thanks,

 

From Avidyne Tech Support to installer

 

From: T.J. Sutton

Sent: Thursday, February 05, 2015 12:03 PM

To: Phillip McAuliffe ;

Subject: RE:

 

That should work fine.  I've attached the IFD 540 POH, Page 4-28 describes how it will sum the two values for fuel flow and fuel used.

 

TJ Sutton

Technical Support

888-723-7592

 

Latest comment From Avionics Installer

Hi,

we have 2 fuel flow inputs to the IFD540 on 2 different ports.  I set up one for Arnav/EI-fuel input, but the IFD would not allow me to set another port to the same configuration.  I was afraid of this, the Garmin’s are that way – you cannot set any 2 serial ports to the same thing.  So unless the new software/hardware upgrade does anything to change this, we are back to our problem of only being able to input the data from one engine’s fuel flow...

 
CW
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Don View Drop Down
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Steve.
Got the usb fob and updated the database.
In the process I went to page two in Mx mode.
It was how you said.
On channel 1. Input - is Airnav/Ei Fuel
And output is aviation.
Have pictures as well if I need to send them to someone let me know.
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Also just to be sure. On page 1
429 config
In 1 speed low. Data off.
In 2 speed low. Data off
Out. Speed low. Data off.

SDI. Common
V nav. Enable labels.

Just want to make sure I didn't inadvertently twist. When I should have pushed.

Thanks
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Originally posted by whiskyriver whiskyriver wrote:

Hi Steve,

 

Along these same lines, I to am installing dual Electronics International CGR 30P instruments on a twin Comanche  along with a total upgrade to include Avidyne IFD 540, 340, and 240, and Aspen Pro and Century 4000 autopilot.  There was no previous Garmin 530 installed.  Attached is the questions and answers by the Avidyne  Tech Rep and the Avionics Installer from earlier inquiries .  The avionics package is still in the install phase to be completed at the end of March.  We were trying to wire and or configure the 540 so that it would accept dual inputs from  each CGR 30P fuel flow.  These units are independent and do not totalize the fuel used  The previous Tech Rep had reference page 4-28 of the IFD 540 POH that would allow the 540 to sum the two fuel flow values so as to give accurate down line fuel projections using the total fuel flow/burn.  However, Based on the latest  installer comments below, it appears that the 540 can only accept one fuel input, which on a twin would only allow for one engine’s fuel flow.  Can you shed some light on this issue, or would it require a hardware or software upgrade as suggested in order to get the fuel projections from the IFD 540 using both left and right engine fuel flows or simply us a single fuel flow from one engine?



I'm afraid I don't have good news for you on this.   The IFD540 only allows one RS-232 fuel flow device at a time, just like the 530.

For twin aircraft we currently only support fuel flow sensors that send right and left channels over a single RS-232 line. But, I think this is a big enough deal that I've added it to the future feature candidate database with a pretty high priority.  

 
Steve Jacobson
sjacobson@avidyne.com
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Thank You Steve for the information concerning twin fuel inputs to the IFD 540.  I'll await a future upgrade/software update,  and hopefully be able to use  this feature in the near future.
CW
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Yes, that would be a biggie for twins.

Do you just use the input from one engine, and double/extrapolate now?

* Orest
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If the fuel flow sensor/device sends left fuel flow and right fuel flow, we sum those. If they explicitly send total fuel flow, we use that. 

Same for fuel used. Fuel Remaining is always a single value for the sensors that send it. 
Steve Jacobson
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Hi Orest,

That is the plan on our installation with the dual EI CGR 30P units for my twin.  Each EI unit has an independent RS-232 output and since the IFD 540 fuel only accepts a single RS-232 input for fuel, then we plan to use half the fuel quantity and use a single 30P(either left or right engine) for the fuel flow, thereby giving us a somewhat useful fuel range projections using a single engine's fuel burn.  Total estimated  fuel burned would have to be doubled and extrapolated as you mentioned . I believe the green range rings would be mostly accurate using this scenario. We are still in the installation phase, so I'll know a little more after the panel upgrade is finished.  Hopefully, as Steve mentioned, Avidyne will have a future upgrade that will allow both fuel inputs from two separate/independent  RS-232 instruments, either via a hardware or software update, and then have the 540 sum the totals and thereby show  accurate down line fuel burn/projections.  I believe my panel upgrade is going to be very similar to yours--Aspen Pro w/ACU2, AMX 240, AXP 340, IFD 540, and century 4000 autopilot.  Wired also for MLB 100 ADS B receiver when available.  Any recommendations/pointers would be appreciated. 
CW
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