Normally on boot there is a “Ground Mode” Annunciation.  Since removal, upgrade, and reinstall this is gone, but the manual says it should still do this.

Secondly, there is no audio CAS alerting.  The visuals shows up on the IFD, but no audio.

It could just be that a pin needs reseating.  We are checking this.

Avi - is there any config settings which could have been modified during the upgrade?

Thanks

Seems that the TAS-A software update has a problem in that configuration settings (which should be set and forget) are volatile and can reset to default on boot up without notice.  This leaves a situation where you can assume you are going to have audible traffic alerts, but they have become inaudible.  The only way to readjust the input volume is to open up the empennage, attach a laptop with a terminal comm program, and reset the value to whatever it was.  Only to find, however, it may reset to inaudible next boot, or several boots in the future.

Avi has done a Service Letter Bulletin with a *.bin file to lock the config files, citing issues with config resets, particularly audio.

I will bet most owners are not aware of this SB.  It involves adjusting the audio volume, and then rebooting the unit from the external micro SD slot with the bin file.

This issue became obvious in my install.  Adjust the audio to a comfortable volume, shut down the unit - would think all good, right?  Not so fast, cowboy.  In my case, the adjustment got undone on subsequent boot cycles, and since had to get a technician, open the empennage, and repeat the cycle.

Now, a fellow Avi owner with the same configuration as mine except different comm panel has lost his audio too.  So now he gets to repeat the cycle.

This is a safety of flight issue.  A pilot assuming he/she has audible alerting and then, well, maybe not, is at risk.  

I am posting on this to alert other TAS-A upgrade owners that in the case of the TAS-A, silence isn’t goldden, and may indicate a problem.

David,

Yes, I am the other owner with the same exact panel as yours (except for the Audio Panel).  

During the TAS-A upgrade, my installer and I configured the box for proper Audio Volume, but then on subsequent flights, NO AUDIO ALERTS have been heard despite close traffic encounters and visible alerts on the dual Aspens and dual IFD's... Even more shocking has been to learn that Avidyne has already written a subsequent and as of yet, unannounced SB file fix to repair this software volatility.

There has been no communication by Avidyne with me as their customer of this product, despite Avidyne knowing full well of this safety of flight issue and its software fix.  This Fix is very convoluted and likely again will involve paying an installer to correct Avidyne's induced problems from lack of pre-release quality control. 

This Safety of Flight issue does create concerns at many levels, at a minimum, that a device recall or AD may be in order...  

Tom W.  

I went out to hangar, and reset my default Volume setting of 201 up to 415.  Seemed to hold through 2-3 re-boots of the TAS box, so did a flight yesterday - the TAS Traffic alert at 415 is way too loud.

Maybe someone smarter than me can come up with a Panel-Controlled Volume for the TAS Alert.  Look at the TAS Install manual, page 90 which refers to the Avidyne ATI panel Volume Control for the TAS-A box...

Just saying.

Tom W.

* Orest

The audio is generated but volume is too low to hear.

* Orest

My apologies for not being responsive to this thread.  I had been unaware of it until ddgates pointed it out to me.

We are aware that the TAS-A is sometimes reverting to default configuration settings; however, this is the first time I've heard that the default (50%) level was too low to be heard.  We selected a default of 50% to prevent exactly that situation.

As already pointed out, the Service Bulletin (document number 601-00185-010) was published as a stop-gap measure to prevent changes to the installation configuration once it is set.  That service bulletin makes the configuration file read-only, which has been effective at preventing changes to the configuration in other aircraft.

The service bulletin is only intended to be a temporary measure.  We have been trying to identify the source of the problem and fix it properly, but we haven't been able to reproduce the behavior.  This has made it difficult to identify the root cause.

I would be very interested to hear if the service bulletin to lock the configuration does not prevent the configuration from reverting to defaults.  Since this has prevented the problem in other installations it would be a helpful clue to know that it doesn't prevent it in all situations.  Please be sure to check the log produced while performing the steps in the service bulletin to confirm that the configuration file was locked.

My sincere apologies for my delayed response and for the inconvenience the issue has caused.

We undid the parallel, and now the TAS-A audio is alone on the unswitched input of the PMA450.  It can be heard.

But then, a fellow pilot, same airport, different airplane but same equipment basically as mine (and also recent -A upgrade to TAS605) lost his audio.  Don't know if he had the same install parallel as mine but obviously same, so same problem.

Practically speaking, doing the SB procedure is problematic for me because each time the upholstery has to be removed and multiple parts of the bulkhead have to be undone to expose the unit in the empennage and gain access to the TAS box.  There is double uncertainty about the apparent fragility of the external SD drive (and to some degree, absence of DOS/Unix like manipulations of the avionics technicians.)  So for me solving the input issue was the better choice assuming that it holds up and the problem doesn't drop the config to below the midrange level.

In the case of the Piper pilot I mentioned, don't know what his comm panel connection is but his issue is likely to be similar.

On another note:  we both have other questions about the TAS-A functionality, and have gotten variable answers from different Avi sources.  So, dryan, you are the guru on this system so let me ask this and maybe other questions: 

-To maximixe the functionality of the TAS-A upgrade, and with both TAS-A and MLB-100 units installed, does it serve better to indicate on our TXPs that we have 1090-in or 978-in? I.e., does the TAS-A unit make use of the 978 ADS-R broadcase which we could in theory receive on 1090?

Thanks, and happy holidays.

Yes, this TAS-A Audio adjustment is a very inconvenient and problematic issue.  My configuration includes dual IFD540's, and Avidyne Audio Panel and Transponder...

Yesterday, I went to hangar to do the PC-PuTTY configuration to lower the high Audio Volume (set to 415) - Default 205 way too low to hear!  Unfortunately, a more basic recurrent problem occurred, with the TAS-A box spontaneously becoming completely "dead in the water" with only the White-light on the box. 

This is the second time around with this problem, likely once again the internal micro-SD card becoming Corrupt - I understand about 15% of the new TAS-A boxes ...and requiring another trip back to Avidyne... Very frustrating for us customers to have to be the quality control on what should have been R&D issues.  

Hoping for a fix...

Tom W.

Seems not ready for prime time.

I had the "WHITE LIGHT OF DEATH" on my TAS and it was a blown board, or so they said. 

Are you related to the "Ryan-TCAD" many of us love?

Assuming "Yes", I weigh your advice on Transponder settings more seriously... 

So, to optimize the new TAS-A box VeriTAS conflict resolution, your recommendation on the 1090 setting makes intuitive sense - Thank You.

The only down side on this would be losing the full "UAT" Display symbology (from Skytrax/MLB 978-In) with Speed/Direction Vectors on traffic targets.  Displaying the TAS-A 1090-In traffic on our IFD540's only displays with Legacy "Diamond" - So Far...  With my dual 540 setup, I will configure #1 to display Ryan-TCAD, and #2 to display Skytrax.

Thanks.

Tom W.  

I don't have any recommendations for improving the traffic display yet, but stand by...we intend to continue improving the TAS-A.

Many of us are out here doing the "R&D"for the TAS-A box, in real time... Let us know what information we can provide you that would be helpful in solving:

   1.  the TAS-A Box "White Light of Death"- my unit will arrive back to Melbourne tomorrow (attn. Mike Clifford).  I assume the likely weak link (Again) is the Internal micro-SD card, spontaneously Corrupting...x2 now for this unit.  

   2. The Spontaneous Reset of the TAS-A Audio Volume to default of "205" (shouldn't be happening, of course) - is too low & inaudible.  Tech support says this happens with integration of Non-Avidyne avionics, but I can assure you, my entire setup is all Avidyne, except for dual Aspens, receiving TAS-A 1090 traffic via ARINC 429 input. 

Please keep us posted.

Thanks.

Tom W.

N8684P

Pleased to know you will engage on this.  I think that is the ingredient necessary to get to a fix.

Thanks and happy holidays.

DGates shared that you might be looking for a TAS-A box to investigate these problems....  

Mine has just been received at Avidyne few days ago, with Unit Exchange.  My new exchange unit, Squawk History unknown.  

My TAS605-A history is:

.  M1329880

.  "White Light of Death" x2 - presumed Corrupt internal micro SD card

.  Spontaneous Audio Reset to Default inaudible levels.

Good luck.

Keep us posted.  Thanks 

Tom Wolf

N8684P

Installed my exchanged TAS605A after second failure (presumed corrupt internal micro-SD card).  So far, so good, working like a charm.

  .  Configured (with PC PuTTY program) to Volume = 400, and holding.

Re-configured Transponder to optimize TAS605-VeriTAS with 1090=Yes, 978=No, and configured my IFD540#1 to display Ryan TCAS, and noticed in the AUX-Audio page:

 A new SLIDER labeled TRAFFIC - Volume for TAS605A now controllable via IFD540 Audio Page!!!

Life is good.

Tom W.