gvgoff99
Well Known Member
I have to write this to express my elation at having the foresight to use an Approach FastStack ( http://www.approachfaststack.com/ ) system to wire my panel! I want simple and problem free when I am working on radios!
All my radios were wired in about 5 hours total at the initial install. Back in 2006 I called that "light speed fast" for a fairly complex panel. The top forward skin (F-671) had not been installed making for easy access.
About a year later I upgraded the GNS 430 to a 430W. Recently I purchased an ADS600 from NavWorX ( http://www.navworx.com/ ). The wiring for both of these took about 5 hours each. This includes dissecting out unneeded wiring and installing the new harness that Approach had sent.
All were a piece of cake because the wiring for the FastStack is a SYSTEM and when components surrounding the system change it is easy for Tim Haas and the guys of FastStack to correctly modify the system for the new configuration.
Now the real good stuff: Tim Haas uses the information from various companies (Garmin, NavWorX, GRT etc.) to wire his harnesses, as much as possible to be ready for upcoming changes.
ADS-B has an "in" and an "out" signal. The ADS600 which is currently available is the "in" receiver. Bill Moffett at NavWorX has the ADS600-B "in" and "out" unit sitting on the shelf waiting for the FCC and FAA to "do their thing" so he can legally start selling them to us.
I asked Bill if there was extra wiring to install the ADS600-B and indeed there is one wire that would need to be run. Unbeknown to me Tim Haas at FastStack put this wire in the harness I recently purchased to install the ADS600. A change from the ADS600 to the ADS600-B would be a "plug and play" situation!
I also inquired of Tim Haas about how complex it would be to upgrade my GTX 330 transponder to have it give the "out" ADS-B signal. His answer: "This will be done via an existing hub connection and the configuration will need to be set in the GNS 430W and the GTX 330." Wiring is already there. If I had built or had someone rather than Approach build my wiring harnesses it would have been another story because the wiring for the upgrade would not have been anticipated. This need for changing the wiring was confirmed when I inquired of Garmin and to one of the Avionics dealers that make "Custom Harnesses." I received this answer which I believe to be truthful for a plane wired without a FastStack: "The wiring will need to be changed as well as the backplate/connectors."
The conclusion that I have come to is that any "custom harness" is "custom" for one particular application and any change would have me scratching my head, reading wiring diagrams, and probably taking my plane to an avionics shop to have the work done (at great expense). With the FastStack I can do the work myself, have an expert who knows this stuff inside and out to talk to about the change and be fully confident that I will not "smoke" some outrageously expensive radio when I flip the switch.
I cannot recommend them enough for any panel! They have a GREAT and WELL THOUGHT OUT system. Color me happy!
All my radios were wired in about 5 hours total at the initial install. Back in 2006 I called that "light speed fast" for a fairly complex panel. The top forward skin (F-671) had not been installed making for easy access.
About a year later I upgraded the GNS 430 to a 430W. Recently I purchased an ADS600 from NavWorX ( http://www.navworx.com/ ). The wiring for both of these took about 5 hours each. This includes dissecting out unneeded wiring and installing the new harness that Approach had sent.
All were a piece of cake because the wiring for the FastStack is a SYSTEM and when components surrounding the system change it is easy for Tim Haas and the guys of FastStack to correctly modify the system for the new configuration.
Now the real good stuff: Tim Haas uses the information from various companies (Garmin, NavWorX, GRT etc.) to wire his harnesses, as much as possible to be ready for upcoming changes.
ADS-B has an "in" and an "out" signal. The ADS600 which is currently available is the "in" receiver. Bill Moffett at NavWorX has the ADS600-B "in" and "out" unit sitting on the shelf waiting for the FCC and FAA to "do their thing" so he can legally start selling them to us.
I asked Bill if there was extra wiring to install the ADS600-B and indeed there is one wire that would need to be run. Unbeknown to me Tim Haas at FastStack put this wire in the harness I recently purchased to install the ADS600. A change from the ADS600 to the ADS600-B would be a "plug and play" situation!
I also inquired of Tim Haas about how complex it would be to upgrade my GTX 330 transponder to have it give the "out" ADS-B signal. His answer: "This will be done via an existing hub connection and the configuration will need to be set in the GNS 430W and the GTX 330." Wiring is already there. If I had built or had someone rather than Approach build my wiring harnesses it would have been another story because the wiring for the upgrade would not have been anticipated. This need for changing the wiring was confirmed when I inquired of Garmin and to one of the Avionics dealers that make "Custom Harnesses." I received this answer which I believe to be truthful for a plane wired without a FastStack: "The wiring will need to be changed as well as the backplate/connectors."
The conclusion that I have come to is that any "custom harness" is "custom" for one particular application and any change would have me scratching my head, reading wiring diagrams, and probably taking my plane to an avionics shop to have the work done (at great expense). With the FastStack I can do the work myself, have an expert who knows this stuff inside and out to talk to about the change and be fully confident that I will not "smoke" some outrageously expensive radio when I flip the switch.
I cannot recommend them enough for any panel! They have a GREAT and WELL THOUGHT OUT system. Color me happy!
