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Vertical Power VP-100 Discontinued, VP-50???

swaneymj

swaneymj

Active Member
I need some advice from folks flying Vertical Power VP-100's or VP-50's. Vertical Power announced their new VPX, which only works with an AFS, GRT or MGL EFIS. At the same time, they have discontinued their VP-100 line. I was planning a Dynon Skyview installation, along with a VP-100. (In fact, they sent me the shells for the control box and switch panel just 2 weeks ago without a word that the product was being discontinued). Anyhow, Marc Ausman's suggestion is that I still buy one of their VP-100 units. He claims they will continue to support it. I'd like to hear from anyone now flying a VP-100 to see if this makes sense, or if this is a "checks in the mail" offer. I've already been bitten by Blue Mountain, and don't want to go through that pain again.
Mark S.
 
I am keeping mine!

Hi Mark,

I have a VP-50 and a VP-100. The VP-100 was in the RV-4, but I moved it to the RV-6a I am building and put the VP-50 in the RV-4. Really like both units. I think that the VP-100 control box is the same box (hardware wise) as for the VP-200. You just dont get all of the extra software for talking to the VP display. I think the VP-100 and the VP-200 share a lot of the same code so it shouldn't be too much of a problem for VP to continue to provide VP-100 updates when they update the VP-200. When Dynon adds support for the VP-X, that sure would make it tempting though if I had not already bought a unit yet.

Regards,
Tom
 
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vp-50 and 100 are essentially the same...

the only practical difference between the two are in the number of power pins available... (total power handled is the same though). suggest that you consider the vp-50 and work on your power pin out use, if you find that you cannot make it work without additional power pins (not likely if you group and consolidate as needed) then go with the vp-100, for twice the price... either way there is not much left to develop or program with the basic head unit.

i really like the vp-50 and the digital control of the electrical system but i am not a fan of the 'uber integration' that vp is taking with the power control system...
 
I'm still trying to figure out the VPX but it sounds like it eliminates the switches of the VP unit, which is one of the reasons I bought the VP-50. It sounds like the VPX is a good choice for retrofitting an existing electrical system, but again -- as I said -- I haven't studied it anywhere near enough.

The VP-200 is way too much -- both in price and capability -- for my mission. the VP-50 fits it perfectly. But I have a real bare-bones plane. I've often though, "hmmm, maybe I should have bought the VP-100.

I think the VP-50 is a fabulous product. I don't really understand why more people aren't using it. I'd certainly hate to see it get orphaned, especially if its replacement is designed to work only by integrating with products that are mostly out of my price range.
 
It sounds as if the VPX esentially does exactly the same thing as the VP-50 or VP-100 except it does it through a designated EFIS instead of the switch panel. I believe it has a bit more capacity as well.

Here is Marc's quote from a response on the forums:

"No, they are very different systems from an integration perspective.

The wiring on the VP-X is almost identical to the wiring on a VP-100 Control Unit and should be a relatively easy switch. You will need to re-do your panel though beause the the VP-100 Switch Panel is replaced with standard switches and the EFIS display."

I like it, especially the fact that you can monitor exactly what your circuits are doing along with notification when a circuit fault occurs. In my opinion, any three products would be fine, it just depends on whether or not you want to use the VP switch panel or your own.
 
Same here....

swaneymj said:
I was planning a Dynon Skyview installation, along with a VP-100. (In fact, they sent me the shells for the control box and switch panel just 2 weeks ago without a word that the product was being discontinued).
Mark S.
Click to expand...

Exact same situation here. I was literally right in the middle of wiring up my dummy box when I came inside to check VP's website for some clarification, only to find the new VP-X system available, and the VP-100 discontinued. Marc said there are no plans to discontinue the 50 or 200, and since the control PANEL for the 100 is almost the same as the 50, and the control UNIT is almost the same as the 200, continued support for the 100 would not be a problem. It's a toss-up for me......still buy a 100, or wait for Dynon to support the VP-X? The VP-50 just barely won't fit my needs, and the 200 is way outta my league.

rvator51 said:
When Dynon adds support for the VP-X, that sure would make it tempting though if I had not already bought a unit yet.
Click to expand...

I'm hoping that the good folks at Dynon will have some good news at Sun-n-Fun for those of us wanting to use the Skyview AND the VP-X. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. For now, until Dynon comes around, I think I'm going to move away from wiring, and onto other projects.
 
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snoop9erdog said:
I like it, especially the fact that you can monitor exactly what your circuits are doing along with notification when a circuit fault occurs. In my opinion, any three products would be fine, it just depends on whether or not you want to use the VP switch panel or your own.
Click to expand...

I'll have to think a little more about this -- thinking about electrical systems in my head makes it hurt. But one of the things I like about VP is the ability to group lots of things on a single switch. So a load shed in an emergency is a matter of a single switch. And, because you can program the unit, you can change your groupings around without having to rewire anything. I'll sit down with the new manual one of these days; it's quite possible that's the deal with the new system, too.
 
Yes, we are committed to support the VP-100 in the future. And we're also committed to introducing innovative new products as market demand dictates.

Every EFIS company I can think of has introduced new products and stopped selling older products. We're not any different and I see it as just a normal part of a healthy product cycle.
 
Bob Collins said:
I'll have to think a little more about this -- thinking about electrical systems in my head makes it hurt. But one of the things I like about VP is the ability to group lots of things on a single switch. So a load shed in an emergency is a matter of a single switch. And, because you can program the unit, you can change your groupings around without having to rewire anything. I'll sit down with the new manual one of these days; it's quite possible that's the deal with the new system, too.
Click to expand...

Bob - it's the same for the VP-X. Everything is fully configurable.
 
What about the GRT Sport?

Is the Sport excluded because its doesn't have the input/output wiring to drive your product?
 
We make the interfaces to the VP-X available, and the EFIS manufacturer decides which products interface with it.

Talk with Carlos at GRT to let him know your preferences so they can make decisions about how to allocate development resources. :)
 
Why no dynon

Just wondered what is the deal with dynon. Seems like a few of us would like it and seemed odd they werent in on the roll out. Can we assume its coming in the near future or not? Any comments would be great. This stuff all seems to change so fast I dont know when to pull the trigger on any panel stuff.
 
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