Rebuilt Garmin GMA-347 <not>

With only one item left for the radio stack I decided to bite the bullet and get the GMA-347 audio panel. I web ordered through Aircraft Spruce and purchased a rebuilt unit last week only to get a call today canceling the order.

Turns out that Aspruce does not have the rebuilt units in stock, does not know when/if they will get any, and will not accept orders for them even though they have it on their website!
According to the sales lady, they only sell the new GMA-347 units installed.
I know I must have something wrong here. Can someone enlighten me on why it's hard to buy a Garmin? It seems to be a recurring thread here where people have misconceptions or issues trying to purchase and repair Garmin equipment

Should I just get a PS unit with the voice recorder? At this point I have to wonder if it would be easier.

I don't think it's hard at all to buy Garmin stuff, but then again I'm biased because we buy it almost every day. In this case, it's not necessarily Garmin's fault....heck, that dealer still has some items on their website that haven't even been produced for YEARS, much less being currently available! Miscoceptions are easy to draw when the people selling them aren't providing current and accurate advice or information. I don't think I recall any of my customers that have had difficulty either purchasing or repairing their equipment - I know the same to be true for dealers like Aerotronic's customers, and other similar shops. The recurring theme is not the manufacturer here....if you look at the problems people have with equipment, service, etc, there usually is a recurring theme - it's usually the where people bought equipment, not what they bought.

That being said, PS Engineering is a company that works very hard to get your business (both before and after the sale). One thing I can guarantee is that you'll really like your PSE audio panel if you end up going that way and I can highly recommend their products - I fly behind a PSE Audio panel personally and love it (we download all of our favorite songs/MP3's into it and listen to music on trips).

Just my 2 cents as usual.

Cheers,
Stein

I have the PS Engineering PMA 8000B, which isn't much more than the rebuilt Garmin unit. It's been great! Has the recording function, and the automatic squelch is excellent!

L.Adamson --- RV6A

Whiich PSE is = GMA 340 in features & price

SteinAir said:

One thing I can guarantee is that you'll really like your PSE audio panel if you end up going that way and I can highly recommend their products - I fly behind a PSE Audio panel personally and love it

Click to expand...

Since the thread is already a bit in the ditch....

Stein, please tell us: does PS engineering have an audio panel with a competetive price & feature set to the new GMA 340? I want a great intercom / VOX function and a rear panel stereo music input as a minimum. The Garmin unit is pretty low $$, and got a good review in the magazines recently.... I don't need all the excess features, like the built-in help desk or whatever they call it.

Thanks for any info (and I just got your Stein vents - AWESOME quality )

Perception

Perhaps it's just because more Garmin seems to be sold but I don't remember seeing any threads on problems getting service from PM no matter where they were purchased from. I also don't remember seeing anyone complaining about not being able to puchase gear without strings attached (like 'installed only') except for Garmin.
Maybe your right and it's simply my perception of Garmin protecting their product line.
I'll have to look into PS a little more. Seems like a waste to buy a six place intercom for an Rv7 just to get the vox and recorder functions anyway.

The GMA-240 is pretty good, no recorder but a great price. No problems with after the sale support either. But I bought mine from Stein so support isn't a concern.

Indeed the new 240 is a darned nice little audio panel. It's sort of an apples/oranges comparison with the PSE stuff though, because the PSE stuff has a lot more functions than the Garmin. Sort of two different missions...the 240 has no Mkr beacon, but the price sort of reflects that. I guess I sort of look at each customers specific requirements when I decide what to recommend to them, because I can't flatly say that either one is good for everyone. We sell more PSE audio panels than anything else (especially in IFR panels), but we do sell a fair amount of 240's now to people as well. There are a lot of variables to consider when purchasing an audio panel. Some people need MKR BCN, some don't. Some people make music a high priority and others don't. Some have a whole ton of other inputs (AOA, EIS, EFIS, Traffic, GPS, Gear warning, etc..) and others don't. Some make playback/recording important while others don't. Some want a Garmin panel whilst others don't!.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that I can pretty much guarantee that after a few minutes of phone conversation we can pretty much figure out what is right for your specific mission. Without that, it's pretty hard for me to recommend a specific unit.

Like I said, you'll be hard pressed to find a better group of people than PSE - they only do audio stuff and they do it well. You'll also be hard pressed to find anyone who can lodge a reasonable complaint about their service/support. They follow what a lot of us small businesses do when it comes to our customers. On top of that Mark routinely participates in these forums and helps people out with all kinds of audio problems, so I like to support those guys. That's not to take anything away from Garmin, because I like them to - but for me personally the PSE was my choice. We sell/service/install more PSE audio products than Garmin or any others, but we do some of each.

In the end, I still can't tell you not to purchase one over the other until I get a good handle on exactly what you want out of the plane, what the rest of the equipment is going to be, and what you personally consider important "must haves". Once I know all of that for each customer it's pretty easy to narrow them down.

Cheers,
Stein

I must say, that I have found the PSe7000B to be technically superior, easier to use, and generally nicer sounding than the Garmin 340... that said, no experience with the later Garmin 347 or cheaper 240.... I like the auto squelch, and it works flawlessly.

This will take some getting use to

Well, turns out PM is the same as Garmin. I called and asked a few questions of PM and found out that they would not honor a warranty unless you drop $ on their harness.
No used PS units on the web today so I finally ended up with a used gma347 instead.
With all the complex control wiring of a modern panel, I am somewhat surprised that these guys insist on selling a harness for you to lace into your existing stuff. Shielding audio lines correctly is not difficult once you learn where and when to tie shields.

Tried to offer an alternative

Dear JD:

Thank you for speaking with me today and I appreciate you giving us an opportunity to be your audio panel supplier.

We have the best warranty in the industry, known as ProSupport. No other general avionics manufacturers guarantees same day exchanges for the entire warranty period nor a low flat rate repair after the warranty.

How do we fix complex audio panels for $179.00 years after it has been in service? We have eliminated a lot of false failures from clogging up our streamline repair bench by assuring that the installation is done in accordance to our installation manual.

Sorry to hear that we lost you as a customer, but I respect your decision.

I wish you success with your RV-7, what a great airplane!

Sincerely,
Mark Scheuer
PS Engineering

jdeas said:

Well, turns out PM is the same as Garmin. I called and asked a few questions of PM and found out that they would not honor a warranty unless you drop $ on their harness. They even suggested I use a Val unit if I was going to wire it myself.
No used PS units on the web today so I finally ended up with a used gma347 instead.
With all the complex control wiring of a modern panel, I am somewhat surprised that these guys insist on selling a harness for you to lace into your existing stuff. Shielding audio lines correctly is not difficult once you learn where and when to tie shields.

Click to expand...

Stein, two questions regarding the 240

1st. I read Marc Cook's article in KitPlanes on the 240. Am I correct in assuming that you cannot communicate on one radio while monitoring another?

2nd. Does anyone make a good marker beacon receiver/display that can be easily added later, should someone go with a 240?

splicing the wiring harness

Mark,
I still will not splice your harness into mine simple so you will honor the warranty.

My choice right or wrong.

*Sent you a PM