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GRT Avionics

trackdom

Well Known Member
hi,

I'd like to buy Grt Sport Efis and Engine Monitoring system . The problem is reliability of this company. The products seem very pro to me but it is so hard to get a contact with the team that I have some doubts...Any information about Grt ? It is a pity cause I really like there products...

thanks
 
Dominique,

I have been flying with GRT products for seven years now. I have a dual screen Horizon 1 EFIS and EIS. I upgraded to high resolution screens a few years ago. I have found their products to be among the best the industry has to offer and their customer service beyond compare. I have no doubt that they will be around for a long time and continue to be at the forefront of product development.

I am not associated with GRT in any way. I just like their stiff! :D
 
hi Ronschreck, I thank you a lot for your information, I share your point of view , and I feel at ease now...
 
Third plane, third GRT EFIS. Wouldn't have done the second if I was not happy with the products and service. Stick with GRT and you will not be disappointed.
 
GRT very good family

I agree with Ron. Had my Sport 200 about a year and they came out with Synthetic Vision for it. I upgraded soon and cost of upgrade was fair and attractive and quick. About 18 months later I bought a newer RV6a it had an original Horizon WS. Worked fine but I upgraded to the latest HX 8.4. When they came out with autopilot I upgraded again. Always good stuff, they always helped me promptly when I had a question; email or phone. Carlos reads here and posts responsively. Here is a link to seach his posts, a good example of the resources available:
http://www.vansairforce.com/community/search.php?searchid=16854360
Their engine monitor has been in use a long time and failures are nearly unheard of. A wire to the fuel flow sensor shorted out on my firewall and caused the EIS (engine monitor) to go blank. That is the 1st item in the trouble shooting section of their manual. I called GRT and got Sandy's replacement, he walked me thru the issue. If I had reread the manual I would not have called him. He was patient and competent.
 
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I just wonder why it is so hard to contact them by mail....and to get a response..

This is a sensitive topic to me for reasons I won't get into at the moment. Remember for communications to occur both parties have to ensure communications take place. You may be sending email, but you don't know if they are receiving your email.

There could be multiple reasons......

1. The company isn't very IT literate and isn't proficient with email. I've had good experience with both Carlos and Sandy in the past, but my experience is dated. For example, the paint shop I'm using checks their email only 2-3 times per month. I doubt this is the case for GRT.

2. You ISP has been blacklisted. It does happen occasionally for all the wrong reasons. All it takes is for another user that uses your ISP to start spamming the world intentionally or not intentionally due to a virus or trojan horse. This would then cause their ISP to filter your email if they subscribe to the blacklist.

3. Are you using an appropriate email address? I always prefer to send to an individual as oppose to a distribtution list (i.e. send to Carlos directly, instead of "sales" or "info". For example, Carlos is registered on VAF. (CarlosF@grtavionics ) Click through the links and send him an email directly through VAF.

4. I know that you're international, which makes calling potentially more expensive and you have to cope with the time differences. I've found with vendors that cater to the experimental market it is much better just to pick up the phone and call. You will get better information in real time. If you're international, just use a service like skype to minimize the expense. I know of one vendor that even uses a web cam and skype to troubleshoot issue in the plane. They can see what you see.

5. If you turn on delivery receipts, you can validate the email was delivered to their email server. Turn on read receipts and you have about a 50/50 chance of knowing is somebody actually read the email. Some folks turn off this feature in their email client.

6. Sometimes small businesses have IT problems that they don't or can't get fixed quickly. I know of one business that didn't know they weren't getting email until somebody called them and informed them.
 
Hi trackdom,

I'm sorry to hear you've been having trouble getting in touch with us. We are a small company going through an office manager transition, so maybe your message got lost in the shuffle-- In any case, feel free to email me directly at [email protected] or Carlos at [email protected]. We'll be happy to answer your questions.

Thanks!
 
I call them

Our 2005 7a has the older wide screen horizons, they still amaze me with their capability. Trying to figure out to fit upgrades in now. When i need them i call on the phone.

So far the grt gear is more reliable than the garmin gear in our plane.
 
Although you're in touch with them now ...

...I'll add my positive experience with them. I've never failed to get hold of them, or vice versa, whenever I had a question. I love my dual Sport setup and would buy it again in an eyeblink.
 
As all others have expressed here, the quality of their product and th service , has been second to none for me. When I build again, it will have GRT in the panel.
 
Bonjour Mon Ami

Bonjour Dominique:

Je parle seulement un peu de francais. J'ai etudie francais pour 12 ans, 8 a l'ecole primere et 4 au lycee.

La dernier fois que je parle francais avec regularite .... 1973.

J'ai ete pilot en l'armee de l'air de E-U pour 26 ans et aussi pilot de ligne arienne American pour 23 ans.

My writing is worse than my speaking. In any event, if you are ever headed to EAA Oshkosh we live about an hours drive south.

Perhaps some day in the near future my wife and I can pay you a visit in France.

A Bientot
 
I have had several screens fail. If it will not boot up, its an internal issue. GRT will stand by a warranty and fix or replace. Box it up ready to ship and call them first thing Monday.
 
Do you have a "keep alive" wire going to the box??

If so, try disconnecting that and then try to boot it up.

Yes - this! I have been flying relatively problem-free with my various GRT boxes for over thirteen years. A couple fo weeks ago, I had an HX hang during boot, and no matter how many times I power cycled, it always hung at the “GRUB Loading” spot. GRT said it was a known bug and all I needed to do was pull the “A” plug to disconnect the keep-alive, then plug it back in and it would continue the boot.

Easy enough, and bettter - it worked!

Paul
 
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Yes - this! I have been flying relatively problem-free with my various GRT boxes for over thirteen years. A couple fo weeks ago, I had an HX hang during boot, and no matter how many times I power cycled, it always hung at the ?GRUB Loading? spot. GRT said it was a known bug and all I needed to do was pull the ?A? plug to disconnect the keep-alive, then plug it back in and it would continue the boot.

Easy enough, and bettter - it worked!

Paul

Uh, whats a keep alive wire? I have dual Hxrs and mini......so many things in these boxes I dont know anyone who knows it all, except maybe Jeff....
 
RFTM

Uh, whats a keep alive wire? I have dual Hxrs and mini......so many things in these boxes I dont know anyone who knows it all, except maybe Jeff....

Alternate power supply feed in case you are using an external back up battery or a feed from an essential bus. ( just like a Dynon or Garmin )

Have a look at your install manual for any of them, and you will find the pin map to ID which pin is the alternate power supply.
 
Alternate power supply feed in case you are using an external back up battery or a feed from an essential bus. ( just like a Dynon or Garmin )

Have a look at your install manual for any of them, and you will find the pin map to ID which pin is the alternate power supply.

Actually, it is not the primary, secondary or tertiary power feed (pins A14,15,16) - it is pin A18 (GPS Memory) which keeps the clock function going (and depletes your batteryof the airplane sits a long time....). It can be left disconnected if you want - I wired mine back when I had serial number 00046 or something, and we didn?t know enough to NOT connect it.

Pulling the whole connector off the back of the HX disconnects everything, and let?s the computer cold start.

Paul
 
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