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MGL Avionics - news

R

Rainier Lamers

Well Known Member
Two items of news that may be of interest to the many MGL users on this forum.

Transponder
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MGL Avionics has reached an agreement with the German company Garrecht, known for their top quality mode-s transponders and ADSB gadgets (www.Garrecht.com). As a result, MGL will be interfacing natively to Garrecht transponders, including headless, low cost versions. Intergration has commenced and this is expected to be finalized towards the end of January. We will also support Garrecht's ADSB products.
This support applies for MGL G2 EFIS systems and of course the new iEFIS panels.

Navworx ADSB
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We presented some ADSB Wx radar images from the Navworx ADSB products at Oshkosh this year on our EFIS systems and this development is now nearing completion. This includes regional and Conus USA radar Wx, Notams, TAFs, Metars etc and of course traffic.
This is a free upgrade for MGL G2 EFIS systems (only software required). This uses the built in high speed RS232 port so if you are using this for something else you may need to consider a low cost COM extender to give you more ports.
Of course, you will need to purchase a Navworx ADSB receiver or the new ADSB transceiver which is also supported (ADSB-OUT).
The Navworx products are also supported with our iEFIS panels.

Rainier
CEO MGL Avionics
 
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This also means the NAV radio is on the front burner...
Click to expand...
Nice! I have a NAV122 (analog) installed now as a temp with the G2's. I've got it to drive the HSI, but it only drives the AP on the from side of the OBS. Have to set freqs manually too. Talk about stone knives & bearskins.
P.S. I just built a little board with 3 USB jacks & a 3PDT remote rocker for AP switching (left/right). I'll post a pic next week.
 
Prognostications

I believe MGL was expecting to release the iEFIS in March as well as the V6R headless COMM unit, is there any update on this?

What about the G3 CPU for the Odyssey/Voyager screens, is there a time frame?

Support for the Garrecht items was expected in the end of January. Will this be supported on the iEFIS as well as the Odyssey/Voyager EFIS? How is this effort going.

Trio servers on the iEFIS was mentioned to be technically difficult. Is this still the case?
Thanks
 
No release in March, sorry.
We have some component supply issues, mostly caused by our largest supplier "changing business model" whatever that means.
We have had a nightmare come true. Components with long lead times had orders placed more than 6 months ago. Many of these orders have not gone into the new system or have gone wrong (like we get 10 and ordered 1000) or wrong packages etc.

Ria has been working like a demon to try and find alternate supplies and trace missing shipments and has been mostly successfull (except for one or two silly items that are promissed for next week). Everything is with our contract manufacturers now.

My best guess at this stage is release in May. However, first production batch is fully sold out at this stage. Most of this batch is allocated to our various distributors with the remainder taken up in local sales.

Regarding the question on price: Less than a current system, much less if you opt for multiple panels.

Sorry, no Trio servos. I can't support Trio servos on the iEFIS as it does not have the required hardware to support these items. This was ditched to get the cost down as the hardware required had no other use.

For information on transponders, please see www.MGLAvionics.co.za (click on the "RF" button on the left).
One thing not mentioned on the website - we will also be supporting the Sandia STX165 transponder which is very low cost. You can use either the STX165 or the STX165R. The support for this transponder is in the next software release expected very soon. It uses a RS232 port so you may need a COM extender module unless you have the built in RS232 free for use.

G3 development is temporarily halted but will continue after iEFIS release (that is taking nearly all of my time).
The reason for halting the G3 was a release of a new processor chip which I have just received first engineering silicon for - it is not yet in production. The halt is worth it as this chip promisses very low component count and even lower cost while giving extremely respectable performance. It was worth waiting for it.
The G3 board is a plug in upgrade for all iEFIS systems as well as G1 and G2 systems. Very simple upgrade - unplug the old, in with the new. This kind of system upgradability is built into all our larger systems and has proven itself during the G1 to G2 upgrade phase. It allows you to keep up with development it you so wish.

Rainier
CEO MGL Avionics


bobdobbs said:
I believe MGL was expecting to release the iEFIS in March as well as the V6R headless COMM unit, is there any update on this?

What about the G3 CPU for the Odyssey/Voyager screens, is there a time frame?

Support for the Garrecht items was expected in the end of January. Will this be supported on the iEFIS as well as the Odyssey/Voyager EFIS? How is this effort going.

Trio servers on the iEFIS was mentioned to be technically difficult. Is this still the case?
Thanks
Click to expand...
 
Bummer

Rainier Lamers said:
Sorry, no Trio servos. I can't support Trio servos on the iEFIS as it does not have the required hardware to support these items. This was ditched to get the cost down as the hardware required had no other use.
Rainier
CEO MGL Avionics
Click to expand...

Rainier,

This is really bad news. I purchased my Trio Gold servos from MGL USA quite early in my build in order to have them properly and easily installed with the provided kits. This was even before you announced your MGL servos, so there was little choice to be made at the time.
I'm currently building my fuselage and will be at the panel stage by the end of this year, so the iEFIS would be the perfect choice for me, but what are my options now for the AP feature? Buy a Trio head? Not fair...:mad:
 
MGL

We have some component supply issues, mostly caused by our largest supplier "changing business model" whatever that means.
We have had a nightmare come true. Components with long lead times had orders placed more than 6 months ago. Many of these orders have not gone into the new system or have gone wrong (like we get 10 and ordered 1000) or wrong packages etc.


hmmm....that statement can be a "game changer" in any retail business...might want to keep to yourself.
 
I am sorry about the Trio support but this was never part of the iEFIS system, right from the beginning.
However, our current G1 and G2 systems support these servos and will continue to do so. These servos require the COM extender module which contains the actual processor and interfaces for the Trio servos. There is not even a place to plug this into the iEFIS.

Odyssey and Voyager will remain in production and are likely to get the G3 treatment as well...

The main difference is that iEFIS is a highly modular system while the Odyssey and Voyager are more like traditional EFIS systems. The only thing that will make us stop producing these systems is if nobody wants them.

Rainier
CEO MGL Avionics

FlyingArcher said:
Rainier,

This is really bad news. I purchased my Trio Gold servos from MGL USA quite early in my build in order to have them properly and easily installed with the provided kits. This was even before you announced your MGL servos, so there was little choice to be made at the time.
I'm currently building my fuselage and will be at the panel stage by the end of this year, so the iEFIS would be the perfect choice for me, but what are my options now for the AP feature? Buy a Trio head? Not fair...:mad:
Click to expand...
 
So is there any pricing projections yet for the system (iEFIS) I'm real curious as to the cost of a three screen system one big two small. Would something like that be comparable to a single screen Odyssey price wise or are we talking a lot more? I thought you mentioned in another place that the price point would be very good.
 
Von Writter said:
So is there any pricing projections yet for the system (iEFIS) I'm real curious as to the cost of a three screen system one big two small. Would something like that be comparable to a single screen Odyssey price wise or are we talking a lot more? I thought you mentioned in another place that the price point would be very good.
Click to expand...

I am not allowed to mention pricing. Let me explain why:

MGL Avionics is a South African company. We do not sell direct to other countries as this is impossible due to very high shipping costs and silly Government rules that make it impossible for us to handle oversees payments directly.

So, a company like ours relies on distributors. We only have a few and each has a large area to cover. That is necessary as these distributors need to buy large quantities at a time to make shipping and payment procedures possible. Banks take a fairly large cut from the payments too. These main distributors then also need to supply the various smaller dealers and aircraft factories. All need to have reasonable markups in pricing to make this viable from them.

The above means that I have no idea what the prices are in other countries other than perhaps a vague idea. For this reason I cannot tell you that an iEFIS system is going to cost $1234 or whatever. Yes, I know this is a serious disadvantage for us and of course it means what we actually get paid for our products is quite a bit less than what you think. It is a long supply chain. That just means we have to be very efficient.

The only thing I can do is give you a relative idea. If product A is cheaper than product B here, it will be cheaper at approximately the same ratio in other countries but the final price may be double (or whatever).

Prices are also different in different countries. There are all sorts of hidden costs and these vary. In some places it is relatively cheap to get something through customs - in other places bribes have to be paid or else the stuff vanishes (yes, no kidding).

OK, I hope you can accept the obove explanation. Back to your question.

I single screen Explorer with iBOX and all the usual trimmings is a bit less than say a G2 Voyager. Two screens would make it a bit more (but not a lot). Three screens would still be much less than two Voyagers.
There is also a wireless node (Wifi), a small box you can add. That allows any tablet to partake in the whole EFIS business at a variety of levels (say a flight planner, flight data recorder or even a full EFIS). As yet there are none of these applications available but some will appear after release. All of this is open protocol so third parties have full access to any EFIS data.

So you see - calculating an exact price is even more difficult - there are lots of options and variations. But it is good value even by the time it gets through the supply chain...

Rainier
CEO MGL Avionics
 
OK Rainier, thanks so much for the answer, I didn't expect an exact price but It would be nice to have a three screen unit, even if only say the center screen was an active EFIS. That way one could have the engine data and GPS displayed when you are not messing with it and it would (will) un-clutter things so as to make it easier to scan, not to mention the cool factor :) Will you be offering a non EFIS screen (display only type thing) that will compliment the look of the main iEFIS? or maybe a panel dock for one of the popular and most used (read cheap) tablets?
 
The actual panels are exactly what you are looking for. They are not EFIS's as such - they consist of a touch screen, couple of buttons, rotary controls, SD card slot and a processor that can do some work and draw some nice pictures. None of the usual EFIS bits are in the panels. No interfaces, no pressure sensors. That is all shared in something we call the iBOX. That's the beauty of the system. You can connect up to 8 panels of various sizes (OK, that is more usable in a A380). The total cost is very reasonable while at the same time you get a real powerful, distributed system that is very flexible.

So, three panels ? No problem at all. Choose from 7", 8.5" and 10.4" (perhaps we will do a 12.1" later, we'll see).
BTW, the 10.4" is 4:3 format, not wide screen so that gives you a real nice big surface area.

Rainier

Von Writter said:
OK Rainier, thanks so much for the answer, I didn't expect an exact price but It would be nice to have a three screen unit, even if only say the center screen was an active EFIS. That way one could have the engine data and GPS displayed when you are not messing with it and it would (will) un-clutter things so as to make it easier to scan, not to mention the cool factor :) Will you be offering a non EFIS screen (display only type thing) that will compliment the look of the main iEFIS? or maybe a panel dock for one of the popular and most used (read cheap) tablets?
Click to expand...
 
OK so one isn't buying three EIFS units just "Heads" Like a remote mounted radio, that should make a three screen unit somewhat possible for us mere mortals not gifted with the Midas touch or a goose laying golden eggs! I'm keenly awaiting some firm pricing and more information, Thanks Rainier!
 
Von Writter said:
OK so one isn't buying three EIFS units just "Heads" Like a remote mounted radio, that should make a three screen unit somewhat possible for us mere mortals not gifted with the Midas touch or a goose laying golden eggs! I'm keenly awaiting some firm pricing and more information, Thanks Rainier!
Click to expand...

Exactly right. It's a new ball game now...

You see, we are not shying away from tablets - the opposite is the case. We just need tablets that are more suitable for the task. We need touch screens that can actually be usable in turbulence, they must be sunlight readable and non-reflective, they must be proper panel mountable, allow for large temperature range of operation, have tradional controlls as well (there is really no substitute for a couple of buttons for quick access functions and rotary controls which can only be emulated poorly with a touch screen).
Of course a few other things like power supply etc must be suitable.
Wireless has been ruled out for interconnecting (unless adhoc temporary) due to reliability issues and interference so we have a single wire databus to connect the panels and iBOX - you only need to connect power in addition and possible video camera feeds (if you want to use that) to a panel.

Regarding power - we have something very , very interesting to be announced shortly - specifically designed for the iEFIS but equaly usable for any EFIS or avionics application. Watch this space !

Rainier
 
Maybe I missed it on the website, but when can we expect pricing and a release schedule? I'm on the verge of making my EFIS purchase and would like to compare my options. I had ruled out MGL because the large planform of the current 10" EFIS won't fit my panel. The iEFIS is more compact and looks like a viable option.
 
By the end of the year everything should be out (with that I mean all the iEFIS panels and all the various bits and pieces, some which have not yet been mentioned).
Explorer (the 8.5") looks like May at best possible guess right now. With that I mean the complete first production run of some 200 units shipped out the door.

It will take a few months for full production to be sorted out in the sense that things will be going smoothly. That is pretty normal for such a project - this is not just a incremental development of existing systems - this is a complete, from scatch new development that has up to now taken around 5 years from first humble beginnings.

In the meantime I'm putting the final touches onto the first release software that will be running on the iEFIS. The touch screen is quite fun and addictive. Makes for a nice, quick and very logical user interface. Very basic example: Want to set your local baro pressure ? Just tap on the altimeter... Makes a lot of sense.

Rainier
CEO MGL Avionics

WingsOnWheels said:
Maybe I missed it on the website, but when can we expect pricing and a release schedule? I'm on the verge of making my EFIS purchase and would like to compare my options. I had ruled out MGL because the large planform of the current 10" EFIS won't fit my panel. The iEFIS is more compact and looks like a viable option.
Click to expand...
 
skybolt31 said:
Does the touch screen on the iEFIS work with gloves on?
Click to expand...

Yes. That was one of the fundamental requirements. It also has to be able to work in a vaccum (including rapid decompression) as we will be using it in a space based mission.

Doing the screen was tough. But it has to be done or else touch screen in the cockpit was not going to be a real viable option. We did not want a palm rest or similar as that limits the range of how and where you can use the touch screen effectively. That was too much like using a set of crutches.

The only thing we can't do well is swipes. But of course that is no biggie as there are alternates. One of the reasons is the non-reflective, non-glare polarized surface of the screen - it is very slightly rough on a microscopic scale and it takes tiny skin particles off your finger if you swipe and these stay behind on the screen requiring cleaning of the screen at times (this is the reason a iPAD touch screen is so smooth, it has to be - but smooth means reflective).
We also found swipes to be unreliable when used in even mild turbulence as your finger just does its own thing when you try and draw a straight line...

Essentally, what we have is a screen that is very insensitive, much like a good tactile button - you can rest your finger quite firmly on the button and press when you are ready. That is what makes a button work in turbulence (unless you have a flimsy rubber thingy as button). In effect - we needed a touch screen that would work just like a good button. We got it.

We can do swipes from a technical point of view and may still use them for ground operations like flight planning perhaps - but right now the flight planning tool gets away without needing swipes so perhaps it will stay that way.
We find the moment you need to interact with the srceen in a way that needs a light touch (swipes and pinches etc), it gets a pain in flight unless it is a very smooth flight - partly the reason is the angle of the screen on the panel vs. your unsupported hand. Much better if the screen is located on your lap. But that is where the tablet comes in.

Rainier
CEO MGL Avionics
 
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NAV/Com

Hi Rainier,
This is a little off subject but I would like to get any information that you may have on the development of a nav/com radio. I purchased two of your V-6 radios for my project but I would like to eventually replace one of them with a nav/com unit, if it will be a quick swap-out.
Thanks
 
We are not developing a NAV/COM radio and never have...
We are developing a NAV radio.
Same format as the V6, looks like it is getting an optional DME head as well...

Rainier


Mark33 said:
Hi Rainier,
This is a little off subject but I would like to get any information that you may have on the development of a nav/com radio. I purchased two of your V-6 radios for my project but I would like to eventually replace one of them with a nav/com unit, if it will be a quick swap-out.
Thanks
Click to expand...
 
RichB said:
You can't just leave that one hanging! Can you share any details?
Click to expand...

Sorry, I can't. All I can say it is a U.S. based project and it will be using Explorers mainly due to weight and of course the flexibility allowing unusual functionality and screen layouts.
And yes, I am hoping to get a ticket (I'd be so lucky, one can dream though...)

Rainier
CEO MGL Avionics
 
Rainier Lamers said:
Sorry, I can't. All I can say it is a U.S. based project and it will be using Explorers mainly due to weight and of course the flexibility allowing unusual functionality and screen layouts.
And yes, I am hoping to get a ticket (I'd be so lucky, one can dream though...)

Rainier
CEO MGL Avionics
Click to expand...

No worries - I suspected as much but had to ask. :) That's very very cool.
 
Hi Rainier,

How is the V20 progressing? On 2nd Feb you said:

It should not take too long if I can convince Les that we don't really need DME...

Can't wait to get my hands on one.

Stuart

Rainier Lamers said:
We are not developing a NAV/COM radio and never have...
We are developing a NAV radio.
Same format as the V6, looks like it is getting an optional DME head as well...

Rainier
Click to expand...
 
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