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GRT Mini

deej said:
Go to Set Menu > General Setup, and you should be able to select between kts and mph under the speed and distance units.

http://www.grtavionics.com/Mini-X A2.pdf Page 25.

I have about 6.5 hours on my Mini-X and HX now (converted from an old analog panel like you are doing). It is a pretty big change to go from the analog airspeed indicator to the digital speed tape. I am getting there, and I am still "Chasing the numbers" a bit when on final approach, but I think this is having a positive effect of keeping the airspeed more controlled versus the analog gauge where it is harder to tell a couple of knots difference. It is getting easier with practice, but it was definitely a surprise on first flight. :)

-Dj
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Forgive my lack of understanding but what are the consequences of not sealing the backing plate and what would happen if I just left the hoses on the pump and left it on ? Not planning on doing it just wanting to learn
 
erikpmort said:
Forgive my lack of understanding but what are the consequences of not sealing the backing plate and what would happen if I just left the hoses on the pump and left it on ? Not planning on doing it just wanting to learn
Click to expand...

I am not an engine expert nor an A&P, so take my advice appropriately... :)

My understanding is that not sealing the backing plate would give a path for oil to exit the engine.

You could leave the pump on the engine, but you'd be wasting a tiny bit of HP to keep it spinning, and it is one more thing that can break and ruin your day (for example, if the gear breaks and drops pieces in the engine). IMHO it would be fine to leave it on for a test flight or three, and remove it at a later date. I'd probably at least put some sort of screen cover over the pump inlet so that contamination will not get into the pump and ruin it, and potentially cause it to have pieces break apart inside and seize up. Leaving the actual filter in place inside the cabin and the hoses intact running to the pump might be an even better idea, and then remove the entire assembly once you have the proper cover plate and gasket in hand.

-Dj
 
Great ok. Sometimes it's just good to ask. So I think I'll still make one but I'll get some thicker gauge stuff
 
It is Lycoming part number 60430.

Here is a pic that may help you in making one (Mine is a flat plate on both sides so I would not worry about the center recessed section):

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Used-unpain...iation_Parts_Gear&hash=item233d34646f&vxp=mtr

Note that the mounting studs will be a bit long for the plate as compared to the vacuum pump, so you will need to make a spacer or use a small stack of washers.

Here is the gasket for $1:

http://www.skygeek.com/lycoming-8313-vacuum-pump-gasket.html

-Dj
 
Mini-X set up issues.

My Mini is installed and powered up and has a few flights on it. I love the display, sharp, bright and easy to read. Question to those who have the same equipment in the panel regarding set up of the mini. In my case the Mini is an addition to two GRT-HX screens. My primary GPS is a GNS430 WAAS, the secondary the GRT GPS connected to HX #1 and now I have a third GPS in the mini. I have found no way to designate a GPS3 in either the HX or the Mini. As a result the GPS in the Mini conflicts with the other two when all units are connected with the display link. Any way around this?

The other issue I have is trying to get the Mini PFD to display TRK instead of HDG on the PFD. I see no menu item to accomplish this. The map shows TRK however. The only way I have found to force the PFD to TRK is to turn off the magnetometer input, then the PFD goes to TRK but that defeats the purpose of having a magnetometer. I have also not been able to display the wind info. Anyone figured this out?

Martin Sutter
Building and flying RV's since 1988
 
Got a little night time with the mini tonight. I can't say how happy I am with this thing.

Couple questions.

Seems that my indicated air speed is a little slower than my old airspeed indicator. What is the procedure to test this ? Fly next to someone ? There has to be a another way I'm thinking.

Also, do I have to have an ifr GPS wired in to see the highway in the sky box approaches ? Haven't figured that out yet.

Still much more to learn and features to play with.
 
I have had mine for a couple of months now. The one thing I know is that you have to have the destination in the flight plan for it to know which runway/airport you are going to use for the approach
 
Yeah I got to that point tonight and on the screen it says capture- didn't know what that meant. Anyway maybe Kate can step in here and help us because I've been through the manual pretty closely and there is nothing
 
"capture" usually means you are on centerline, on glideslope, and the autopilot has locked onto ("captured") these.
BTW, all the GRT products have similar features. Sometimes (especially with new stuff) you can find info on features in older manuals, such as the Hx manual.
 
Yeah thanks bob just read the sport manual and it looks like I need to use the arm and sap buttons. I was wondering what those were....

This mini is going to be a great marketing tool to sell more sport and hxr units because it just gives u a taste for how much awesomeness is available in a bigger more advanced platform.
 
erikpmort said:
Seems that my indicated air speed is a little slower than my old airspeed indicator. What is the procedure to test this ? Fly next to someone ? There has to be a another way I'm thinking.
Click to expand...

Both my HX and the Mini-X indicate slower on the airspeed, however, my issue was that the mechanical airspeed indicator was inaccurate at slower airspeeds (indicated too high), especially with the flaps deployed. I had always assumed that the issue was in the pitot tube, but both the GRT units seem to be more accurate than the old mechanical airspeed indicator.

Here is one way to check using GPS:
http://www.zenith.aero/profiles/blogs/calibrating-the-airspeed

and another way to test:
http://www.rst-engr.com/rst/articles/KP89JUL.pdf

-Dj
 
got to fly the HITS approach today... wow so cool!

also got to fly next to Terry- "trueairspeed" and he helped me figure out how far off my airspeed was, found the adjustment in the menu, and i'm all set!

Thank you GRT! can't wait to get my autopilot servos in the future....
 
erikpmort said:
got to fly the HITS approach today... wow so cool!

also got to fly next to Terry- "trueairspeed" and he helped me figure out how far off my airspeed was, found the adjustment in the menu, and i'm all set!

Thank you GRT! can't wait to get my autopilot servos in the future....
Click to expand...

...Just wait till you install the servos and the AP fly's the HITS for you!
 
erikpmort said:
yeah except I think you need the mini AP for that.
Click to expand...

The Mini X will capture the lateral portion of the HITS synthetic approach. Just set pitch/power/trim and glide on down thru the boxes. :cool:

I need to add the synthetic approach feature to the Mini manual. It works the same way as the Horizon and Sport, as you guys have found out.
 
New Mini Software Release

Hi Mini Owners,

We've just released a new software update for the Mini display unit (X and B). Enroute Highway-In-The-Sky has been added to the Mini-X!

Jeff has also added the OAT and Density Altitude display to the PFD and a compass rose to the North Up map page per customer request. If you have a Mini-X without the map option, this update (1d) is highly recommended as it will fix a bug that was reported in the synthetic vision in units without the map.

The Air Data software update fixes a bug that has caused some boot-up issues.

More details are on the Mini software web page: http://www.grtavionics.com/minisoftware.html For instructions on how to update the software, please see the Appendix of the Mini manual.

By the way, the new features and synthetic approach are not in the Mini manual yet. That's next on my to-do list. (I figured you all wouldn't want to wait for me.)

Thanks for all your feedback and patience as we continue to refine the Mini!
 
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New Mini Software Release

We've just posted a Mini software update (AHRS 51) that addresses the "jumpy" pitot/static instrument display some pilots have reported on the Mini. Jeff also released display unit software 1e that enables the Mini-X to display a wind calculation vector if equipped with a calibrated remote magnetometer, and the OAT input has been fixed. Here's a link to the Mini software page.

I've also updated the Mini-X manual to include the synthetic approach and enroute HITS as we discussed here earlier.

Have a great weekend!
 
Dumb owner

GRT has helped with my display difficulties very promptly on the Mini.
It is not fully resolved, by I am confident they can find the cause of the problem.
Great company and great tech support.
 
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Mini-X and GTN

Has anyone connected a Mini to a GTN series navigator?

I'm looking for help with the settings on both--I've apparently gotten the GTN to feed position info to the Mini, but no dice with more advanced stuff like waypoints and flight plans.

Also, is there any way to get the Mini to failover to its internal GPS if the feed from the GTN goes down? As it stands, I lose synthetic vision if I take the GTN offline.

Thanks for your time!
 
I ran a wire off pin 8 (rs232out, aviation format) from the GTN to pin 2, serial 2 in and I get flt plans and routes showing on the map and flt plan pages. I have the 650 set as GPS a 2 and the mini GPS is number 1. It will not auto switch is the 650 goes off line. I get a warning in the mini should this occur and switching to GPS 1 gives back everything.
 
For mini x users heads up- the X is not compatible with trutrak or any other brands servos. They said only with the mini ap and the arinc will they work with another brand.

Thought you might like to know
 
Hello Erik,

GRT's products are unable to drive TruTrak's servos directly. A TruTrak control head is required to drive their servos. GRT's products can control TruTrak autopilots through their control head such as the Vizion. This can cause some confusion because GRT drives their own servos directly from their EFIS units.

The Mini-X can control TruTrak's autopilot through their control head. The limitation is that the Mini-X does not have the ability to add ARINC-429 which is required for vertical steering commands. This means that the Mini-X will have horizontal steering capability only. To gain vertical steering autopilot capability, a Mini-AP with the ARINC-429 option added on will be required.

-Marc Robertson
 
Welcome to VAF!

Marc, welcome to VAF-------bit late, missed your first post--sorry.

Good to have you here.
 
penguin said:
What is the current delivery time on a Mini-B?

Pete
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Hi Pete,

Best way to find out is to give Jon a call (or email- [email protected]) to find out.


I actually do not work for GRT anymore. Jon and Mark handle most of the customer interaction now. My other half/GRT's lead tech guy Ben accepted an offer to run Jabiru USA's maintenance shop in Tennessee (Family business takes precedence!) and I'm now working there again too, part time. (I get to FLY again!) So if the moderators could take "KateB" off the title of this thread I'd appreciate it-- while I enjoyed answering all your questions, it's not mine anymore!

ed. Done per your request. Kahuna

ed. DANG that was fast!!

Oh and by the way, RECKONER resides in the office that's next to my old office at GRT, so he should know his stuff. ;-)
 
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Well, now that the feline has finally escaped confinement---------

Katie, gonna miss talking to you at GRT. It is their loss for sure.

Good luck in the land of warm(er) winters and the occasional tornado;)
 
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Thank you Mike for the welcome!

Pete and others, the Mini-Bs, Mini-Xs, and Mini-APs are in stock. All of the optional upgrades including the internal battery are also in stock. They simply need the options added to order, final testing and they will be ready to go out the door.

The new internal battery option is a built-in Lithium Ion battery featuring 2+ hours of run time at full screen brightness and 3+ hours of run time with a screen brightness of 7 or less. The battery option uses a factory installed charging system with redundant protection circuits and a conservative charge/discharge profile for long life. The battery is user replaceable via removable battery cover plate. The battery option is entirely built inside of the unit and does not change the dimensions of the Mini.

I really enjoyed working with you, Katie. May the winds aloft forever be in your favor.

-Marc Robertson
 
Just got my Mini-X back from GRT after having had the internal backup battery added. Some comments/observations...

1) the battery is field replaceable, but is a factory-only install if you are retrofitting it to your already fielded Mini
2) the battery lives in an extension of the "dog house" below the pitot/static block, so when you get your Mini back from the factory the dog house will appear larger and you will see an aluminum cover, held in place with four screws, under which the battery is located.
3) in the Setup menu one can see both the charge status (% of full charge) plus the charging rate information for the battery.
4) on the main screen a battery "gas gauge" icon keeps the user aware of battery charge status. Green for lots of gas, red when it gets down to something like 20% remaining charge

I opted to perform a discharge/recharge cycle on mine to get an idea of how it performs. This was on the bench, so zero dynamics, but with the GPS antenna connected. Brightness was set at 8. Run time from a reported status of 100% charge was 2 hours 15 minutes to a point of 15% charge remaining. This allowed me to verify the red colour of the battery status monitor.

The recharge cycle was started by simply turning on the bench power supply which had remained connected to the Mini but powered down. The battery was fully recharged at some point between when I checked it at 45 minutes and at the 1 hour point.

So far I think this upgrade is the best thing since sliced bread. For those of us who are hesitant to ditch our steam gauges as backups, the Mini with internal battery power should be considered as it's an excellent instrument, and one that can self-power in the event of a total electrical failure.

For those of us who still think in terms of steam gauges, ask yourself how many steam gauge backup instruments will not only give you full 6-pack functionality, but also a built-in GPS navigator so you can find our way back home? This package is hard to beat.
 
Thanks

Katie,
Wishing you the very best in the new position. Aviation is a small circle... you will find friends everywhere you go.
Thanks for EVERYTHING.....
 
I was just looking at the mini page on the grt website. In the mini-x description it says there is a flight director. In the feature matrix the flight director box is not checked. Just pointing out the discrepancy to the person at grt now watching this thread.
 
Looking for any others who have installed their GRT MINI AP....

Finally got mine installed and mostly working...would like to talk to someone else who is in the same boat :)

PM me if you have the AP version installed.

My setup: MINI AP with battery backup, ARINC 429 module, dual WS EFIS, G430W, TT Digiflight VSVG

Thx,
Brian
 
txshan130 said:
Looking for any others who have installed their GRT MINI AP....

Finally got mine installed and mostly working...would like to talk to someone else who is in the same boat :)

PM me if you have the AP version installed.

My setup: MINI AP with battery backup, ARINC 429 module, dual WS EFIS, G430W, TT Digiflight VSVG

Thx,
Brian
Click to expand...

Hey Brian, I have two mini-ap, a 429 ARINC module, and a GNS480, but I can't seem to be able to get them to talk to each other. Would you be willing sharing your settings (mini & GPS) to get me headed in the right direction?
 
Capt. Meatballs said:
Hey Brian, I have two mini-ap, a 429 ARINC module, and a GNS480, but I can't seem to be able to get them to talk to each other. Would you be willing sharing your settings (mini & GPS) to get me headed in the right direction?
Click to expand...

Sure...send me a pm with your phone number and I will give you a call...
 
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