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GRT support

Maverick972

Well Known Member
I really have been enjoying getting to know my GRT HRx and it?s a good product. At the same time the support is way below my experience with other vendors in this space.

My RV7 has both the HRx and and EIS4000 so to say I am fully committed to the product is putting it lightly.

Is the GRT forum basically dead?

Only an android app? Any plans to interface with another flight app?

Getting plates loaded, what?s the right vendor?

Will they ever produce a HRx manual? I don?t believe I need to use the HR manual that is not what is in my aircraft.

My general feeling isn?t that they don?t care it?s that they are more committed to what ever the next product is etc.... HUD for example. Development of the new.

Just venting I guess, it?s a great system but the support is not.
 
I agree. There products are great but tech support has not stayed up with competitors. I hope this decline does not for tell the future.
 
GRT's support is... different. As in "small company" different. No, they don't have a forum that's worth much. No, they don't have a gee-whiz glitzy user interface to get to their tech support folks. And they certainly don't have anything like current documentation for their EFIS products.

BUT what they do have is a pretty terrific bunch of people who will answer the phone and who will walk you through whatever it takes to get your issues resolved. I have called them and asked questions and received excellent answers. The only question that never gets answered is "why don't you put this info into your product documentation so I could read it instead of having to call you?" :)
 
GRT's support is... different. As in "small company" different. No, they don't have a forum that's worth much. No, they don't have a gee-whiz glitzy user interface to get to their tech support folks. And they certainly don't have anything like current documentation for their EFIS products.

BUT what they do have is a pretty terrific bunch of people who will answer the phone and who will walk you through whatever it takes to get your issues resolved. I have called them and asked questions and received excellent answers. The only question that never gets answered is "why don't you put this info into your product documentation so I could read it instead of having to call you?" :)

Agree with everything said here. In this day where it seems people only want to communicate via internet forum, email or texting, it is nice to know GRT is still willing to answer the phone and let you talk directly to a software engineer, or even the owner of the company if need be. Their internet presence might lag behind others but their one on one support is top notch.

Why don't you give them a call and test it out?
 
I also have GRT equipment, love it and am happy with their support on the phone. I actually prefer to be able to talk to someone on the phone, while sitting in the plane pushing the buttons they are referring to and they are happy to talk me through whatever process I'm asking about.

Yeah, their manuals aren't that good, but have you checked out the youtube videos on the HXr done by Jerry "Widget" Morris? Really good HXr IFR procedures walk through. I think part of the problem with the manuals is that this is a company that is more than willing to take requests and incorporate them into software updates, so they are prioritizing responsiveness to features requests over documentation.

Talk to them on the phone and your perception of their support may shift!
 
Getting plates loaded, what?s the right vendor?

I believe that Seattle Avionics is the only vendor for charts and plates for GRT. You download their "Chart Managers" software, choose what charts you want, and then load them to a USB stick. It's been working for me. Unfortunately, I don't believe there is a way to get Jepp charts on the GRT.
 
I want to echo the positive points above. I have been working with GRT for 9 years and still love the equipment. You will never have an AHARS tumble by the way. I have always received all the support that I needed. I even had a software fix done overnight by the boss to fix a minor problem. That is service.
 
I appreciate the feedback, I guess I?ll call them and ask them to run me through a complete set up A to Z. Honestly it?s very complex but seems to work well with my 430 and Tru Trak digiflight. The deeper I dig the more I find.
 
Is there a stand alone GRT forum? Somewhere we can archive wiring schematics, setups, videos and tips and tricks for the GRT products?

I know there?s lots of info out there, but not always easily acessable. If there were a stand alone forum (not nessasarily linked with GRT) I think it would be a huge help to those digging into GRT for the first time and those trying to get more out of their systems.

I?m about to do my second GRT upgrade. The first was from steamgauges to the Horizon Series I, s/n 0018. Now I?m digging back into it with an upgrade to a HXr 😎

Dave
 
I'm still building, but have my panel in the plane now and am all in with GRT (see sig block).
I've never not had them call me back if I leave a message with an issue or question that I cant find the ans to in the docs (twice this week alone).

When I was benching the gear, had a heck of a time getting the Garmin stuff to talk right to the HXrs. But they were really good with walking me thru various settings (after I did my homework and struggled with it for a good while). Wound up discovering something that Jeff put on the fix list. As an engineer, to talk to THE engineer on something and not a sales person is beyond any help line I've ever been on. Jeff does answer on the GRT users only site. Ive asked several questions, and asked for some s/w changes and got ans back in a reasonable time.

But yeah its a small co and they got work to do. Thats what asking here is for as well as on the GRT users site. And there are other knowledgeable guys on there who help out - not a lot, but enough.
The HXr documentation is poop for sure. But between it and the HX/HS install and user docs (where most of the stuff really is) you can get there. You have to treat it like a research project, not a spoon feeding. And when really stuck, then pick up the phone and tell 'em what youve worked thru...
 
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RE: GRT Support

There is an old forum in Yahoo Groups:

https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/GRT_EFIS/info

It doesn't see much activity, but there is a place in the group where files etc. can be stored. As forums go, it's kinda clunky for searching old posts but it can be done.

The only other forum that I am aware of is the one that GRT tech support created. It is monitored and GRT usually responds to questions etc that get posted.

http://grtavionics.com/forum/
 
There is an old forum in Yahoo Groups:

https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/GRT_EFIS/info

It doesn't see much activity, but there is a place in the group where files etc. can be stored. As forums go, it's kinda clunky for searching old posts but it can be done.

The only other forum that I am aware of is the one that GRT tech support created. It is monitored and GRT usually responds to questions etc that get posted.

http://grtavionics.com/forum/

Of note, theres stuff hidden - all the newest posts and requests I believe - if youre not logged on in the forum.....

I've not been on the yahoo in years.....completely forgot about that place....
 
It?s been said many times, 99% of the builders like the equipment they chose. I?m no different. For the record, I put in (8 years ago) an HX, an HS, and the EIS, interfaced to a Trio autopilot, Garmin 420W, SL30, xm wx box, 327 transponder, SkyRadar adsb-in, audio panel; more recently, upgraded to a Trig TT-22 to get adsb-out. The GRT stuff all worked, first time out. I never had to call support. The information is there, but you do need to be a bit of a geek to find, read, and understand it. If you need detailed instructions (?Cut a 50? length of #20 teflon insulated wire, using cutters part #123; strip 1/4? from one end using tool ABC; insert wire into male standard density pin part number 5678 and crimp using tool DEF with insert 987; use pin insertion tool part #XYZ to insert pin from aft side of connector B into hole 14; test by gently pulling on wire; next,..?) then GRT may not be right for you. Not having 24/7 phone service, or a full time tech writter, keeps GRT very cost competitive. And, my AI won?t tumble if a bug gets impaled by my pitot tube on take-off.
 
There is an old forum in Yahoo Groups:

https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/GRT_EFIS/info

It doesn't see much activity, but there is a place in the group where files etc. can be stored. As forums go, it's kinda clunky for searching old posts but it can be done.

I have been one of the moderators there since the earliest days, and I still see the occasional ?join? request, but almost no posts anymore. It sort of died off about the time the HXr came out. Not sure if that?s just because folks come here to ask questions (becasue of the ?clunky interface? on Yahoo) or something else. Still a lot of good information over there - just little that is new.
 
GRT Stability

Agree BobTurner!

You said, "And, my AI won’t tumble if a bug gets impaled by my pitot tube on take-off."

That's why I chose GRT too!

Best regards,

Merrill
 
I believe that Seattle Avionics is the only vendor for charts and plates for GRT. You download their "Chart Managers" software, choose what charts you want, and then load them to a USB stick. It's been working for me. Unfortunately, I don't believe there is a way to get Jepp charts on the GRT.
Actually, GRT also provides (free of charge) charts on their site. Here is the link to their download page:
http://grtavionics.com/home/navigation-database-updates/
 
. And, my AI won?t tumble if a bug gets impaled by my pitot tube on take-off.

Can someone elaborate on this for me? Please cut me some slack as I have only onwed the airplane for 4 months.

The more I just spend time with it, the better it gets. We discovered that my particular frustration was not with the GRT unit but the Trig transponder.

In fact I am thinking about adding the small GRT Efis as back up.

Here is what I am working with:
GRT HRX
GRT EIS 4000
Garmin 430W
Trig 22 remote mounted transponder ADSB out
Skyraider ADSB in
Tru Track Digi Flight II auto pilot
Panel mounted IPad mini. (I would like to put the small GRT Efis in its place.)
PS engineering audio panel.

I appreciate the group insight.
 
If installing a GRT Mini (except the Mini-GA which you likely wouldn't want anyway) be aware that it has built-in serial communication lines to talk to the TT22 transponder. The HXr and other EFIS products require a serial interface adapter ($175) to talk to the transponder.

The serial link between EFIS and TT22 does two things... controls the transponder operation, including mode select, squawk code etc, and provides digital altitude (Mode C) information to the transponder.

I opted to install the TC20 control head from Trig rather than wiring it to the Mini. In hindsight I'm not sure I'd repeat that choice, and I'm not sure I wouldn't do it the same way again. I do like having the transponder on a separate control head.
 
Can someone elaborate on this for me? Please cut me some slack as I have only onwed the airplane for 4 months.
ht.

This was a reference to the fact that at least one efis brand requires speed data to reach a solution for the AI horizon (GRT does not). It’s supposed to auto-detect pitot failure and auto-switch to gps ground speed, but at least one person on VAF reported a partial pitot failure that did not auto-switch to gps ground speed, but did cause the AI to show an incorrect horizon.

What was the TT22 issue? Mine works fine. I did add a stick mounted ‘ident’ button.
 
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This was a reference to the fact that at least one efis brand requires speed data to reach a solution for the AI horizon (GRT does not). It?s supposed to auto-detect pitot failure and auto-switch to gps ground speed, but at least one person on VAF reported a partial pitot failure that did not auto-switch to gps ground speed, but did cause the AI to show an incorrect horizon.

What was the TT22 issue? Mine works fine. I did add a stick mounted ?ident? button.

Well, as above mentioned when the adapter way made to interface with the HRx and Trig unit it was installed with a loose pin, the unit was doing two things. One, inconsistent 1200 squawk code. It was not reporting to the ADSB stations the correct information. Trig was telling us it was a problem with the GRT unit..in reality it was not the internal settings it was the intermittent data flow that was causing the issue. New adapter and good to go.

The second GRT unit would be for my backup as I don?t feel comfortable using the iPad for backup AI in an IFR environment.
 
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