For any of you with a flying VM 1000 or plans to install one, listen up
and save yourself a lot of lost time and aggravation brought about by
someone's incredible stupidity.
If you elect to purchase their latest software as an upgrade, you will
receive an EPROM to install in the data processing unit (DPU). The
EPROM is a piece of hardware that contains the new software. There are
no instructions for installing the EPROM but far more important, there
is no advisory that unless you make another change in the DPU at the
same time, your engine RPM will read twice what it should!
Incredibly, when I called to ask where the EPROM was supposed to be
installed and how to do it, they made no mention of the fact that a
jumper has to be changed in the same box at the same time. To get the
DPU out of my -8A, I have to pull the entire panel and it takes several
hours to R&R. I was willing to do this once to install the new software
but not twice...
When I put everything back together again and attempted to do a flight
check, I immediately noticed that the engine was showing 1600 RPM at
idle. I did a quick runup by sound and concluded that the instrument
was showing about twice what it should have. A call to Vision
Microsystems resulted in the comment, "oh, yes, that is a known issue
but isn't too hard to fix. First, take the back off of the DPU..." I
stopped the conversation right then and there and explained that I had
just spent most of a day doing just that to change the software and had
everything reinstalled. When I asked the tech (Marcus) why they had not
sent out instructions with every software upgrade they sell, he merely
said, "it was an oversight."
In my book, that oversight ought to be followed up by an email, letter or
phone call to every purchaser of the software so they can be notified of
this problem. Evidently they don't see it that way since they are not
notifying anyone. So if you ever have to change the software in a VM
1000, make absolutely sure that you call the factory first and find out
just what else you have to do inside the box while you're there. It
will save you a lot of anguish that should never have been necessary in
the first place.
Feel free to forward this to other lists if you wish. I'd really hate to have anyone else go through this nonsense.
Bill Marvel
RV-8A, 620 hours
TOA
and save yourself a lot of lost time and aggravation brought about by
someone's incredible stupidity.
If you elect to purchase their latest software as an upgrade, you will
receive an EPROM to install in the data processing unit (DPU). The
EPROM is a piece of hardware that contains the new software. There are
no instructions for installing the EPROM but far more important, there
is no advisory that unless you make another change in the DPU at the
same time, your engine RPM will read twice what it should!
Incredibly, when I called to ask where the EPROM was supposed to be
installed and how to do it, they made no mention of the fact that a
jumper has to be changed in the same box at the same time. To get the
DPU out of my -8A, I have to pull the entire panel and it takes several
hours to R&R. I was willing to do this once to install the new software
but not twice...
When I put everything back together again and attempted to do a flight
check, I immediately noticed that the engine was showing 1600 RPM at
idle. I did a quick runup by sound and concluded that the instrument
was showing about twice what it should have. A call to Vision
Microsystems resulted in the comment, "oh, yes, that is a known issue
but isn't too hard to fix. First, take the back off of the DPU..." I
stopped the conversation right then and there and explained that I had
just spent most of a day doing just that to change the software and had
everything reinstalled. When I asked the tech (Marcus) why they had not
sent out instructions with every software upgrade they sell, he merely
said, "it was an oversight."
In my book, that oversight ought to be followed up by an email, letter or
phone call to every purchaser of the software so they can be notified of
this problem. Evidently they don't see it that way since they are not
notifying anyone. So if you ever have to change the software in a VM
1000, make absolutely sure that you call the factory first and find out
just what else you have to do inside the box while you're there. It
will save you a lot of anguish that should never have been necessary in
the first place.
Feel free to forward this to other lists if you wish. I'd really hate to have anyone else go through this nonsense.
Bill Marvel
RV-8A, 620 hours
TOA
