July 10, 2006

New Features for All Products - July 2006

New Features for All Products

July, 2006
After much hard work by the programmers and beta testers, Dynon is proud to release new firmware for all of our currently shipping products, including the EFIS-D100, EFIS-D10A, EMS-D120, EMS-D10, and FlightDEK-D180. With this free, in-field firmware update, Dynon continues to enhance our products' functionality while maintaining the stability and ease of use that you have come to expect from us.
The major functionality that this firmware release adds is a directional gyro display on our EFIS products. The DG looks like a standard mechanical DG with a full 360 degree heading circle, but as with all things Dynon, it's better. The numbers are always upright, it won't lead or lag in a turn, it never needs to be set, and it includes a settable bug and markers every 45 degrees. If you have a D100, you can bring this up next to a 2/3 EFIS display and use both at the same time. On a D10A, you'll need to switch between the EFIS and DG displays. As before, if you have a Dynon EMS and a Dynon EFIS, you can display EFIS information on the EMS , including the DG. It's totally up to you how you want the information displayed on the screens in your aircraft.
This firmware update also introduces the initial implementation of the Dynon Smart Avionics Bus (DSAB). This is a network between units that allows them to share information and screens across a simple two wire interface. The DSAB hardware is built into every Dynon instrument since the EFIS-D10A so you can enjoy the benefits of this network with a simple firmware update. This first implementation of DSAB allows you to see EMS information on your EFIS. Given our current support of the EFIS displayed on the EMS (via a standard RS-232 connection), you may now display an EMS on an EFIS, an EFIS on an EMS, or even an EMS and EFIS side-by-side on the same screen. The display configuration is totally up to you.
There are a few things we'd like you to know about this firmware update:
  1. We don't have the manuals completed yet. In following with Dynon's design philosophy, we've done our absolute best to make everything on the product self-explanatory, but we're sure you'll have some questions. If you do, please ask them on our support forum in either the EFIS or EMS new features threads and we'll do our best to help. For now, this firmware is not being included in shipping products until the manuals are completed, so if you have a shiny, brand new Dynon product and want to see all the cool stuff, you'll need to update your firmware.
  2. The behavior of the outer buttons on the EFIS-D100, EFIS-D10A, and EMS-D10 has changed. These buttons now scroll through pages if you tap them. The left button still powers down if you hold it. The right button, when held for two seconds, brings up the screen configuration menu. The four inner buttons bring up the menu just like you remember. If you have a D120 or D180, you are already familiar with this; if you don't you may want to look at the quick start guide. Note that the EMS-D10 combines the Aux and Times pages into one screen.
  3. If you want to use the EMS on EFIS DSAB link, you may need to hook your products together. It's pretty simple- hook the “DSAB A” line on each product together and the “DSAB B” lines together. Don't cross A-B and B-A. If you have more than two products, just hook all of the “DSAB A” lines together and all of the “DSAB B” lines together. You can hook as many products up as you would like by just joining all the lines together. The EMS even makes this easy by having two “DSAB A” and two “DSAB B” ports.
  4. You'll still need to hook the EFIS RS-232 TX line to the EMS RS-232 RX line if you wish to see the EFIS on the EMS . We'll be getting rid of this requirement in a future firmware update, but for now, you'll need to keep this jumper.
This version of Dynon product firmware has been superseded by a version released in October 2006. 

Changelog

  • DG display (1/3 split-screen on 100 series, full-screen on 10 series)
  • EMS screens on EFIS D100/D10A (with DSAB connection from EMS )
  • Timers page on EFIS products
  • Contact input displays on the EMS
  • Audible AoA Alarm on all EFIS products
  • Fast page switching on EFIS products
  • EMS OAT can be used on EFIS products (over DSAB) for DA/TAS calculations
  • Fuel remaining can go negative (in case you forget to reset)
  • Altitude in feet or meters
  • Better support for two cylinder engine measurements (EMS)
  • Countdown timers stored between power cycles
  • More reliable EFIS to EDC communications
  • EMS will stay on during engine crank (down to about 8V)
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