Adding D1000

[dhsa]

I’m replacing a D700 with a D1000 but I’m getting a little nervous about how long Dynon will support the D1000 with the HDX out and the statements in the installation manual about future updates may not add certain features to the D1000.
I don’t want to shell out the extra to replace my existing D1000 and a new D1000 when I love the D1000. Any insight Dynon? Any insight anyone?

 

[akarmy]

Well, not speaking for Dynon, but they do have a long history of supporting the products they have produced in the field for a very long time. Just look at all the D10's that are both installed and working fine and still being sold and supported, and in fact found a new life with a Certified install as an option.

I too have a non-touch D1000 in my RV-8 and just love it. It's perfect for what I need right now and am glad it continues to get updates and software goodies. It's always the case that there are newer fancier products that come to market and Dynon has shown both a willingness and commitment to not completely leave legacy products out in the cold.

That said, I do try and buy as current as I can each time I buy to maximize the life of the unit I get. Now on a totally different note, would I love to put a new HDX in my RV? Of course I would! But do I NEED it? Na, I'm good for now.

 

[swatson999]

There are two aspects to "support"...hardware and software/firmware.

I suspect that the code base is pretty common between all of the Skyview systems, so I'd expect software support to continue well into the foreseeable future. Firmware is probably similar, but may depend on any use of FPGAs or the like and how long they are available on the market and supported.

Hardware depends on the component selections used for the various models of Skyview, but they seem to have made good decisions in other areas, so I doubt they've been using any "unusual" pieces and parts in their designs, so again...probably good for any reasonable timeframe.

And, here's the big one, Dynon has been *very* good at providing continued customer support for all of their products, in comparison to other avionics providers.

I'm not very concerned about any obsolescence of any Dynon components.

 

[Dynon]

Before going into details, at a high level, most of our products have lifecycles that start with the addition of new features and product family members that add value to both new and existing customers. Over time, those efforts shift to more of a maintenance mode where issues are fixed and feature updates wind down. At the furthest point - for a variety of reasons - a product is as mature as practical and development resources need to move on to the next wave of innovative products. This usually means a combination of discontinuation of hardware, software updates, and so on.

Right this moment there isn't a firm, calendarized product sunset for any of SkyView's models, but, SkyView Classic and Touch are definitely further along in their product lifecycle than SkyView HDX is. In the most general sense, the best way to "futureproof" oneself with a purchase today is to buy the latest model.

We definitely have a long history of supporting our products with new features for many years, and are proud of that fact. SkyView Classic has been around for the better part of a decade, and we're still adding features. That said, our complete line of SkyView display models share some - but not all - of their hardware and software underpinnings. For example, with SkyView HDX we did a big enough overhaul of the way that the user interface (and underlying software) works. That means that future changes to software do not "automatically" port back to SkyView Classic and SkyView Touch in some cases. As a result, as we've indicated other places, at some point in the not too distant future we'll likely wind down new feature development on the Classic and Touch models and focus more within the HDX model line. Of course, technical, warranty, and bug fix/compatibility support for all SkyView products will continue for years to come. Additionally, we're looking into other ways that pilots that want to always have the "latest and greatest" can do so: one possibility is a trade-in program towards HDX that has already been highly-requested here on the forum.

 

[dhsa]

A sincere thank you to all responses. I have owned Dynon products since their beginning and I have to agree that their customer service has been nothing but excellent. I do believe it is time for a trade in option since the classic has been around for a decade and Dynon’s response didn’t give me the feeling they were going to continue developing the classic line (I’m not sure as I would either, as a business decision, since the development of the HDX). All that said, I believe I’m more concerned now with sticking with the classic, but I’m not sure I want to shell out the extra cash (isn’t that the way it always is?).

 

[BlueCH750]

Put me in the queue for a trade-in/trade-up when that becomes a reality!!

 

[rvator51]

Its usually been more cost effective to sell your old unit and purchase an new unit versus previous trade-in programs. So what are you waiting for?

 

[NASA515]

I have many hundreds of hours flying the SV systems - Classic, Touch, and HDX.  For a long list of reasons, which I do not plan to elaborate on at this time, I feel that the Touch is the finest system of the three and the finest out there in the GA world.  I plan to continue flying behind it for many years to come.  Should Dynon elect to discontinue it at some future date, I would look to maintaining my capability via Used equipment.  I have already started prowling some of the second-hand sites with the eye to picking up a removed Touch from an HDX up-grader.  My sense is, if there are enough HDX converts, I'll be able to maintain my airplane via usable spare back-ups, "on-the-cheap" if you will.

I understand where Dynon is coming from, and the business model - you need to move product to remain a viable enterprise - just like the smart phone guys with their string of perpetual new models.  But that doesn't mean that I have to participate, or be enchanted with, the provider's new "features."

My best analogy would be Microsoft and their Windows OS's - now defined as a "Service" and not a 'Purchased' or even a 'Licensed" OS.  I have a dozen computers running in my house, with everything from Windows 3.11 to Win 10 Prof.  In my judgement, XP was the best, with Win 7 a close second.  I have 4 running XP (in large part to support older apps that cannot port to Win 10.)  I skipped the Win 8 debacle, but made the mistake of "upgrading" to Win 10 on 3 machines.  After about 2 years of trying, I decided I cannot live with Win 10, so am considering purchase of Win 7 disks to convert back - they're quite reasonable -  in the $20 range with unused Keys.

Actually, my disaffection with MS and Win 10 was enough for me to do the unthinkable - switch OS's.  I began running Linux and Chrome-based, but ultimately I moved completely over to the Dark Side and now have three Apple machines.  Two run Win XP on the side via Parallels and I am thinking of "upgrading" those to Win 7.

I am in love with Dynon, understand their business exigencies and recognize there are hardware issues associated with maintaining production of the Classic and Touch systems going forward, but - as with Windows - I do not necessarily share the enthusiasm for all things "latest and greatest", and - as with Windows - plan to exercise my options.

Bob Bogash
RV-12
N737G - 600 hours

 

[mrdaud]

Bob, I also really like my Touch SV.

Not to get off subject, but go with a Mac (I use a Mac Pro). Free OS upgrades, no malware to speak of. I run XP using Parallels to run my Windows apps like AutoCad and Visio. My Mac is now 8 years old and still running strong. Only thing I have done to it is upgrade my hard drive to a 1 TB solid-state drive. One of my better moves was to dump PC's and Windows!!!!!

 

[NASA515]

Thanks. To continue off-topic at pain of banishment, I first dipped my toe in the waters with a MacBook Pro. After 2 years of good results, and a brief dalliance again with a Win 10 machine, I jumped in the pool with a new iMac 27, 40GB memory, and that's my main machine. I even redecorated my living room to accommodate my new baby, giving her some prime real estate.

 

[rvator51]

I think Dynon should re-evaluate its decision not to put the latest software on the Touch Skyview. No reason it cant run the same software as the HDX other than marketing? That would keep it from being obsoleted or not having all the latest improvements in software.

 

[NASA515]

Be careful what you wish for! That's an adage I learned (maybe) over the years - and usually the hard way.

There's only one thing from the HDX that I lust after - the Transponder control screen. That's a big improvement. It ought to be readily doable since they migrated the radio control screen from HDX to the SV-T.

I'm not a fan of the rest of the GUI.

Bob Bogash
RV-12
N737G