D10A Interal Compass Calibration

[lgingell]

Hi,

I've just been attempting internal compass calibration on a D10A. I've downloaded the latest firmware to it, setup the airspeeds, inclination etc. with no problems.

I'm using the internal calibration tool 1.1.3 that is current on the website.

At first, everything on the ground part seemed ok. We started AIRRGT OK too. When we completed AIRLFT and END, the laptop still thought it was receiving turn data.

We started again (while in the air) by pressing AIRRGT, doing the right 30, then AIRLFT, but the laptop again was still receiving turn data after pressing END

I have all the log files generated during calibration.

All comms to the D10A seem to work fine. Data is being pulled down. I updated the firmware, so I'm happy that that is all OK.

Questions:

1. What should we see on the PC display after completion of the ground part, and the right, and left turns? (should there be indication that the right has finished?).

2. Should there be any visual indication on the D10A after the turns, when AIRRGT or AIRLEFT or END are pressed (it appears not, which is a little strange).

3. Is there anything in the log files that we can use to determine why calibration didn't finish.

4. Any suggestions as to what might be occuring here?

Many thanks,
..lance

 

[dynonsupport]

Hi Lance,

It's very odd that the PC didn't finish the calibration when you pressed END. Which data did the PC indicate it was collecting after you pressed END?

In answer to your questions:

1) The PC should always tell you which data is being collected, or if it is waiting for data, or if it is calculating constants. During each maneuver, you should see a status message like "Logging no-bank turn", "Logging 30 deg bank turn", and "Logging -30 deg bank turn".

2) Currently when you want to indicate that you are finished with one maneuver, you must start another maneuver or press END. (You can always restart a maneuver by pushing the button for it again.) We did it that way because of limitations of the EFIS-D10. We are currently working on a better magcal interface for the EFIS-D10A which will also eliminate the requirement for using a PC. Hopefully we'll get that out in a software release pretty soon.

3) We may be able to determine what happened from the various files generated in your C:\Program Files\EFIS Magcal\ directory. If you'd like, you can compress those into a .ZIP file and email them to us (info@dynonavionics.com, attn technical support) and we'll look at them for you. If you do this, just grab everything out of the directory except the .exe and .ocx files.

4) I'm pretty baffled at this behavior. Hopefully we'll be able to tell something from the log files.

If you'd like, you can call us (425-402-0433) and we can talk about this some more.

 

[lgingell]

Hi,

1. "-30 deg turn" - aha - this answers that question. I never saw that, so it never finished with the right turn.

Thanks for the other info. I'll zip the files up and send them in.

Thanks much,
..lance

 

[dynonsupport]

Update: Lance sent in the data from his calibration, and we sent him the following email in reply:

Hi Lance,

I've taken a look at your data, and I have the following comments:

1) The turn on the ground looked great. All data present and accounted for.
2) The right-hand turn in the air looks like it captured less than 540 degrees. It looks to me like the AIRRGT button was pressed a second time partway through the maneuver. The ten seconds of holding north as well as the start of the turn are missing from the data you sent me.
3) The left-hand turn appears to have to have all the data, although it appears that the turn wasn't completed in one smooth motion. Partway through the turn it appears the the aircraft stopped turning for awhile (and even went the other way a bit) and then completed the 540 degree turn.

My guess is that the laptop did receive the "END" signal from the EFIS, but it got stuck in the math trying to calibrate the magnetometers using incomplete data. It probably would have eventually given you an error indicating that it was missing some of the data for the right-turn in the air.

The good news is that everything in the EFIS seems to be working properly. I recommend that you try the calibration again, keeping in mind that any time you press a button for a maneuver, it restarts the data collection process for that maneuver. Also, you will get better results if you are able to complete the turn in a smooth motion.

You may also want to consider waiting for the release of the next version of EFIS-D10A software (02.09.00), which does not require a laptop for magnetic calibration and has a cleaner menu interface.

I will also post this email in the forum to assist others who might be in this situation.

 

[redbeardmark]

Any chance that the software for the D10 EFIS will allow magnetic calibration to be done without a PC?
Mark Andrews

 

[dynonsupport]

Mark,

Sorry, but you will need to upgrade to the EFIS-D10A to get this feature.

The primary reason we switched from the D10 to the D10A was for increased memory and processor speed. These are the two things that a magnetic calibration needs, and there is no way for us to implement them on the D10.