Flight Deck 180 with Garmin 327 Transponder

[mchamberlain]

Hi Folks,

I have a FD 180 and Garmin GTX 327 Transponder. I have the 180 set to output format 4 and the GTX 327 set to Icarus. My question is: how do I know if it's working? Right now it displays "PRESSURE ALTITUDE ___.__" so I tend to think it isn't working (I assume if it was working it would display to feed it was getting from the 180?).

Any help will be appreciated.

Thanks,

Mark

 

[FalcoGeorge]

Hi Markk.. I can partailly answer that for you.. I have a GTX327 and it will tell you the P ALT when the system is working. I have an EFIS-D10 and I can't recall the settings I used now but I went through a few options until my 327 showed the P-ALT... of course it takes a short time to get the EFIS to show the alt and output it from when you turn it on.
Regards

 

[13brv3]

Hi Mark,

I also have a D-180, and GTX-327, and my 327 always has a number after pressure altitude when the Dynon is on. I don't recall the exact setup of the comm, but I'll certainly look it up if necessary. I suspect Dynon will answer this before it comes to that though.

Cheers,
Rusty

 

[mchamberlain]

Thanks for the information guys.

I think the settings should be as I said in my last email, and it sounds like it's not working from what you've told me.

Hopefully Dynon will be able to shed some light on what's going on.

Thanks for your help,

Mark

 

[13brv3]

Hi again Mark,

I just remembered that I made a note in my log when I got this working, and here it is:

The transponder is getting mode c info from the Dynon, and it’s way cool to be able to see the reported altitude on the screen! I had to set the Dynon to output “Mode 4”, and had to change the channel 1 input on the GTX-327 from none, to “ICARUS ALT”.

Is "channel 1 input" what you changed on the 327?

Good luck,
Rusty

 

[mchamberlain]

Hi Rusty,

Yep, channel 1 and ICARUS ALT is what I have the 327 set to. The only thing I didn't do after setting the Dynon to output format 4 was to reboot it (switch it on and off again, not sure if that's what you call it on a Dynon). Not sure if it needs to be rebooted or not but I'll try that this afternoon. Then it's time to start digging wires out unless Dynon support can offer any suggestions.

Thanks,

Mark

 

[dynonsupport]

Mark,

Format 4 on the Dynon and Icarus on the 327 is what you want. The Dynon changes the instant you press the button, so no need to reboot it or anything.

I can't offer you much more help than that. The above setup is working on probably at least 100 airplanes, so you should re-check your wiring and look through the Garmin setup again.

 

[mchamberlain]

Thanks, I figured as much. I guess I'll be digging through wiring.

I remember when I wired it that there was a serial wire and a ground. The 327 didn't have a wire to hook the ground up to and when I spoke to the supplier they said to just hook up the serial output from the 180 and no ground was required. Should I have hooked the ground from the Dynon serial output to somewhere else?

Thanks,

Mark

 

[dynonsupport]

Mark,
The ground on the EFIS and the 327 is just aircraft ground so it normally works without it. You could always try running a wire if nothing else is working.