Skyview Froze in flight

[swatson999]

My SV-1000 froze up completely today in flight, requiring a 3-finger reset. It is NOT one of the Hardware Group 2 screens affected by the Service Bulletin (it is in group 1).

Symptoms:

Prior to run-up, a couple of "sketchy" values on EGT 4 and fuel pressure (both reading high, but then settling back down after 15 seconds or so, which clearly indicates instrumentation error).

Everything was fine during run-up and departure, then about 3-4 minutes after departure, the entire screen froze. This was...disconcerting...but my backup D6 did what it was supposed to, back up the primary, so a reset of the SkyView did not leave me with no altitude, airspeed, etc.

The Skyview came up okay, and continued to operate throughout the 1-hour flight, EXCEPT for the HSI, which after about 45 minutes, began acting funny...all the tick marks disappeared. Changing screens had no effect, swapping out the HSI for the G-meter and back had no effect. They came back, for a while, then went away again. Another reset seemed to fix it, and then it was time to land so I quit diagnosing the issue at that time

This is the first time I've had a display lock up on me...any ideas? The only thing that has changed is that I plugged in a short USB cable into the rear USB slot a couple of days ago to make inserting the memory stick easier. Nothing else has changed, no new equipment, no changed wiring, etc.

 

[Juvat]

That is downright scary.

 

[Garrett]

My SV-1000 would not boot up on Friday. The Screen just keep flashing vertical colored bars. It has only been in service about 1.5 months since installed new in December 2012. On a flight a few days before oil pressure audible warning ramdomly sounded off but guage was holding steady at 65 psi. I was going to replace the sending unit but will now wait until after SV-1000 is factory repaired and see what happens.

 

[Dynon]

Steve, your experience demonstrates why it's important to equip an aircraft with the appropriate amount of backup for it's mission (as it sounds like you did). Any piece of equipment in an aircraft can fail, period, although we try to make those instances exceeding rare. I'll note that it's extremely rare for Dynon products to stop working in flight - the vast majority of failures occur and are discovered on the ground as Garrett experienced.

That said, if your display has locked up, we want to see it here, no doubt about it. Please mention this forum thread when you call or email our tech support staff.

Garrett - we're working hard on raising the bar here on quality, and our recent service bulletin is an example of tangible results of diving into the deep end of teasing out and eliminating the root causes of failures that customers see in the field.

 

[swatson999]

Thanks for the quick response...will call tech support tomorrow morning. Something is definitely up, as today it took a couple of cycles to boot (appears as though the watchdog timer may be timing out on boot)...it did come up, and worked fine, but still...apparently in need of in-depth diagnosis and repair/replace.

I'm IFR rated and expect to use this system in IMC, so reliability is, needless to say, critical

Thanks again for the rapid response...hopefully, we can get this resolved quickly so I can get back in the air soon after removing the display.

Steve

 

[oldpharte]

My Skyview SV-700 did a similar thing about 15 hrs ago and has not done it since. It went completely blank, but rebooted on its own. My second Skyview stayed on. Interestingly, my #4 EGT is erratic and my fuel flow (not pressure) has always read high and unsteady.

 

[swatson999]

Well, it truly went TO today, and is boxed up and will head to Dynon tomorrow...

Froze up 30 minutes after departure, 3-finger reset brought up a seriously messed-up display...map only, no EMS data whatsoever (as in not even the widgets appeared...just a blank area on the screen where the engine data should have been), an ADAHRS Fail, no A/P, no XPDR, and the Mapping license was apparently gone (got the "30 hours" warning)...multiple reboot attempts had no effect.  Decided to quit mucking with it as it had obviously crapped out entirely and it was time to get back on the ground and pull the unit.

Landing with no engine instrumentation at all was...interesting...but not a major issue.  However, it's clear that the unit has failed almot entirely.  Ground power-cycles resulted in the same thing.

Hopefully, turnaround will be quick so I can get back in the air soon.

ETA: the transponder was knocked off-line, as ATC had to ask me for my altitude on approach to the airport.

 

[swatson999]

My Skyview SV-700 did a similar thing about 15 hrs ago and has not done it since. It went completely blank, but rebooted on its own. My second Skyview stayed on. Interestingly, my #4 EGT is erratic and my fuel flow (not pressure) has always read high and unsteady.

Interesting...mine didn't go blank...it froze, as if the display buffer was not being sent any new data and it was just displaying a static "picture", frozen in time.

 

[Dynon]

Steve - Please get in touch directly with our tech support staff at 425-402-0433 if you haven't already, and do point them to this thread when you do.

 

[Garrett]

Dynon, thanks for the fast turnaround on the repair.

 

[swatson999]

Steve - Please get in touch directly with our tech support staff at 425-402-0433 if you haven't already, and do point them to this thread when you do.

Got an RMA previously and included descriptions of failures with the shipment...should arrive there this afternoon...

Steve

 

[swatson999]

Just a thank-you to Dynon for excellent customer service...they gave me the RMA and shipped me a box to return the unit (which I requested, so I knew it would be securely packed and relatively safe from the UPS gorillas )...I shipped it 2-day before leaving for a week in Europe, and a few days after my return, I got the notice of 2-day return shipping and before the next weekend, it was back in the plane and ready to go!

First test flight with it, and everything looks nominal...

Thanks to Dynon for outstanding response on this problem, and their very good customer service! A pleasure to do business with such a responsive, customer-oriented company...

Steve

 

[pc]

Mine new Skyview 1000 froze in flight on 23.Feb. After pressing any button there was no reaction. the second one worked fine. after minute it just continued working ok... well that's why I am on this page, therefore took the MAC test. But the test returned that my MAC address is NOT associated with any Dynon product ?! double checked too. Any ideas. I am based in Macedonia, Europe . check the photos from the test

 

[Dynon]

Our tool is clearly broken, but I can tell you from your serial number that your problem isn't related to the service bulletin. We take reports of in-flight issues very seriously. Can you call or email our support staff at 425-402-0433 or email support at dynonavionics dot com so we can get some more information about the circumstances and what exactly you observed?

 

[BBGLASAIR]

My SV 1000  (Version 7.0) has started to "blink", in flight, and during taxi, perhaps three or four times in a 30min flight. Just a "blink", not a flicker. It lasts only for a fraction of a second, but long enough to glimpse the red cross lines. It occurs both with, and without the backup battery connected. The red cross lines appear only on the PFD page, and not on the MAP page. I usually fly with a split screen. Apart from this issue, all operations are normal, including SV GPS. It is a simple installation, single screen, no EMS.
I have checked the power supply for bad connections … where do I check now?  The unit has been previously returned for circuit board attention.
Thank you … Brian B

 

[Dynon]

Any chance you might be able to get a video of that behavior and email it to us at support at dynonavionics dot com? The fact that it only happens on the PFD page indicates that the system things that the ADAHRS is going away for a moment. Do you get a message under button 8 that persists? If so, what is it? Do you have any other SkyView network modules besides the ADAHRS? AP servos?

 

[BBGLASAIR]

re Reply No 15.  I should be able to do that tomorrow. I'll get back to you.  Thank you.

 

[BBGLASAIR]

Dynon, I was able to capture the "blink" on video today, whilst parked, engine not running. I then flew with the PFD page showing (not the split screen I usually use), and no "blink" was evident. I may have missed it of course, in flight. I will email the video tonight.
I think what I'll do in the short term is to continue flying with this issue.
It's not a showstopper, and if further deterioration occurs, it will be easier to diagnose. If any other Dynon clients develop this issue, I'll chime in.
FYI, single screen SV1000, SV250 GPS, and Dynon heated pitot.
No EMS, no Dynon A/P. The only message I get refers to Battery Test.
Thank you BB