Upgrade to 5.4 - GPS no longer communicating

[JohnH]

I have upgraded to 5.4 for the Auto-pilot upgrades on an RV7. D100, D10A and AP74 with Lowrance Airmap 2000c GPS. The Nav and Trk functions worked fine previously but pitch sensitivity and wandering on the Trk function prompted the upgrade. Firmware update went fine, but the GPS no longer is able to communicate with the D100. I have fiddled with all the comm settings in both the GPS and D100 to no avail. I did read that this was the case if the latest GPS firmware was not installed as well. I have firmware version 1.7.0 on the GPS, which seems like the latest for that GPS.

I am afraid I might need to revert to a previous version of Dynon firmware just to keep the Trk and Nav functions alive?

Anyone able to help?

 

[dynonsupport]

We don't know of any incompatibilities there, and 5.4 has been out a while, and the Lowrances have been popular, so I have to think you're not the first person to use this combination. Are you certain that the serial port wires are still making it to the Dynon Setup? You either had to disconnect it to do the update, or have a switch of some kind installed. So I'd first verify that you still have continuity from the Lowrance end of the serial port to the Dynon end.

 

[JohnH]

Thanks for the information. I did not disconnect anything, but I will check for continuity as you suggest.

Lastly, if I restore settings from a back-up prior to the 5.4 upgrade, will that revert to the firmware version at the time of the backup?

 

[dynonsupport]

No, only a complete restoration of a full backup will let you go backwards in firmware versions on a D10/D100 series product.

 

[JohnH]

I have checked the system out. The way I configured it was to connect the GPS serial output to Pin 19 Aux Serial Input of the D10A EMS. This means that I did not need to disconnect the input for the GPS when connecting to my PC. I have also lost the ability to share data between the EMS and EFIS. T DSAB network shows all 5 devices connected. ie. D100, D10A, AP74 and 2 servos. I previously had it configured to share information between the systems, like EMS data on the D100 and Flight instuments on the D10A. I have attempted to configure this again, but will have to do some more reading to figure this out again.

I did not use these functions regularly, but configured it for an emergency, so I am not sure whether the problem is related to the 5.4 upgrade or not.

 

[JohnH]

Solution!!

The problem was that the EMS D10 did not upgrade on the network for some reason. After the upgrade, I ran the "Detect Firmware" software and it showed all 5 units upgraded to 5.4.

While troubleshooting, I ran the same "Detect Firmware" and again it showed all 5 units at 5.4. I checked on the DSAB configuration and it showed the EMS D10 requiring an upgrade! I checked the version on the D10 itself and sure enough it showed no upgrade. I then chose to isolate the EMS and upgrade it only instead of running the upgrade through the Master EFIS. Problem solved.

Autopilot Altitude Hold works fantastically now. Holds to within 20ft in choppy air with no hunting or discomfort. Can't say the same for the HDG and TRK function though. More research needed!

 

[dynonsupport]

To be clear, the only components that update over DSAB are the servos and the AP74. All displays and the HS34 need to be updated directly via the serial port and the Dynon Support Program.

 

[dynonsupport]

For HDG/TRK mode improvement, try the alternate roll mode by setting the AP turn rate to 0, then setting the bank angle limit to something reason able (say 20-30 degrees).