JPI vs Electronics International

[teethdoc]

"While you are in there..."

 

I was looking at putting in a JPI-900 where the Radar Altitude instrument is coming out.  The Electronics International has caught my eye and should fit nicely in the hole created by removing the Apollo GPS I mentioned in a previous post.  Anybody have or used the EI?

[Marauder]

I did a bit of research when the CGR unit was released. If I knew it was going to be released I would have opted for it in place of the JPI 830 I stuck in. For the price and since it can be your primary instrument for most parameters, I would seriously consider it.

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[slowflyin]

I hope to pick up my bird early next week with a CGR-30P installed.  I'll be glad to offer a pirep after a few hours.   For what it's worth I've always been a JPI fan (three airplanes) and after a lot of research I made the switch.  I too found it to be a tough call without PIREPS to work with.  

[teethdoc]

I hope to pick up my bird early next week with a CGR-30P installed.  I'll be glad to offer a pirep after a few hours.   For what it's worth I've always been a JPI fan (three airplanes) and after a lot of research I made the switch.  I too found it to be a tough call without PIREPS to work with.  

That would be awesome.  It's torn down now, so I need to make a decision pretty quickly.

[John Pleisse]

I am buying the CGR. It's a home run, especially the older the aircraft and more primitive the panel. What is problematic is pricing....could people PIREP what deals (installed) they get? Specify 4 or 6 Cyl.

[teethdoc]

Even though it's primary, I don't think I could convince myself yet to take out the original MP and RPM guages.

[DaV8or]

I have an EI MVP-50. It is a great machine and I like it much better than the JPI- 930. It has had some issues, but the customer service at EI is top notch. I am still happy with it. I have had it almost 3 years now.

[kmyfm20s]

I have an EI MVP-50. It is a great machine and I like it much better than the JPI- 930. It has had some issues, but the customer service at EI is top notch. I am still happy with it. I have had it almost 3 years now.

 

The shop is just finishing up the install of a MVP-50 in my plane. What kind of issues should I look out for?

 

If I still had my "J" would have definitely considered the GCR. I found the EI product more intuitive for navigating though the menus.  I have had 3 plane with JPI and I always hated having to memorize which buttons to tap, hold or hold simultaneously. 

[Marauder]

Even though it's primary, I don't think I could convince myself yet to take out the original MP and RPM guages.

I wouldn't remove them either unless I needed the space. Nice to have redundancy...

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[Bob_Belville]

Don Kaye will be on here soon raving about his EI.

 

I have the JPI EDM930, primary instruments for MAP, tach, oil pressure, as well as 10 temps, FF, % power, fuel quantity, fuel to WP, mpg, lean find function, and more. I highly recommend it. Superior graphics and large enough text to see from across the panel. It has a remote display of MAP, tach and alerts right about the Aspen. 

[teethdoc]

I have an EI MVP-50. It is a great machine and I like it much better than the JPI- 930. It has had some issues, but the customer service at EI is top notch. I am still happy with it. I have had it almost 3 years now.

I read some of your pireps on poa from when you first installed it.  Glad you got it worked out.

[KSMooniac]

The new EI unit is a good idea to work their way into the new niche or trend of a smaller primary replacement instrument vs. the huge MVP-50 and EDM-930.  Some folks don't have the space for the big ones, or don't want to (or pay for) a complete panel makeover so these smaller instruments are a great option.  

 

I just bought the EDM-900 since it could replace all of my engine instruments, and I could fit it into the pilot side panel right where my EDM-700 lived.  This was very, very important to me.  YMMV.  I looked briefly at the new EI at OSH last year right after it appeared, and what I didn't like is that it can't replace everything, but at least you get to choose which parameters to use as primary.  I didn't like the idea of switching screens to see data either, even if the stuff on the other screens isn't primary.  There is nothing like being able to see everything at once IMO.  Still, it is nice to have another competitor, especially since it put some healthy price pressure on JPI.  

[rbridges]

I've mentioned it before, but I've got the UBG16 from EI.  Nothing fancy, but I like it.  I had to send it in last year, and I was really impressed with their customer service.  I told him I didn't want to spend more to repair it than it was worth, and tech support told me the most they charge for my model is ~250 regardless of what's needed.  I'm sure it's more for their fancier stuff, but it's nice to not feel raped after getting something fixed.

[slowflyin]

Even though it's primary, I don't think I could convince myself yet to take out the original MP and RPM guages.

I left mine in.  I purchased the premium package that includes RPM, CHT and EGT standard, plus five additional primary.   All but one primary are displayed on the first screen and the FAA chooses which  one goes on the second.   I have MP, RPM, CHT, EGT, Oil Pressure, Left and Right Fuel on page one with Oil Temp on Page Two.  All primaries indicated on the Master Caution and Master Alarm indicators.  In addition to the primary I have five non-primary.  OAT, HP, Amps, Fuel Flow, and Volts.  In my case the fuel pressure was the odd man out.  I could either install a EI FPL5 Fuel flow gauge which can accommodate a secondary input for fuel pressure or keep the existing MP/Fuel Pressure gauge.   My installer swayed me toward keeping the Tach and MP for redundancy and to eliminate the need for an additional fuel flow gauge.   In the end all the strip gauges are gone and the panel looks nice.

[Marauder]

Even though it's primary, I don't think I could convince myself yet to take out the original MP and RPM guages.

BTW - I took my RPM and MP out and replaced them with EI primary. My redundancy for them are the read outs on the JPI.

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[Danb]

Looks nice Chris...did you clean the drool off yet!!

[Marauder]

Looks nice Chris...did you clean the drool off yet!!

Nope

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[N601RX]

I had a JPI830 and liked it. I just swapped it out for a JPI900 about a month ago. I removed all the old gauges and was glad to free up the panel space and get the fuel and oil line out of the cockpit. I have thought about adding a second oil temp and pressure gauge just in case. I believe all the old original gauges weighed about 7lbs when I weighed it.

The only thing I dislike about these primary gauges is that you cannot adjust the limits. The CHT will come preset to 475 and you can't lower them. It does have a serial output for a flight data recorder. I've been thinking about using a small micro to decode this and then turn on a light if the temps go above 400.

The biggest difference I saw between the EI and JPI was that the JPI was self contained and slid out the front. All of the sensor wires connect directly to it. The EI unit has a separate data collection unit which is about 4 inches in size. It has to be mounted inside the cabin and all the sensor wires goes to it. It then has only a couple of wires that goes to the display. The display has to be put behind the panel and attached from the front. This could be a plus or minus depending on how much room you have behind the panel.

[M016576]

I had a CGR-30P installed a few weeks back. My previous J had a JPI-830. Here is a short comp-

I like the overall layout of data on the 830 more. I feel like I'm fiddling with the 30P more, switching between views / pages. I don't like how I have to go back and forth between EGT and CHT views to see digital readouts of both. With the 830 you get both the display (bars) and digital readouts of both at the same time. I like the alert functionality on the 30P better (it has a remote red light which can be mounted anywhere, and "silenced" via button push). The JPI would blink at you if something was bad or out of limits, too, but you had to be looking at the gauge: no remote warning light.

I might just not be used to the 30P yet, and how it displays data. Time will tell if I get to like it more.

Realize that some of those options come off the same line, and possibly the same sender, as the ships gauges if you retain both. Manifold pressure, for example, is off the same line. Thus if the line cracks or comes detached, both of your in cockpit gauges will be inop. I'm all for redundancy, but w/ some gauges it might not be as redundant as you think (kind of like a dual alternator.... Yeah, you have two, but only one motor to drive them).

[N601RX]

Both the 830 and 900 have remote indicator lights.  On the 830 it is not supplied with the kit, but the outputs for it are there.  You just have to purchase a generic indicator light from Spruce or somewhere.  The 900 includes a remote 2 color led indicator that will turn both yellow and red.

[DaV8or]

The shop is just finishing up the install of a MVP-50 in my plane. What kind of issues should I look out for?

 

Most of my issues have been connection issues. EI used to ship their equipment with ordinary spade connectors and these things suck if you put them in an engine compartment IMO. I am now in the process of converting over to EI's own overlap connector for most everything. I assume you are getting those. It has been mostly a problem with the EGT and CHT probes. I also have an erratic fuel flow indication which I'm hoping will improve with new connectors?? The problem has been looked at by several people, but I'm told it's all A-OK, but the situation persists. It's not a huge problem, just an annoyance.

 

Other problems have been fuel level reading went from really accurate, to not so good at all, but they seem to have returned to being reasonable recently. I still have the resistive sending units, but they were sent out and "rebuilt" (whatever that means thee days) during the installation. I do wish I had ignored advise from people and gotten the inductive ones.

 

I have also had the display fail to fire up on a few occasions. I just got a dark screen. It's never happened in flight, only on the ground at start up. Cycling the master switch a few times has always fixed it... so far. Lastly, I have an occasional voltage buss warning alert when I key the mic. There is never a real problem, just some crazy momentary spike in voltage according to the data logs. It does trigger the voice annunciation and light, but no other indication that there is a real problem. Again, just an annoyance.

 

It's probably just me. Every piece of computer equipment I have ever gotten I think, causes a tech somewhere, someday to say- "I have never seen one do that before!!??" I swear, companies should hire me to beta test and their products would be bullet proof!

 

 

I found the EI product more intuitive for navigating though the menus.  I have had 3 plane with JPI and I always hated having to memorize which buttons to tap, hold or hold simultaneously.

 

This is why I chose EI over JPI. My plane came with a JPI 700 and I always hated that thing and it's button combos. When I decided to upgrade, I demoed both the MVP-50 and the JPI 930 at Oshkosh. Deal was done for me when the JPI sales rep got lost in a menu while demoing the unit to me. if the sales guy got stuck at the sales booth, even if just for 30 seconds, that means that I would be eventually pounding on the thing high up in the air with a Gatorade bottle and the veins on my neck sticking out! How in the world my Garmin 430 has survived is a testament to how sturdy those units are!

 

The MVP has annoyed me with not being flawless, but I really do love the way it is designed and laid out. Hope my post hasn't given you anxiety attacks! I'm sure you'll be fine. Like I said, I seem to have an aura around me that causes bits and bytes to mostly just bite.

[kmyfm20s]

Sorry you had so much trouble. I know they did not use the spade connectors on my installation which sounds like the culprit to most of your headaches. I can't really tell you what fuel sending units they are using, it was never discussed. I'm assuming they are just using my current ones. I will discuss the issues you had with them. Thank you for your sharing!