Flitecharts Synch GTN 750 to G500

[Dave Piehler]

I'm still learning the process of using Data Base Concierge and the Flightstream 510 to update the GTN 750 and G500.  I know that the Flightcharts data base takes quite a while to synch from the GTN 750 to the G500.  Today being a beautiful day to fly (they're all great days to fly, this was even better) I figured it would be a crime not to gather some helpful information.  The Flitecharts update was 868 MB.  It took a few minutes to upload to the GTN 750 via wifi (didn't time it, but subjectively not overly long).  I then flew around the area, periodically checking the progress of the synch on the data base page of the G500.  Bottom line:  It took about 45 minutes of flight time for the synch to complete.  Of course, once it's completed the G500 needs to be restarted to finish the process.  So unless you're VfR and feel like flying for few minutes on your backup instruments and Nav this needs to wait until the next flight.

Here are my questions:  Is 868MB a typical size for a Flitecharts update?  Is 45 minutes about what others are seeing for the time for the synch process to complete?

Dave Piehler

[Bob_Belville]

Hi Dave, I have a GTN 750 and FS 510 but not the 500 so I don't have an informed answer but I doubt that synching should take anything like that long. Chart xfer from the Android tablet or phone is something like 5 minutes. I generally do not wait until I'm flying to update the 750 though. If I'm going to be flying somewhere and the data needs updating I usually make a trip to the airport and do the update sitting in the hangar. Murphy rules the world and I would rather mess with gremlins on the ground.

@donkaye may chime in but I'll speculate that the communication line between the 750 and the 500 is being shared with real time, dynamic flying info that relegates the chart xfer process to the background in some manner.    

[JohnB]

1 hour ago, Dave Piehler said:

I'm still learning the process of using Data Base Concierge and the Flightstream 510 to update the GTN 750 and G500.  I know that the Flightcharts data base takes quite a while to synch from the GTN 750 to the G500.  Today being a beautiful day to fly (they're all great days to fly, this was even better) I figured it would be a crime not to gather some helpful information.  The Flitecharts update was 868 MB.  It took a few minutes to upload to the GTN 750 via wifi (didn't time it, but subjectively not overly long).  I then flew around the area, periodically checking the progress of the synch on the data base page of the G500.  Bottom line:  It took about 45 minutes of flight time for the synch to complete.  Of course, once it's completed the G500 needs to be restarted to finish the process.  So unless you're VfR and feel like flying for few minutes on your backup instruments and Nav this needs to wait until the next flight.

Here are my questions:  Is 868MB a typical size for a Flitecharts update?  Is 45 minutes about what others are seeing for the time for the synch process to complete?

Dave Piehler

Dave, I am interested in your experience as im thinking of upgrading to similar to what you have. According to one of the webinars I looked at, after you upload your data from your ipad to your GTN via wifi, it then transfers to the G500 via "high" speed bus which can take a while (40-60 minutes they say), but I think I heard them say you can upload this in advance of it expiring so you can upload everything wifi in advance of the expiration date, so it would later transfer to the G500 as long as you're flying a bit before your current cycle expires, but would not activate on the G500 until the current cycle expires?

If this is not true, and you have to wait until the cycle expires to upload a new one, that would be a major problem for me and I would rather do the multiple card swap that im currently doing, is that possible with a G500? I fly IFR a lot and would not want to spend 40 minutes with my battery on just to get my charts current!  Great topic, ill be following with interest.

John

[donkaye]

1 hour ago, Dave Piehler said:

I'm still learning the process of using Data Base Concierge and the Flightstream 510 to update the GTN 750 and G500.  I know that the Flightcharts data base takes quite a while to synch from the GTN 750 to the G500.  Today being a beautiful day to fly (they're all great days to fly, this was even better) I figured it would be a crime not to gather some helpful information.  The Flitecharts update was 868 MB.  It took a few minutes to upload to the GTN 750 via wifi (didn't time it, but subjectively not overly long).  I then flew around the area, periodically checking the progress of the synch on the data base page of the G500.  Bottom line:  It took about 45 minutes of flight time for the synch to complete.  Of course, once it's completed the G500 needs to be restarted to finish the process.  So unless you're VfR and feel like flying for few minutes on your backup instruments and Nav this needs to wait until the next flight.

Here are my questions:  Is 868MB a typical size for a Flitecharts update?  Is 45 minutes about what others are seeing for the time for the synch process to complete?

Dave Piehler

The one thing I don't use database sync for is syncing the Charts to the G500.  However Garmin is doing it is just too time consuming.  Dave, the Chart database is abut 868 MB and I'm not surprised that it took 45 minutes.  In fact thanks for timing it.  I never have. I just take that Card home and do that the Chart database on computer.  It still takes about 10 minutes.

[donkaye]

3 minutes ago, JohnB said:

Dave, I am interested in your experience as im thinking of upgrading to similar to what you have. According to one of the webinars I looked at, after you upload your data from your ipad to your GTN via wifi, it then transfers to the G500 via "high" speed bus which can take a while (40-60 minutes they say), but I think I heard them say you can upload this in advance of it expiring so you can upload everything wifi in advance of the expiration date, so it would later transfer to the G500 as long as you're flying a bit before your current cycle expires, but would not activate on the G500 until the current cycle expires?

If this is not true, and you have to wait until the cycle expires to upload a new one, that would be a major problem for me and I would rather do the multiple card swap that im currently doing, is that possible with a G500? I fly IFR a lot and would not want to spend 40 minutes with my battery on just to get my charts current!  Great topic, ill be following with interest.

John

John, there is no backup chart storage on the G500 like there is on the GTN.  The day the database expires, database sync recognizes that fact and starts transferring data from the GTN 750.  If you don't want to wait, or take the card home like I do, the program is smart enough to know a new database needs to be loaded and specifically moves the Charts associated with your flight plan over to the G500 while it is transferring all the other Charts.

[Dave Piehler]

John B:

You can definitely update prior to the expiration of the current plates.  The GTN 750 gets the update right away.  The G500 has to have the data synch across.  Or you can do as Don Kaye does and manually upload via SD card downloaded from your computer.  If you fly often, and fly for more than an hour a leg, then you should have no problems.  However, you'd think Garmin could make it go faster.  After all, the Wifi upload to the GTN 750 doesn't take all that long even for the large Flitecharts data base.

Dave Piehler

[JohnB]

Just now, donkaye said:

John, there is no backup chart storage on the G500 like there is on the GTN.  The day the database expires, database sync recognizes that fact and starts transferring data from the GTN 750.  If you don't want to wait, or take the card home like I do, the program is smart enough to know a new database needs to be loaded and specifically moves the Charts associated with your flight plan over to the G500 while it is transferring all the other Charts.

Good to know! Ok ill have to include the price of getting a spare G500 card to do at home just like I do for my GTN. thanks again sir!!!

[Dave Piehler]

Just now, Dave Piehler said:

John B:

You can definitely update prior to the expiration of the current plates.  The GTN 750 gets the update right away.  The G500 has to have the data synch across.  Or you can do as Don Kaye does and manually upload via SD card downloaded from your computer.  If you fly often, and fly for more than an hour a leg, then you should have no problems.  However, you'd think Garmin could make it go faster.  After all, the Wifi upload to the GTN 750 doesn't take all that long even for the large Flitecharts data base.

Dave Piehler

....nd of course now Don adds the nuance I didn't realize about the G500 not synching the new Flitecharts until they old ones expire.  Sigh.

DAP

[JohnB]

3 minutes ago, Dave Piehler said:

John B:

You can definitely update prior to the expiration of the current plates.  The GTN 750 gets the update right away.  The G500 has to have the data synch across.  Or you can do as Don Kaye does and manually upload via SD card downloaded from your computer.  If you fly often, and fly for more than an hour a leg, then you should have no problems.  However, you'd think Garmin could make it go faster.  After all, the Wifi upload to the GTN 750 doesn't take all that long even for the large Flitecharts data base.

Dave Piehler

Thanks Dave! Hey you and Don may have saved me some dough, as now I don't think I need a flightstream 510 at all since I already have a 210 to do bluetooth flight plan updating, and if I just use the two card set,  at home transfer, i should be good to go anytime? What a great community.. thanks guys!

 

John

[donkaye]

Just now, Dave Piehler said:

....nd of course now Don adds the nuance I didn't realize about the G500 not synching the new Flitecharts until they old ones expire.  Sigh.

DAP

I guess it should be noted that I am talking about the G500.  There is no manual out on the TXi, so maybe the TXi has enough memory to load a backup now.  We'll have to wait and see, or call Garmin and ask them.

[donkaye]

6 minutes ago, JohnB said:

Thanks Dave! Hey you and Don may have saved me some dough, as now I don't think I need a flightstream 510 at all since I already have a 210 to do bluetooth flight plan updating, and if I just use the two card set,  at home transfer, i should be good to go anytime? What a great community.. thanks guys!

 

John

Well, John, I have the FS 210 and also got the FS 510.  Except for the Flightcharts transferring to the G500 slowly, the ease of updating everything else makes it worthwhile in my opinion.   All databases download in the background to the iPad.  You then go out to the plane, and Database Concierge transfers all the databases, including Flightcharts to the GTN in under 10 minutes via WiFi.  

[Dave Piehler]

An additional data point:  I did another Flitecharts update recently.  I had a rather prolonged ground time, as I was accompanying a friend who was bringing his Mooney back home from an annual and, of course, he was very thorough in his taxi out and runup.  The Flitecharts uploaded to the GTN 750 on the ramp, in the usual minute or so.  Once we got airborne I kept track of the Data Synch from the 750 to the G500 via the Aux 3 page on the G500.  It took right around 45 minutes of flight time for the synch to complete.  So it seems that you can expect it to take that long (if two trials constitute a sufficient data set from which to draw that conclusion).

Dave