PS Engineering 8000BT vs Garmin GMA 345

[Lance Link]

Thanks all for the good feedback.  Strong preference for the PS Engineering here, and that says a lot.  I can't go remote as I only have a lowly 430 WAAS.  The current audio panel is serviceable, but has some bad habits, so since things are going to be apart I can't resist replacing it.  In for a nickel, in for a dime, as they say.  

[OR75]

17 hours ago, Mscheuer said:

Thanks for the feedback. Could you please tell me what serial number you have? I want to review the one for your panel. We’ve been building the PMA8000BT since 2006 and during the last 13 years we have made considerable amount improvements both in operation as well as the manual. 

Thanks for your help! If this is a current production unit, I personally will get involved with improving the Pilot Guide.

CBT3141 is the serial number

if you look at the manual some pictures of the buttons are embedded in the wrong paragraph. Not a big deal but not great either

I keep this sheet to understand all the functions. 

 

PMA8000BT.pdfPMA8000BT.pdf 

[Mscheuer]

Thanks for the very clever "cheat sheet". I have forwarded this on to our manual publisher/editor.  Would you mind if we adopted your work in future publications?

I have asked him to review the current PMA8000BT manual (there have been some changes since 2014) to find these incorrectly embedded buttons and place them in the correct paragraphs. If you have specifics, I know he would very much appreciate your help.

Please feel free to call me anytime, I'm at 865-988-9800. While engineering is what we do best, we try really hard to put out quality documents but it's not as easy as one would think.

Sincerely,

Mark 

[carusoam]

Great example of supplier and customer working together...

-a-

[Jeev]

On 5/7/2019 at 8:50 PM, carusoam said:

Lance,

many have gone this way recently...

https://www.ps-engineering.com/PMA450B.shtml

it is the Bravo version of the most updated PS audio panel.

So add that to your comparison...

If you are a fan of Big G... also consider the R version... remote, to help move some weight to the back shelf...

The choices get easier when you don’t want one supplier for any reason...

PS is the best audio panel, because that is THE thing they do...  they are also present on MS... so if you have some tough questions we can ask them directly and share the answers... openly.

For that kind of help with big G... you have to go elsewhere.... Trek can be found @Bt... 

Best regards,

-a-

I fly behind the PMA450B now, had the PMA8000B in the Mooney and have spent a lot of time behind the GMA340's.  No comparison, go PS the sound quality and squelch is great and the feature set especially on the 450B is really cool! 

[Mscheuer]

I spent a few minutes looking at the current PMA8000BT Pilot Guide and we completely missed that opportunity. I have gone in and made corrections, made it Rev 11, and I think you'll see it is considerably better than before. Always looking for ways in making things better, so we will look at how we describe the special functions and hope to have a different approach in the future. But for now, at least our graphics align with the text ...

http://www.ps-engineering.com/docs/PMA8000BT_NUI_PG.pdf

Thanks again

Mark

[David_H]

This is how business is earned. When the time comes to slide a new audio panel in place of the old King unit, I will go out of my way to make it a PS Engineering unit.

The aviation industry would be much better off if more avionics companies behaved this way. Sadly, most do not.

[Oldguy]

11 minutes ago, David_H said:

This is how business is earned. When the time comes to slide a new audio panel in place of the old King unit, I will go out of my way to make it a PS Engineering unit.

The aviation industry would be much better off if more avionics companies behaved this way. Sadly, most do not.

Exactly why I have a 450B! Saw it at SNF last year and had to wait on it to be released, but worth every penny.

[OR75]

2 hours ago, Mscheuer said:

Thanks for the very clever "cheat sheet". I have forwarded this on to our manual publisher/editor.  Would you mind if we adopted your work in future publications?

I have asked him to review the current PMA8000BT manual (there have been some changes since 2014) to find these incorrectly embedded buttons and place them in the correct paragraphs. If you have specifics, I know he would very much appreciate your help.

Please feel free to call me anytime, I'm at 865-988-9800. While engineering is what we do best, we try really hard to put out quality documents but it's not as easy as one would think.

Sincerely,

Mark 

sure ... feel free to use that template.  I used it a few times to get to the settings that work for my plane.  I still keep it handy although i don't use it as much.   

[Mscheuer]

Thanks!!

Mark

[jazztheglass]

+1 for PMA8000.  Love the USB charger.  I was reading the features and there seems to be one I haven't used.  Any comments on bluetooth "Audio IN" for lack of a better word (I forget the actual feature phrase)  It basically lets you bluetooth the audio from the ATC and your intercom to an audio video recording device like a go-pro or maybe a phone.

[carusoam]

Question for Mark... @Mscheuer  ^^^^

Best regards,

-a-

[Frank B.]

Hello,

I currently have a PMA8000. Mine does not have the audio in plug. Is the PMA8000BT an exact slide in replacement?

Thanks, Frank

[Mscheuer]

Hi Frank, you must have the original PMA8000 that we produced from 2004 - 2006. The PMA8000BT is 100% slide-in replacement for the original PMA8000.

Mark Scheuer

PS Engineering

Plug N Play Flyer.pdf

[Frank B.]

1 hour ago, Mscheuer said:

Hi Frank, you must have the original PMA8000 that we produced from 2004 - 2006. The PMA8000BT is 100% slide-in replacement for the original PMA8000.

Mark Scheuer

PS Engineering

Plug N Play Flyer.pdf 1.56 MB · 2 downloads

Thanks Mark

[zeddock]

I wanted to publicly thank Mscheuer here for helping me understand the best options for an ugly re-do on an old Audio Panel and Intercom.  PS Engineering is the only way to go for us.

 

Thanx Mscheuer!

[StevenL757]

Formally tagging Mark...  @Mscheuer for the above post.

[carusoam]

Great pics Zeddock!

And a great pirep for Mark at PSEngineering!

Thanks for sharing the details.

Go MS!

-a-

[christaylor302]

Wow, I loved reading through this thread and seeing the great support from PS. I’ll need a new panel soon and it will definitely be getting a PS audio panel! Keep up the great work!

Edited October 3 by christaylor302

[Mscheuer]

24 minutes ago, christaylor302 said:

Wow, I loved reading through this thread and seeing the great support from PS. I’ll need a new panel soon and it will definitely be getting a PS audio panel! Keep up the great work!

Thank you Chris, the PMA8000BT was replaced by the PMA8000G. One major difference between the GMA345 and the PMA8000G (to the best of my knowledge) is the 8000G allows the pilot to remain on the intercom BUT be the only one that hears audio alerts from a device connected by Bluetooth. For $400 more the new PMA450C adds a second Bluetooth device, a great user interface (easy to use) with an OLED display and 3 soft keys.

Both have our IntelliAudio, while the G has a 10 watt usb charger, the C has a 5 watt USB charger.

Please free to call us, we enjoy speaking to fellow pilot and especially helping pilots match our audio panel for their plane and mission.

Mark Scheuer

PS Engineering