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Anybody hard wire an Aera 660 with Air Gizmo?

RogueOne

By RogueOne
in Avionics/Panel Discussion

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RogueOne Experienced

RogueOne

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We have a 396 hard wired in our panel for ships power.  Has XM connected and an external antenna connected.  The Aera 660 has the same footprint as the 396 and has Bluetooth connectivity as well as ability to pin in from our 530w.  There is a “cradle” that is compatible for connection with the Air Gizmo.  My question: Has anyone done this and how do they like it?

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LANCECASPER Grand Master

LANCECASPER

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I have it and it I like it. I have it mounted also with the horizontal angle adaptor so it's easier to see and I have an anti-glare screen protector on it so I can read it better.

If I ever re-cut a panel I may mount it vertically on the pilot's side near to the right of the Aspens.

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bradp Grand Master

bradp

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I've done it and love it.  It's hardwired to the 430W via Mapmx to show curved paths (turn anticipation and holding patterns).

The 660 is also hardwired to the audio panel unmuted input to get terrain alerts "500 callout" and if I had it connected to a GDL, it would send traffic alerts to the audio panel.

I have it located top dead center - I'm about to do a panel upgrade in which case I'd miss it on the right stack.  It's my favorite "MFD".

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LANCECASPER Grand Master

LANCECASPER

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2 hours ago, RogueOne said:

Thanks.  I have the angle adapter already.  Good call on that and the screen protector.  How is yours wired?  With cradle hardwired?  External antenna?  Bluetooth to your ADSB in?

Hard wired with the bare wires kit for power and wired to my Avidyne IFD 550 to transfer the flight plan to the Aera 660 and hardwired to the GDL52 (with the bare wire kit for the GDL 52) for ADS-B and XM.

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RogueOne Experienced

RogueOne

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I pulled the 396 from the panel and listed on EBay.  It is going to sell.  Unfortunately could not remove the AirGizmo as I don’t have access to the back of the bolts holding in place and the nut is spinning instead of coming loose.  Sigh..More money to be spent as the 530 will need to come out to get access.

I have a reconditioned 660 with cradle, the air gizmo and the external antenna coupling that goes to size for 660.  I noticed that it had a audible cable.  I would imagine if we cut that there will be a +/- and ground in there?  Has 396 power which as well should have wires when cut.  I will plug in the XM connector too in case we ever fire that up.

Now if we could just get the fall monsoon season over with...

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LANCECASPER Grand Master

LANCECASPER

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13 hours ago, RogueOne said:

 I will plug in the XM connector too in case we ever fire that up.

The only XM option with the Aera 660 would be to connect it to a GDL 50 or 52 (hardwire or bluetooth). The older style puck antenna on the Garmin 396 or 496 will not work with the Aera 660.

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MIm20c Grand Master

MIm20c

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On 10/10/2019 at 7:46 PM, RogueOne said:

I have a reconditioned 660 with cradle, the air gizmo and the external antenna coupling that goes to size for 660.  I noticed that it had a audible cable.  I would imagine if we cut that there will be a +/- and ground in there?  Has 396 power which as well should have wires when cut.  I will plug in the XM connector too in case we ever fire that up.

If you are paying your mechanic to install the unit make sure you have the bare wire data cable vs cutting the 12 adapter cable that is normally supplied with it. This will allow a direct connection between your 530w and the 660. I’d also invest in the gdl39 bare wire kit to keep everything hardwired.  To make the system ideal using an adapter to replace the adsb antenna on the 39 with a dme type antenna on the bottom of the plane will really help with reception. Don’t worry about a gps antenna, the 660 does not need one. 
 

 

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RogueOne Experienced

RogueOne

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1 hour ago, MIm20c said:

If you are paying your mechanic to install the unit make sure you have the bare wire data cable vs cutting the 12 adapter cable that is normally supplied with it. This will allow a direct connection between your 530w and the 660. I’d also invest in the gdl39 bare wire kit to keep everything hardwired.  To make the system ideal using an adapter to replace the adsb antenna on the 39 with a dme type antenna on the bottom of the plane will really help with reception. Don’t worry about a gps antenna, the 660 does not need one. 
 

 

This is a great suggestion that I already had done after reading a tech blog. Made statement: weather and traffic are important enough to have direct connection from gdl39 to Aera660. Sold me. Thanks for validation and helping others that may read this post!!

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Dreamlifter Contributor

Dreamlifter

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Have you guys had any issues with the 660 not auto connecting to the GTX 345 transponder ?  

Every time I start up I have to go to the setup page and manually connect the bluetooth to my transponder.

BTW, I have enabled the BT reconnect function on the 345 but no joy to date. Any nuggets of wisdom would be appreciated...

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MICKEY Contributor

MICKEY

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The 430/650 setup with the aera660 is amazing.  I looked at a 750, but with these two it really is a great NAV/MFD set up. With the hardwiring it’s all the same data set, fly plan etc.  and with the gtx345 it’s all Adsb in and out, and altitude and terrain call outs, 

 

best upgrade out there. Initially came with a 496, but the 660 is a game changer, especially for the price. 

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LANCECASPER Grand Master

LANCECASPER

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8 hours ago, John McCormack said:

Has anyone had a problem with the 660 loosing satellite connection?  Every now and then mine looses satellite connection and I have to remove it from the dock to get it to reconnect.  Then it seems to be fine after that.   

Yes, I added an external gps antenna on top of the glareshield for mine.

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LANCECASPER Grand Master

LANCECASPER

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50 minutes ago, John McCormack said:

Can you tell me how you did that with the docking station?  I haven't seen one.  thank you 

Very easily. The docking station has holes in the back for cables. The glareshield has holes for vents. The cable goes out the back of the dock and the very small antenna sits on the far-forward glareshield,  where no one notices.  I unplug it from the side of the 660 when I pull it out for updates.

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