Aspen Pro MAX Issues Communication From Aspen Avionics

[Baker Avionics]

11 hours ago, MikeOH said:

Dang, man! Your last few posts seem to have a pretty bitter tone to them...is there something YOU are not sharing?  I mean, it's not like other manufacturers don't have issues, or have the latest state-of-the-art systems come out every six months.  How long was the 430 around before the 650 finally showed up?  I don't recall you bemoaning how ancient Garmin was.

Frankly, I'm not a fan of touchscreens in the panel; a little turbulence and they are a hassle.

I give Andy a lot of credit for coming on here, admitting the issues, and offering to help people out.  I don't see other major avionics manufacturers like Garmin or BK coming on here to answer questions and discuss their problems.

That's just Pete, don't take him seriously.  He is harmless.  Just understand he believes another product line is the best of the best.  All products and Manufacturers have their pros and cons.  Some are a closed loop system and some pay well with others, kind of like us on here....

Andy, welcome to Mooneyspace!  I was talking with James Buck the other day and we am excited to hear some of the improvements there!  Can't wait for April/May timeframe as well!!!! 

[MIm20c]

11 minutes ago, Baker Avionics said:

I was talking with James Buck the other day and we am excited to hear some of the improvements there!  Can't wait for April/May timeframe as well!!!! 

Hmmm, a new large screen Aspen reading between the lines???

[Baker Avionics]

Just now, MIm20c said:

Hmmm, a new large screen Aspen reading between the lines???

Nope!!!! Nothing too major, believe me.  Pete will not be happy, let's just say that.

[MIm20c]

22 hours ago, Baker Avionics said:

Nope!!!! Nothing too major, believe me.  Pete will not be happy, let's just say that.

I really think they need a double wide, 4 pack replacement. Would be a nice addition in pfd or mfd format that could complement or replace a current Aspen unit. It would be especially nice for a Mooney panel where the 6 pack is offset. I’ll put my order in for a max update tomorrow if it comes with a wide screen attached. 

[Oldguy]

On 1/18/2020 at 10:23 AM, Baker Avionics said:

Andy, welcome to Mooneyspace!  I was talking with James Buck the other day and we am excited to hear some of the improvements there!  Can't wait for April/May timeframe as well!!!! 

Welcome aboard, Andy!

From my perspective, Aspen has played straight up with me, and has helped me out when I have trouble with one of their dealers. They met the commitment they made me at SNF when their dealer messed it up and wanted to ignore what Andy and Scott agreed to do. Standing up for their customer to a dealer means a lot to me, and it is something not easily or soon forgotten.

Thanks for joining our forum.

[PT20J]

I spent my working career in tech. There are open systems and closed systems. For example: PCs are open, Mac is closed. Android is open, iPhone is closed, Aspen is open, Garmin is (mostly) closed. 

A closed system gives the company complete control over the technology and pricing. An open system forces the company to innovate and add value because it cannot build technical or legal barriers to competition. I’ve built both. Open systems are more challenging to design because you have to work with everything.

Closed systems are good for stockholders; open systems are good for consumers. Do you think Garmin would be introducing new products as often if there were not competition from open system companies? Why would they? Look how long they rode the GNS because there wasn’t real competition. 

I would expect a few hiccups with something as complicated at the Aspen PFD. It looks deceptively simple to a pilot operating the user interface. But take a look at the installation manual and see all the configurations necessary to make it work with all the current and legacy equipment it works with. And think of the test matrix necessary every time something changes. Then remember the fundamental rule of engineering that there is no such thing as a single change. As someone who has built a lot of complicated stuff, I’m amazed by what Aspen has accomplished.

By the way, I just got a service bulletin from Garmin for my brand new GTX 345 for new software to prevent it from failing to display some ADS-B traffic. So everyone has issues.

My considered advice is to go Garmin if you are extremely risk adverse. If you want maximum flexibility now and in the unknowable future, go with open system providers.

Skip

 

 

[pfactor]

Thanks so much for joining the forum and participating, Andy. I've had my Aspen in my Mooney for 8 years and 1300 flight hours with absolutely no troubles. I had the synthetic vision option with the original unit, but didn't use it all the time due to low frame rates.

I just exchanged my old unit for a Pro Max at the start of December 2019, and was really happy with the upgrade. The display is brighter and crisper, and I really like the larger fonts that are easier to read. And the faster processor made it so that I can use synthetic vision all the time. The new Pro Max unit didn't give me any problems for the first 26 hours.

Just this weekend, the unit rebooted twice in during a 2.2 hour flight. I'll contact my dealer for help, and I've also got video of the Aspen during the flight if that would help you diagnose things. Contact me directly if you'd like to see that.

I had one more 1.6 hour flight after the problematic one above and there were no issues on that flight.

Phil

[marc Wiese]

I've had my just updated Aspen Pro Max PFD do a hot reboot twice now. Never happened before the upgrade like this. It just shuts down and then a few seconds later restarts. I can think of several reasons for that, but none of them good. No aux equipment is connected to my PFD except the reversion relay to switch over to my Pro Max MFD/EBB that doubles as a PFD. I'd like to be kept apprised of this Aspen issue.

[carusoam]

Welcome aboard Marc... @marc Wiese

Many people have posted a similar challenge...

There is a software update that has recently been reported to fix the situation...

There are a couple of threads around here related to the Aspen Max... see if you can find the other thread...

Let us know if you can’t find it... somebody should be able to help...

 

Best regards,

-a-

[gsxrpilot]

EA100 must have SW version 1.2 or later