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PURCHASED! THANKS MOONEYSPACE WTB: Aspen EA100


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Hello, I just purchased a used Aspen Evolution2000 system, and am looking for an EA100 autopilot adapter. Have searched the usual online sites, but am coming up empty so far. Does anyone have a lead or know a potential source? Willing to buy a new one, but why not save some $$ if there is a used one out there. Thanks in advance!

Edited by CharlesHuddleston
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Theoretically you should send the units to aspen before installing them to make it completely legal. The only reason I mention this is you might be able to swing a deal with them if you purchased the ea100 from them. Who knows, you might even score a discount on a max upgrade if you’re a smooth talker. Good luck!

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On 3/13/2020 at 9:50 AM, MIm20c said:

Theoretically you should send the units to aspen before installing them to make it completely legal. The only reason I mention this is you might be able to swing a deal with them if you purchased the ea100 from them. Who knows, you might even score a discount on a max upgrade if you’re a smooth talker. Good luck!

There is no reason to send them to Aspen , unless there is a problem..

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On 3/12/2020 at 10:06 AM, CharlesHuddleston said:

Hello, I just purchased a used Aspen Evolution2000 system, and am looking for an EA100 autopilot adapter. Have searched the usual online sites, but am coming up empty so far. Does anyone have a lead or know a potential source? Willing to buy a new one, but why not save some $$ if there is a used one out there. Thanks in advance!

One rule never to be broken when buying used avionics is to know what the associated parts are that you need for your installation before buying. Finding out you need to buy more parts quickly erodes any value you may think you received. Install costs are the same if not more for used as they are for new.

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1 hour ago, PTK said:

One rule not to be broken when buying used avionics is to know what the associated parts are that you need before buying. installing.

Fixed it.

I'll refrain from posting pictures of my panel, but suffice it to say, all of it was either used or trade-in or clearance sales. I bought my Aspen and EA100 used from different sources on Barnstormers. No need to send them back to Aspen.

It took me about a year to amass all the parts and pieces for my panel. But I took my time and made sure I had all the parts before the installation started on anything. The total cost of my panel upgrade was about 40% of what it would have cost to just pull it into the avionics shop and purchase the same.

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Haven't found the EA100 yet, but am basically following @gsxrpilot's lead. The stuff that has been installed to this point has been used. Heck, I bought a used airplane! Next month I will have a few new pieces installed (JPI 800 upgrade, new digital clock, removing some stuff, etc), and then the Aspen install is scheduled a couple months down the road. That's why I'm trying to source all the pieces now.

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As a matter of policy I never buy used avionics. It would have to be factory overhauled with a year warranty at a minimum. And at that point might as well buy brand new. Also finding a shop to install the used stuff is not easy and it will cost more than new.

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49 minutes ago, PTK said:

As a matter of policy I never buy used avionics. It would have to be factory overhauled with a year warranty at a minimum. And at that point might as well buy brand new. 

We're like a matched set :D as I try never to buy new avionics.

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43 minutes ago, PTK said:

As a matter of policy I never buy used avionics. It would have to be factory overhauled with a year warranty at a minimum. And at that point might as well buy brand new. 

It’s all about risk tolerance. The max upgrade really hurt the users prices of the older systems. There is a lot of value in used if you can find a willing IA to install them or just sign the paperwork. If you are having a dealer install I agree with you the savings is not enough. 

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In the old days... ;) avionics could be expected to wear out over time. Bearings, gyros, bellows, etc, all moving parts that wear out. Solid state electronics are not quite the same. They can certainly fail, but they don't "wear". An electronic part either works or it doesn't. And it's just as likely to break on the first day as on the 10,000th day. 

So for me it's all about the cost savings. Which for my panel, have been considerable.

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On 3/12/2020 at 9:06 AM, CharlesHuddleston said:

Hello, I just purchased a used Aspen Evolution2000 system, and am looking for an EA100 autopilot adapter. Have searched the usual online sites, but am coming up empty so far. Does anyone have a lead or know a potential source? Willing to buy a new one, but why not save some $$ if there is a used one out there. Thanks in advance!

Whoever does your install, make sure that they use the expensive Aspen shielded ethernet cable between the EA-100 and the Aspen PFD. Some shops have cut corners on these and some of the non-shielded cables have worked, but some have not. Now with the MAX upgrade some of the non-shielded cables are kicking the Autopilot off-line. Better to do it right the first time.

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That is basically a [computer] network cable, right?  Those do come shielded, even with a special plastic insert to keep the individual twisted pairs aligned along the cable run; they also require appropriate connectors, not the basic dime-a-dozen Radio Shack ones, but dedicated to a given specific cable type.  More info here and at the trusty o'le Wikipedia - see the "cable shielding" section.

Not saying to not buy the Aspen cable, just pointing out that in a pinch there probably is a way to get it right without the Aspen cable.

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2 hours ago, LANCECASPER said:

Whoever does your install, make sure that they use the expensive Aspen shielded ethernet cable between the EA-100 and the Aspen PFD. Some shops have cut corners on these and some of the non-shielded cables have worked, but some have not. Now with the MAX upgrade some of the non-shielded cables are kicking the Autopilot off-line. Better to do it right the first time.

 

21 minutes ago, tmo said:

That is basically a [computer] network cable, right?  Those do come shielded, even with a special plastic insert to keep the individual twisted pairs aligned along the cable run; they also require appropriate connectors, not the basic dime-a-dozen Radio Shack ones, but dedicated to a given specific cable type.  More info here and at the trusty o'le Wikipedia - see the "cable shielding" section.

Not saying to not buy the Aspen cable, just pointing out that in a pinch there probably is a way to get it right without the Aspen cable.

Just read through all of these posts, and these two caught my eye. Shortly after I had my Aspen Pro installed, I had an AP and Aspen "spitting" match just at the start of an approach in solid IMC. Nobody could ever find anything wrong with the hardware- it was even sent back to Aspen for testing - and these have me wondering about the cabling. My plane is currently in the shop for the MAX upgrade and MFD installation, and I will certainly ask the shop to check out the existing cable and see what they are using on the new install.

Not overly fond of proprietary hardware requirements for something which is built upon an open standard, but I have been around the tech industry long enough to know sometimes there really is a "secret sauce" a vendor includes in their seemingly standard product. We'll see how this works out in the coming weeks.

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33 minutes ago, tmo said:

That is basically a [computer] network cable, right?  Those do come shielded, even with a special plastic insert to keep the individual twisted pairs aligned along the cable run; they also require appropriate connectors, not the basic dime-a-dozen Radio Shack ones, but dedicated to a given specific cable type.  More info here and at the trusty o'le Wikipedia - see the "cable shielding" section.

Not saying to not buy the Aspen cable, just pointing out that in a pinch there probably is a way to get it right without the Aspen cable.

The Aspen cable is double shielded. There is shielding around each of the twisted pairs AND shielding around the whole cable just inside the external insulation. Most shielded Cat5 or Cat6 cable I've seen is only shielded around all twisted pairs, not individual twisted pairs.

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5 hours ago, tmo said:

That is basically a [computer] network cable, right?  Those do come shielded, even with a special plastic insert to keep the individual twisted pairs aligned along the cable run; they also require appropriate connectors, not the basic dime-a-dozen Radio Shack ones, but dedicated to a given specific cable type.  More info here and at the trusty o'le Wikipedia - see the "cable shielding" section.

Not saying to not buy the Aspen cable, just pointing out that in a pinch there probably is a way to get it right without the Aspen cable.

That's the rationalization everyone has used that has decided to go with a "high quality shielded consumer cable". It works fine in testing and on the ground but then under the "right" circumstances the interference appropriately disconnects the autopilot - not comforting on a coupled approach. This is nearly impossible to duplicate on the ground. Hours of troubleshooting could have been avoided with the way-too-expensive cable (probably equal to an hour's shop time).

It appears that the MAX with its faster processor disconnects sooner and resets when the interference happens. I'm not saying that this is the only possible issue with the MAX, but Aspen is a lot of taking heat because shops skimped on cables.

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11 hours ago, gsxrpilot said:

The Aspen cable is double shielded. There is shielding around each of the twisted pairs AND shielding around the whole cable just inside the external insulation. Most shielded Cat5 or Cat6 cable I've seen is only shielded around all twisted pairs, not individual twisted pairs.

Looks like I did kick a hornet's nest, inadvertently.  Guess it goes to show that "some" knowledge is worse than "no" knowledge (in this example, taking a random shielded cable and expecting it to work, instead of one that actually matches the spec from the manufacturer).
 
Double shielded is definitely a "type" of network cable, even if far from typical; from the Wikipedia article:
 
Individual and overall shield (F/FTP, S/FTP, and SF/FTP)
Individual shielding using foil between the twisted pair sets, and also an outer foil or braided shielding. Common names: fully shielded twisted pair, screened foiled twisted pair, shielded foiled twisted pair, screened shielded twisted pair, shielded screened twisted pair. This type of shielding helps prevent EMI from entering or exiting the cable and also protects neighboring pairs from crosstalk.
 
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21 hours ago, Firehawk335 said:

I think I have an EA100.  It was used to connect my Aspen 2500 to my STEC 55x.  Was working perfectly when I had it removed a couple years ago and replaced with the upgrade that has altitude preselect.

The EA-100 is for an Attitude Based Autopilot. The STEC 55x is a Rate Based Autopilot (it uses the turn coordinator for input) so it wouldn't use an EA-100.

If you upgraded to the Aspen/Stec 55X integration, you probably had an ACU which needed to be replaced by an ACU 2 (2nd generation Analog Converter Unit - SEE ARROW BELOW).

This box along with software integrated your Aspen with your 55x so that you could control Vertical Speed and Altitude Pre-select right on the Aspen. SO, most likely you have an extra ACU sitting around, not an EA-100.

1163846445_ScreenShot2020-04-02at10_21_15PM.thumb.png.73736870187259486a1df576260ef12c.png

 

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@Avionics Source is advertising the ea100 for 1600 on BT. Not sure if that is new or used. 
 

@CharlesHuddleston If you are considering a max upgrade and the used mfd is lacking an external battery, you might want to buy a refurbished mfd.  You would save $3k on the max upgrade, get synthetic vision / adsb unlock ($1500 ish), and the external battery ($1k). You could resell your current mfd and be way ahead...

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8 minutes ago, Firehawk335 said:

Is this what you need?  $1200

That part number 910-00004-001 in the picture is for an ACU, not an EA-100

ACU's are always available on Ebay, since when people need an ACU 2 they sell their ACU. Here are the ACU's available on Ebay right now:

https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=m570.l1313&_nkw=aspen+acu+910-00004-001&_sacat=0&LH_TitleDesc=0&_osacat=0&_odkw=aspen+acu

 

This is what the EA-100 looks like. https://sarasotaavionics.com/avionics/ea100

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