G1000 Mag/Var Database Update Failures

[Jeff_S]

To all those with G1000 systems, the latest Nav database updates contains an update to the built in magnetic variation database that should run when you load the new Nav database.  However, as best I can tell, most or all of us Mooney G1000 people will see a failure.  My buddy Dave Lincoln showed it to me first, and I experienced the same thing last night.  

 

There is a Garmin service advisory (https://s23634.pcdn.co/en-US/aviationalerts/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/1612E.pdf) which includes steps to download a different file onto an SD-card and run the update from there.

I haven't been able to do this because it REQUIRES a Windows machine to run a .exe file to extract the database, and we are a Mac-only house now.  I can get around that, but I'd be curious to hear from anyone who has gone through this process with either success or failure.  If you are in this situation, you can just skip the mag/dev database load dialogue that will come up when you energize the system...we have until the end of next year to make it happen. But I'd appreciate anyone's feedback.

Thanks!

[tmo]

Try renaming the .exe file to .zip and unzipping it. Might work if it is indeed a self-extracting archive.

[Robert C.]

Thanks Jeff. I ran into this yesterday and hadn’t yet found the Garmin bulletin. 
 

sorry that I can’t help with the Mac question. Our laptops are Microsoft machines

Robert

Edited November 8, 2020 by Robert C.

[PaulM]

It is a self extracting archive, you can extract it with 

mkdir garmin

cd garmin 

7z x (../PATH-to)/006-B1330-04.exe

The data seems to be all in /root  with directories for each software revision that would need it. 

Can someone give me a directory listing of the windows generated SD card?.   My Vmware won't capture the mac SD card reader, and when I map it via VMDK the garmin installer won't use it since it isn't "removable".    I'm also trying to get an old XP laptop to unpack it, but it hangs on formatting any of my SD cards.. 

if the windows data matches the archive then I would just copy the root/* to /Volume/SD-CARD on the mac... 

[kortopates]

Not a G1000 user, but the G500 does it exactly the same way and I am happy to report that with the data transferred via the ipad to FS-510 card it went seamlessly from GTN to G500 and updated. I lost the bubble if the latest recent G1000 s/w update now supports the FS-510 card, but when it does it sure simplifies database updates!

[kmyfm20s]

G500 here as well and no problem with Sandisk.

[PaulM]

This is going to be G1000 software version specific.. (As implied in the SB) 

I was able to get the Garmin installer to format and install on a USB stick I had sitting around, the root/* directory is just copied to the blank formatted SD disk.   And it creates a card_image.zip file, for no good reason that I can tell. 

If you would prefer to use the Garmin EXE you can run a Windows 10 VM in virtualbox and format a USB stick.. then copy the files from the stick to the SD card. 

Otherwise here are the MacOS only directions:

Start with a blank  Fat32 formatted SD card > 200MB.  mounted as /Volume/SDCard (replace with your actual SD card name) 

Download the http://static.garmincdn.com/apps/fly/magvar-update/006-B1330-04.exe

open a terminal window:

cd ~/Downloads

mkdir 006-B1330-04

cd 006-B1330-04

7z x ../006-B1330-04.exe

rsync -r root/ /Volumes/SDCard 

Eject SD card. 

 

I will test this card the next time I'm out at the airport. 

[Jeff_S]

@PaulM Paul, I'm getting the following error when I try this in Terminal window:

New-iMac:006-B1330-04 jeff$ 7z x ../006-B1330-04.exe

-bash: 7z: command not found

 

I copied your text in exactly to make sure I hadn't missed anything.  Any ideas?

 

[PaulM]

3 hours ago, Jeff_S said:

7z: command not found

Sorry about that, I forget my system is developer expanded. 

I probably loaded via brew:

https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/p7zip

I've attached a copy of a .tar.gz file which shouldn't need any special tools. 

Download this attachment. 

cd ~Downloads

tar xvfz 006-B1330-04.tar.gz

rsync -r 006-B1330-04/root/ /Volumes/SDCard

 

006-B1330-04.tar.gz

[Jeff_S]

@PaulMHi Paul, not sure what's going on here and I appreciate you may see diminishing returns in helping me! But I downloaded that .tar file and tried to run the command in Terminal, here is what I get:

jeff@New-iMac Downloads % tar xvfz 006-B1330-04.tar.gz

tar: Error opening archive: Failed to open '006-B1330-04.tar.gz'

For clarity, I'm running Catalina 10.15.7 on an iMac, but in a purely user mode (no Developer tools installed that I know of). If you have any other ideas I'd appreciate them, but also I don't need to waste your time. I can get it done on a Windows machine at some point I'm sure.  Thanks!

Jeff

[Bob5151F]

I have an Ovation3 and I tried the SD card option. I was able to load it onto a 2GB SD card no problem (I have Windows), but when I put the card into the top slot of the PFD and power up the system proceeds as if the SD card isn't there.

Any ideas? 

[atpdave]

Bob5151F, in my 2005 Ovation 2 (G1000 non WAAS 0401.30) I tried various SanDisk 4GB and 8GB SD cards that I had bought on Amazon and eBay for nav data updates.  Some worked and some didn't, so I suspected the card formatting might be an issue.  After some experimentation I found the SD card formatter from the Secure Digital Association (SDA), available for Windows and iOS.  When I format the SD card with this program my G1000 recognizes the card.  When I format the same card with Windows 10 (FAT32) it doesn't.  I think the SDA formatter follows the SDA spec and Windows doesn't.  I haven't made it out to the plane to try the 2020 IGRF Magnetic Field Model update yet so I can't say for sure it works yet, but I am confident my G1000 will at least see the 8GB card.  I don't know why it would need to be 2GB, but I am aware that there has been a lot of confusion about SD cards in the G1000.  I'll report back after I try the update.

[Jeff_S]

Folks, there is a Rev F version of the Service Advisory now, which I have attached here.  It adds specific instructions to pull the circuit breaker for the GIA#2 prior to starting the system.  However, on the panel, there are breakers for both Com2 and Nav2/GPS2, so which of those is the GIA?  Or is it both of them?  I appreciate your thoughts. Thanks!

Jeff

Garmin SA 1612F.pdf

[GeeBee]

Just to vent a little bit. This whole thing is pure Hotel Sierra. This should not be that hard for the end user. In fact it should update very easily from a data base update. Garmin, wake up.

 

[Jeff_S]

I agree on @GeeBee's point!  To @Bob5151F and others, I've been told to pull the AHRS and Nav2/GPS2 breakers and this should shut power to the GIA2 as suggested in the new Service Advisory.  Also, apparently you can pull the MFD breaker as well, especially if you don't have ground power...I'm assuming this is to conserve battery power.  I'll be trying this all out tomorrow and will post my results.

[Jeff_S]

Happy to update everyone that the Rev F instructions worked just fine.  I had a 2GB card (Transcend brand) that I had loaded up with the files on my Mac. The Rev F instructions are still wrong in this regard...the only file you download from Garmin is a .exe file so there's no way to get at them from a Mac without either a Windows PC or special programming software that can extract files.  Or you can download a trial version of Parallels, which is what I did, however, for some reason the Garmin extractor still didn't like the SD card so I just extracted them to a thumb drive and then copied them to the card manually.

At any rate, once you get the card built, just follow the instructions in Rev F.  Where is says to pull power to the GIA2, we pulled both the Com2 and Nav2/GPS2 breakers, and this worked.  The process does exactly what the instructions say it will do.  And it only took 5 minutes or less, so no need for ground power.

Hope this helps everyone else...good luck!

[carusoam]

Great details Jeff!

Thanks for sharing them.

 

And...congrats to atpdave for your first post... of many!  

Best regards,

-a-

[Bob5151F]

Jeff

Great news!

Just to be clear- you did not pull the AHRS or MFD CBs? Just GPS2/NAV2 and COM2?

Also, did you use FAT32 formatting on the SD card?

Bob

[Jeff_S]

@Bob5151F Hi Bob. That's correct...just pull the Com2 and Nav2/GPS2 breakers.  The instructions say that if you're still having trouble you can try pulling the AHRS breaker (the "GRS" in the instructions) but this wasn't needed.  As to formatting, yes, I used FAT32 but I had formatted that card on the Mac. In fact it was one of my two Log/Checklist cards that I rotate in the MFD slot, so I knew it was readable.  I just cleared the old files and copied the mag/var files onto it.

Hope that helps!

[Bob5151F]

Thanks Jeff

I'm assuming the 2 GB SD card I tried the other day was bad and I have a new one coming from Amazon, so I will give the update another try on Monday.

You have been way more helpful the Garmin support. 

Good news on the update time. It was a hassle trying to borrow a GPU.

Thanks!

Bob

[Bob5151F]

It worked. After I failed on the first try using 1612revE last week, I got a new SD card and used the file in revF.

I followed the steps exactly and pulled the GPS2/NAV2 and COM2 CBs to kill GIA#2.

Total power on time was about 7-8 minutes.

As it happened, I borrowed a GPU from my local Garmin service shop (they appreciated the pastries   ) and learned the following:

They told me the recent magvar data file that was embedded with the last NavData update was flawed causing the problem. Compounding the issue is that the revE file was corrupted and that has caused a lot of heartburn.

[carusoam]

Great details and methodology, Bob!

What type of pastries did you bring? 

This is often area specific...  D’nD works in the NE....

Best regards,

-a-

[Bob5151F]

I'm in Seattle. Growing up on the east coast (the other side of the Delaware river from you), I'm very fond of DnD but they are not out here. Top Pot is the local equivalent.

Bringing goodies always helps with response time from the techs

There's a French bakery on the way to the airport so I got an assortment of croissants (plain, chocolate, ham & cheese). They were gone by the time I returned the GPU. 

So this fix cost me 2 SD cards and 2 sets of pastries. About $80 all in.

[BlueDun]

On 11/14/2020 at 12:21 PM, Bob5151F said:

Jeff

Great news!

Just to be clear- you did not pull the AHRS or MFD CBs? Just GPS2/NAV2 and COM2?

Also, did you use FAT32 formatting on the SD card?

Bob

I did the update and only pulled the GPS2 circuit breaker.

I used a 1GB SD card and that formatted as FAT16. The FAT16 worked.

I used a Mac and used the .zip archive described in the Advisory. To make this work, you have to copy the correct folder for your GIA version (mine was 14.02) onto the SD card, along with the additional files. Just copying the expanded folder onto the SD will not work

If anyone has a Mac issue, let me know and I’ll help.

[BlueDun]

On 11/17/2020 at 4:01 PM, Bob5151F said:

It worked. After I failed on the first try using 1612revE last week, I got a new SD card and used the file in revF.

I followed the steps exactly and pulled the GPS2/NAV2 and COM2 CBs to kill GIA#2.

Total power on time was about 7-8 minutes.

As it happened, I borrowed a GPU from my local Garmin service shop (they appreciated the pastries   ) and learned the following:

They told me the recent magvar data file that was embedded with the last NavData update was flawed causing the problem. Compounding the issue is that the revE file was corrupted and that has caused a lot of heartburn.

I found only a need to pull the GPS2 breaker.

After the update, the Advisory suggests: pulling the SD card, restoring the circuit breaker, and shutting off power in that order. That did not make sense to me. Why pull a card from a live system and restore the GPS2 power just before powering off? Instead, I shut down, pulled the card, and restored the circuit breaker.