Landing Height System for Mooney

[donkaye]

37 minutes ago, DonMuncy said:

I have had mine for a LONG time and still do not have it installed properly. I took it to my avionics shop (who I have used for a long time; have multiple excellent technicians I trust, etc.) They put it in, but the volume on the unit is so low it can barely be heard on roll-out, and not at all in the air. They ultimately sent the unit back to Nidal to be checked out. He said it is within specs. After reinstallation, it is unchanged. They had everyone in the shop scratching their heads, but no answer yet. One of our MS guys has offered to bring his plane (with an installed unit) for me to listen to, and ultimately swap my unit for his to troubleshoot, but we haven't gotten together yet. 

Any ideas?

Don, I assume you set the volume to maximum in the setup?  If so, have you spoken to Nidal about increasing the volume with the software.  If all of those things were done, then it is a wiring issue to your audio panel.  I have no problem with volume in my plane.

[larrynimmo]

19 hours ago, donkaye said:

Don, I assume you set the volume to maximum in the setup?  If so, have you spoken to Nidal about increasing the volume with the software.  If all of those things were done, then it is a wiring issue to your audio panel.  I have no problem with volume in my plane.

I have mine on full volume …when I had the kma24 audio panel the sound was almost not enough…but it was very helpful and usable.

with the new Garmin audio panel it’s a little to loud on full volume but I never attempted to lower it…after all, I don’t want to miss the “wake up” call

i continue to offer my old kma free of charge…just pay me shipping and I’ll send it to you…you actually can change it yourself as the faa allows you to change slide out avionics (I think)

Edited March 17, 2022 by larrynimmo

[toto]

I don’t know if this will help anyone, but here’s an audio recording of the test script from the LHS config. This is played on the speaker through a GMA340, sitting on the ground in the hangar - but gives an idea of the volume. This is exactly what it sounds like in the headset - quite loud but not painfully so. 

Note that the LHS will not do audio alerts below five feet in certified aircraft mode, even though the lower heights are played in the test script. 

lhs-audio-test-in-hangar.m4a

[DonMuncy]

2 hours ago, larrynimmo said:

I have mine on full volume …when I had the kma24 audio panel the sound was almost not enough…but it was very helpful and usable.

with the new Garmin audio panel it’s a little to loud on full volume but I never attempted to lower it…after all, I don’t want to miss the “wake up” call

i continue to offer my old kma free of charge…just pay me shipping and I’ll send it to you…you actually can change it yourself as the faa allows you to change slide out avionics (I think)

Thanks Larry. I sent a PM.

[larrynimmo]

9 hours ago, DonMuncy said:

Thanks Larry. I sent a PM.

I never got that pm

[DonMuncy]

It is worth a try. Thanks. I will be glad to pay shipping. Let me know how much, how to pay, Paypal, zelle, check? Where to send it, etc.

Don

[tim417]

Okay getting ready to buy. Can anyone recommend an A&P around KCNO that can tackle the install in a somewhat timely fashion and reasonable cost?

[donkaye]

11 hours ago, tim417 said:

Okay getting ready to buy. Can anyone recommend an A&P around KCNO that can tackle the install in a somewhat timely fashion and reasonable cost?

Tackle the install?  Any competent Avionics' person or for that matter A&P can do the installation.  Cut a hole in an inspection plate and mount the unit, run the wires to your audio panel, install a switch to turn the audio on/off, and include a circuit breaker if you wish.  That's it.

Here are some pictures from my installation.

https://donkaye.com/landing-height-system

[LANCECASPER]

On 12/25/2021 at 6:35 AM, LANCECASPER said:

Has anyone with a G1000 installed this yet? (I had it previously on a Bravo I sold)

Huge shout out to Nidal from MicroKit Systems @Microkit and the Landing Height System. He worked closely with the Mooney Factory Service Center in Kerrville for a successful install in my Acclaim, which of course was the G1000 with the GMA1347 Audio Panel. Nidal, as usual, couldn't have been any more helpful. Really glad to have this system on my airplane.

[carusoam]

Great pirep for Nidal, Micro Kit systems and the LHS Landing Height System…!

Best regards,

-a-

[GeeBee]

Got to say I love mine. It is great for those "Dark Pool via the Deep End" approaches

[larrynimmo]

When I speak of the LHS there are so many pilots that act like this is a frivolous luxury that has no use device…kind of just “let the force be with you” as they bounce the runway…

aviation is expensive…other than the cost/benefit of an iPad…there is no other e ice that gives you more for the money than LHS.

[Danb]

Had mine for awhile now, just developed a static sound after flying an hour or so. An annoyance, the system otherwise is awesome. Landing’s have improved dramatically. If you have a depth perception issue trust the LHS

[LANCECASPER]

3 hours ago, larrynimmo said:

When I speak of the LHS there are so many pilots that act like this is a frivolous luxury that has no use device…kind of just “let the force be with you” as they bounce the runway…

aviation is expensive…other than the cost/benefit of an iPad…there is no other e ice that gives you more for the money than LHS.

Agreed. I have the cost of the device and 4 hours labor since they were installing a WX-500 at the same time. The big 12.9 iPad Pro that I use for daily stuff (not the mini I use in the airplane) cost me more than the LHS.

[LANCECASPER]

2 hours ago, Danb said:

Had mine for awhile now, just developed a static sound after flying an hour or so. An annoyance, the system otherwise is awesome. Landing’s have improved dramatically. If you have a depth perception issue trust the LHS

Not sure if this would help but Nidal mentioned that the second audio wire may need to be hooked up in a G1000 for better sound. If the 4th wire is attached to the audio panel and not the LHS it can acts as an antenna and pick up some noise. 

[Microkit]

7 hours ago, Danb said:

Had mine for awhile now, just developed a static sound after flying an hour or so. An annoyance, the system otherwise is awesome. Landing’s have improved dramatically. If you have a depth perception issue trust the LHS

Hi Dan,

We are eager to investigate further.  Is it always around the same time mark (an hour or so)? And can it be replicated on the ground without the engine running if you keep the unit & audio panel powered (but without battery tender) for a matching time frame?   Next time when it happens can you power off the LHS, wait 1 min then power it back on, would the high static noise start immediately, or it will need another hour or so to come back?    Similar experiment with just powering off the audio panel then back on (without powering off the LHS) may be helpful.    

The design of the audio system for the LHS puts the audio wiring into high-impedance when there are no announcements, meaning it fully lets go of any control on the audio wire similar to not having the LHS installed at all, add this fact to the point that the audio wires are long from the LHS to the back to the audio panel, some small noise that can’t be heard when the engine is running is inevitable and mainly because of the uncommon length of the audio wiring and how it was routed (next to other wires or some structure generating some magnetic flux nearby).  

Do please email us to follow-up (email support and troubleshooting is preferred as it's tagged and kept in our system to compare this with other comments or feedback, so we have an overall picture of common or abnormal situations which assist other installers and operators)  

Thanks

Nidal 

[Danb]

Had mine for awhile now, just developed a static sound after flying an hour or so. An annoyance, the system otherwise is awesome. Landing’s have improved dramatically. If you have a depth perception issue trust the LHS

[Danb]

40 minutes ago, Microkit said:

Hi Dan,

We are eager to investigate further.  Is it always around the same time mark (an hour or so)? And can it be replicated on the ground without the engine running if you keep the unit & audio panel powered (but without battery tender) for a matching time frame?   Next time when it happens can you power off the LHS, wait 1 min then power it back on, would the high static noise start immediately, or it will need another hour or so to come back?    Similar experiment with just powering off the audio panel then back on (without powering off the LHS) may be helpful.    

The design of the audio system for the LHS puts the audio wiring into high-impedance when there are no announcements, meaning it fully lets go of any control on the audio wire similar to not having the LHS installed at all, add this fact to the point that the audio wires are long from the LHS to the back to the audio panel, some small noise that can’t be heard when the engine is running is inevitable and mainly because of the uncommon length of the audio wiring and how it was routed (next to other wires or some structure generating some magnetic flux nearby).  

Do please email us to follow-up (email support and troubleshooting is preferred as it's tagged and kept in our system to compare this with other comments or feedback, so we have an overall picture of common or abnormal situations which assist other installers and operators)  

Thanks

Nidal 

Thanks Nidal, I spoke with Paul at DMAX and he will look at it next week. I fly to Memphis on Monday and off to Longview on Thursday I’ll try stuff enroute.

DB

[bradp]

22 hours ago, Danb said:

Had mine for awhile now, just developed a static sound after flying an hour or so. An annoyance, the system otherwise is awesome. Landing’s have improved dramatically. If you have a depth perception issue trust the LHS

Mine is also quite static-y from the get go (harsh static both when announcing and between announcements) and I’ve installed using both methods called out in the manual.  Checked ground, checked for ground loops, shield grounds.  I’m now seeing that there is a set supplemental wiring instructions that I may explore.  The only thing I haven’t done is tried alternate audio inputs on my PMA-8000 panel.  Every other connection I have to that panel is dead quiet and grounds are all common to a grounding block or the battery limiting inductive loop RFI.  
 

@Microkit any advice for the static? 

[hypertech]

No static on mine.  Mine has the power and ground in separate shielded wired bundles.  The A&P had the module installed in no time flat.  The circuit breaker took a loooong time to get in because there just was no space to work.  Interestingly, there is a blank from the factory for a radar altimeter so we used that spot.

I did, however, have an issue that I had no open audio inputs.  When the A&P checked the connector there was no available pin.  So, I ended up having to make a trip to the avionics shop to have it spliced into an alert input.  That, unfortunately, cost a few pennies.  I am pretty happy with it though.

[Danb]

The unit is awesome, be better after I get it cleaned up

[Fly Boomer]

13 hours ago, Danb said:

The unit is awesome, be better after I get it cleaned up

How will you clean it?

[Danb]

I meant after the wires get straightened out

[Fly Boomer]

2 minutes ago, Danb said:

I meant after the wires get straightened out

OIC.  Thanks.

[Steve Parker]

I haven't read all 14 pages of this thread but the first posts from a couple years ago say the installer must select in the Wi-Fi setup for the minimum callout to be 1' or it will be 20'.   Is that still true?  Must the installer set max to 100' lest it be lower?

Second question:  How well does the LHS perform in reduced visibility due to rain, fog.  I'm guessing fog locks the laser. I certainly don't wish to go below DH without the runway environment in sight, but as a last-ditch, 'everywhere is fogged in' low fuel no-options situation in fog, does fog prevent the LHS performance?  With the Garmin displaying the runway in synthetic vision and a LHS system calling altitude, one might have some emergency options in a zero-zero situation.  Please don't lecture me about flying to an alternate.  I've thousands of hours and this is a hypothetical situation where no alternatives exist, as in engine failure above fogged-in conditions.