RIP STec30

[Amelia]

Dear Santa, I’ve been a Really good girl all year....mostly. 
And my oft-maligned sTec30 must have been mortally wounded by all the trash talk aimed its way, because it rolled over and died a smelly death this morning.  Good day for nearly 5 hours of hand flying, anyway. 
So, a replacement is needed. I’m happy with my Aspen, and don’t want to start from scratch with Garmins. Besides, I hear sTec might be a slide-in replacement, instead of erector-set build-it-yourself from Brand G. Any other thoughts on best/cheapest replacement for my apparently-toasted sTec30? I’d like to have one that would capture a glide slope. I was all set to order sTec’s 3100, but they never  bothered to get the stc for Mooney. 

[donkaye, MCFI]

1 hour ago, Amelia said:

Dear Santa, I’ve been a Really good girl all year....mostly. 
And my oft-maligned sTec30 must have been mortally wounded by all the trash talk aimed its way, because it rolled over and died a smelly death this morning.  Good day for nearly 5 hours of hand flying, anyway. 
So, a replacement is needed. I’m happy with my Aspen, and don’t want to start from scratch with Garmins. Besides, I hear sTec might be a slide-in replacement, instead of erector-set build-it-yourself from Brand G. Any other thoughts on best/cheapest replacement for my apparently-toasted sTec30? I’d like to have one that would capture a glide slope. I was all set to order sTec’s 3100, but they never  bothered to get the stc for Mooney. 

A G5 or GI 275 and a GFC 500 and you're all set with your dream autopilot from a company that won't let you down.  You only have to set in a second altitude for the Aspen if you want.  There are several people who have done that, and for the Eagle you couldn't do better.

[rbridges]

I have an aspen panel.  I'm thinking about installing a G5 and swapping over to the GNC500 autopilot.  Fortunately I still have an STEC with a sloppy altitude hold that I can use in the meantime.  There is someone on beechtalk that did a similar setup with the aspen/g5, and he seems pretty happy with it.

[Stanton R]

The STEC 3100 is far from a slide in replacement. The only advantage of the STEC is that you get to keep your servos. You will also have to add trim. 

[StevenL757]

14 hours ago, Amelia said:

I’m happy with my Aspen, and don’t want to start from scratch with Garmins. Besides, I hear sTec might be a slide-in replacement, instead of erector-set build-it-yourself from Brand G. Any other thoughts on best/cheapest replacement for my apparently-toasted sTec30? I’d like to have one that would capture a glide slope. I was all set to order sTec’s 3100, but they never  bothered to get the stc for Mooney. 

Seriously?

C'mon Amelia...you and I have never met, but from your well-thought-out posts and strategic use of language (far better than many I've seen), I'm sure you, of all people, would know that...

• You can have it good, fast, or cheap.  Pick any two.
• Of the choices you mentioned, the GFC500 stands out as the clear front-runner
• The STEC3100 would be on-par cost-wise with the GFC600.  So, somewhere in the $20k range or more.  Yet you'll have reused servos.

I tortured my brain (not hard to do) over this topic for months and months.  After convincing myself that the new KFC230 to replace my KFC150 (also failing) was the way I was heading, my shop will start on my new GFC500, 4 servos, GI275 a week from this Monday.

Go ahead...drink the koolaid.  You won't regret it.

:-)

[Ragsf15e]

14 hours ago, Amelia said:

Dear Santa, I’ve been a Really good girl all year....mostly. 
And my oft-maligned sTec30 must have been mortally wounded by all the trash talk aimed its way, because it rolled over and died a smelly death this morning.  Good day for nearly 5 hours of hand flying, anyway. 
So, a replacement is needed. I’m happy with my Aspen, and don’t want to start from scratch with Garmins. Besides, I hear sTec might be a slide-in replacement, instead of erector-set build-it-yourself from Brand G. Any other thoughts on best/cheapest replacement for my apparently-toasted sTec30? I’d like to have one that would capture a glide slope. I was all set to order sTec’s 3100, but they never  bothered to get the stc for Mooney. 

Here’s the advice that you don’t want... send the stec unit back to the stec factory for overhaul and reinstall it.  Fly on.  As Steven said, it’s only fast and cheap (relatively), but it’s the realistic choice unless you’re doing a large upgrade.  And don’t expect real cheap, just compared to options.  Buzz kill complete.

[DXB]

What exactly failed in the unit?  I imagine at some point the electric gyro for the turn coordinator wears out.  Fixing it is probably the path of least resistance in terms of both downtime and money.  

[dan nephin]

G5 and gfc500, the way to go!

[ZuluZulu]

Speaking of Screaming Eagles with new autopilots ... @Niko182

[Niko182]

As far as autopilots go right now, the only worthwhile one is the GFC500. You have the option to go 55x, but that's rate based instead of attitude based. All you need is 1 G5. Stec 3100 is an option too. However you gotta wait for and if that happens, and you'll have older servos. The smoothness of the servos on the new autopilot is definitely noticeable. Some people have had their issues, but the when its programmed correctly, it flies on rails.

[carusoam]

Modern computerized APs have all the advantages of getting a new computer vs. the 25 year old one in the panel today...

Using old servos wouldn’t be terrible, but... they are really old and probably would benefit from an OH... as many are in line to get an OH after 25 years of wear...

 

One of the oddities, that may be a BK thing, the AP computer has a few capacitors in it... capacitors don’t age very well and the large ones break and fall off the board they soldered to...

 

PP thoughts only, writing and fearing about worn servos at the same time...

Best regards,

-a-

[steingar]

What the Rag man said.  Stec claims their new gee whiz autopilot will be ready for our Mooneys this summer, but I've heard this song before.  Overhaul your old one.  Might not be the cheapest option, might be (that Stec system will cost north of ten grand).  

[ArtVandelay]

What the Rag man said.  Stec claims their new gee whiz autopilot will be ready for our Mooneys this summer, but I've heard this song before.  Overhaul your old one.  Might not be the cheapest option, might be (that Stec system will cost north of ten grand).  

Cheapest option is to look one removed because of an upgrade, check various boards, eBay sites. Also I don’t know, but is the 50 plug compatible with the 30? If yes, then I would think it would be easy to find a substitute. You might want to pick up a servo as a spare as well if you find one.

[Amelia]

No, the 55x can probably use the old servos, I gather, but needs a whole new hole, in the radio stack, and a replacement turn and bank. I think. No word on what failed, probably until after Christmas. Everybody is slammed. 
thanks much for all the helpful ideas!!

[Amelia]

And though a nice shiny Garmin system is so very tempting, the stec55x will work with my existing Aspen, use existing servos, and stec 55x can be found, allegedly working, on eBay for under $1000, or reman from stec for $6000, maybe the fist step is to find out exactly what failed on the late unlamented stec 30. 

[carusoam]

Let’s see if our Bevan guy has any ideas regarding bench testing and/or OH of the STec 30 box... @Jake@BevanAviation

STec and BK seem to have predatory pricing for their captive audiences... 

Best regards,

-a-
 

 

[M20S Driver]

3 hours ago, Amelia said:

And though a nice shiny Garmin system is so very tempting, the stec55x will work with my existing Aspen, use existing servos, and stec 55x can be found, allegedly working, on eBay for under $1000, or reman from stec for $6000, maybe the fist step is to find out exactly what failed on the late unlamented stec 30. 

While a new autopilot (G500) may be very exciting, my Stec-30 does everything that I need.  I am ok with doing a few power adjustment here and there to maintain the glide slope

[Amelia]

Maybe if the current one isn’t totally fried, (sure smelled dead!) they can fix whatever caused it to persist in drifting ever higher. I had to reset the altitude every few minutes, to avoid being reprimanded by ATC. The other tempting thing about alternatives is the idea that a center radio stack location would be within reach of my non-pilot spouse, should I happen to have eaten the fish, and he needs to get on the ground right side-up. We shall see.

[LANCECASPER]

9 hours ago, Amelia said:

And though a nice shiny Garmin system is so very tempting, the stec55x will work with my existing Aspen, use existing servos, and stec 55x can be found, allegedly working, on eBay for under $1000, or reman from stec for $6000, maybe the fist step is to find out exactly what failed on the late unlamented stec 30. 

There's also a nice STEC-55 unlock available for the Aspen which allows you to control everything from the Aspen. https://aspenavionics.com/genesys-s-tec-system-55x-autopilot

[Jake@BevanAviation]

S-Tec offers 3 flat rate levels for repair, Minor, Major and Overhaul.  Depending on where the unit falls you could be looking at 1K for a minor up to 4K for a overhaul. They want everything going back to the factory for repair and has to be sent in by a dealer.  They give some field service memos for like fuse replacement and other small component replacement but no bench level repairs.

[carusoam]

@Amelia Message came in from Jake, regarding repairing the Stec....

Best regards,

-a-

[M016576]

On 12/10/2020 at 9:13 AM, StevenL757 said:

Seriously?

C'mon Amelia...you and I have never met, but from your well-thought-out posts and strategic use of language (far better than many I've seen), I'm sure you, of all people, would know that...

• You can have it good, fast, or cheap.  Pick any two.
• Of the choices you mentioned, the GFC500 stands out as the clear front-runner
• The STEC3100 would be on-par cost-wise with the GFC600.  So, somewhere in the $20k range or more.  Yet you'll have reused servos.

I tortured my brain (not hard to do) over this topic for months and months.  After convincing myself that the new KFC230 to replace my KFC150 (also failing) was the way I was heading, my shop will start on my new GFC500, 4 servos, GI275 a week from this Monday.

Go ahead...drink the koolaid.  You won't regret it.

:-)

That sounds like some *expensive* koolaid!

[Amelia]

Dear ones with good advice and real-world experience, thank you very much.

Still pondering the options.
Overhaul the never-quite-satisfactory stec-30 would be cheapest by far, even at $4000 plus labor. Maybe after service it would actually hold the set altitude and do the nav function right? As it was, I just used heading mode, because nav mode wandered all over the sky, and reset the altitude hold every few minutes. But. It wouldn’t require a boat-load of new-and-better supporting gizmos, or rearranging the whole panel. 
Going with Garmin, which doesn’t play nice with Aspen, which I like, would require a huge and lengthy panel update. At least $25k, probably substantially more. That’s money this aging Mooniac wouldn’t come close to being able to justify, much less recoup. Somewhere in between lies the stec 55x, a fair number of changes, but still old-ish technology, and a company apparently not very enamored of Mooney. (CF, stec3100 string-along.

sighhhh.

anyway, nobody’s going to have time to fool with it until after the first of the year.

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Cool Yule, and all the other excuses to celebrate, my friends!!

[201Mooniac]

Well not quite the 55x, but if you would like I have an S-Tec 55 control head (same as the 55x except not built in GPSS) that I could send you for shipping cost.  It worked fine when it came out of my M20J. 

[mike_elliott]

Mimi, if you get your Stec OH'd, just leave it in heading mode and use the GPSS function of the Aspen to drive it. It will/should track very nicely your GPS course/flight plan. If your plane "rocks", the servo in the wing needs the armature cleaned by running the thing for about a minute in both directions using a power source, same true if you have pitch oscillations. I would do this every annual whether it needed it or not after I had the issue once.