Too much Bluetooth. Should be Blueteeth.

[Glen Davis]

I’m confused. Please help me sort this out. This is my panel:

Garmin GTN-750 Touchscreen WAAS GPS / Nav / Com.
-Garmin GTX-345R Remote ADS-B Transponder (In and Out).
-Garmin GMA-35C Remote Audio Panel / Intercom.
-Garmin GTR20 Second Comm
-Garmin FlightStream 210 Bluetooth Interface.
-Garmin G3X Touch with EIS
-Garmin G5
-Garmin GFC500 

My confusion is who talks via Bluetooth to who?
 1. Specifically, should my IPad (ForeFlight) connect to the G3X or the Gtx 345R to receive traffic and weather?  But to be able to transfer flight plans it must be connected to the G3X, correct?  Can I somehow have my iPad receive weather, traffic AND share flight plans?

2. To play music to all four seats, my iPhone must connect to the GMA 35c, correct?

3. Since most of the components have their own Bluetooth, is there any value to having the Fs 210 or is it superfluous?

Thanks

[ArtVandelay]

I haven’t gotten the G3X to be able to transfer flight plans to the GTN Xi, this has been reported to work with old GTNs, problem was reported to Garmin but I haven’t heard anything and latest software update doesn’t mention any fixes for this issue.
A FS210 would allow you to stream directly to the GTN, instead of going through the G3X, it also will pass ADSB data as well if you have a GDL unit.

[PeteMc]

Only BT I see in there would be your iPad (ForeFlight, G Pilot, etc.) talking to the FS 210.  

All the Traffic, Wx, Flight Plan transfers, etc. should happen over the Garmin Network.

EDIT: Dang, left last night in a hurry and didn't think I had posted this partial reply.  OOPS!

So my partial answer to #1 above is because I do not have a G3x, but I'd still lean towards connecting to the FS210/GTN.  This way there is direct transfer of the FP into the Nav device, then it can send it to the G3x after you've confirmed it and activated the correct leg if necessary.  (If you can do *everything* on the G3x, then I guess it's a toss up.)

On the GTX345, on some installations the Bluetooth is disabled as part of the STC.  No clue why and for what installations, but I had this conversation with my installer.  So just an FYI if you try to connect for any reason and you can't get the BT to work.  But there's no reason to connect to the GTX since all the data SHOULD be coming from your FS210/GTN if installed correctly. 

#2 Music...  The iPad does allow you to connect to a second Audio Source, so this would be doable.  But I'm a purest and just wouldn't want to be running music off my primary Aviation iPad.  YES, lots of people do it, but I'd go for running the music off my Backup iPad or your phone.  The GMA auto muting will be a big help.

#3 FlightStream...  If people that have G3x confirm you can do everything through it and you never need to go to the GTN, then in theory you could get rid of it.  But (thinking failure mode) if the G3x fails, you'd have to reconnect in flight to the FS210, so why not just go that route.  Sure the GTN can fail, but then it doesn't matter how you're connected.  And the FS210 could fail, but they're pretty simple and usually pretty stable.  Also, does the G3x feed AHRS to the iPad?  The FS210 does.

 

Edited November 12, 2023 by PeteMc

[Rick Junkin]

55 minutes ago, Glen Davis said:

My confusion is who talks via Bluetooth to who?
 1. Specifically, should my IPad (ForeFlight) connect to the G3X or the Gtx 345R to receive traffic and weather?  But to be able to transfer flight plans it must be connected to the G3X, correct?  Can I somehow have my iPad receive weather, traffic AND share flight plans?

2. To play music to all four seats, my iPhone must connect to the GMA 35c, correct?

3. Since most of the components have their own Bluetooth, is there any value to having the Fs 210 or is it superfluous?

@Glen Davis I have a very similar panel and I get everything I need on my iPad and can transfer flight plans to my GTN 650Xi. Tom, who posted above, is the only person I've seen posting so far that can't get flight plans to transfer to the GTN Xi through the G3X. Tom, please correct me if I'm wrong, I know I haven't read every post.

Here are my answers to your questions.

1. Connecting to the G3X will (can?) get you you everything. That's what I did first and it worked for weather, traffic, and flight plan transfer to my GTN 650Xi. However, I also connect to my GTX-345 for redundancy on weather and traffic in the event I lose the G3X. The GTX 345 also has an AHRS, but the remote unit (345R) does not.

2. Yes. You have the most control over who hears the music if you connect it to the GMA 35C. If you have bluetooth headsets I'm not sure but I think you can connect more than one to your phone and listen that way, but that's rather cumbersome. Plus the 35C gives you auto-mute for the radios.

3. The FS 210 has an AHRS, which is a good backup for your iPad if the G3X goes out. You'll want to check with the avionics installer to see if they wired things in such a way that only the FS 210 is connected for flight plan transfer. I'm not even sure that's possible, but if you can't transfer flight plans through the G3X that might be the case and a place to start with troubleshooting.

Cheers,
Rick

[Rick Junkin]

1 hour ago, Glen Davis said:

 1. Specifically, should my IPad (ForeFlight) connect to the G3X or the Gtx 345R to receive traffic and weather?  But to be able to transfer flight plans it must be connected to the G3X, correct?  Can I somehow have my iPad receive weather, traffic AND share flight plans?

@Glen Davis There's a nuance here I missed the first time through. You can connect your iPad via bluetooth to multiple boxes in your panel at the same time. So you can connect to both the G3X and the GTX 345R and that should get you weather and traffic if you have problems getting it through the G3X. That's what I do for redundancy.

Cheers,
Rick

[Ragsf15e]

@PT20J…. This is your wheelhouse!

[Ragsf15e]

22 hours ago, Glen Davis said:

I’m confused. Please help me sort this out. This is my panel:

Garmin GTN-750 Touchscreen WAAS GPS / Nav / Com.
-Garmin GTX-345R Remote ADS-B Transponder (In and Out).
-Garmin GMA-35C Remote Audio Panel / Intercom.
-Garmin GTR20 Second Comm
-Garmin FlightStream 210 Bluetooth Interface.
-Garmin G3X Touch with EIS
-Garmin G5
-Garmin GFC500 

My confusion is who talks via Bluetooth to who?
 1. Specifically, should my IPad (ForeFlight) connect to the G3X or the Gtx 345R to receive traffic and weather?  But to be able to transfer flight plans it must be connected to the G3X, correct?  Can I somehow have my iPad receive weather, traffic AND share flight plans?

2. To play music to all four seats, my iPhone must connect to the GMA 35c, correct?

3. Since most of the components have their own Bluetooth, is there any value to having the Fs 210 or is it superfluous?

Thanks

Possibly try pm ing @PT20J with this question as he has very similar panel.  I think you should have the bt off in the gtx345 and connect directly to the g3x but I am not sure.  Maybe try searching through @PT20J old posts too because I remember him going through this.

[PT20J]

Garmin doesn't make it simple to figure this stuff out. Probably the best place to understand Connext (Garmin's marketing term for wireless data sharing) to tablets is the Garmin Pilot User's Guide because this app connects to all the products. Still, some of the descriptions there seem to have been plagiarized from other manuals and contain no new information. 

Keep in mind that Garmin products overlap in their capabilities and so it is possible to connect to more devices than you actually need to.

G3X Bluetooth: Flight plan transfer to and from G3X; GPS data from G3X; AHRS data from G3X. These all work with ForeFlight. I believe that Garmin Pilot will also link EIS data from the G3X and download csv files of flight log data, but I don't use Garmin Pilot and haven't tried this. 

GTX 345(R) Bluetooth: ADS-B In weather and traffic to the iPad. Note that in a G3X panel, the GTX 345 internal AHRS is disabled.

The FS 210 is, in my opinion, redundant. The AHRS in it is not going to be the same quality as the G3X and G5. For me, as a third, I wanted a completely separate instrument and installed an AV-20-S.

So, with two connections, you get everything. I also Bluetooth pair my phone with my audio panel (PMA 450B in my case) to allow using the phone with my headset and playing music stored on my phone.

[PeteMc]

32 minutes ago, PT20J said:

G3X Bluetooth: Flight plan transfer to and from G3X; GPS data from G3X; AHRS data from G3X

Not having a G3X, so for those that do...  They want to use the G3X as the Primary EFB connection?  No speed gain or leg activation advantages in connecting directly to the GTN (FS510/210)?  

 

[PT20J]

3 hours ago, PeteMc said:

Not having a G3X, so for those that do...  They want to use the G3X as the Primary EFB connection?  No speed gain or leg activation advantages in connecting directly to the GTN (FS510/210)?  

 

The G3X likes to be the center of its universe. The only advantage to having FS 510 is being able to upload databases wirelessly (which some report doesn’t always work well). Bluetooth doesn’t have enough bandwidth for a speedy database update. FS 510 has a WiFi interface for that but the G3X does not. Whenever Garmin gets around to refreshing the G3X hardware, it’s a good bet they will include WiFi. But, that’s just a guess.

 

[Rick Junkin]

On 11/11/2023 at 6:31 PM, Rick Junkin said:

1. Connecting to the G3X will (can?) get you you everything. That's what I did first and it worked for weather, traffic, and flight plan transfer to my GTN 650Xi. However, I also connect to my GTX-345 for redundancy on weather and traffic in the event I lose the G3X. The GTX 345 also has an AHRS, but the remote unit (345R) does not.

@Glen Davis I stand corrected!

iPad bluetooth connection to both the G3X Touch AND the GTX 345R or other data link device is required to get everything, as Skip stated. Section 8.9 of the G3X Touch Pilot's Guide discusses Connext features and requirements and while it does state that bluetooth connection to "another" device is required the wording is vague. As Skip also stated, the G3X connection will get you AHRS and GPS data and provide for flight plan transfer to your GTN, and the GTX connection will get you the ADS-B weather and traffic.

My purpose for this post isn't just to bow to Skip's @PT20J superior knowledge, although I do , it's to post this link for a video discussing and demonstrating the G3X Touch bluetooth connection details. I hope you find it as useful as I do. 

Cheers,
Rick

 

[Rick Junkin]

For those using Foreflight, here's a link to the Foreflight site table showing compatibility with Garmin equipment. It provides more insight into what you need to get the data transfers you want.

https://support.foreflight.com/hc/en-us/articles/226218928

Cheers,
Rick

EDIT: The G3X Touch line is a bit dated and doesn't include the certified datalinks for ADS-B weather and traffic. Also, the GDL 51R is SiriusXM only so it won't give you ADS-B data. The 50R give ADS-B data only and the 52R gives both ADS-B and SiriusXM.

Cheers,
Rick

Edited November 14, 2023 by Rick Junkin
Added comment about table

[Hank]

Sorry, @Glen Davis, but apparently King Harald only had a single [visible] problematic tooth. Harald Bluetooth of Denmark and Norway was the source of the name for your new aviation instrument communication system; I use the ones on my phone and tablet more every day. Go Bluetooth! And yes, the company combined two old runes to make the funny "B" logo, too. Isn't trivia just interesting???