Garmin 530W backlighting ratio question.

[Will.iam]

I have a Garmin 530 W that until I flew with a Mooney instructor that pointed out the buttons around the screen should be illuminated. I did not realize that this was even a feature.  at first we thought that maybe it was broken or the lights were burned out or maybe there was a wire that wasn’t connected to my dimmer switch to adjust the back lights but when turning the screen intensity from auto to manual in settings and turning it to full brightness I did see the buttons light up. The problem is the screen is now so bright that it ruined your night vision.  Is there a way a Garmin dealer or special settings service menu you can go into to change the ratio of how bright the backlights from the button are lit up, compared to the main screen?

[Jake@BevanAviation]

@Will.iam Give us a call and ask for Zach, he should be able to help with button key lighting.

[AndreiC]

i have the same problem with a 430w. In flight at night the buttons are too dim to see. Watching to see if a solution shows up. 

[N201MKTurbo]

I know with my IFD550 which is supposed to be the same wiring, there is a bunch of ways to control the lighting. The screen and keys are separate and can be controlled by an external dimmer, or the built in light sensor. There are gains, offsets and limits for both lighting systems. There are settings that will make it work.

I have found the best way is to go out at night in the hangar with all the lights turned out. Use a flashlight on the light sensor for the daylight settings, and let your eyes get really sensitive when doing the dark settings. And of course, if you are using an external dimmer, you don't need the flashlight.

One thing to be aware of is your dash lights can affect your light settings if using the light sensor.

[Will.iam]

On 10/21/2024 at 1:35 PM, Jake@BevanAviation said:

@Will.iam Give us a call and ask for Zach, he should be able to help with button key lighting.

Thanks Jake! I called Zach and he hooked me up with the settings to change. Basically hold down the enter key while powering up the unit will get it into the settings menu. I took pictures of every page so that i can go back to what was set if i need to. The slope and offset setting took a while of tinkering with to get what i like but that also makes it very customizable with all different ambient light settings. I even tone down the main screen as it was just too bright at all setting but full day light. 

[AndreiC]

Hi @Will.iam, can you please post here the pictures you took of the screens you went through? I would like to try to replicate what you did on my 430W. Thanks.