Docking Station for Garmin 430 and Avidyne 440

[NotarPilot]

Maybe some electrical engineer or someone can help me out. I want to buy a docking station for my Avidyne IFD 440s so I can remove them from the plane and update the firmware at home. Lonestar Aviation sells one for the 440 for $399 and one for the 430 for $329. I called Lonestar to ask what the difference was being that the trays are the same and they are interchangeable drop in replacements. The guy I spoke with in their engineering department gave answers that didn't make sense saying the connecters are different. That's not true and you can see the back of both units are the same. When I told him the connectors are the same he then said that the voltages could be different and mentioned some are 12, 24 or even 16 volts. I've never heard of an aircraft with a 16 volt electrical system. The guy almost seemed like he didn't know what he was talking about or just trying to justify why I need to pay $70 more for a product than a less expensive one which will do the same thing.

Has anyone used a Garmin 430 docking station and stuck an Avidyne 440 in it?  Is there possibly any truth to what this guy was saying and that I need to get the Avidyne specific docking station?

[LANCECASPER]

1 hour ago, NotarPilot said:

Maybe some electrical engineer or someone can help me out. I want to buy a docking station for my Avidyne IFD 440s so I can remove them from the plane and update the firmware at home. Lonestar Aviation sells one for the 440 for $399 and one for the 430 for $329. I called Lonestar to ask what the difference was being that the trays are the same and they are interchangeable drop in replacements. The guy I spoke with in their engineering department gave answers that didn't make sense saying the connecters are different. That's not true and you can see the back of both units are the same. When I told him the connectors are the same he then said that the voltages could be different and mentioned some are 12, 24 or even 16 volts. I've never heard of an aircraft with a 16 volt electrical system. The guy almost seemed like he didn't know what he was talking about or just trying to justify why I need to pay $70 more for a product than a less expensive one which will do the same thing.

Has anyone used a Garmin 430 docking station and stuck an Avidyne 440 in it?  Is there possibly any truth to what this guy was saying and that I need to get the Avidyne specific docking station?

I went to Avidyne training back in 2018 and Gary Reeves was using the docking station for a 430 and a 530 to run the IFD 440 and IFD 540.

 

I would make this guy an offer: https://www.ebay.com/itm/146768937356?_skw=LONESTAR+GARMIN+430+DOCKING+STATION&itmmeta=01KB2GTN5TDMJTJK6R0TMGB5JF&hash=item222c1c418c:g:IZsAAeSwXJhom9bX&itmprp=enc%3AAQAKAAABAFkggFvd1GGDu0w3yXCmi1fRDKYpP6ELX82xCEe6ZQUPlDl9RUAnz3nbBaCHtChS657u7wbSsuS1PvQalbObq12jMMbYa9eme9jLFFkZs9SVviG5QXVG6v3K5Kew6o920Bmoqu503Bw9mWIn2bdcaRdrEc9rPSqco6YfN6OHLt7rF7sAjPQRssCmnFnWoVN2MwooFZ%2FT%2BOgRlZd1F9eGogna5k5SD77VmQxqQpVj1bpN8f%2F6aErupukExGFrDgBZrGobl0XmsJ4JTuCExMj%2BYgvLSY9iUpUu%2BzQAp7uDjkI7YLB5DLym28NhZ4qF2SbA4JiaInC2yzmFRxXgutuFNis%3D|tkp%3ABFBMhtPq0Nhm

[Slick Nick]

I have one of the Commander docking stations for updating my KLN. The base stations / power supply are the same for all units, they change the top cage to fit the unit you have. There are two connectors on mine, a data connector and a power connector. I took them apart, and honestly, if you're handy with a soldering iron you could make your own if you have a DC power supply for the unit. Download the installation guides for your units and have a look at the pinouts to see how many wires you need. The Bendix King stuff I have, has a special "take home" pin that needs to be grounded so the unit knows it's in "practice / update" mode and not in an actual aircraft, so it won't give errors for no GPS position, etc. With that grounded, it pretty much ignores all the inputs and just needs a power/gnd. The data cable is totally seperate, but is just a DB15 cable with a couple wires for RS232 in/out that I run to my computer. 

Honestly, I like having the heavy chassis to hold the unit on my desk when I'm doing an update, but they are expensive. Up to you if you want to spend the money, but it's nothing you can't fab yourself in an afternoon if you don't mind a more "temporary" setup for updating. 

[NotarPilot]

19 hours ago, LANCECASPER said:

I went to Avidyne training back in 2018 and Gary Reeves was using the docking station for a 430 and a 530 to run the IFD 440 and IFD 540.

 

I would make this guy an offer: https://www.ebay.com/itm/146768937356?_skw=LONESTAR+GARMIN+430+DOCKING+STATION&itmmeta=01KB2GTN5TDMJTJK6R0TMGB5JF&hash=item222c1c418c:g:IZsAAeSwXJhom9bX&itmprp=enc%3AAQAKAAABAFkggFvd1GGDu0w3yXCmi1fRDKYpP6ELX82xCEe6ZQUPlDl9RUAnz3nbBaCHtChS657u7wbSsuS1PvQalbObq12jMMbYa9eme9jLFFkZs9SVviG5QXVG6v3K5Kew6o920Bmoqu503Bw9mWIn2bdcaRdrEc9rPSqco6YfN6OHLt7rF7sAjPQRssCmnFnWoVN2MwooFZ%2FT%2BOgRlZd1F9eGogna5k5SD77VmQxqQpVj1bpN8f%2F6aErupukExGFrDgBZrGobl0XmsJ4JTuCExMj%2BYgvLSY9iUpUu%2BzQAp7uDjkI7YLB5DLym28NhZ4qF2SbA4JiaInC2yzmFRxXgutuFNis%3D|tkp%3ABFBMhtPq0Nhm

Thanks, Lance. That answers the question perfectly and I think I’ll bid on that unit for sale.