User72 wrote:
I would steer away from an internal magnetometer as they can be quite unreliable. With all the other devices in the panel, and near-by wires, it is difficult to make them work well. If you really want a stable magnetic heading a remote magnetometer is a must.
steviem wrote:..... a little bit of a faff to calibrate
Well, I need to listen to people like you two a lot more.
The Avmap was installed by a reputable avionics engineer who I’ve used before (I’d rather pay someone than try and do it myself l) and then it was powered up. We easily calibrated the pitch, and then it was time to calibrate the compass. The manufacturer’s guidance for this was well set out and easy to understand.
Well, after six attempts, we gave up for the night as the sun started to go down. No matter how much we made sure the airframe was level and how close we got the aircraft to face each compass point before we pressed ‘ENTER’, it simply wouldn’t work.
We tried again the following day with just as much disappointment. Eventually we had to give up.
Harry Mendelssohn understandably passed us on to Avmap, and Avmap preferred to deal via email.
We were firstly told that the software must be out of date, which it wasn’t. It was the latest version.
We were then told that we didn’t have GPS reception, which we did.
We were then told that the bubble compass was too close to the instrument which simply can’t be the case as I have spoken with at least five people now who all have the Avmap installed in the same location, and often even closer to the compass than I have.
We were asked if we had made sure the aircraft was level during the calibration process. Well, we had the tailwheel up on a stand and the longeron measured precisely level each time with a spirit level.
We were asked what kind of aircraft it was and if there was any inherent disturbance going on. Well, I’ve been in touch with several Jodel drivers who use one of these, and all of them haven’t had any issues calibrating theirs.
Basically, either the internal magnetometer is a poor design of this instrument, or mine is faulty.
Why do I need it when the horizon function is working ok? Well, one of the reasons I chose the Avmap is for the wind speed/direction function on the HSI screen which I really like. Sadly, if I keep it, I won’t have that function.
I was a little surprised that the box seal had been broken when I received it ten days ago. Perhaps it had been rejected by someone else for the same reason? Apparently not. Apparently the screens on these often crack in transit and they’d decided to check this before it was sent out to me.
So, all in all, I’m really not impressed at all, and wish I’d gone straight for the G5 now.
Anyway, I thought I’d give an update just to summarise that this didn’t all end nice and happily, and my personal recommendation is to steer well clear of the Avmap Ultra and go straight for the Garmin G5. It’ll cost a bit more to buy, but at least you won’t have a poorly designed instrument, with hit & miss a/c suitability, and that also has rather ‘wriggly’ back-up support.
So, @User72 you were absolutely right and I should have listened to you.
Never criticise a man until you’ve flown a mile in his loafers.