G1000 NXi Phase II

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CFIDave
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Re: G1000 NXi Phase II

Post by CFIDave »

A few more observations about NXi Phase II on the DA62:

1. If you hook up the plane to a GPU in order to play around with the G1000 NXi on the ground, you'll occasionally hear some strange new noises coming from the front of the fuselage. It's the GWX70 weather radar (that now always starts up in STANDBY mode with NXi Phase II), which sometimes causes a servo to run automatically to keep the antenna level after you've climbed in or out of the plane. Don't worry, you won't get fried from radiation. :)

2. The new Phase II GMA 1360 audio panel sounds better than the old GMA 1347 panel when listening to music on a set of headphones with good frequency response (e.g., Lightspeed Zulu 3s). With uncompressed audio from an iPhone or iPad (ripped from CDs), the clarity and bass response is terrific. While in-flight it's now possible to hear the very low pedal tone at the beginning of Also Sprach Zarathustra (from the movie 2001), for example. In contrast, SirusXM satellite radio channels don't sound much better, because of their more limited audio bandwidth and greater compression.
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Re: G1000 NXi Phase II

Post by Kerry »

Thanks, Dave! Excellent review. I just got my airplane back from its Phase II upgrade. They've fixed the flaps indicator light problem. I went into configuration mode and turned on the 3D Audio - very nice!
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Re: G1000 NXi Phase II

Post by CFIDave »

Kerry wrote: Thu Oct 08, 2020 1:08 amThey've fixed the flaps indicator light problem.
I'm glad to hear this is now fixed. Diamond issued revised drawings that add an additional circuit board with 3 diodes connected to the flap lights. The diodes keep the new Phase II GIA64W's autopilot flap position-sensing circuits from drawing current through the lights.
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Re: G1000 NXi Phase II

Post by Kerry »

Does everyone have the same video clip in their startup screen of N62QQ?
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Re: G1000 NXi Phase II

Post by CFIDave »

Kerry wrote: Thu Oct 08, 2020 9:15 pm Does everyone have the same video clip in their startup screen of N62QQ?
Yes, the same MFD video loads with all NXi Phase II software installs.

But if you have access to the G1000 NXi Phase II software loader card for your aircraft, it would be very easy to substitute a different video file to play at startup. :D
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Re: G1000 NXi Phase II

Post by Kerry »

No, I won't need to. N62QQ is my airplane. :D
I changed the N- number to N62MC because I really disliked saying "Kay-bec, Kay-bec"
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Re: G1000 NXi Phase II

Post by CFIDave »

CFIDave wrote: Thu Oct 08, 2020 1:59 am
Kerry wrote: Thu Oct 08, 2020 1:08 amThey've fixed the flaps indicator light problem.
I'm glad to hear this is now fixed. Diamond issued revised drawings that add an additional circuit board with 3 diodes connected to the flap lights. The diodes keep the new Phase II GIA64W's autopilot flap position-sensing circuits from drawing current through the lights.
Yesterday at SouthTec Aviation at KRUQ I got my DA62 flap lights fixed post-NXi Phase II GIA64W installation. Now only one light comes on at a time. :)

The fix requires removing the left-most inspection panel in the 2nd row (1st passenger row) seat bottom for access to one of the wiring harnesses located underneath. Wires needed to be cut and a small 3-diode circuit board installed -- but it was a really challenging operation because of difficulty reaching the area all the way to the left side of the fuselage floor under the seat, analogous to "building a ship in a bottle." It might have been easier to remove the entire seat for access.

SouthTec had previously installed the same 3-diode board in a DA42-VI that has been upgraded to NXi Phase II, but mine was their first DA62 to get the flap light fix. Apparently gaining access to the wiring harness underneath the rear seat of a DA42 was much easier.
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Re: G1000 NXi Phase II

Post by Soareyes »

CFIDave wrote: Mon Jun 29, 2020 9:43 pm
Garmin's software for the DA62 is configured with the new 3D audio feature disabled. But with a little bit of fooling around in G1000 Maintenance Mode, it's possible to enable 3D audio -- it's very useful for example, to hear ATC Approach sound like it's coming from 11 o'clock in your stereo headset, while an ATIS/AWOS recording sounds like it's coming from 1 o'clock.

Can you tell me how to access Maintenance/Configuration Mode in my new DA42?

My plane seems to have also come with the 3D Audio feature disabled. I had it in my previous plane and am familiar with how it is supposed to work. I had the new plane ferried to Premier and back for this and for a leaky fuel drain. The avionics guru there said it was working fine for him. When the plane got back the fuel leak was fixed but the 3D Audio is still not working.

I've followed the instructions in the Cockpit Reference Guide and in the GMA 1360 Troubleshooting Guide, to no avail. Here is a video of trying to follow the instructions in those guides but getting nowhere:



While you are looking, notice on the system status page, in the upper right corner, next to SYS Software Version, it says "Not Available." Shouldn't there be a version number there?

Should "CRG Part Number" be blank?

One more thought that may be irrelevant. I paid extra to have LEMO plugs. Diamond surprised me by installing a headset plug panel with both LEMO and 2-pin sockets all together. I think that is something new for Diamond, maybe some new software will be required for that configuration?

This will probably be one of those head-slappers where I'm doing something obviously wrong.

Thanks for looking.
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Re: G1000 NXi Phase II

Post by CFIDave »

It's bizarre that your SYS Software Version isn't showing up -- I've never seen that before. Does it show up on your original MFD startup/splash screen during G1000 boot up?

It takes multiple steps after rebooting the G1000 NXi into Configuration Mode to re-configure the new GMA 1360 audio panel to enable 3D audio (or to turn on the ability for passengers to hear ATC radio -- essential for training flights with pilots in the back seat).

Once you reboot into Configuration Mode, you'll see G1000 NXi configurations accessible via PFD screens that are organized into page group "tabs" shown at the bottom, with one tab per LRU. You'll need to first find and open the tab for the GMA audio panel, then access a "GMA Options" page (it's actually about 4 pages long if you scroll down through all the options) that lets you change dozens of audio panel settings, including 3D audio. You'll know you're in the right place if you see this:
IMG_4800.jpeg
Change the OFF parameters to ON for the two options descriptions where it says "Always enable 3D audio for pilot" (and co-pilot).

Then using the softkeys at the bottom hit SET>Active so that both columns show ON.

As a final step, go back to your original Configuration Mode "home page" and confirm your new configuration by hitting the softkey that says CFRM CFG. (If you skip this you may get an error message when back in normal G1000 NXi user mode.)

Recycle the power on the G1000 and you should be back to normal user mode operation.

Be aware that you're "playing with fire" by changing things in Configuration Mode; this is really intended only for Garmin techs, not aircraft owners/operators/pilots, so you can really screw things up if not careful. And you must have the plane hooked up to a GPU in order to not run down the battery.

The process described above works fine on DA62s and DA40NGs equipped with G1000 NXi Phase II with the new GMA 1360 audio panel, so I'm assuming it will also work on your similarly-equipped new DA42-VI.

One difference between models is that turning 3D audio to ON in Configuration Mode is all you need to do to make it work on a DA62, whereas on DA40NGs after rebooting the G1000 back to normal operation, you ALSO need to go to the AUX System Setup page 2 to see new menu options show up for 3D audio (what's shown in the manual) and turn these on. I've not reconfigured 3D audio on DA42s so you'll need to check this.
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Re: G1000 NXi Phase II

Post by CFIDave »

Soareyes wrote: Sat Jan 02, 2021 2:22 am One more thought that may be irrelevant. I paid extra to have LEMO plugs. Diamond surprised me by installing a headset plug panel with both LEMO and 2-pin sockets all together. I think that is something new for Diamond, maybe some new software will be required for that configuration?
On DA62s both LEMO and 2-pin sockets for headsets are standard -- they're both active so there's no new software required to make them work. The same is true for multiple DA40s that have had LEMO plugs retrofitted, so I'm sure your DA42 is similar.
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