DME soft key

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yl472401
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DME soft key

Post by yl472401 »

It has been a mystery to me for a while. Whenever I study some online video about G1000 navigation, the DME/ADF soft key has been showing up as an option. But I could never get my DME soft key to show up. Is there a special process to get it to show up? I'm trying to use it for VOR distance measurement.
Thanks.
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Colin
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Re: DME soft key

Post by Colin »

You might have to have the DME hardware installed. I don't think that is standard in the United States.
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Re: DME soft key

Post by CFIDave »

Colin wrote: Sun Nov 29, 2020 2:09 pm You might have to have the DME hardware installed. I don't think that is standard in the United States.
And if the DME hardware is installed (check for a DME antenna on the belly), the appropriate G1000 software option for DME must also be installed for the PFD softkey to show up.
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Re: DME soft key

Post by yl472401 »

I reviewed the picture that was sent to me prior the aircraft purchase, the soft key wasn't there. I guess that solved half of the mystery. The other half would be as CFIDave mentioned as if the proper software was installed. I reviewed the G1000 Diamond study tutorial. It states that the ADF/DME is optional. But, I saw it with my own eyes there were DME information showing up on the screen during at least one flight, likely during the GPS, RNAV usage. with that being said, could this DME information part of the GPS navigation system??
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Re: DME soft key

Post by dmloftus »

yl472401 wrote: Sun Nov 29, 2020 5:23 pm I reviewed the picture that was sent to me prior the aircraft purchase, the soft key wasn't there. I guess that solved half of the mystery. The other half would be as CFIDave mentioned as if the proper software was installed. I reviewed the G1000 Diamond study tutorial. It states that the ADF/DME is optional. But, I saw it with my own eyes there were DME information showing up on the screen during at least one flight, likely during the GPS, RNAV usage. with that being said, could this DME information part of the GPS navigation system??
For DME, I usually use the GPS Direct-To the fix, ie VOR, etc. You're usually using the VOR as primary guidance (ie CDI on VOR1) and you will get the GPS-derived DME at the top of the PFD from the GPS. Not sure why a separate DME receiver would be needed unless you were just using the full GPS plan for reference and needed a fully independent DME. I think most of those procedures are going away, my home airport deleted their DME arc procedure recently.
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Re: DME soft key

Post by Rich »

I'm not sure if these equivalents are available in the G1000, but for DME to VOR I tune the 530 to the desired frequency and it continuously update distance and radial from said VOR regardless whether I'm actually using the VOR for navigation.

The 430 doesn't do this, but both GNS units can be caused to display a "Nearest VOR" list, which displays frequencies and dynamically updates distance and bearing to each entry.
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Re: DME soft key

Post by Boatguy »

Rich wrote: Sun Nov 29, 2020 6:32 pm I'm not sure if these equivalents are available in the G1000, but for DME to VOR I tune the 530 to the desired frequency and it continuously update distance and radial from said VOR regardless whether I'm actually using the VOR for navigation.

The 430 doesn't do this, but both GNS units can be caused to display a "Nearest VOR" list, which displays frequencies and dynamically updates distance and bearing to each entry.
Yes, G1000NXi, and I'm pretty sure G1000, also displays radial and distance, but it's using the GPS for the distance since there is no DME unit. The issue is that if there is a GPS outage and we switch to VORs, we've only got half the system. All those little distance measurements on the plates that we are supposed to use to land at a MON airport are useless. The only way to get a fix is to cross two VORs.

On the NXi panel the bearing/distance are shown in magenta which I believe is to indicate that it is GPS data, not DME data.
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Re: DME soft key

Post by waynemcc999 »

yl472401 wrote: Sun Nov 29, 2020 12:16 am It has been a mystery to me for a while. Whenever I study some online video about G1000 navigation, the DME/ADF soft key has been showing up as an option. But I could never get my DME soft key to show up. Is there a special process to get it to show up? I'm trying to use it for VOR distance measurement.
Thanks.
Bryan, I might well be misunderstanding what you're looking for in DME, but here's what I use when I want real-time DME readings (see screen capture below):
-- set a couple VORs (I have RZS and GVO set in this example)
-- on the PFD, press the PFD softkey
-- click BRG1 until the first VOR shows
-- click BRG2 until the second VOR shows
Now on the PFD below the HSI there are shown DMEs to each of the selected VORs. Tiny caveat... these are not the slant distances that an actual DME device would sense, but rather horizontal distances provided by the GPS.

Best regards,
Wayne
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Re: DME soft key

Post by dmloftus »

waynemcc999 wrote: Sun Nov 29, 2020 6:55 pm
Now on the PFD below the HSI there are shown DMEs to each of the selected VORs. Tiny caveat... these are not the slant distances that an actual DME device would sense, but rather horizontal distances provided by the GPS.

Best regards,
Wayne
Hi Wayne. That's an interesting observation that I never thought of. You could be off as much as the tangent of your angle to the fix. On a 3 degree glideslope that's not much, 5.2%. But if you were navigating IFR between VOR's at high altitude for, say a ridge crossing requiring an altitude change, it could be more significant. Great point.
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Re: DME soft key

Post by Rich »

waynemcc999 wrote: Sun Nov 29, 2020 6:55 pm Tiny caveat... these are not the slant distances that an actual DME device would sense, but rather horizontal distances provided by the GPS.

Best regards,
Wayne
This has long been considered irrelevant. When you’re at any workable distance from the fix, with either technology you’re within allowable accuracy requirements. The one difference is when you pass over the fix “real” DME will not go to zero, but read your height above there fix. This was long a “lived-with” annoyance, like living with a gas-passing dog :D
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