Another reason to upgrade to NXi Phase II

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Boatguy
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Another reason to upgrade to NXi Phase II

Post by Boatguy »

Why? Because there is a bug in your ADSB-In traffic display which causes it to randomly drop targets. If you stay with Phase I, you'll never get the fix to this bug.

The quick summary is that the internal database in the GTX345 and GTX345R has room for 200 targets within 150nm of your plane. Once the database is full, it starts dropping older targets to make room for new ones, irrespective of their proximity to your airplane. Garmin issued a fix three years ago. After installing the fix, when the database is full and a new target is to be added, it will drop the target furthest away from your plane, ensuring you are seeing all the targets near your plane.

I observed this bug while training in LA. Nearby targets in the Long Beach practice area, obviously all required to have ADSB-out, would randomly appear and disappear. 150nm from Long Beach includes a lot of airspace and I’m sure the DB was full. I also observed this in my plane when near the SFO bravo; an SR22 was called out by ATC, passed visually in front of me, and never appeared on my traffic display.

All Diamond pilots in a plane with a GTR345R, or stand alone GTX345, flying where there are likely 200 planes within a 150nm radius, should know that they are not necessarily seeing all traffic targets on their MFD, even when they are close to a Bravo or Charlie.

Diamond has the fix, but has not released any Garmin updates to owners since Garmin issued the fix, so every Diamond with a GTX345 has this bug. The good news is that the fix will be included in NXi Phase III which Diamond is expected to release within the next year. But unless your plane has Phase II, you won't be able to install the Phase III software and receive the fix to this bug.

There are other threads in DAN which discuss how to obtain the Phase II upgrade.
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photoSteveZ
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Re: Another reason to upgrade to NXi Phase II

Post by photoSteveZ »

Russ, are you saying that this bug *is present* in Nxi Phase II, and not just in Nxi Phase I?
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Re: Another reason to upgrade to NXi Phase II

Post by Boatguy »

photoSteveZ wrote: Sun Sep 25, 2022 10:55 pm Russ, are you saying that this bug *is present* in Nxi Phase II, and not just in Nxi Phase I?
Yes.
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Re: Another reason to upgrade to NXi Phase II

Post by Colin »

This is the sort of thing that if I were in control of the FAA I would use it to beat Diamond with a large stick until they release the fix for ALL GTX345s.
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Re: Another reason to upgrade to NXi Phase II

Post by Colin »

This also feels like a HUGE liability issue.

"And were you aware that there was a software fix for the issue?"

"Yes."

"And would the fix have made the traffic visibility to the pilot and plane lost?"

"Yes."

"Were you in possession of the fix from Garmin?"

"Yes."

"Did you provide the fix to the owners of Diamond aircraft that had the installed hardware?"

"Some."
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Re: Another reason to upgrade to NXi Phase II

Post by gyro3816 »

Since when did having all visible ads-b traffic become legal issue. That seems like a stretch.
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Re: Another reason to upgrade to NXi Phase II

Post by Boatguy »

Colin wrote: Sun Sep 25, 2022 11:36 pm "Did you provide the fix to the owners of Diamond aircraft that had the installed hardware?"

"Some."
I don't believe any Diamond aircraft have the fix.

While I'm sure there is a case to be made that Diamond was prevented by Transport Canada from distributing the fix, there is nothing that prevented Diamond from alerting all owners, and in particular new owners when they take delivery of their airplane.
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Re: Another reason to upgrade to NXi Phase II

Post by arksat »

Thanks for the info, Russ.
Sounds like this is GTX issue so I guess my legacy G1000 system is also affected. (I think I saw this issue quite often around SFO veil)

But my understanding is that the GTX firmware can be updated independently from the G1000 system.
Do you mean updating o the GTX firmware v3.13 requires authorization from Diamond, and that is not released?
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Re: Another reason to upgrade to NXi Phase II

Post by mhoran »

arksat wrote: Mon Sep 26, 2022 6:11 am Thanks for the info, Russ.
Sounds like this is GTX issue so I guess my legacy G1000 system is also affected. (I think I saw this issue quite often around SFO veil)

But my understanding is that the GTX firmware can be updated independently from the G1000 system.
Do you mean updating o the GTX firmware v3.13 requires authorization from Diamond, and that is not released?
The issue *can* be fixed for legacy G1000 airplanes as the STC governs the software version, not the TC / Diamond. Your avionics shop is free to install the latest GTX firmware. I had the latest installed multiple times when debugging a traffic fail issue. Turns out the software was not to blame, but I do have this fix.
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Re: Another reason to upgrade to NXi Phase II

Post by Boatguy »

arksat wrote: Mon Sep 26, 2022 6:11 am But my understanding is that the GTX firmware can be updated independently from the G1000 system.
Yes. Matt got it right. The problem is not all Diamonds, only those certified with the GTX345.
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