Software upgrade 321.23

[BurdetteB]

Got my DA-40 back from shop and the active traffic is not working, it reverts back to TIS any suggestions Thanks Guys

[rwtucker]

Sounds like they made a mistake in selections that load the appropriate NT drivers during the load. (The OS is Windows NT.) I lost traffic when they replaced my autopilot servo and reloaded the software.

If you haven't already done so, you might check other functions such as your fuel gauges (they loaded the 40 gallon default for my 50 gallon tanks), CO2 detector (if you have a software managed type), etc.

Unless you want to reload 321.23 yourself, the most likely solution is to take the aircraft back and have them do it again. I assume that you are in possession of the SD card containing 321..23 (they should have given it to you for your personal backup; it should also contain your fuel tank calibrations). If so, it is also possible to try another shop.

[DavidS]

Yea, whomever loaded the software didn't pay much attention to what they were doing. When you load the software, there's an "Optional Equipment" screen that lists all the options. The option that you want (and was missed) is "DA40 Option – TAS600 Series"

You can toggle options without reloading the entire system (thankfully) as it took us a couple times to figure out what the deal with the CO detector was. (I don't recall if the standard configuration mode worked, or if you needed to boot off of the loader card again.)

Luckily an A&P that knows the system should be able to do this really quickly.

And as an aside, and into the weeds:

The OS is Windows NT.

Actually I'm pretty certain that's not the case. The GDUs are running circa early 2000s ARM processors, running what Garmin describes as a "proprietary realtime operating system." It looks and smells a lot like some real-time variant of Linux, or something else POSIX-ish that reads everything off of a JFFS filesystem. The paths that everything references are all POSIX-ish as well.

The later Garmins (G500/600) go so far as to use what's called "ELF" format binaries compiled on ARM - further likening the Linux / POSIX story. (Not to mention that the first version of Windows NT to run on ARM processors came out in 2012.)

Last time I asked them about what it ran, they said they "wrote their own" OS as it was "easier to certify." (DO-178B, I think?)

I believe you're thinking of the Avidynes - their flight deck system prior to the R9 actually does run Windows NT.

[rwtucker]

The OS is Windows NT.

Actually I'm pretty certain that's not the case.

Thanks for this interesting detail. This is definitely weeds and we should probably PM if we learn more. A colleague is a software engineer at MS and mentioned several years ago (circa 2008) that the kernel is licensed to Garmin for the G1000, along with an "assist" staff. I'll see if I can get an update on that. The code supporting these functions is generational and Garmin was a relatively late entrant (not so much in GA but overall) so it is unlikely that Garmin started from the ground up functional level, ignoring all of the commercial code out there. I didn't question the NT comment made to me because it seemed reasonable that Garmin would opt for a hyper-stable kernel in wide commercial use, the behavior of which is well-understood. I'm not an MS ideologue, and there are a few other stable kernels out there; however, the NT kernel is in global use. It powers mobile phones, Windows 8.1 ff. ,Windows Server, and, the last I heard, most banking and financial software. The last release of the kernel was about six months ago. By the way, NT supports ARM (you mentioned that you doubted NT because of Garmin's ARM processors) as well as IA-32, x86-64, DEC Alpha, MIPS, Itanium, and a few more. These are the public licenses. I don't know where they are in the private licenses. It would be difficult to imagine that federal DO-178B standards (which are a separate topic in themselves) would be easier to meet with freshly written code with zero legacy than with a kernel that has a 22 year performance history. I'll PM you if I am able to get an update from my colleague. Much of this stuff is confidential, I suppose.

[CFIDave]

Robert, if you do learn more about the DA40's G1000 OS, please post it here somewhere on the forum rather than send PMs. I actually find this subject interesting (perhaps because my geek credentials include a BS/MS in computer science.)

I also (perhaps wrongly) assumed the Garmin software was based on the embedded real-time version of Windows NT. The $25 Garmin G1000 simulator software for Windows PCs seems to be a direct port of the plane's code, since it uses the same database files as the plane's real G1000.

I'm pretty sure the unrelated Apollo (now Garmin) GNS 480 is based on a version of Windows, because I actually got it to crash and generate a "blue screen of death" on a checkride in an A36 Bonanza (fortunately on the ground :-D )

[rwtucker]

Robert, if you do learn more about the DA40's G1000 OS, please post it here somewhere on the forum rather than send PMs.

Will do Dave. This is interesting stuff to me as well. I'm pretty much at the end of what little I know or thought I knew. I lost track of my old MS friend but I am still in contact with some of his old friends. Maybe a few of us geek leaning types can start a thread on this. Probably of no practical value but you never know.

[mhoran]

Stumbled across this thread as SouthTec just loaded 321.23 on my DA40 after the WAAS upgrade and thy can't seem to get the CO Guardian config loaded. It looks like others may have had a similar issue. Any hints?

[CFIDave]

I thought the DA40's Guardian CO detector operated independently of the G1000, in which case there's nothing to load.

[mhoran]

The CO detector does operate independently, but the value add (at least in my opinion) is that it [should] integrate with the G1000, providing aural and visual indication on the PFD. I just had my Guardian unit replaced for $1200, which required an upgraded G1000 wiring harness from Diamond. You can imagine my surprise when I was informed that SouthTec couldn't get the G1000 to interface with the CO detector I just paid $1200 to have replaced.

[mhoran]

Turns out the shop that replaced my CO detector installed the wrong one, which doesn't integrate with the G1000. Hopefully I can get it swapped out.