Upgrading a DA20-C1 steam gauge panel

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Pascal
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Upgrading a DA20-C1 steam gauge panel

Post by Pascal »

I am starting to plan a panel upgrade for my 1999 DA20-C1.

My goal is to turn the panel into something reasonably modern on a budget, a panel that will probably be there for the next 15 years or so.

I also want to solve several problems with my current setup:
1) The gauges are hard to read at night despite the led strip that was installed under the glare shield this winter.
2) The radios are noisy and it's a struggle sometimes to understand ATC. (KLX-135A and KX-125). Might be the antennas, the coax, the audio panel, or just the humidity playing tricks with the connectors.
3) I hate having to reset a DG every 15 minutes
4) I need ADSB-OUT compliance for 2020, for the few times a year I fly in the U.S. (I fly most of the time over Canada)
5) A full size iPad on my lap is a major pain in the butt. I could buy a now old technology mini iPad 4 and a suction mount, but I would really prefer an in-panel WAAS GPS with moving map.

I am not rich. I can't justify spending 30k on avionics on that VFR-only two seater.

So far the plan looks like this:
Dual Garmin G5s
PS Engineering PMA6000B audio panel
Avidyne IFD 440 / Used Gamin GNS 430W
Keep the Bendix King KX-125 Nav/Com as Com2
Stratus ES Transponder
Garmin GMU 11 Magnetometer
All new Coax cable
New WAAS GPS antenna
New VHF antenna to replace the COM1 antenna in the vertical stabilizer which seems oxidyzed and unrepairable without major work inside the tail

If the price is still too high, I might have to keep my old transponder and install a Gamin GDL-82 ADSB-out gizmo.
I might also have to kiss the Avidyne IFD 440 or Garmin GNS 430W goodbye and make do with the KLX-135A and and a mini iPad running Foreflight.

Any suggestion on how to go about this is welcome. And of course I would prefer the IFD550 and a Bluetooth stereo audio panel, and ADSB-IN, but that would more than bust my budget. I still need to replace the canopy on my plane and I want to install a heated pitot...

Thanks,

Pascal
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thefoxx
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Re: Upgrading a DA20-C1 steam gauge panel

Post by thefoxx »

Following! I want to do something similar as well, right down to the heated Pitot.

I am experiencing very similar issues with the radios/com - in fact just sent the avionics shop an email seeing if I can get my bird in.
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Re: Upgrading a DA20-C1 steam gauge panel

Post by Pascal »

I will be asking my avionics shop if there is enough space to fit a PS Engineeering PMA 8000BT in place of the King KA-134. The PS Engineering unit is 0.3 inch higher and 1.2 inches deeper. But the noise attenuation and Bluetooth functionality seem like very valuable additions to the stack for just a little more than the PMA 6000B.
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Re: Upgrading a DA20-C1 steam gauge panel

Post by RMarkSampson »

Sorry I've been off the net a bit. I'm also considering some upgrade but I have a fairly robust panel to start so I don't want to throw out that baby with the bathwater. What irks me the most is my Sandel 3308 EHSI. It is just so hard to read in sunlight and the screen is getting some washed out spots where you can't read anything. So I'm interested in getting a Garmin G5 to replace but need to ensure it can interface with the STEC-30 autopilot, stormscope, air data computer, and my two GNS-430s. Also have the GDL-84 ADS-B solution but not sure how if I could pull anything off that to display on the G5. Anyway, good questions for the Avionics Shop once I get serious about making this upgrade.

My AI is an electric gyro and works great so I'm not sure if I want to go for the dual G5 solution - guess it is just a function of $$'s and I'm not sure what bang I would get for those extra bucks.

Keep posting so we can all gain insight from each other's treks down upgrade lane...
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Re: Upgrading a DA20-C1 steam gauge panel

Post by YCCA »

I’m thinking about putting the aspen unit in an DA20 I’m under contract on. I did it in the Warrior I previously owned. It’s a nice unit
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Re: Upgrading a DA20-C1 steam gauge panel

Post by thefoxx »

Which Aspen unit are you considering YCCA?
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Re: Upgrading a DA20-C1 steam gauge panel

Post by YCCA »

thefoxx wrote:Which Aspen unit are you considering YCCA?
Probably Aspen Pro 1000. Gets you glass with an HSI. Once you train your eyes to not look at the steam, it’s pretty good.
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Re: Upgrading a DA20-C1 steam gauge panel

Post by RMarkSampson »

So I'll have actual data points on the Garmin G5 for everyone in a month - but only the HSI. I'm scheduled to install the Garmin G5 in my '99 DA-20-C1 to replace my ever-increasing hard2read Sandel 3308 HSI. The G5 will interface with one of my two GNS-430s (non-WAAS) and the STEC-30 autopilot via a GAD 29B interface box - just under $6K, installed.

The Sandel was state-of-the-art back in 1999 with its moving map display and ability to show StormScope data, two RMIs, drive the STEC-30 and talk with both GNS-430s. So in some ways it does more now even after 19 years of service than the G5 will do once I get it installed - but the Sandel display has become completely untenable. Also, some of the wiz-bang'adry of the Sandel made it simply more complex to operate. Depending on your setup the Sandel would steal the CDI signal and make that instrument go dumb - so you had to be careful about the modes and codes of the Sandel, STEC-30 and GNS-430s while flying.

The G5 will just be integrated with one GNS-430. The other GNS-430 will remain interfaced with its traditional CDI. The GAD 29B will allow the G5 to pass its heading bug and/or GPS route info to the STEC-30 - but only one GNS-430 will have that functionality, not both. There will not be any StormScope data displayed on the HSI, but it will be shown on one of my GNS-430s. My JPI EDM-900 Engine Management System will remain interfaced with one GNS-430 so it logs lat/long along with engine parameters. My air data computer will continue to provide its wind vector to at least one GNS-430 - possibly both if I don't run out of serial ports.

Notably, I did not jump on the dual G5 bandwagon simply based on overall price - and the fact that I can make that upgrade at a future time without incurring a larger install price. The price will be essentially the same whether I install them one-at-a-time or both together. So I decided to keep my perfectly functional elec-gyro AI (not vacuum) for the time being.

So that's the plan, we'll see how she goes...
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