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Old May 31st 06, 10:01 PM posted to rec.aviation.owning
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Default Has Anyone Used The "Approach Sport Hub Avionics Wiring Systems"?

three-eight-hotel wrote:
Aircraft Spruce has a product listing for the Approach Sport Hub
Avionics Wiring Systems

http://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalo.../approach1.php

The Pro Hub for IFR is $600 and the cables aren't cheap, but it seems
like once this is installed, avionics additions/upgrades could be done
fairly easily???

Would someone considering an avionics stack upgrade be wise to consider
installing something like this as a hub for the entire stack?
Especially if there was a constraint to upgrade a little at a time?

Thanks!
Todd


A couple thoughts:
1) Upgrades over time assume that the cables for future equipment
continue to be available. If this hub company goes out of business are
the connectors to the hub side generally available? If so, can you make
up your own cables instead to save money. If not, then I'd be really
worried about the future viability of this system if the connectors are
sole-source.

2) Each connector in the wiring harness represents one more potential
failure node. The hub necessarily adds two connectors for each signal path.

3) If you factor in the cost of the hub and the cables, you are close to
parity on the cost of an install using a custom harness

4) the lengths of the cables required are dependent upon the
installation. The cables sold with this system are apparently
one-size-fits all, which means that you'll have a fair amount of excess
cable that has to be bundled behind the panel adding extra clutter and
weight.

You might ask one of the avionics retailers such as Eastern Avionics
what they think of such a system, since they sell lots of avionics that
they do not install. You might also compare the price of this system to
Eastern Avionics pre-fabricated wiring harnesses, which are sized to the
length you need for your panel.