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Thread Tools | Display Modes |
#1
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MX 20 -another faulty display
2 years ago we were forced to replace (for $600) our MX20 display
because it had vertical lines. At the time, we were led to believe these were "growing pains" and that what is now Garmin AT had re-designed the MX20 box so display failures would be less common. The new displays even came with an 18 month guarantee. (wow) As you may have guessed, ours has failed again, despite the "new" design. We also have a special avionics fan back there to help with cooling. The Garmin AT rep now says this isn't a heating problem and isn't really a problem at all. According to him, the displays are only expected to last about 18 months. Anyone else have this problem? The rep says all the larger aircraft do and that this is just part of maintenance, sort of like changing your oil (my interpretation). Too bad these delicate displays are about the best on the market (for their size) otherwise I'd love to get rid of it. |
#2
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) wrote:
Anyone else have this problem? The rep says all the larger aircraft do and that this is just part of maintenance, sort of like changing your oil (my interpretation). Too bad these delicate displays are about the best on the market (for their size) otherwise I'd love to get rid of it. Yes, my MX-20 has had this problem twice. The first time was under the previous owner, who sent it in for warranty repair sometime around fall 2002. The second time, last May, occurred under my watch. When the aircraft went down for its annual, I contacted Garmin's Apollo tech group and explained that the exact problem had occurred again. This tech asked me to send the unit in and that it would be repaired under warranty again. I recall that he mentioned either a design flaw or poor chips causing the problem and that it had been permanently corrected with this latest fix my unit was about to receive. At no time did he ever mention anything about an 18 month life cycle. Your story has me concerned. -- Peter |
#3
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I am on my 6th repair. Actually, this time they gave me a
reconditioned unit, as mine has been repaired so many times. I have always been told it is not a porblem with the monitor itself. I first began getting colorful vertical stripes when my unit was about a month old. I was getting at least 50 and sometimes way more than that, so that it was hard to see the display. I sent it back and they said it was all taken care off. It did work better for a few months, but then the stripes reappeared. I sent it back again and and it came back working fine for a few months. The third time it went back a fan was installed. That worked for several months, then the stripes came back again. The fourth time I was getting pretty mad. I was told they were going to replace some faulty part they discovered. The fifth time, Garmin AT had taken over. They assured me their repair would do the trick. The sixth time, I said enough already. I want a different unit. I was expecting a new unit, not a reconditioned one. My plane is just coming out of annual so I haven't flown with the new/reconditioned unit. With it historically taking a few months to show the stripes, if it is going to do it again, it will be later this spring. Every repair has been under warranty and Apollo and Garmin AT have been kind and easy to deal with. But it is very frustrating to shell out lots of $$$ for the unit and have this repeatedly happen. No one there said anything ever, in all my conversations with them, about the unit expected to last only 18 months. |
#4
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I think the key difference here is "designed" versus "expected." It was
probably designed to last indefinitely but with all the problems they've now come to "expect" them to last only 18 months. I chuckled at the 18-month "guarantee." Now we all know why things break right after warranty. So it's not an urban legend after all... Garmin's probably designing an upgrade behind the scenes that will include the design/component quality issue as well as other features. Marco Leon wrote in message ups.com... I am on my 6th repair. Actually, this time they gave me a reconditioned unit, as mine has been repaired so many times. I have always been told it is not a porblem with the monitor itself. I first began getting colorful vertical stripes when my unit was about a month old. I was getting at least 50 and sometimes way more than that, so that it was hard to see the display. I sent it back and they said it was all taken care off. It did work better for a few months, but then the stripes reappeared. I sent it back again and and it came back working fine for a few months. The third time it went back a fan was installed. That worked for several months, then the stripes came back again. The fourth time I was getting pretty mad. I was told they were going to replace some faulty part they discovered. The fifth time, Garmin AT had taken over. They assured me their repair would do the trick. The sixth time, I said enough already. I want a different unit. I was expecting a new unit, not a reconditioned one. My plane is just coming out of annual so I haven't flown with the new/reconditioned unit. With it historically taking a few months to show the stripes, if it is going to do it again, it will be later this spring. Every repair has been under warranty and Apollo and Garmin AT have been kind and easy to deal with. But it is very frustrating to shell out lots of $$$ for the unit and have this repeatedly happen. No one there said anything ever, in all my conversations with them, about the unit expected to last only 18 months. |
#5
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wrote in message ups.com... I am on my 6th repair. If you guys are having this much trouble.... what is the potential for problems with the glass cockpit? Help me out here... the MX20 is an MFD used, I assume, for GPS and the like, not for primary flight instrumentation, right? But what is different in the technology of, say, the G1000 in so far as the *display* is concerned??? |
#6
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Valid point but there are many MFD's out there that do not have that
problem. To extend the concern with the MX20 to all primary flight displays is stretching it. It's kind of like being worried about your Goodyear tires because Firestone had that catastophic failure problem in theirs. In other words, it's not impossible but until they start seeing a problem in PFDs, it's not a big concern. Besides, I believe the certification process is more stringent for PFDs. Anyone know more? Marco Leon "Icebound" wrote in message ... wrote in message ups.com... I am on my 6th repair. If you guys are having this much trouble.... what is the potential for problems with the glass cockpit? Help me out here... the MX20 is an MFD used, I assume, for GPS and the like, not for primary flight instrumentation, right? But what is different in the technology of, say, the G1000 in so far as the *display* is concerned??? Posted Via Usenet.com Premium Usenet Newsgroup Services ---------------------------------------------------------- ** SPEED ** RETENTION ** COMPLETION ** ANONYMITY ** ---------------------------------------------------------- http://www.usenet.com |
#7
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Icebound ) wrote:
If you guys are having this much trouble.... what is the potential for problems with the glass cockpit? Help me out here... the MX20 is an MFD used, I assume, for GPS and the like, not for primary flight instrumentation, right? The MX-20 displays a moving map and, if the aircraft is so equipped, will also show traffic, downlinked weather, lightning data, and active radar data. But what is different in the technology of, say, the G1000 in so far as the *display* is concerned??? Perhaps the issue is that Garmin is trying to support the MX-20 that was designed by Garmin's predecessor, versus supporting the G1000 that was developed by Garmin's engineers. -- Peter |
#8
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"Peter R." wrote in message ... Icebound ) wrote: If you guys are having this much trouble.... what is the potential for problems with the glass cockpit? Help me out here... the MX20 is an MFD used, I assume, for GPS and the like, not for primary flight instrumentation, right? The MX-20 displays a moving map and, if the aircraft is so equipped, will also show traffic, downlinked weather, lightning data, and active radar data. But what is different in the technology of, say, the G1000 in so far as the *display* is concerned??? Perhaps the issue is that Garmin is trying to support the MX-20 that was designed by Garmin's predecessor, versus supporting the G1000 that was developed by Garmin's engineers. -- Peter Possible but the engineers who designes the UPS stuff are still employed by Garmin. Mike MU-2 |
#9
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Well, well, well, I took my plane up for its post-annual flight last
night, the first flight with the reconditioned MX20 (that was the 6th attempt to get rid of the stripes). As soon as I turned it on, I had a thick band of colorful stripes on the left, and as the flight progressed, more individual stripes showed up all over the screen. I am so p*ssed. I will be calling them this morning. As a troubleshooter, my tech dude will swap outhis MX20 into my plane to see if something in my plane is causing interference. Any my Skywatch was seeing my own plane and giving constant traffic annunciations. Very annoying! Maybe this will go away with a properly functioning MX20. |
#10
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A36 wrote:
snip Any my Skywatch was seeing my own plane and giving constant traffic annunciations. Very annoying! Maybe this will go away with a properly functioning MX20. I cannot imagine how your improperly functioning MX20 would cause Skywatch to pick up your own aircraft as another. Perhaps you have separate issue? -- Peter |
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