Cambidge 302 display polarization

Hi folks,
This weekend I flew a task with a borrowed 302.We are planning to
upgrade the panel and it was a good oportunity to try it out. It was
the first time I used one and I liked it but the display blacks out
with my polarized sunglasses and the only way to read it was lifting
them or tilting my head..
Is there a fix for this? Someone told me that newer units don´t have
this problem.
I prefer flying with polarized sunglasses so this would make me vote
against buying one in spite of it being a very nice instrument.
Thanks!
Juan Carlos

On Feb 13, 7:32*am, JC wrote:
Hi folks,
This weekend I flew a task with a borrowed 302.We are planning to
upgrade the panel and it was a good oportunity to try it out. It was
the first time I used one and I liked it but the display blacks out
with my polarized sunglasses and the only way to read it was lifting
them or tilting my head..
Is there a fix for this? Someone told me that newer units don´t have
this problem.
I prefer flying with polarized sunglasses so this would make me vote
against buying one in spite of it being a very nice instrument.
Thanks!
Juan Carlos

You have to send it in to get the non-polarized display.
Been there.

Tim
1FL

On Feb 13, 6:32*am, JC wrote:
Hi folks,
This weekend I flew a task with a borrowed 302.We are planning to
upgrade the panel and it was a good oportunity to try it out. It was
the first time I used one and I liked it but the display blacks out
with my polarized sunglasses and the only way to read it was lifting
them or tilting my head..
Is there a fix for this? Someone told me that newer units don´t have
this problem.
I prefer flying with polarized sunglasses so this would make me vote
against buying one in spite of it being a very nice instrument.
Thanks!
Juan Carlos

get non-polarized sunglasses?

On Feb 13, 3:38*pm, Tony wrote:

get non-polarized sunglasses?

Probably the best option. Polarized sunglasses have other problems,
sometimes creating dark zones in Perspex canopies. As far as I know,
there is no standard for the polarization of LCD-screens. You have to
turn your head one way for one instrument, the other way for the
other...

Good quality non polarized sunglasses are better for our purpose.
Something like Serengeti, Skylet etc.

On Feb 13, 7:29*am, Tim Taylor wrote:

Fix it for free? *I wish. Just paid over $200 USD for the pleasure of
letting Cambridge fix their own mistake.

Good vario, lousy customer support.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

The issue with 302 polarization must have surfaced more than 5 years
ago, probably more like 8 or 9 years ago but I don't have my records
available. How old is the unit you experienced the problem with?

Andy

On Feb 13, 1:21*pm, Andy wrote:
On Feb 13, 7:29*am, Tim Taylor wrote:



Fix it for free? *I wish. Just paid over $200 USD for the pleasure of
letting Cambridge fix their own mistake.

Good vario, lousy customer support.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

The issue with 302 polarization must have surfaced more than 5 years
ago, probably more like 8 or 9 years ago but I don't have my records
available. *How old is the unit you experienced the problem with?

Andy


I don´t know how old the unit is but it was purchased used for a good
price at a WGC. I guess the owner uses non polarized glasses..
It´s good to know that if we buy a new one it shouldn´t have this
issue.
Thanks for all the replies!
Juan Carlos

There absolutely is a standard. Its to not polarize aircraft instruments so they conflict with Polaroid sunglasses--which are all polarized in the same direction to cut down on reflection off water/road surfaces etc. Cambridge simply (years ago) had a batch of 302s where the glass was installed incorrectly.

There is maybe less of a practical standard for handheld devices becuase some devices are intended to use in portrait or landscape orientations. Manufacturers need to make a best guess as to which orientation is more important for users wearing polarized sunglasses. If the device is only designed to be oriented one way then the choice for them should be obvious.

Polaroid sunglasses can have significant benefits to glider pilots, including making haze dome/wisps more visible (darkening the background sky and maybe direct polarizing effects) and making gliders more visible against darker sky. This is further enhanced if the sunglasses are strong "blue blockers". Besides difficulty reading some PDA/PNA etc. screens polarized sunglasses may show stress patters in canopies. I've flown in quite a few Mecaplex canopied aircraft with Polarized sunglasses and have had no problem at all with this. The side windows on my Toyota Tundra show more patterning.

As a final note some cheaper polarized sunglasses may suffer from poor aliment of the polarizers, so you'll see different darkening in each eye as you rotate say an PDA/PNA screen or even look at different parts of the sky.

Darryl

Stupid automatic spell checker, "Polaroid" snuck in in several places.. I meant polarized.

If you had an old C302 with this problem and Cambridge was no longer offering to fix the polarized screen problem for free I at least hope that for the $200 they upgraded to the new memory chips in this C302 (a change that was supposed to prevent invalid downloads), replaced the internal batteries and included a full recalibration. They have to recalibrate anyhow since the seal is broken.

Darryl

On Feb 13, 3:05*pm, Darryl Ramm wrote:
If you had an old C302 with this problem and Cambridge was no longer offering to fix the polarized screen problem for free I at least hope that for the $200 they upgraded to the new memory chips in this C302 (a change that was supposed to prevent invalid downloads), replaced the internal batteries and included a full recalibration. They have to recalibrate anyhow since the seal is broken.

Darryl

Did include a new internal battery but no calibration all for only
$260 (including the shipping costs). I wear both polarized and non-
polarized glasses. With blue eyes the polarized help reduce fatigue.

Tim