IFD 5 Series & IFD 4 Series Touch Screen GPS/NAV/COM

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Adding a second IFD

Printed From: Avidyne
Category: Avidyne General
Forum Name: IFD 5 Series & IFD 4 Series Touch Screen GPS/NAV/COM
Forum Description: Topics on Avidyne's IFD 5 Series and IFD 4 Series Touch Screen GPS/NAV/COM
URL: http://forums.avidyne.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=2746
Printed Date: 28 Apr 2025 at 11:36am
Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 12.01 - http://www.webwizforums.com

Topic: Adding a second IFD

Posted By: paulr
Subject: Adding a second IFD
Date Posted: 24 Apr 2025 at 1:49pm

I put a single IFD440 in my plane after I bought it. That left me with one IFD440 and one GNS430W. I just replaced the GNS with a used IFD440. It's set to sys id 2 and cross-sync etc appears to be configured properly. However, I can't load databases onto it.

First attempt was with the databases I downloaded earlier this week. I loaded them onto unit 1 with no problem. After the shop installed unit 2, I tried using that same stick-- no go.

I then went into the Jepp website and added the second unit's serial number, relaunched JDM, redownloaded, and still no go.

What's the trick to get a database download that will be loadable onto both units?

Replies:

Posted By: paulr
Date Posted: 24 Apr 2025 at 2:00pm

Answering my own question, it looks like all I needed was a DSF that set the paid options correctly for the unit with my tail number. As soon as I installed that, I was able to load the databases without any trouble.

Posted By: PA23
Date Posted: 25 Apr 2025 at 10:50am

Geeze, 11 minutes, you didn't give anybody a chance to give you the answer :)

glad you got it figured out

Posted By: paulr
Date Posted: 25 Apr 2025 at 12:40pm

Oh, don't worry, I have plenty of other questions!

Today's episode…

In my prior config, I could load an approach (visual or otherwise) on the IFD and tune an ILS, if available, on the 430W. The loaded approach on the IFD would drive the CDI on my Aspen, and as soon as I hit the button on the Garmin to flip it to VLOC, then my GI106 gives me the ILS signal.

Now that I have two IFDs, and CrossSync is turned on, I can't figure out how to do this. Whatever approach I activate on IFD 1 is also active on the other one, and in my ground tests, it looks like if I manually tune the ILS and hit the button on IFD2, that doesn't do what I want either.

One possible solution, I guess, is to disable CrossSync but I don't want to do that. Is there another way to get the behavior I had with the dissimilar units?

Posted By: Melohn
Date Posted: 25 Apr 2025 at 3:00pm

Perhaps you could explain what you “want” the IFDs to do? If you tune #1 to an ILS frequency, it will provide the signal and sensing to that Navaid when selected on your PFD. You can also have a different Navaid tuned on #2 without impacting what’s on #1. You can manually change #2 from GPS to VLOC using the knob on the top right, without effecting #1, just like you did with the GNS.

Syncing the two units means that they have a single approach loaded and activated. If you want different sequenced approaches available on each unit, you probably don’t want to keep them crossynced.

There is another alternative, if you want the units to share information like traffic sensor input, but don’t want to keep the flight plans in sync; just keep the #2 unit one database update behind the #1 unit. This keeps them from sharing flight plan information, but still allows them to share other inputs. Obviously, you need to be sure that the latest data is used on the primary IFD for approaches.

Posted By: paulr
Date Posted: 28 Apr 2025 at 7:25am

I wanted to shoot a video of what the units do yesterday. In cruise, just before starting my descent into KGTR, I loaded (but did not activate) the visual approach for 18 in the #1 unit and then selected the ILS frequency for the ILS 18 in the #2 unit. When I pushed the #2 unit's OBS button, the upper-right corner of both units changed to say "OBS -> xxx" with the heading. I shrugged, landed, and went about my business. I noticed during startup on the way home that my newly installed #2 unit's config page showed a difference between the displayed OBS value and the value on the CDI, so I recalibrated it.

On the way home, I loaded the visual 36L at KHSV and tuned the ILS 36L on the #2 nav. When tower cleared me for the approach, I activated the visual. At that point, both units indicated "Visual" as the selected nav mode, and pressing the OBS on the #2 unit did nothing. I learned this morning that you can't change the nav source (the note on the top of page 5-9 on the pilot's guide explains this).

I'm away from the plane for the next few days but I'll experiment some more this weekend.