On Wednesday, January 16, 2013 12:17:21 PM UTC-6, Bill D wrote:
On Wednesday, January 16, 2013 10:31:14 AM UTC-7, Dan Marotta wrote:

Maybe instrument design has changed, but I recall the counter, drum, pointer



altimeter needing a vibrator (read battery consumption) to keep the pointer



and digits from sticking. Or you could continuously tap the panel to keep



it moving...







"Bill D" wrote in message



...



On Tuesday, January 15, 2013 5:15:40 PM UTC-7, Craig R. wrote:



If I remember correctly, studies were done on the ability of the brain to



interpret and understand data quickly using either an analog or digital



readout. Time and speedometer readouts were the main emphasis of the



study. The study showed that the brain interprets the analog display



quicker and with greater accuracy. Besides the issue of running out of



power, it appears that the analog display is superior to digital for



information gathering and execution. Something to consider in going to an



all glass panel. Perhaps someone that is up on this subject could



elaborate?







That study was done very early in the digital age - 1960's IIRC. Current



studies show that while it remains easier to detect a trend with an analog



needle, a discrete value is easier to read in digits. Few would use an



altimeter to detect a trend so it works best as a numeric display which is



why few high performance aircraft use 3-hand altimeters anymore - in fact



they're pretty much relegated to gliders which means they're probably going



to disappear. Not many "little old Swiss watchmakers" left to fix them these



days.



Mine worked just fine without a vibrator.

Here is a glass panel (EFIS) made by Dittel Avionik
http://www.dittel-avionik.de/files/gca/GCA_Mounting.pdf

That's what I was looking for when asking the original question. It seems to have not really set the world afire, so far. Plus, radio and transponder are not yet integrated. Flarm can be connected, however. They seem to be able to load a number of open-source software packages. Altitude and airspeed are indicated in boxes right below the map.
Herb