PS Engineering Report

Hi Mark -

thanks for taking the time to inquire -

To elaborate more - I did appreciate the intelliVOX feature on the
7000MS. And, I did notice the difference when I started using the
GMA-340 because I did find myself adjusting squelch more often. Not a
huge deal, but a very nice feature of your unit.

regarding karaoke mode - I never missed an ATC call, but a few times
might have. In someways I do wish Garmin included that feature.

Finally, my now having a Garmin instead of a PSE is because the plane
with the 7000MS was sold and I bought a step-up to another plane that
had a newly installed garmin stack. You might think about making a
tray compatible swap out for Garmin 340 owners to move to a 7000xxx
model....perhaps even a trade-up program.....

Regards,
Dave


(W9MV) wrote in message ...
Dear Dave:

When you compared the GMA340 and the PMA7000MS, (I'm assuming you had several
of hours of operation with both) I was surprised you didn't mention a
difference between the two units that many consider significant. The GMA340 has
two knobs to provide adjustment for the threshold of all 6 microphones, while
the PMA7000MS doesn't use knobs at all but employees a computer at each
microphone to automatically adjusting the VOX levels at each microphone.

Was it because you fly solo often (which is not uncommon) and setting the
single Pilot's VOX on the GMA340 is no big deal, or that the PMA7000MS
IntelliVox worked well that it wasn't something you thought about?

You mentioned that if the ATC/music volumes aren't set right it can get you in
trouble. That is what we heard from the ACO! (Aircraft Certification Office).
We convinced the engineering examiner that he weren't giving pilots enough
credit and that they would be able to make these adjustments for themselves and
it isn't a safety issue.

Reasons:
1) Karaoke mode was selectable from the front panel
2) Ability to adjust A/C radio in foreground and music in background
3) Pilot has other means to prioritize the radio (ISO mode and Mute)

Had you missed a radio call because you had the Karaoke mode on? If so, can you
describe what the conditions that allowed this to happen? If there is something
we can do to improve our system, you can count on us doing our best to do so.

I appreciate your comments, my questions are not intended as a brash sales
intrusion, but rather a fact finding mission to further our quest for the
altimate audio panel. (pilots have told us that the PMA7000B is it, but we
won't rest on our laurels)

Sincerely,
Mark Scheuer
PS Engineering, Inc.
www.ps-engineering.com

Excellent suggestion Dave, about a plug and play unit with the GMA340.

As far as trade ins, we really would rely on our dealer network to work those
details, the manufacturer typically isn't set up (or at least we aren't) to
sell used equipment.

Question, assuming you could get say, $800 or more for the sale of your current
GMA340 on ebay, would you be willing to invest $800 or less (depending upon how
much you get from the sale of the GMA340) for such a plug and play unit?

Mark Scheuer
PS Engineering, Inc.
www.ps-engineering.com

black or red, red would stand out, black would go with the unit.

W9MV wrote:

Sure will, as soon as I get an answer on what color the rubber cover should be,
I'll get them on order.

Mark

(W9MV) wrote in message ...
Excellent suggestion Dave, about a plug and play unit with the GMA340.

As far as trade ins, we really would rely on our dealer network to work those
details, the manufacturer typically isn't set up (or at least we aren't) to
sell used equipment.

Question, assuming you could get say, $800 or more for the sale of your current
GMA340 on ebay, would you be willing to invest $800 or less (depending upon how
much you get from the sale of the GMA340) for such a plug and play unit?

Mark Scheuer
PS Engineering, Inc.
www.ps-engineering.com

Hi Mark - That might be tempting. The GMA340 was about $1200, if I
recall correctly. So, the step up price shouldn't be any more than
the difference between the used sale price and the new 7000 unit.

My biggest beef with the Avionics industry, in general, is that it
seems a lot of mfg's have gone their own way, leaving comptibility in
the dust. This applies more to the datalink technologies, with King,
Garmin/Apollo and Avidyne all going their own ways. It would have
been more prudent, and probably cheaper for everyone in the long run,
for these companies to work with the FAA to develop a superior
datalink technology they can all use. Kind of like the HDTV battles
that consumed the 90's. At least now we have a standard that all TV
manufacturers adhere to.

With audio panels, it's not quite as bad. It seems you and Garmin
(and King, to a degree - even though their unit is yours with their
faceplate) really have given the GA market good choices.

Dave;
From the discussions I've heard of, the avionics manufacturers view
working with the FAA as a great hinderance on what advancements they
are permitted to make. Antiquated rules and standards being enforced
by people without backbones or the desire to weather the criticism
that are sure to follow with whatever their decisions seem to be. I'm
sure we've all seen what can happen to a project when it gets hung up
in the bureaucracy , subject to a pseudo czar that may have a hardon
for a certain company, or worse, one that likes to fill their own
pockets for favors. With the degree of technology on the march as it
is, we the consumer must dictate not only to the feds, but to the
manufacturers what we desire to spend out money on.

On 7 Dec 2003 09:10:13 -0800, (Dave) wrote:

(W9MV) wrote in message ...
Excellent suggestion Dave, about a plug and play unit with the GMA340.

As far as trade ins, we really would rely on our dealer network to work those
details, the manufacturer typically isn't set up (or at least we aren't) to
sell used equipment.

Question, assuming you could get say, $800 or more for the sale of your current
GMA340 on ebay, would you be willing to invest $800 or less (depending upon how
much you get from the sale of the GMA340) for such a plug and play unit?

Mark Scheuer
PS Engineering, Inc.
www.ps-engineering.com

Hi Mark - That might be tempting. The GMA340 was about $1200, if I
recall correctly. So, the step up price shouldn't be any more than
the difference between the used sale price and the new 7000 unit.

My biggest beef with the Avionics industry, in general, is that it
seems a lot of mfg's have gone their own way, leaving comptibility in
the dust. This applies more to the datalink technologies, with King,
Garmin/Apollo and Avidyne all going their own ways. It would have
been more prudent, and probably cheaper for everyone in the long run,
for these companies to work with the FAA to develop a superior
datalink technology they can all use. Kind of like the HDTV battles
that consumed the 90's. At least now we have a standard that all TV
manufacturers adhere to.

With audio panels, it's not quite as bad. It seems you and Garmin
(and King, to a degree - even though their unit is yours with their
faceplate) really have given the GA market good choices.