Dynon Support Program 4.2 Download Notes

July 2008

Please read this page in its entirety before installing firmware version 4.2!

After much hard work by the programmers and beta testers, Dynon is proud to release new firmware for all of our currently shipping products, including the EFIS-D100, EFIS-D10A, EMS-D120, EMS-D10, and FlightDEK-D180. With this free, in-field firmware update, Dynon continues to enhance our products' functionality while maintaining the stability and ease of use that you have come to expect from us.

What's New?

The two major features in this update are support for HS34 HSI expansion module, and the long-awaited full version of the Dynon Smart Avionics Bus (DSAB). When loaded with 4.0 firmware, all operational communications between Dynon Avionics products are handled by the single pair of DSAB wires. Note that DSAB DOES NOT update the firmware on products. Each Dynon product does need to be updated individually through its own serial port.

If you have not previously updated to firmware version 3.0, this update supercedes it and includes all of its many features as well. You may upload version 4.0 over any previous version of firmware; there is no need to upgrade to 3.0 first.

Additionally, we have added more detail to the "release notes" link that can be found next to the name of each product on the software download page.

Setting up the HS34

The HS34 expansion module requires firmware version 4.0 to be installed on your Dynon Avionics products in order to operate. Additionally, the HS34 needs to be configured as part of your DSAB network as described below.

Configuring your DSAB Network

Firmware 4.0 adds significant capabilities to the way units talk to each other over the DSAB bus. Some new capabilities include the ability to use a single EDC and OAT across multiple EFIS/FlightDEK units, and the more general ability to use ALL of your instruments' features from any screen.

Before DSAB is activated, though, there are a few setup steps that you'll need to perform. This involves choosing a device - typically an EFIS or FlightDEK-D180 - as the "bus master" of the network, and then confirming that all of your instruments are connected and are visible to the bus master.

These configuration steps are detailed in the "DSAB Configuration" section in the latest installation guides. These are available from our documentation download page. In particular, pay specific attention to the section that talks about choosing a "bus master". This will typically be an EFIS or FlightDEK-D180 with an EDC (and OAT if installed) connected to it.

New Button Behavior

If you haven't installed one of the last few firmware updates, you will notice that the behavior of the outer buttons on the EFIS-D100, EFIS-D10A, and EMS-D10 has changed. These buttons now scroll through pages if you tap them. The left button still powers down if you hold it. The right button, when held for two seconds, brings up the screen configuration menu. The four inner buttons bring up the menu just like you remember. If you have a D120 or D180, you are already familiar with this; if you don't you may want to look at this quick start guide. Note that the EMS-D10 combines the Aux and Times pages into one screen.

Activating the Modern Symbology

New units that ship with firmware release 4.0 or later will be set up to display the Modern style symbology out of the box. However, units updated in the field ARE NOT automatically switched over during upgrade. This ensures that each user has actively chosen the new symbology display. To activate the new symbology, go to the EFIS SETUP menu, then to STYLE, then switch the style from Classic to Modern. We STRONGLY encourage you to spend some time on the ground familiarizing yourself with the new display.

There are a few other symbology elements that can be switched through different display modes in the SETUP>CLUTTR menu. We encourage you to explore this menu to get the most out of your EFIS. A couple of highlights:
The roll markings on the attitude indicator can be can be toggled between two styles:

• ROLL:1 is our classic EFIS roll pointer. Its roll indicating arrow always points to the sky, which is how many "big jet" EFISs display roll. We used this sky pointer symbology when initially developing our EFIS display since it was the most the most prevalent; most GA EFISs did not yet exist! EFISs in the GA space have since moved away from the sky pointer method of showing roll.
  
• ROLL:2 works more like a conventional GA attitude indicators and modern GA EFISs. Its roll indicator points in the direction of the turn. Since the introduction of our EFIS, most of the other GA EFIS manufacturers have followed this symbology paradigm.

GTRK displays a marking overlaid on your heading with GPS-sourced ground track, if connected. Please be aware that this looks just like the old heading bug, except for color. There is a new heading bug that looks totally different, but much more like the industry standard bug.

WIND allows the wind arrow to be displayed right on the EFIS (GPS, OAT, and an excellent heading calibration are required for this feature to work).

The new graphical VSI has a selectable range. When the 2000-foot range is selected, the VSI indication is also a 6-second altitude trend. When the 4000 foot range is selected, the portion of the trend indicator up to the 1000-foot mark is a 6-second altitude trend. There is also a non-linear 1K range.

Installing

Some of these features require additional connections to your Dynon EFIS or EMS. Please see our updated installation guides for information on how to hook these products to your Dynon equipment, and please feel free to post on our forum with any questions.

WARNING: Please Read

Some users have experienced power loss on their laptops during firmware uploads. Before proceeding with a firmware update on your Dynon product, we highly recommend that you connect your laptop to an AC power source to avoid partial firmware loads. Should your computer lose power in the middle of a firmware update, please DO NOT power cycle the Dynon instrument. If your instrument seems stuck on the yellow loader screen, power your laptop back up and continue the firmware update WITHOUT restarting the Dynon instrument. Power cycling the Dynon instrument during a firmware update will result in a failure that will require factory service.

Download

With all of that out of the way, to download the latest firmware for all of our products, please download the Dynon Product Support program below:

Updating the HS34

The Dynon instrument that is the DSAB "bus master" must be powered off for the HS34 to be able to receive firmware updates. When the bus master is powered off, both the magenta GPS and green NAV lights are illluminated to indicate that it is ready to be updated.

Download Dynon Product Support 4.2

This file includes updates for all of our products in one file and makes updating your Dynon products quick and easy.

PLEASE DO A BACKUP FIRST. THIS IS THE ONLY WAY TO GO BACK TO AN OLDER VERSION OF THE FIRMWARE IF YOU WISH TO DO SO.

If you have an EDC-D10A connected to your EFIS product, you MUST HAVE IT CONNECTED while performing this upgrade. This is important to proper post-upgrade operation.