Serial Port Hub

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akskyhawk
Posts: 23
Joined: Thu Mar 14, 2013 4:41 pm

Serial Port Hub

Post by akskyhawk »

The HXr does not have near enough serial ports. You have been saying for a year that you will have a external serial port hub.
Do you have the serial port hub available yet?
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kwiatkma
Posts: 56
Joined: Fri May 17, 2013 7:47 pm

Re: Serial Port Hub

Post by kwiatkma »

I asked this question probably a couple posts down from yours! GRT does not have a serial USB hub, but they recommend a couple off the shelf brands....they work very well. I have the startek.

StarTech.com Mountable 4 Port Rugged Industrial USB Hub (ST4200USBM)
Sold by Amazon.com LLC (Amazon.com)

DC-Powered 4-Port USB Hub CNX-P5USB (12v and 24v systems)
Sold by Mp3Car INC (Mp3Car Store)
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kwiatkma
Posts: 56
Joined: Fri May 17, 2013 7:47 pm

Re: Serial Port Hub

Post by kwiatkma »

Wait...do you mean USB serial ports or extending the non USB ports...ie the ports autopilot, GPS, etc plug into? Wow you ran out of those, there are 8 of them...what kind of panel do you have!
GRT_Jeff
Posts: 802
Joined: Tue Dec 11, 2012 12:11 am

Re: Serial Port Hub

Post by GRT_Jeff »

An external serial port hub (for Serial Port Inputs/Outputs) is not available and not currently in development.
akskyhawk
Posts: 23
Joined: Thu Mar 14, 2013 4:41 pm

Re: Serial Port Hub

Post by akskyhawk »

A external RS232 serial port hub is needed if you are using the HXr with the remote radios.
Greg has contacted me and they are working on this.
Here is a list of possible serial requirements. I need a minumin 13 serial ports for my system.

Com 1, Com 2, Nav 1, Nav 2, Audio, Transponder, AHRS 1, AHRS 2, EIS, Fuel flow transducer, Auto Pilot, ADS-B, VP-X.

Jim
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katieb
Posts: 141
Joined: Mon Dec 10, 2012 2:29 pm
Location: Shelbville, TN

Re: Serial Port Hub

Post by katieb »

akskyhawk wrote:A external RS232 serial port hub is needed if you are using the HXr with the remote radios.
Greg has contacted me and they are working on this.
Here is a list of possible serial requirements. I need a minumin 13 serial ports for my system.

Com 1, Com 2, Nav 1, Nav 2, Audio, Transponder, AHRS 1, AHRS 2, EIS, Fuel flow transducer, Auto Pilot, ADS-B, VP-X.

Jim
Jim,

Just to clarify, there is not a "Serial Hub" in development, and an external hub is not needed for serial devices. I think what you are referring to is the Serial Adapter for just the Trig transponder and radio-- and that is a very small device that we include with the remote Trig products that we sell that simply goes between the Trig and the HXr to translate the Trig's serial communication into RS-232. The serial adapter for the remote Trig radio is not shipping yet, so maybe that's what you're thinking of? There is no serial adapter required for the radios produced by Val Avionics and PS Engineering because they already use RS-232. Trig uses a different serial language, so we developed the adapter in conjunction with Trig to make their avionics talk to our EFIS systems.

You do not need, nor do we recommend, using any sort of external serial port hub. There are 8 RS-232 serial ports built into each HXr display unit. Here is a great illustration of how you should use the serial ports in a dual-screen system: http://grtavionics.com/documents/HXrSerialSetup.pdf Also, Fuel Flow transducers are wired into the EIS, not the display unit, so that saves a serial port off your list.

We DO recommend using a powered USB hub, wired into the aircraft's electrical system, as way to take advantage of the growing uses for USB, including ADS-B receivers, Bluetooth dongles, and USB storage for recording flights, approach plates, etc. The list provided above by kwiatkma is a good start. More information on USB hubs that have been tested with HXr can be found in the Radenna SkyRadar Supplement, found here: http://grtavionics.com/Radenna%20Skyradar%20D2-A1.pdf

I hope this clarifies things a bit!
Katie Bosman
Pilot/Tech Writer
Jabiru USA Sport Aircraft
http://www.usjabiru.com
GRT Tech Support/Marketing 2012-2014
GRT Pilot Since 2008
Bobturner
Posts: 444
Joined: Mon Mar 11, 2013 6:34 pm

Re: Serial Port Hub

Post by Bobturner »

There is a serial port hub; it's called the HX! Remember you have 8 pairs (in/out) and the in and out can be used for different things, as long as the baud rates are the same. But it does appear that you're short. IMHO figuring out the number of serial ports you need is one of those plannng things that is often overlooked. I know I did. I had enough but only by luck, not because I planned properly in advance. Do you have dual air data systems but only one screen?
akskyhawk
Posts: 23
Joined: Thu Mar 14, 2013 4:41 pm

Re: Serial Port Hub

Post by akskyhawk »

Katie
You might have a chat with Greg on the serial port issue. We have been working on this issue,
The HXr does not have enough serial ports to hook up all the componets that is capable of being pluged into the HXr. Such as the Coms, Navs, XNPD, Audio and so on. As stated in my previous post I need alot more then 8 serials.
If you have dual HXr it's not a problem but a single EFIS it's a big problem.

Just for your system without and additional componets you need the following (4);
AHRS,EIS, Fuel Air Data, GPS

That leaves only 4 ports.
So what if you want to hook up;
Second AHRS
Second GPS
Com 1
Com 2
Nav 1
Nav 2
Audio
XPND
ADSB
Auto Pilot
VP-X
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