Icarus SAM GPSS

[JohnAJohnson]

I've been trying to get in touch with Icarus for over a month, leaving voice mail (800-320-1971), emailing via their web form, emailing to techsupport@samgps.com, and emailing directly to Jeff Kauffman at his comcast address, and can't get a response. I am simply trying to determine compatibility with my Navomatic 300 (type AF-394A) autopilot before purchasing the SAM.

Two questions... Anyone know if it is compatible, and anyone know if Icarus is still in business?

 

[gismo]

I've been trying to get in touch with Icarus for over a month, leaving voice mail (800-320-1971), emailing via their web form, emailing to techsupport@samgps.com, and emailing directly to Jeff Kauffman at his comcast address, and can't get a response. I am simply trying to determine compatibility with my Navomatic 300 (type AF-394A) autopilot before purchasing the SAM.

Two questions... Anyone know if it is compatible, and anyone know if Icarus is still in business?

I have Jeff's phone#. I'll give him a call and see what's up. In the past Icarus has been pretty slow to respond at times, seems kinda like a one or two man show.

Chances are it's electrically compatible since it can handle an AC or DC heading signal. Do you have any information on the Navomatic 300 such as what DGs or HSIs it's compatible with?

 

[JohnAJohnson]

I have Jeff's phone#. I'll give him a call and see what's up. In the past Icarus has been pretty slow to respond at times, seems kinda like a one or two man show.

Chances are it's electrically compatible since it can handle an AC or DC heading signal. Do you have any information on the Navomatic 300 such as what DGs or HSIs it's compatible with?

Thanks Gismo. I very much appreciate it. The DG (G-502A) is part of the Navomatic, and the Navomatic documentation or Cessna avionics or electrical manual doesn't say anything about HSIs as they relate to the Navomatic.

At this point, it looks like the SAM is my only option and I'd order one even if the company is defunct, but I just don't want to be stuck with it if it is incompatible.

 

[gismo]

Thanks Gismo. I very much appreciate it. The DG (G-502A) is part of the Navomatic, and the Navomatic documentation or Cessna avionics or electrical manual doesn't say anything about HSIs as they relate to the Navomatic.

At this point, it looks like the SAM is my only option and I'd order one even if the company is defunct, but I just don't want to be stuck with it if it is incompatible.

So far I haven't gotten any response from the voice mail I left but it was after close of business hours on Friday.

 

[denverpilot]

Don't know if it helps, but there's text in the forums there (some link I found called "original forums" via Google) that show someone working with a Cessna Autopilot using AC output from a Cessna DG without an HSI, but since it's a 300, probably with a heading bug...

http://icarusavionics.com/~icarusav/node/9

Search that for "Cessna".

 

[JohnAJohnson]

Thanks Denver. Unfortunately, the discussion refers to the 300A, which is a completely different autopilot than my 300.

 

[denverpilot]

Thanks Denver. Unfortunately, the discussion refers to the 300A, which is a completely different autopilot than my 300.

Ahh yep. Those are different beasts. Wish this thing could work with the 200A. We have no heading bug. It probably needs that info to calculate rate of turn since the GPS would lag.

 

[John Collins]

Ahh yep. Those are different beasts. Wish this thing could work with the 200A. We have no heading bug. It probably needs that info to calculate rate of turn since the GPS would lag.

If you don't have a heading bug and if that is not an option for your autopilot, then it is not compatible with the GPSS converters. They convert the roll steering bank angle command into a heading error which simulates the heading bug. No heading bug, no GPSS.

 

[denverpilot]

Yeah, that's what I thought. The 200A uses bank data off of the Turn Coordinator to maintain "level" (with varying degrees of level) flight... it'd be pretty easy to use those lines to do GPSS without a heading bug for those... but rate of turn would have to come from the GPS heading information which lags just a bit.

 

[gismo]

I've been trying to get in touch with Icarus for over a month, leaving voice mail (800-320-1971), emailing via their web form, emailing to techsupport@samgps.com, and emailing directly to Jeff Kauffman at his comcast address, and can't get a response. I am simply trying to determine compatibility with my Navomatic 300 (type AF-394A) autopilot before purchasing the SAM.

Two questions... Anyone know if it is compatible, and anyone know if Icarus is still in business?

Got a reply from Dave Lunger today. He said they are still being made and sold and suggested contacting Steve Silverman,

Yes, SAM *IS* being sold, now thru Icarus Avionics. (http://icarusavionics.com)
The contact for purchase is, as before, Steve Silverman... 1-800-320-1971

 

[JohnAJohnson]

Thank you Gismo

 

[jroussos]

John,

I have a R182 with a 300A and an Icarus SAM. My 300A uses a G-502A DG which uses an AC signal.

I am VERY HAPPY with this combination.

If you have a G-502A DG I suspect it would work well with the SAM as the SAM uses the HDG mode of the DG to supply AC signals to the A/P.

Jerry

 

[JohnAJohnson]

Thanks for the PIREP Jerry, and yes, my 300 has a G-502A DG. You are right in that the SAM should only be concerned with input from the DG (identical on the 300 and 300A), and then sending the modified signal back out to the autopilot (to the same place it was heading to pre-SAM). Should work, but without someone from Icarus responding to me, I am hesitant to buy the product.

I called DAC and talked to them about their GDC31 GPSS unit, and it is currently STC'd for the 300A and certification for the 300 is just about done. The guy I talked to stated quite a few were installed and running on 300's now, with FSDO authorization and they are performing well. If I can't figure out what Icarus's problem is, I may reach out for GDC31 PIREPs.

John,

I have a R182 with a 300A and an Icarus SAM. My 300A uses a G-502A DG which uses an AC signal.

I am VERY HAPPY with this combination.

If you have a G-502A DG I suspect it would work well with the SAM as the SAM uses the HDG mode of the DG to supply AC signals to the A/P.

Jerry

 

[gismo]

Thanks for the PIREP Jerry, and yes, my 300 has a G-502A DG. You are right in that the SAM should only be concerned with input from the DG (identical on the 300 and 300A), and then sending the modified signal back out to the autopilot (to the same place it was heading to pre-SAM). Should work, but without someone from Icarus responding to me, I am hesitant to buy the product.

I called DAC and talked to them about their GDC31 GPSS unit, and it is currently STC'd for the 300A and certification for the 300 is just about done. The guy I talked to stated quite a few were installed and running on 300's now, with FSDO authorization and they are performing well. If I can't figure out what Icarus's problem is, I may reach out for GDC31 PIREPs.

Did you try calling Steve Silverman? (1-800-320-1971)

 

[JohnAJohnson]

Did you try calling Steve Silverman? (1-800-320-1971)

Yes. That number has two of my voice mails on it, with the first one now over 30 days old. No one answers (I've called probably a half-dozen times), and it just goes to voicemail.

 

[gismo]

Yes. That number has two of my voice mails on it, with the first one now over 30 days old. No one answers (I've called probably a half-dozen times), and it just goes to voicemail.

OK. Email these two guys and tell them the same thing. Hopefully that will get someone off their butt. Jeff and Dave are on the engineering side but if Steve isn't answering his phone they should be able to do something.

Jeff_Kauffman@comcast.net
davelunger@verizon.net

-lance

 

[JohnAJohnson]

OK. Email these two guys and tell them the same thing. Hopefully that will get someone off their butt. Jeff and Dave are on the engineering side but if Steve isn't answering his phone they should be able to do something.

Jeff_Kauffman@comcast.net
davelunger@verizon.net

-lance

Thanks again. The email to Dave did the trick. Got a response within minutes, and it is compatible.