Can a GTN750xi control the GMA350c?

[manac]

Currently have data fields where the audio button would be. Would like to setup the audio page on the 750 like with a GMA35 install.
Thanks

 

[Jeff Oslick]

To the best of my knowledge, no. We've been talking to Garmin and several shops about major panel work, and weighing between the 350c and 35c. No one has mentioned any possibility of controlling the 350c via the 750xi. We have been going back and forth on the decision between the two units, and still haven't completely decided.

350c: Pro - "traditional" audio panel controls, frees up some space on the 750xi for displaying other data.
35c: Pro - According to the opinion of one very reputable shop I talked with last week, a primary advantage of the 35c is that you can much more easily control a number of secondary capabilities of the unit via the 750xi, vs. access to these features on the 350c is only via sequences of button pushes, which may be difficult to remember.

A significant concern we had is what happens when the 750xi goes dead (which happened to a friend of ours). The answer is, if configured correctly, the 35c should default to Comm 2 (SL-30 in our case). If for some reason the 35c isn't sensing the 750xi isn't working...well, that is still a bit of a concern of mine, though maybe if the 750xi is on a separate pullable breaker, you might be able to convince the 35c that the 750xi is dead. This is the one thing holding me up from going with the 35c.

 

[manac]

Thanks, I’ll dog my installer. It’s not a big deal I don’t mess with the 350 that much and can always use the voice commands.

 

[Pinecone]

Alternative view. Put in a PS Engineering 450B.

Most people that have used both, prefer the 450B.

 

[manac]

The 350c is vastly superior to the PS Engineering.
The Telligence feature alone knocked the 450 out of consideration for my panel upgrade.

 

[iamtheari]

The 350c is vastly superior to the PS Engineering.
The Telligence feature alone knocked the 450 out of consideration for my panel upgrade.

Other than Telligence, what features of the Garmin audio panel make it "vastly superior" to the PS Engineering one?

In my case, I chose the PS Engineering PMA 450B for the panel upgrade in the 310. Here are the reasons why:

1. Compared with GMA 35c, no loss of always-there data fields on the GTN 750. (I lose 2 fields to remote transponder control even though I have a GTX 345 with its own control panel. I use the other 4 for TRK, DTK, DIS/BRG APT, and Tuned VOR info and then on my map page I have shortcut keys for checklists, approaches, and nearest airports along with the VSR field in one corner.)

2. Compared with the GMA 35c, front-panel access to isolation modes. I've posted about this several times, but for me it is important to be able to switch between Pilot, Crew, and All during busy phases of flight. For example, during an approach, I like to be on Pilot to let the passengers deal with each other, but switch to All to check on seat belts and such, and then switch back to Pilot. I use Crew similarly when I have a helpful person in the copilot seat, to check on the passengers for me while I focus on flying and radios. The GMA 35c requires you to go to the Intercom page and then navigate the various intercom pathways repeatedly, on a device you need to use for other things. (In my case, it's my checklist, flight plan, and moving map and I have the approach plate up on the nearby split PFD/MFD.)

3. Compared with the GMA 350c, better front-panel access to isolation modes. One button that toggles from Pilot-All-Crew-All-Pilot and back around, one step each time it's pushed. The GMA 350c has Pilot, Copilot, and Passenger buttons. I think it is easier, in the heat of battle, to navigate the isolation modes of the PMA 450B than those of the GMA 350c. (Edit to add: I just looked at the GMA 350c manual. The isolation modes are described on pages 17 through 22. The PMA 450B manual describes isolation modes on pages 9 and 10.)

4. Dual bluetooth channels. It's nice to be able to listen to an audiobook while the passengers listen to music or watch a movie. This is a secondary item for me, because I'm not a YouTuber (one of the channels can be used to record the intercom/radio audio instead of streaming into the panel) and I could use a bluetooth headset to listen to something at the pilot station while everyone else listens to a shared bluetooth source over the intercom.

I enjoy the audio panel in actual use. I've never longed for anything different. But I'm always quick to recognize others' preferences vary from mine and eager to understand why.

 

[manac]

“Other than Telligence”, sorry that’s the elephant in the room here that your ignoring.

 

[Hang 4]

The 350c is vastly superior to the PS Engineering.
The Telligence feature alone knocked the 450 out of consideration for my panel upgrade.

“Other than Telligence”, sorry that’s the elephant in the room here that your ignoring.

What besides "Telligence"? Think that was @iamtheari 's point (a literal reading of your first post makes the same point) and I don't think he ignored it. That seems to be the only reason cited. What else makes it "vastly superior"

 

[iamtheari]

What besides "Telligence"? Think that was @iamtheari 's point (a literal reading of your first post makes the same point) and I don't think he ignored it. That seems to be the only reason cited. What else makes it "vastly superior"

And if Telligence is so useful to a particular pilot that the other feature comparisons are eclipsed by it, that’s fine by me. And it kind of makes me want to try Telligence out. But not enough to give up my isolation mode control or always-there GTN 750 data fields.

 

[flyingcheesehead]

And if Telligence is so useful to a particular pilot that the other feature comparisons are eclipsed by it, that’s fine by me. And it kind of makes me want to try Telligence out. But not enough to give up my isolation mode control or always-there GTN 750 data fields.

FWIW, I went with the 350c, and ONLY because of Telligence.

It's a bit different to compare the 35c and the 450B because the 35c uses the 750's screen. I also like having always-available isolation controls, so the 350c gives me that, and I also still have the extra data fields on the 750.

So yeah, if you compare the 350c with the PSE instead of the 35c, you could have had Telligence in addition to the features you speak of in the quote above.

 

[iamtheari]

FWIW, I went with the 350c, and ONLY because of Telligence.

One of you guys is going to have to take me flying so I can see the appeal. So far, I haven’t done anything on the panel where I thought “I sure wish I could have done that by voice instead.” I can think of a few places it might be helpful, though, because the non-voice interface is deeply hidden or clunky.

Examples:
1. I used up a data field on the 750 map page for the shortcut to Checklists. And the 750 can only show 6 lines on a page, including the Next Checklist button. If I could say “checklist” to get there and “next checklist” to get to the next one, it would save me a data field and add a visible checklist item.

2. The TXi waypoint info page is forgetful to the point I would seek medical help if it were a family member or household pet. It’s not a primary-level MFD page, so you have to go to the main page, push the button for it, push the button for the waypoint type you want, and then enter the waypoint you want to see. Sometimes it defaults to the destination, if my memory serves, but I haven’t figured out the key to when that is. I think Telligence has a “show destination info” command, and if it could show that on the TXi instead of the 750 I might enjoy it.

 

[flyingcheesehead]

One of you guys is going to have to take me flying so I can see the appeal. So far, I haven’t done anything on the panel where I thought “I sure wish I could have done that by voice instead.” I can think of a few places it might be helpful, though, because the non-voice interface is deeply hidden or clunky.

^^^That is a large part of it.

I do a lot of "show" commands, with the top one being "Show Traffic". The nice thing is that after I do that, the Back button takes me back to the Map page, not to the main menu. Or I could just do "Show map". It does save a LOT of button pushes navigating to where you want to be in the GTN UI.

"Tune" for the frequencies it works for - Pretty much "Nearest ____" or "Destination ___" is also way faster than typing or spinning it in. "Tune destination tower" or "Tune nearest Approach" and then it's a single button push to put it in the active.

Examples:
1. I used up a data field on the 750 map page for the shortcut to Checklists. And the 750 can only show 6 lines on a page, including the Next Checklist button. If I could say “checklist” to get there and “next checklist” to get to the next one, it would save me a data field and add a visible checklist item.

I think you can say "Show Checklists" to get to the checklist page but NOT anything about getting into a specific checklist or check an item off, though I can't be sure about that - I haven't put checklists in my GTN yet.

I do think this is one of the biggest items Garmin could do to make this an even more compelling feature.

2. The TXi waypoint info page is forgetful to the point I would seek medical help if it were a family member or household pet. It’s not a primary-level MFD page, so you have to go to the main page, push the button for it, push the button for the waypoint type you want, and then enter the waypoint you want to see. Sometimes it defaults to the destination, if my memory serves, but I haven’t figured out the key to when that is. I think Telligence has a “show destination info” command, and if it could show that on the TXi instead of the 750 I might enjoy it.

You can get to all the sub-pages of waypoint info with Telligence. "Show destination weather" for example.

I don't think Telligence can currently control more than one box outside of the audio panel - I think it controls the GTN but not the TXi or any of the other glass panels.