KX200 - Slide in KX155/KX165 replacement

A

asicer

Touchdown! Greaser!
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asicer
On the one hand, you get a lot less features for the same price as a GNC255 and a couple hundred more than a Trig TX56a. On the other hand, you save on the installation costs and down time. I could see flight school planes wanting this but perhaps less so for personally owned and operated planes. What say POA?
 
I'm glad to see it. For someone like me who has two KX-155's in the stack it's a pragmatic fix to an ever increasing problem. Sooner or later the KX-155's will be unobtainium and while the KX-200 is expensive, it's a lot less expensive than upgrading to a Garmin...
 
idahoflier said:
I'm glad to see it. For someone like me who has two KX-155's in the stack it's a pragmatic fix to an ever increasing problem. Sooner or later the KX-155's will be unobtainium and while the KX-200 is expensive, it's a lot less expensive than upgrading to a Garmin...
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Probably true, but I'm guessing that in the remaining flying years I have, I'll be able to get a KX155 if I need it, or get mine repaired, for a lot less than $5k.
 
Would have been a killer product 5 years ago and could have disrupted Garmin. Seems like today when someone buys a new radio it's part of a full or partial panel upgrade; otherwise folks just fix what they have.

The KX-200 has some innovative features and presentation which is superior to Garmin in my view. The color screen and selectable used frequency history is terrific. The user interface looks easier than GNC-255.
 
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I'm glad to see it. For someone like me who has two KX-155's in the stack it's a pragmatic fix to an ever increasing problem. Sooner or later the KX-155's will be unobtainium and while the KX-200 is expensive, it's a lot less expensive than upgrading to a Garmin...
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Yes, and it is less expensive than Garmin GNC-255. This will could likely become the second radio in an Avidyne stack
 
I loathe the support from vendors including BK a lot of the time. How many of you have a broken KX155 / 165 display? How easy has BK made it to replace them and make a reasonable replacement available?

I’ll gladly install any navcomm at our hourly rate (rather than usual avionics shop rates of 50-100% of the hardware cost) all day long to help pilots out.

Building the harness for an SL30/TXP56/GNC / garmin gps comm into the audio panel should be a 2-3 hour affair, 4 on a bad day, including pinouts, wax lacing, indicator and verification/testing. If I can talk you into painting your plane, all the better.
 
the big problem is it is still an analog radio and will not interface with glass. so if you want to upgrade to a g3x or hdx you still need to install a new digital radio, like the 255 to interface with the glass. i have often said that the person that can design a box that makes the king,narco and arc radios work with the digital efis units and can get it certified will make a killing.
 
unsafervguy said:
the big problem is it is still an analog radio and will not interface with glass. so if you want to upgrade to a g3x or hdx you still need to install a new digital radio, like the 255 to interface with the glass. i have often said that the person that can design a box that makes the king,narco and arc radios work with the digital efis units and can get it certified will make a killing.
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The video said that it will digitally integrate with their Anthem flight deck. Where did you get that it's analog only and won't interface with glass?
 
asicer said:
The video said that it will digitally integrate with their Anthem flight deck. Where did you get that it's analog only and won't interface with glass?
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If it’s a slide in there is no pins on the kx155 for a rs232 interface, which is how the efis systems communicate with the radios. They may have something in their anthem hardware to make it work, but without 232 it will not interface with the dynon and garmin systems.
 
unsafervguy said:
If it’s a slide in there is no pins on the kx155 for a rs232 interface, which is how the efis systems communicate with the radios. They may have something in their anthem hardware to make it work, but without 232 it will not interface with the dynon and garmin systems.
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If you look at 1:42 in the video, there are 2 connectors.
 
asicer said:
If you look at 1:42 in the video, there are 2 connectors.
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Ok, so it’s not just a slide in, its a new radio with backwards and upgrade capability. Very good idea, I discussed exactly that concept with tkm when they were developing the mx155. That explains the price, the big question is does it support the sl30 protocol and if not are the going to release their protocol’ to the the free world. if it’s only going to interface with their Efis i would say it’s a bad marketing idea. If they allow it to work with garmin, dynon, advance, and Mgl and the rest it will probable be a winner.
 
unsafervguy said:
If it’s a slide in there is no pins on the kx155 for a rs232 interface, which is how the efis systems communicate with the radios. They may have something in their anthem hardware to make it work, but without 232 it will not interface with the dynon and garmin systems.
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More likely there is a RS232 connector, but for simple slide in replacement, it is not required. If you want to interface with glass, it would not longer be slide in.
 
Many people make slide in replacements to existing radios using the same connectors but adding wire connections to the spare open slots.

The 430 to 430w is this way. Same with 530–>530w.

The kt76 to kt74 upgrade is this way.

Avidyne has made a ton of money doing this as well.

Even Bendix KMA 24’s were swapped out by adding a second molex slot card to upgrade them into a PMA 7000.

Analyzing the connections on a 650 from a 430, many of the reassignments made zero sense. Sure, someone could look at logical groupings better- but it doesn’t help the pilot.

Similarly, the pinouts from a GTX330 to a 345 seemed mostly unneeded.

Manufacturers that intentionally create work so that avionics shops can stay in business are….ugh.


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I walked from the Garmin building at OSH this year and went through bendix king on the way to the A hanger. The Garmin building was so crowded you couldn't move. Not one customer in the BK building. Not one! Enough said.
 
I use Garmin and Apple products. I have a love/hate relationship with them. They tell you what you will have and how much you will pay. They are just the best of a bad bunch.
 
If BK/Honeywell make the release date, I will be surprised but if the employee discount is decent, I might consider it
 
As the owner of on occasionally flaky kx155, I'm the target market for this. It looks a lot nicer than the gnc255 for about the same money, and I'm glad to see BK making an effort.

While the idea of reusing trays and connectors seems great, when my 155 gives trouble, I can usually fix it by sliding it out and back in again, which leads me to believe most of my issues are actually with the connectors. That card- edge connector back there and all the wiring connected to it are 40 years old. Maybe replacing all that stuff isn't a bad idea. I do wonder if thats why garmin made the choice to change the trays when they designed the gtn's... to force a new install.

Same as everyone else here though, I have a real hard time spending 5k on a navcom that I rarely use.
 
It's likely just oxidation/dust/grime. Spray contact cleaner into the tray connector, then quickly insert and remove nav/com a few times. On the nav/com gently use a pencil eraser on the exposed connector card.
 
Never underestimate how thin that gold plating is on the connector. No abrasive pencil eraser, just a

Qtip to remove the dirt after the spray cleaner.
 
Jim K said:
As the owner of on occasionally flaky kx155, I'm the target market for this. It looks a lot nicer than the gnc255 for about the same money, and I'm glad to see BK making an effort.

While the idea of reusing trays and connectors seems great, when my 155 gives trouble, I can usually fix it by sliding it out and back in again, which leads me to believe most of my issues are actually with the connectors. That card- edge connector back there and all the wiring connected to it are 40 years old. Maybe replacing all that stuff isn't a bad idea. I do wonder if thats why garmin made the choice to change the trays when they designed the gtn's... to force a new install.

Same as everyone else here though, I have a real hard time spending 5k on a navcom that I rarely use.
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For that money, I’d buy a used VFR GPS/Com, to pair with my GNS430W. Back up com, backup gps, and VOR through the 430W.

www.bennettavionics.com

KLX-135A VFR GPS / Moving Map / COMM Transceiver

We are used avionics specialists for General Aviation.
www.bennettavionics.com www.bennettavionics.com
 
If you’re in BK’s target market, consider asking the dealer for the warranty documents before making the deposit. It’s only a 2 year warranty for a product we all expect to last 20+ years. But the same as Garmin. However, the devil is in the details. What’s included with the warranty? Unfortunately, Honeywell decided not to put their warranty docs online. So you won’t find out until after the install. Is it parts only? Is it parts, labor & shipping? What about service after the warranty expires? Will we be required to ship these to Honeywell for a flat rate charge over $1,500 no matter what’s wrong, like Garmin does, or will they disclose the schematics and allow the dealers to help us?
 
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455 Bravo Uniform said:
Negative, for the price. I’ll buy 2 broken KX-155s to make 1 good one. They are oddly satisfying and comfortable, like my favorite hat and jeans…
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Not sure why you would say that. I don’t want to use garbage that can break at any
Moment. I would pay more for ease of mind while flying IFR
 
Any updates on the KX-200? I saw that deliveries have started.
 
SoCal 182 Driver said:
Who is selling them?
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It looks like Aircraft Spruce, Sarasota Avionics, Gulf Cost, etc. are all accepting "Pre-Orders" at the moment. But none of them are showing a ship date, though Sarasota does have a note "New orders expected to ship Q1 2025."

But then it is Bendix King... So do you really want fork over $6K and then hope they actually deliver a working unit. :)
 
M20K said:
It looks like Aircraft Spruce, Sarasota Avionics, Gulf Cost, etc. are all accepting "Pre-Orders" at the moment. But none of them are showing a ship date, though Sarasota does have a note "New orders expected to ship Q1 2025."

But then it is Bendix King... So do you really want fork over $6K and then hope they actually deliver a working unit. :)
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Well, huge delays followed by crap products is their niche.
 
M20K said:
Really to bad as they where THE company to buy Nav/Com gear from for a long long time.
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Yup. But when you rest on your laurels and do nothing but sit around enjoying being on top, someone with some hunger for greatness is going to whip you.

In this case, it was a small group of frustrated Bendix/King engineers who wanted to make a great airplane GPS and were stymied by BK leadership, so they left and founded Garmin and the rest is history.
 
A pilot on the Piper Forum stated that his Oshkosh pre-order had arrived. So that is the first delivery I have been made aware of. I wish them well and hope it is a good solution. Or better yet, I wish Garmin had an adapter solution.
 
Baron62 said:
A pilot on the Piper Forum stated that his Oshkosh pre-order had arrived. So that is the first delivery I have been made aware of. I wish them well and hope it is a good solution. Or better yet, I wish Garmin had an adapter solution.
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Which Oshkosh? There have been two since it was announced...

When BK tells you something is shipping in "Q4", ALWAYS ask which year. (And realize that they're lying anyway.)
 
Llk said:
Many people make slide in replacements to existing radios using the same connectors but adding wire connections to the spare open slots.

The 430 to 430w is this way. Same with 530–>530w.

The kt76 to kt74 upgrade is this way.

Avidyne has made a ton of money doing this as well.

Even Bendix KMA 24’s were swapped out by adding a second molex slot card to upgrade them into a PMA 7000.

Analyzing the connections on a 650 from a 430, many of the reassignments made zero sense. Sure, someone could look at logical groupings better- but it doesn’t help the pilot.

Similarly, the pinouts from a GTX330 to a 345 seemed mostly unneeded.

Manufacturers that intentionally create work so that avionics shops can stay in business are….ugh.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
The KX-200 has an adapter box on the back for retro installs.
Video is by Mid-Continent Instruments & Avionics from Oshkosh 2024.

 
FYI, KX-200 with the 28Vdc adapter plate is 15.5 ounces lighter than a 28Vdc KX-155 with glideslope.
Also, the auto dimming function does not work when retrofitted into a KX-155 tray. You have to run through the programming menus to change the brightness.
 
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