Networking Capabilities of the Garmin GNS 430/530 Avionics System - Report Example

? Networking capabilities of the Garmin GNS 430/530 Avionics system This report will explore the operation ofthe Garmin GNS 430/530 as a communication device in the airplane industry and other fields. It gives a brief history of The GNS 430 as well as its predecessors in the industry. The report will then discuss the hardware installations of the GNS and how they were vital for its success in the past years as a communication device. The benefits of using a GNS 430 device will then be evaluated as well as its disadvantages. Finally, the conclusion which summarizes the report as well as looks at what future trends are expected for it as newer devices come into the market. Introduction In 1998, the Garmin Company introduced the aviation world to the GNS 430 and revolutionized the communications used in international flights and flight panels. Unlike the methods in the past where a new device would simply be squeezed into the already installed flight, The GNS 430 had several of the devices normally on a pilot’s panel minimized and installed into it. Some of the devices installed into it included a GPS navigator, communications radio, a VHF omni-range, and an International Landing System receiver. The GNS 430/530 proved very popular with many airplane manufacturers due to this. Several features on the VHS are what distinguished it from other communication devices used at the time and these are its compatibility with the Wide Area Augmentation System as well as use with other GPS devices. The VOR stands for VHF Omni Range, which is very high frequency omni-range in full. The VOR system was designed to use high frequencies as most radio services employed high frequencies as they are better for transmission over long distances as well as the tendency of midwave and long range frequencies to be attenuated too much in the atmosphere. Due to its transmission in all directions, the system was called omni-range (Wyatt and Tooley, 2013). VOR frequencies are between 108 and 117.5 MHz and are identified by unique 3 letter codes which are often shortened from the cities that the traffic control are operating from such as with London it is LON. The VOR range is the same as that used by the Instrument Landing System and even though the two systems are different and operate on different principles. Garmin 430 was among the first to incorporate and integrate the two systems onto one device thereby reducing the cost of installation of the devices. The main difference between ILS and VOR is in frequency allocation where ILS will allocate frequencies to the odd tenths and therefore has transmitters at frequencies such as 110.15, 112.10, 112.30, 112.35.; VOR has the alternative and transmits at frequencies of even tenths such as 110.20, 110.25, 112.40, and 112.45. The Garmin 430 had the advantage of being able to transmit and receive frequencies from these high ranges simultaneously and it would therefore save the cabin crew time in making adjustments to send and receive messages. The use of VOR also proved advantageous for the operators as it had the ability to use specific bearing information to or from a specific point that the pilot can then fly to as he uses line of sight reception (Wyatt and Tooley, 2013). VOR/ ILS also proved beneficial at high altitude although with some decrease in signal quality. The Wide area augmentation system is a system used by the Federation of Aviation Agency (FAA) to improve the accuracy as well as the integrity of GPS signals in civil aviation flights to bring them to the level in the National airspace systems. Since 1998, the international operational compatibility of WAAS has been implemented. WAAS originally consisted of a network of ground base stations and 24 Wide Area Reference points and two satellite master links. Geosynchronous communication satellites are used to provide coverage at a national level. Wide range stations would then collect traffic data as well as that relating to the atmosphere and pool this data with a WMS (Kramer, 2002). Since the messages received from different stations will arrive at different times due to distance travelled, the correction message update must distinguish between slow and rapid corrections with a slow updating occurring after 5 minutes and a quick update taking place any time less than that. WAAS has been shown to be more accurate than other GPS methods with a position error rate of less than 3m, which is better than differential GPS. The Garmin GNS 480 system was one of the first to incorporate the GPS technology and gain authorization for WAAS/LPV communication which was later re-introduced to the 430/530 model as the GNS 430W. By 2004 Gamin had issued the first ever certified IFR approved WAAS navigation system. The system has proved to improve the ease of navigation and with VOR/ILS; communication Garmin 430 has continued to be one of the leading providers of airplane communication technology. Arinc 429 is a data bus that was specifically designed to be used in the aviation industry by the Airlines Electronics Aviation Committee. The first publication of Arinc 429 was in 1978 and it has become an important part of aviation mechanics. The device has only one transmitter and is unidirectional therefore removing the risk of a transmission contention occurring. The Arinc 429 data bus was initially designed to handle open loop communication in which no responses from the receiver are necessary when transmission is authorized. The Arinc 429 was only capable of low rate transmissions with a maximum transmission rate of 14.5 kbits/sec (Nocetti and Perez, 2005). This data bus has two modes of transmission depending on the data that the user wants to send these are the character mode and the bit mode. The biggest advantage of the data bus is the simplicity of the design, which allows for easy integration in most devices it also has a logical remote unit that verifies the transmitted word count as compared to the received word count. Arinc 429 is used in the GNS 430 to give digital output, which is compatible with some pilot programs that can accept its roll steering engineering formation format. The output format of the data bus is also useful in a digital to analog adapters as it can produce information that has been roll-steered which can be applied in auto piloting programs that still use formats. The GNS 430 also has the ability to provide both course deviation as well as roll steering options if the pilot so wishes, this will activate the Arinc 424 lateral guidance system which will include IFR arrival and departures and oncoming airplanes. The use of Arinc data bus in the GNS 430/530 has also meant that the device can be interaced with such systems as Sandel and it has an output for basic fuel flow sensor links. The GNS 430/530 was designed with an RS-232 as well as an RS-422 standard port as it is imperative in electronic design to choose a suitable register for energy variables. This is done through an analysis of the energy variables available. The RS 232 standard was developed for interlinking data terminals to modems and to be used for Data Terminal Equipment as well as data circuit terminating equipment. The RS-322 is composed of three major parts, which define the mechanical characteristics of the interface, the interface’s electrical signal characteristics as well as the functional description of the interchange circuits. In microprocessors such as the GNS 430, the voltage is kept at 0 to +5 v but this transmitter does need a higher voltage to counter for resistance and attenuation along the line. A line driver and line receiver are required at the transmitting and receiving ends respectively these will perform the function of adjusting and translating the transmitted signal at the respective terminals within the device (Reynders, Mackay and Wright, 2005). The RS 422 has a similar functionality to the RS 232 as they provide 2-way full duplex conversion for synchronous and asynchronous transfer between the 2 ports. The converters for the RS 232/ 422 ports have certain specifications including a data transfer rate of 1 Mbps and the use of an AC electrical current. The converters will also convert all data and control signals and have a detectable DTE switch. The RS-232 thereby accepts fuel flow data from external sources and it has proved to be an important addition in the GNS 430 interconnectivity especially as it incorporates the DB-37 and DB-25 connections of both male and female options. The GNS 430 also has GDL 69, which functions as a remote sensor for radio frequencies, and which receives weather updates from stations such as VMWX. The satellite radio operates at frequencies in the S-band and it will provide uplink capabilities in US at any altitudes. Some of the features that have been incorporated in the GDL 69 include high-resolution NEXRAD data as well as Meters; the meters functioned as a type of preflight weather update to be done prior to flight. The GDL 69 also comes with segments; this is significant meteorological information, which functions as an advisory for the safety of all aircrafts in a given area. The GNS 430 would therefore through radio networking provide the pilot with updates on the current situations of the flight as well as of the areas that they are travelling to. The availability of the Terminal Aerodrome Forecast, which is a forecast for a radius of up to five miles for an airway complex, is crucial for the landing plane and VMWX’s provision of this service with the purchase of the device ensured its continuous use and success in many airline services. The GNS 430/530 although popular for a long time has been rendered obsolete with the Garmin Company deciding to focus on newer models such as the GNS 480. The use of the Arinc 429 data bus which had a maximum capacity of 32 bits has been replaced with newer ports and the entire communication device has been improved and renamed to the GNS 430W. Conclusion The GNS 430/530 when introduced to the world of aviation in 1998 changed it significantly, as it incorporated many devices from the flight panel into one. The integration and use of VOR as well as ILS into one meant that it could be used for transmission and receiving data without switching devices. The addition of WAAS into the GPS also improved the accuracy of coordination, as its location was accurate to a distance of less than three meters now. The use of the Arinc 429 data bus as well as the installation of a RS-322 port meant that it was one of the best in communication speeds of its time. The GNS 430/530 has however had to be improved and renamed the GNS 430 was more features were incorporated into it. The Garmin Company can only continue to be a leader in world communication as it continues to improve on the GNS series. References Wyatt, D., & Tooley. M. (2013). Aircraft Communications and Navigation Systems. New York: Butterworth. Reynders, D., Mackay, S. & Wright, E. (2005). Practical Industrial Data Communications: Best Practice Techniques. New York: Butterworth.  Kramer. J., 2002, Observation of the Earth and Its Environment: Survey of Missions and Sensors. New York: Springer.  Perez, H., & Nocetti, G. 2005, Reconfigurable Distributed Control. London: Springer. Read More