Belly Pods and CO levels

[jim_ruttler]

I purchased the Aithre Shield and it was delivered today. It is a nice little unit that looks impressive. I downloaded the app onto my iPhone and my phone does not see it under the Bluetooth “my devices”. It is supposed to autopair but it is invisible to the phone.

It seemed to pair up fine for you Bob on an iPad. I’m not sure what my issue is but so far it is a no-go.

Hi Dan,

If it is an EX 1, there is no BLE. If an EX 2 or EX 3 then there is BLE. If the portable 4.0 then also a BLE is present. We build and test them for connectivity before they leave, so there shouldn't be an issue, but if there is we will resolve it.

The first thing to check is make sure you go to iOS settings and find the Aithre Connect app and enable all connections. Often, when there is no pairing, the iOS settings are denying new connections to the Aithre Connect app. Once you have done this you would just open the app and then power the device. There is no manual pairing because this is BLE and the app controls the pairing internally.

If that doesn't work, the next step would be to verify you don't have an old phone (e.g. iPhone 6 and prior). We have had reports that the older phones have trouble with the newer BLE modules that we use. Try a friend, spouse, or an iPad to verify connection problems to eliminate this issue.

Lastly, are you sure there is power? If portable, then that isn't an issue if the device is charged. If installed, are you seeing the deflection to 255ppm for the first minute on your EFIS? If no, then there isn't any power. One issue with the GEA-24 is that you can't ground through the GEA-24 and must directly ground to the airframe. That could be the issue if there is no power.

Call me on my cell tonight if you want - I'll be up for a few hours. If we can't resolve it, we will get you a new unit.

-Jim
206-920-8062

[Dan L]

Hi Jim, thanks for the super quick response. I have the 4.0 portable. I’ll be using it in two planes.

So, I have an iPhone 8, I went to Aithre Connect in Settings and everything was turned on except Speech Recognition. I toggled that to on and now it paired automatically.

It seems all is well. I’ll swing by the hangar in the morning and see where I want to position it and if the weather permits, do a real time test in the air.

thanks again, Dan

[turbopilot]

One issue with the GEA-24 is that you can't ground through the GEA-24 and must directly ground to the airframe. That could be the issue if there is no power.

Jim, I am confused about GEA-24 wiring. Your drawing shows pins 27 and 28 on P243 going to black EX2 ground. Are you saying a 3rd wire should be added from aircraft ground to the wires from pin 27 and 28 going to the black ground on the EX2?

[jim_ruttler]

Hi Jim, thanks for the super quick response. I have the 4.0 portable. I’ll be using it in two planes.

So, I have an iPhone 8, I went to Aithre Connect in Settings and everything was turned on except Speech Recognition. I toggled that to on and now it paired automatically.

It seems all is well. I’ll swing by the hangar in the morning and see where I want to position it and if the weather permits, do a real time test in the air.

thanks again, Dan

That is an unusual fix, but good to know. You can go to settings in the Aithre app to make more adjustments there. Call if you have any other issues. Thanks for your support.

[jim_ruttler]

Jim, I am confused about GEA-24 wiring. Your drawing shows pins 27 and 28 on P243 going to black EX2 ground. Are you saying a 3rd wire should be added from aircraft ground to the wires from pin 27 and 28 going to the black ground on the EX2?

=

Bob, that is confusing. Been awhile since I looked at that drawing and it could use some clarification. The issue is that the GEA24 low pins are not always grounded or are pulled low with a resistor. So, my recommendation is to confirm 0 Ohms between the GEA24 ground pin selected (e.g 27 or 28) and then use that one for the single ground connection. If there is any resistance and the ground is not clear then just hook the ground wire of the EX to the airframe or grounding block.

Short answer, the ground just needs to be connected once to a good ground plane. All of the shielding and redundant grounds are not required.

-Jim

[turbopilot]

If there is any resistance and the ground is not clear then just hook the ground wire of the EX to the airframe or grounding block.

Jim a little more complication. Based on the note in the G3X installation manual a device using the GP6 position must jumper pins 27 and 28. So they way I am reading this if I have to use aircraft ground to EX2 ground, then I would have to separately jumper pins 27 and 28. Is this correct?

[jim_ruttler]

Jim a little more complication. Based on the note in the G3X installation manual a device using the GP6 position must jumper pins 27 and 28. So they way I am reading this if I have to use aircraft ground to EX2 ground, then I would have to separately jumper pins 27 and 28. Is this correct?

Bob, good job finding this note. Even Steve at G3x took time to find it. We have already been through this with other customers and Garmin and what we found is that the black must go to ground - obviously. The GEA24 appears to state that 27 and 28 are ground, but what we found and what Steve confirmed is that it isn't always true. That means verify either pin 27 or 28 is 0 resistance to ground or connect direct to the airframe / ground and bypass pin 27 and 28. You absolutely do not need to connect 27, 28, and ground - just one good path will do.

[turbopilot]

Today I completed the wiring mating the Aithre EX2 to Garmin GEA24. It was not as difficult as I thought. I found pin 27 of the P243 connector to be a good aircraft ground, so everything was by the install manual.

First challenge and the hardest part was getting the P243 free of the wiring and hanging down far enough that I did not have to stand on my head to complete the pin insertions. Here is the P243 free and hanging.



Next remove the cover and insert the four female pins as described in other posts above. Here is the P243 with the cover off and red arrows pointing the four pins needed 26,27,28 and 29.



Here is the pin out diagram I made up to make sure I was getting the pins in the right spots.



I then mounted the Athrie 2X under the transponder with some double sided tape.




Then I put everything all back together and went through the setup required on the Engine Information System Configuration page as detailed in the manual.

After a reboot this is the first screen you see. For about a minute during startup the CO reading is maxed out.



Then after a minute or two the CO PPM drops down to the current measured level.



So once you have all the parts the install was reasonably easy. The "QTY GAL" indication with the red X through is the new belly tank quantity sensor. I have not calibrated the tank yet. The Lewaero tanks holds in gallons your roughly your tire size plus 2. So I have 26" tires and I am told I should have 28 gallons of capacity. The Lewaero tank with the G3X fuel sensor will on read the last 17.5 gallons in the take, so at 17.5 gallons the fuel indicator will be reading full. Lewaero tank has about a 6 oz unusable fuel quantity in the flight attitude.

[Andy]

The Lewaero tanks holds in gallons your roughly your tire size plus 2. So I have 26" tires and I am told I should have 28 gallons of capacity. The Lewaero tank with the G3X fuel sensor will on read the last 17.5 gallons in the take, so at 17.5 gallons the fuel indicator will be reading full. Lewaero tank has about a 6 oz unusable fuel quantity in the flight attitude.

Why does the belly tank capacity have any dependency on tire size? Not much use having a large tank capacity on big tires if it all pisses out in level flight.

Congratulations on completing the wiring for the CO detector. CubCrafters don't make wiring mods easy.

[turbopilot]

Why does the belly tank capacity have any dependency on tire size?

Nothing to do with fuel level in a flight attitude. You fill the tank with the tail down, normally. Everyone would have the same tank capacity if you filled the tank in normal flight attitude with the tail up.