fast stacker pro g hub

[choperpilot]

Hi has anyone had any dealings with this product? They claim their hub is all you need to wire a ( BMA Light , BMA auto pilot, Garmin 430, transponder,intercomm, audio panel.) with all premade harnesses. If this is true I could wire my plane my self. I already have a BMA powerboard for the power supply. Any info would be a great help.

Thanks
God Bless
Scott

[ATexDoc]

See the topic below: "SL30 and 3 EFIi "
My reply may help. The Hub is not used for the connection between the EFIS and the autopilot, but I've heard that some builders have tried to connect two EFIS's to one autopilot using a different type of hub. I'm using the Approach Fast Stack Pro Hub for my panel upgrade, and I've worked with Approach to design a dual EFIS cable. If you have any other questions, feel free to ask.
Don

[bferrell]

I'm using this harness in my Velocity, with a gen3 E/1, and I intend to add a sport or lite later. I'm very pleased with it, but do you have any specific questions?

Brett

[choperpilot]

Thanks for the replies. And pleaes excuse me if this is a stupid question.I guess what I wanted to know is if I buy the hub if I can get all of the wiring premade so that all I have to do is hook up antennas and power and I'm ready to go without having to be a wiring guru. Or if I'll still have to hire someone to finish the wiring after buying the hub.

Thanks
God Bless
Scott

[ATexDoc]

Hey Scott,
Not a stupid question at all.
I had the same questions but had trouble getting clarification, so I investigated it myself. After talking to Approach and reading a lot of info, I decided on the Approach Fast Stack Pro Hub. I've wired 2 other aircraft in the past and found it to be very tedious work. I very much enjoy the electrical system planning and schematic drawing, but the actual wiring was not fun to me!! One thing I can say about the Fast Stack System, it makes for a very impressive looking avionics stack in a VERY short time, and all the cables are nicely labled and shielded. Their system is NOT a 100% plug and play alternative but its a close as it gets. I'll expand more on this below.

The cost of the system is a consideration (as always) but if you are buying new avionics the shop you buy from will want to charge several hundred dollars to build you a harness and bench test the unit anyway. I think the manufacturer of the avionics (Garmin, King, Etc) requires them to build the harness and bench test it when its sold new (of course you can get around this by buying used avionics). I shopped around and found this to be the case universally. I bought my Approach Fast Stack Pro Hub from Stark Avionics (http://www.starkavionics.com), and I highly recommend them. He had the best price on new Avionics, and John agreed that if I would buy the Fast Stack Hub and cables (in lieu of a custom built cable made by him) at the time I ordered my new SL-30 and PS Engineering PMA8000B Audio Panel,
he was willing to waive the "Bench Test Fee" of the radios. The cost of the Approach cable was about the same as having the Avionics shop custom build one and the money I saved from having the "Bench Test Fee" waived covered the cost of the cable. I actually came out ahead financially and then I could install everything myself by just mounting the trays and plugging in the cables. As I said above, the Fast Stack system is NOT a 100% plug and play. There will still be some wiring that needs to be done.

The connections between the various avionics are basically plug and play through the Hub, but you will still need to do some basic wiring. Power and grounds need to be run to the Buss, but these wires are provided as part of the cables. They just come off the connector as a "Flying Leads" that you route and connect at the Buss. You will also need to connect misc. other items like headset jacks, PTT switch, etc., but these wires are also provided if you order a cable for an Audio Panel, Comm Radio, or Intercom. The bottom line is that you will still need to plan your electrical system and have a basic understanding of your avionics and the various interconnects and cable lenghts needed, if for no other reason, so you can talk to Approach (or the Approach Dealer) about what your needs are. You don't want to buy a cable just to find out that you really needed it to be 6 inches longer. Read ALL your avionics manuals and if there is a certain obscure function that you want to make sure gets wired, be sure to talk to Approach (or the Approach Dealer) about it before they start to build the cables. They can do custom work for you, but be sure to talk it over with them so that you are on the same page before the cable is built because the custom cables are non-refundable (although I'm certain they would modify it for a reasonable fee).

With regard to the Approach Fast Stack-BMA EFIS Cables:
1) Includes a Serial A cable, Serial B cable, magnetometer cable (specify length), Encoder cable (specify length and terminal connector type), and all other wires that are specified on the DB-26 pin out diagram. Its basically plug and play except for power, ground, autopilot remote disconnect, and display remote toggle which will need to be connected to thier destination source or switch.

2) I am not using any of the Analog signals that come from the DB-25 connectors, so I did not have Approach build a cable for the DB-25 stuff. The only thing I will need to connect here is the OAT, so I figured that I could do that myself. If you are connecting a Garmin 430 or something else that will require extensive wiring of the DB-25 connector, I'm sure that Approach would build you a cable.

3) If you think that you MIGHT EVER install two BMA EFIS's into your Panel, I would highly recommend that you spend a few extra $$$ and buy the custom "Dual BMA EFIS Cable" now. It will someday make you VERY happy to have it already wired and ready for your 2nd EFIS, and since you will want both EFIS's to have thier serial inputs tied together (and possibly the serial outputs going to your SL-30 thru a switch) Approach actually does all this for you by building a single "Y" shaped cable that leaves the hub and splits to both EFIS's. Just tell them how far apart the EFIS's will be mounted and the distance the Hub will be mounted from the panel. This custom "Y-shaped Dual BMA EFIS Cable" includes the following for both EFIS's (so 2 of each, 1 for each EFIS): Serial A cable, Serial B cable, magnetometer cable (specify length), Encoder cable, and all other wires specified in the DB-26 pin out diagram. They charged me $250 for this custom cable, and I think it was a BARGAIN compared to the $995 BMA charges for a single EFIS harness.

My installation includes the following"
1) PS Engineering PMA8000B audio panel (http://www.aviationconsumer.com/issu...rt/5560-1.html)

2) Garmin SL-30 Nav / Comm - (NEW)

3) Apollo GX-65 GPS / Comm - (already had in panel)

4) Bendix/King KT76A - (already had in panel)

5) TRANS-CAL Encoder SSD-120-30A - (already had installed)

6) BMA G4 Sport EFIS (Primary) with BMA Auto Pilot (NEW)

7) BMA G4 Lite EFIS (Secondary) (NEW)

All are connected using the Approach Fast Stack Cable System except the Autopilot.
I will keep all my old steam guages but move them to the copilot side of the panel.
If you have any other questions, feel free to e-mail.

Don

[choperpilot]

Don Thank you very much for your reply. It ansered all my questions, I plan on contacting the company and get a price on all the cables, I believe it would be less than I was going to pay for someone else to wire it.

Thanks Agian
God Bless
Scott

[N395V]

They charged me $250 for this custom cable, and I think it was a BARGAIN compared to the $995 BMA charges for a single EFIS harness.

While I enjoyed doing my own harness the fast stack system at that cost is clearly a bargain considering just the cost of a good crimper and I have no doubt that aesthetically it looks much nicer than mine.