What's new
Van's Air Force

Don't miss anything! Register now for full access to the definitive RV support community.

Garmin vs PS audio panel

ERJDriver

Well Known Member
Pros or cons of going with 1 or the other? Currently have a VFR 8 but looking to put dynon in. Wanting to be IFR compliant and was thinking of running the GTR200B for the Bluetooth and intercom capabilities. I’m guessing I’ll also need an audio panel if running a dynon comm and it wouldn’t make sense to me to have the 200b along with an audio panel. What do you all think?
 
Wanting to be IFR compliant and was thinking of running the GTR200B for the Bluetooth and intercom capabilities. I’m guessing I’ll also need an audio panel if running a dynon comm and it wouldn’t make sense to me to have the 200b along with an audio panel. What do you all think?

The GTR 200B works great to provide COM radio, stereo intercom, music, alert audio, and Bluetooth (phone/music) when it is the sole radio in the aircraft, but you are correct that if you want a dual COM radio installation, then you would need an audio panel like the GMA 245 to provide Bluetooth, stereo intercom, and much more.

I have flown with the GMA 245 for over 6 years and couldn't imagine using anything else. The dedicated intercom and music volume knobs for both pilot and copilot/passenger and the dedicated music on/off button are two of my favorite features, but it does everything well and is super easy to use with all the dedicated controls.

AM-JKLWTjHVhHf70WWpp9Pa2-h1cxJFEoD-l3ZQggY2RqATDu78cx45i5HSNg867mw1fKHOssGnj6mPbYYCh-pUg4KPOm2jTIfiAYq3T_dwrJgFMSMEIUItfAe1s6CDgdW53ce29epjLQckaASd1t3rOQfX9=w800


Steve
 
Yeah I ask cuz there’s a 245 for sale here that I’m considering, I wanted to get the 200B to get me by until I get the panel going as my narco the plane came with is a POS. I did just find the PS200B with trig radio that looks slick.

I basically want to most bang for the buck panel, don’t need anything crazy. I’d be happy with VOR to VOR nav lol. The work bird is so new it can’t even track a VOR radial :confused:
 
Yeah I ask cuz there’s a 245 for sale here that I’m considering, I wanted to get the 200B to get me by until I get the panel going as my narco the plane came with is a POS. I did just find the PS200B with trig radio that looks slick.

I basically want to most bang for the buck panel, don’t need anything crazy. I’d be happy with VOR to VOR nav lol. The work bird is so new it can’t even track a VOR radial :confused:

The PAR200B provides an excellent user interface that makes changing frequencies, recalling frequencies, and accessing advanced functions extremely easy.

It includes IntelliAudio(R) which places Com 1 at the 10 o'clock positon and Com 2 at the 2 o'clock position. Bluetooth allows streaming as well as allowing Music 1, Music 2, and Bluetooth to be distributed. For example, maybe the pilot only wants to hear the Bluetooth streamed audio from Foreflight, the pilot would select "Bluetooth Pilot". The other can continue to listen to Music input 1.

The OLED display along with the Encoder that has very identifiable detents makes changing frequencies even in the bumpiest conditions, easy.

Thanks for considering the PAR200B, I know you wouldn't second guess your decision once you have flown behind it.
 
No contest, the PS Engineering PAR200B is the choice to add a radio and a full featured audio panel.

Carl

You're right, no contest; Garmin 245 with GTR200 :D
And unless PSE policy has changed, there is no warranty unless its 'dealer' installed.
 
Last edited:
This is not true (I just looked at their web site). You do have to use their wiring harness.

So, you can wire your entire panel yourself, except for your PSE audio panel or intercom.

Every other manufacturer I know of will honor their warranty regardless (and some stuff is way more complex than an audio panel), but if you don't purchase the wiring harness for your audio panel or intercom from PSE or one of their AD your warranty is VOID, so buyer beware of this limitation.

"In order for the factory warranty to be valid, new installations must be accomplished under the supervision of an authorized PS Engineering dealer. If the unit is being installed by a non-certified individual in an experimental aircraft, a PS Engineering authorized dealer-made intercom harness must be used for the warranty to be valid."

Hint: don't ask for a PSE audio panel in one of my panels cause it's not an option, specifically due to this limitation.
 
Warranty

Thank you for your important opinion regarding PS Engineering's warranty.

When downloading any of our installation manuals, an alert pops-up that states:

In order for the factory warranty to be valid, the product must be either installed by an authorized PS Engineering Dealer, replaced with a Plug and Play model, or a wire harness made by an authorized PS Engineering Dealer

Why do we have this policy? Having been designing and building intercoms and audio panels since 1985, we learned early that our products are only as good as the installation.

Back in the early '90s when we didn't have our current warranty requirements, we received calls from some very unhappy customers because our product didn't work. In actuality, it was very rarely ever a product issue but an installation issue.

The pilot/installer can send the product in for repair at our flat repair fee of $249. If the damage was significant, we would charge time and materials, and in some cases, the products were NOT repairable because of severe internal PCB damage. There is no way to repair that kind of damage that would satisfy our Repair Station Standards.

Our warranty policy does not mean the owner/installer can't call us for help, we are happy to work through our wiring diagrams. But we are limited in how much we can help because we do not have installation manuals for any nav/coms and other devices that are connected to an audio panel.

We get calls from a pilot/installers every single day, and we gladly help them as much as we can. Specifically, helping them to understand our drawings, how to terminate shields, and some best practices. But we are unable to help with anything that is not part of our drawings.

An out-of-box failure with PS Engineering products is as close to zero as can be! Our reputation reflects that we design and build high-quality and reliable products.

So, if you want to build your own harness along with an A&P, that's fine. And if there are some questions about our wiring diagram, we will be happy to answer them.

The great news is that our products very rarely fail, and when they do, we will repair them within 5 business days.

Because of your post, I have added in the pop-up menu when downloading our install manual to include "warranty is valid for any Plug N Play installations".

Thank you again for your thoughts, I appreciate the opportunity to address them.
 
PS Engineering - never again

Pros or cons of going with 1 or the other?

I have the PS Engineering PMA 8000B.

The 8000B squelch system relies on "IntelliVox circuitry that eliminates manual adjustement." It sure does that - there is no manual squelch control for you to adjust, even when adjustment is needed. I put up with years of one or another microphone randomly tripping the PS Engineering "IntelliVox" squelch during cruise flight, with no way to adjust it. PS Engineering representatives blamed the noisy RV-10 cabin, and suggested buying leather microphone covers to reduce cabin noise to the microphone (which didn't help appreciably).

I finally found that I could conquer (mostly) PS Engineering's lack of manual squelch by taking a tiny screwdriver and manually tuning the microphone gain (on the microphone boom) on every headset that I use in my plane. A gain setting that was OK for a back seat headset would cause false "IntelliVox" squelch trips in the front seat, so each headset had to be labeled.

I'll never buy another PS Engineering audio panel. When the time comes, I'll buy an audio panel with a manual squelch option.
 
Back
Top