MX1 gotta go - Help me decide what to replace it with.
Posted: Fri Sep 09, 2022 6:30 pm
by BRS
I’ve been playing wack-a-mole ever since I got this sonex flying. Now that the engine is running smooth (carb swap) it’s time to eliminate what seems to be the last major issue, the MX1 resetting in flight. Adam at Michigan avionics as Rainier at MGL have not been able figure out why only my MX1 reboots and locks up. They even swapped my unit with a new one but it did the same thing. The bugger is that when it resets it locks up and it takes some effort to get it going again in flight. I really like having airspeed and altitude when landing an aircraft I’ve not yet mastered.
So. I’m thinking the MX1 will have to get the boot and replaced. Since I have the RDAC and all setup it seems best to just purchase a handful of the vegas/blaze units. But then an eXtreme would be much cheaper. What do you think?
I hate having to do this but the MX1 is trying to get me hurt and the wiring all seems to be in order. What to do.
Re: MX1 gotta go - Help me decide what to replace it with.
Posted: Fri Sep 09, 2022 6:57 pm
by GraemeSmith
So if you think the original MX1 might have been OK
And a “known good” (to make an assumption about the replacement) is also giving the same trouble
Then that suggests the problem is not the MX1 - but lies somewhere else in your system - like your wiring or the RDAC or?
–
So putting other gear on the wiring / RDAC may not solve the problem.
–
My Sonex came with the ENIGMA system and the V10 radio. First to go was that PoS radio. I finally traced the intermittent functionality to a hairline crack in a trace on the circuit board. Reflowing solder over it fixed it for a while. But when I was on a base leg in a Class C and the world went quiet and I found myself squawking 7600 and turning to exit the Charlie - that radio nearly went over the side - there and then. (I was actually landed by light gun and departed later in the day when it was quiet by hand set and cell phone - thank you PVD controllers)
–
So in the 28 months I have had the Sonex - I have replaced EVERY part of the MGL Enigma system. EFIS Control Head, RDAC, AHRS, Magnetometer - each progressively failing and causing headaches till I figured which bit had gone bad and replaced it. And there is the rub. By carefully watching Barnstormers or trading on here - I can get a complete used ENIGMA system for about $1,000. Which is a lot cheaper than starting again.
If I was starting from scratch I’d probably go with a Dynon setup. I have a 10 year old D1 Pocket EFIS as my emergency GPS derived instrumentation for the next time the ENIGMA goes bad. And it is flawless and silky smooth in a 4 x 4 x 1 package. And 10 years old. So Dynon would be where I will/would go next. Except I can still pick up ENIGMA setups for parts for about $1,000…
But I am still not enamored of MGL…
Re: MX1 gotta go - Help me decide what to replace it with.
Posted: Sat Sep 10, 2022 11:23 am
by BRS
GraemeSmith wrote:So if you think the original MX1 might have been OK
And a “known good” (to make an assumption about the replacement) is also giving the same troubleThen that suggests the problem is not the MX1 - but lies somewhere else in your system - like your wiring or the RDAC or?
Yes Graeme, those were my assumptions and I’ve tried disconnecting everything etc. Even though I have a past in avionics the problem still dogs me. Thanks though for the reminder of logic. What you are saying is correct and really I should not give up to get this to work. It’s very frustrating as mgl has not been able to point me to any kind of logs or other that might help narrow things down. I had thought that I had solved the problem by preventing flight-recording from starting (crashes every time I start it) but yet the other day (first flight with aeroInjector installed) I found myself without any instruments. Bother.
Re: MX1 gotta go - Help me decide what to replace it with.
Posted: Sat Sep 10, 2022 12:45 pm
by pfhoeycfi
I too have the MX1…a few months away from flying.
Did you try the MGL users forum? There is an individual on there that responds to the posts, goes by the name “rainier”. Perhaps that forum can help.
Peter
Re: MX1 gotta go - Help me decide what to replace it with.
Posted: Sat Sep 10, 2022 1:15 pm
by gammaxy
By “reboots and locks up”, is it a sudden thing that could be explained by a bad power connection or is it like the software crashes and reboots? How does it lock up? Does it get stuck on a boot screen?
Re: MX1 gotta go - Help me decide what to replace it with.
Posted: Sat Sep 10, 2022 2:27 pm
by XenosN42
[quote=“pfhoeycfi” There is an individual on there that responds to the posts, goes by the name “rainier”.
Peter[/quote]
Rainier runs the company. Develops all the hardware and software. Probably sweeps the floor at the end of the day.
Re: MX1 gotta go - Help me decide what to replace it with.
Posted: Sun Sep 11, 2022 12:49 am
by BRS
pfhoeycfi wrote:I too have the MX1…a few months away from flying.
Did you try the MGL users forum? There is an individual on there that responds to the posts, goes by the name “rainier”. Perhaps that forum can help.Peter
Yes, I checkin and post on the MGL forum from time to time. Rainier doesn’t offer suggestions unless he knows what’s going on. He has been silent.
An advanced system log would be nice. Perhaps it’s there but not evident, if a log could show why or what was the last thing to happen…
Re: MX1 gotta go - Help me decide what to replace it with.
Posted: Sun Sep 11, 2022 7:11 am
by GraemeSmith
I wonder if you are getting brownouts on the supply bus? Not enough to APPARENTLY turn off radios, lights etc - but enough to lock up a computer.
Something like a highish usage with a lot of stuff on and then a pulsing drop caused by a strobe or pressing the PTT. Turn a couple of items off and the pulse is not enough to lock up the computer, be at high current draw and something triggers and drops the voltage…
Have you tried a voltage logger to see how clean your power is?
–
Jim Weir has an interesting article in Oct 22 Kitplanes arguing that protecting an equipment bus with a regulated power supply can avoid problems with sensitive equipment. Here (subscription required):
https://www.kitplanes.com/power-scotty- … ore-power/
Re: MX1 gotta go - Help me decide what to replace it with.
Posted: Mon Sep 12, 2022 12:40 am
by BRS
GraemeSmith wrote:…
Have you tried a voltage logger to see how clean your power is?
I did put on an oscilloscope then later my fluke during runups. I was concerned about spikes. Turns out my power only fluctuates by a half volt. MGL is good to 30volts. I also took off and flew with the alternators off once to be sure they were not being a problem. Still reset. I thought I had figured it out the flight before last when I had no resets the entire flight but then my last flight (first flight with the aeroinjector) it reset several times. I know for sure it freaks out every time data recording starts (Action/Start-new-flight). Disabling that is what seemed to solve that. Perhaps it still got started somehow.
I still think its a software issue, one that is evident with certain configurations. Now if I could only narrow it down and find out which configuration or connected external device triggers this. So not only does my system reboot/lock/bootloop, I can’t use data logging which was one of the items I wanted most.
Re: MX1 gotta go - Help me decide what to replace it with.
Posted: Mon Sep 12, 2022 9:38 am
by XenosN42
BRS wrote:I know for sure it freaks out every time data recording starts (Action/Start-new-flight). Disabling that is what seemed to solve that.
This is just a shot in the dark, but —
When the data recording starts it, of course, starts to write to the SD card. There are other times the system writes to the SD card, but these are not as common.
Have you tried to fly without an SD card? The device should still run. If it runs without locking up and rebooting you’ll know it’s due to a bad SD card (most likely) or bad programming. Hopefully, it’s a bad SD card - you can do something about that. If it’s a software bug you’re out of luck.
If you determine it’s a bad SD card buy the smallest capacity you can from a well know brand. It’s a well known issue that MGL devices have trouble with large capacity SD cards.
Re: MX1 gotta go - Help me decide what to replace it with.
Posted: Mon Sep 12, 2022 10:42 am
by GraemeSmith
That’s a good point. Even older Garmin units choke on larger capacity cards.
You only want a 2Gb partition on the card and format it as FAT.
Or buy a 2Gb card:
https://www.amazon.com/2gb-sd-card/s?k=2gb+sd+card
Re: MX1 gotta go - Help me decide what to replace it with.
Posted: Mon Sep 12, 2022 11:23 am
by 13brv3
Have you ever just powered the unit, with nothing else connected to see if it locks up? If it did that on a workbench, it would pretty much rule everything else out. Good point on the SD card.
Rusty (glad I kept my D180)
Re: MX1 gotta go - Help me decide what to replace it with.
Posted: Mon Sep 12, 2022 12:09 pm
by BRS
Keep the good tips coming in.
Seems I’ve tried it all, except the hammer & saw. Powered up on the bench, changed SD cards, tried w/o SD card. Seems the only thing that seems to be common is my custom screens and configuration. Adam assures me that I’m the only MX1 with this issue, even though I’ve replicated it on a replacement MX1. I’m hoping the original MX1 will make it’s way to Rainier so he can see it for himself.
I’ll try again with the SD cards, really don’t want to remove the MX1 and start over.
I used to think I had some good avionics skills. MGL/MX1 has humbled me. Ugh!
Re: MX1 gotta go - Help me decide what to replace it with.
Posted: Mon Sep 12, 2022 1:24 pm
by XenosN42
BRS wrote:Seems the only thing that seems to be common is my custom screens …
Have you tried it with the default screens? BTW, you’re my hero if you figured out how to use the MGL screen designer. I gave up on that a long, long time ago and I’m a software developer.
Re: MX1 gotta go - Help me decide what to replace it with.
Posted: Mon Sep 12, 2022 2:13 pm
by 13brv3
Since you replaced the unit, and the new one does the same thing, it would seem like it’s either a defect in hardware/software on the unit, or something in your installation. Of the two, the installation is more likely.
The MX1 connects via CAN bus to devices like the RDAC, and compass. The CAN bus cables have to be terminated on the ends of the runs, and if there’s any issue with the cable or terminations, I could see that locking up the unit. I could also imagine if one of the CAN bus devices hung up the bus, that might do it also. I’m afraid my CAN bus theory is stuck in a dusty corner of my aging brain 
Maybe MGL can send another RDAC and/or another cable to try?
Rusty
Re: MX1 gotta go - Help me decide what to replace it with.
Posted: Mon Sep 12, 2022 4:35 pm
by bvolcko38
I have my efis set for “Auto flight detect”. no problems. don’t have to remember to start a flight either.
Re: MX1 gotta go - Help me decide what to replace it with.
Posted: Thu Feb 15, 2024 11:11 pm
by nora10
gammaxy wrote:By “reboots and locks up”, is it a sudden thing that could be explained by a bad power connection or is it like the software crashes and reboots? How does it lock up? Does it get stuck on a boot screen?
Hi,
Reboots and locks up, typically suggests a software-related issue rather than a hardware problem like a bad power connection. When a device reboots and locks up, it implies a software crash or freeze, where the system becomes unresponsive and may require a manual restart. The term locks up indicates the system becomes stuck or frozen, potentially on a specific screen or while performing a particular task, rather than proceeding through the boot process. This behavior often indicates a need for troubleshooting or software diagnostics to identify and resolve the underlying issue.
Re: MX1 gotta go - Help me decide what to replace it with.
Posted: Fri Feb 16, 2024 11:43 am
by BRS
This is a rather old thread. I started it, now I’ll try to finish it.
Yes, Nora10, firmware was my first suspicion. But knowing MGL I knew the fix would come eventually but, at the time, the MX1 was my everything as for instruments. So instead of waiting ‘who knows how long’, I passed the MX1 onto someone whose plane would not be AOG because of it. Replaced it with an MGL Xtreme EMS (the EFIS versions were all on back order) and a few other discrete items. I’m happy to not have all the critical information tied to one source. The airspeed is strictly mechanical (my very first sonex landing was with without airspeed because of the MX1).
The problem with the MX1 turned out to be a software bug that would cause it to freak-out when trying to write to the external (SD) memory log file.
Re: MX1 gotta go - Help me decide what to replace it with.
Posted: Fri Feb 16, 2024 11:49 am
by Bryan Cotton
I suspect Nora10 is not a human with a Sonex, or any interest in Sonexes. A nonsense post on an old thread is the classic hallmark of such things. Watch out for posted links.
If I’m wrong I’ll apologize!
Re: MX1 gotta go - Help me decide what to replace it with.
Posted: Fri Feb 16, 2024 1:38 pm
by BRS
Bryan, I see what you mean. Very strange. Nora10 Joined and seemingly posted 3 minutes later. I wonder if this “user” should be verified and perhaps deleted… AI bot?
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Re: MX1 gotta go - Help me decide what to replace it with.
Posted: Fri Feb 23, 2024 4:28 am
by nora10
Hi Guys,
What are some suitable alternatives for replacing MX1 Gotta Go, considering factors like functionality, user interface, and price?
Re: MX1 gotta go - Help me decide what to replace it with.
Posted: Fri Feb 23, 2024 11:22 pm
by Weatherpilot
I would like to know what you don’t like about the MX1? And why you need to replace it? What features do you want to have?
Re: MX1 gotta go - Help me decide what to replace it with.
Posted: Fri Feb 23, 2024 11:25 pm
by Bryan Cotton
It’s a spambot. I reported it.
Re: MX1 gotta go - Help me decide what to replace it with.
Posted: Sat Feb 24, 2024 1:14 am
by Weatherpilot
That post was from a spambot?
Re: MX1 gotta go - Help me decide what to replace it with.
Posted: Sat Feb 24, 2024 1:19 am
by Bryan Cotton
Weatherpilot wrote:That post was from a spambot?
Was the original, old thread about replacing an MX10? Or replacing an MX10 gotta go? That nuance was lost on the spambot.
Re: MX1 gotta go - Help me decide what to replace it with.
Posted: Sat Feb 24, 2024 9:15 am
by Sonex1517
User has been banned