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Aviation Forum / General / IFR / April 2005Garmin GMA 340 Music Input
I have a Garmin 340 panel and the installer put a music input jack for it. So, I tried plugging my portable MP3 player output into the music jack. At maximum volume on the MP3 player, the music was almost completely inaudible. Does the signal need to be pre amplified in some way, or did the installer mess something up? -Sami N2057M, Piper Turbo Arrow III > I have a Garmin 340 panel and the installer put a music input jack for > it. So, I tried plugging my portable MP3 player output into the music > jack. At maximum volume on the MP3 player, the music was almost > completely inaudible. Does the signal need to be pre amplified in some > way, or did the installer mess something up? Did he ground the connection? > I have a Garmin 340 panel and the installer put a music input jack for > it. So, I tried plugging my portable MP3 player output into the music > jack. At maximum volume on the MP3 player, the music was almost > completely inaudible. Does the signal need to be pre amplified in some > way, or did the installer mess something up? I use both a satellite radio receiver (XM, Delphi Roady 2) and an MP3 player with my GMA340. The MP3 player is normally set to about 3/4 high volume to hear it comfortably, whereas the satellite radio has to have the audio output (a setting within that receiver) bumped up two levels from my truck's setting for comfortable listening. FWIW... BTW, the lack of a way to disable the auto-mute when receiving radio communications (not talking about the intercom mute, which has been disabled) makes listening to music while in busy airspace difficult. Certain PS Engineering and the re-branded Bendix/King audio panels have the ability to disable this auto-mute feature, making the music input feature much more practical.  SignaturePeter > I use both a satellite radio receiver (XM, Delphi Roady 2) and an MP3 > player with my GMA340. The MP3 player is normally set to about 3/4 high [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > ability to disable this auto-mute feature, making the music input feature > much more practical. So does the GMA 340. Read the installers manual, please. > So does the GMA 340. Read the installers manual, please. Not exactly. The PS Engineering can be done by some sequence of knob pushes on the panel. To get "Karaoke mode" in the Garmin you have to restrap a pin on the back (which can be run to an external switch). >>So does the GMA 340. Read the installers manual, please. > > Not exactly. The PS Engineering can be done by some sequence > of knob pushes on the panel. To get "Karaoke mode" in the Garmin > you have to restrap a pin on the back (which can be run to an external > switch). Yes, there is a switch pin, as well as another music input back there that I wished I had hooked up on installation. The mode needs to come to a switch, so you can choose if you are listening to important stuff, or just keeping your eye on local traffic. Also, people talking in the cockpit also cut out the music, which is often wrong, since everyone must be told to shut up just to listen to music. The second input would have been very handy now to hook my XM music player to, and should have been a jack (#1 goes to the CD player). Oh well. I would have also brought out at least one of the extra passenger jacks, and probally both of them, to jacks in the front panel. You can plug things in there, like a cell phone patch. There are 6 places on the 340, I have a four place airplane. Another "would be nice" is to be able to switch the front passenger to one of the back places, essentially a crew/passenger switch. The reason is, we travel as a family, and my wife often needs to be talking to the kids in the back seat, while I am trying to manage the airplane. The "pilot" switch does that, but I lose the ability to listen to music myself that way. Of course, its getting to be I need an operator switch panel to make it all work :-) I agree that it would have been nice if the 340 had a front panel combination for that, its clearly an oversight. But I still think the 340 is a nice unit. > So does the GMA 340. Read the installers manual, please. Hey, Scott. Before snipping at me like that, why not ask me if I did? Know what the answer would be? I read it backwards and forwards AND I called Garmin (told NO) AND I asked the techs at Lancaster Avionics, PA, when I was down there last year for work (told NO). There is NO WAY in the GMA340 to disable the auto mute when *receiving radio transmission for the pilot station*. Perhaps you were referring to the second output for the passengers, but for the pilot... NO. Now, I guess I could be guilty of not mentioning this nuance in the first post, but since I am the pilot and prefer music while flying long trips, I was looking at this issue from my perspective, not the passengers. SignaturePeter >>So does the GMA 340. Read the installers manual, please. > [quoted text clipped - 13 lines] > post, but since I am the pilot and prefer music while flying long trips, I > was looking at this issue from my perspective, not the passengers. The 340 installers manual talks about a signal line on the back of the unit that disables auto mute. Did Garmin tell you that this didn't work for the pilot ? > The 340 installers manual talks about a signal line on the back of the unit > that disables auto mute. Did Garmin tell you that this didn't work for the > pilot ? Garmin explained it to me as follows: The GMA340 has two aux inputs. One input serves all intercom stations and one input serves just the passengers' station. The auto-mute of the input when receiving a radio transmission cannot be disabled for the input that serves all stations. The auto-mute can be disabled for the second input. Believe me. I *really* wanted this feature disabled when I first bought the aircraft that was equipped with the GMA340 (last year) and had asked everyone involved if this was possible. When I learned it wasn't, I actually considered replacing the GMA340 with PS Engineering's Garmin-compatible audio panel and selling the GMA340 on eBay. SignaturePeter >>The 340 installers manual talks about a signal line on the back of the unit >>that disables auto mute. Did Garmin tell you that this didn't work for the [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > actually considered replacing the GMA340 with PS Engineering's > Garmin-compatible audio panel and selling the GMA340 on eBay. Ah, I stand corrected. I assumed you had not read the installers manual. I'm sad, I had been planning to do that as well. The problem is not just having or not having the controller blanked out by music, but having *anyone* in the friggin' cockpit turn it off by coughing. > The problem is not just > having or not having the controller blanked out by music, but having *anyone* > in the friggin' cockpit turn it off by coughing. Scott, turning off the auto-mute *can* be done for intercom activity, no matter the input. This is what moving the switch in the back of the audio panel does, as this is what Lancaster Avionics did for me when I asked them to disable the auto-mute all around (as part of a bigger avionics job I needed done). When I picked up the aircraft and flew it home, the auto-mute for intercom activity was disabled (what you are looking for), but the music input still cut out when the radio picked up a transmission. I called the avionics techs when I got back home and asked about this. They then told me it couldn't be done for the reception of radio transmissions. Disappointed but still holding out hope, I called Garmin and asked about this. Again, I was told no. :( The issue I have is that I fly a lot in center airspace in the Northeast US. Unless it is later at night, the radio is so active that listening to music is difficult with this auto-mute feature. Having trained and flown many hours in a C172SP with a Bendix-King/PS Engineering audio panel that had a button on the face of the panel to disable auto-mute, I guess I had grown spoiled. :) BTW, I like to listen to Jazz en route, a habit I picked up in college as it helps me concentrate. I once tried to listen to stand-up comedy while flying, but it was way too distracting. SignaturePeter >>The problem is not just >>having or not having the controller blanked out by music, but having *anyone* [quoted text clipped - 24 lines] > it helps me concentrate. I once tried to listen to stand-up comedy while > flying, but it was way too distracting. Did you attach the auto-mute from the back to a switch, or hardwire it ? > Did you attach the auto-mute from the back to a switch, or hardwire it ? Fortunately I had it hardwired. Knowing now that the switch only controls the intercom-activity muting function, I don't see the need for the extra expense and loss of panel real estate in installing the switch. SignaturePeter The problem is an impedance mismatch between your MP3 player's output and the GMA340's music input. This website: http://www.fremarllc.com/accessories/index.html has an adapter that will fix the problem and allow you to get full volume. On the web page, scroll down to "Stereo music impedance adapter" Regards, -Mike Murdock >I have a Garmin 340 panel and the installer put a music input jack for it. >So, I tried plugging my portable MP3 player output into the music jack. At [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > -Sami > N2057M, Piper Turbo Arrow III Possible simpler solution... See if your player has a "line out" jack. If so, just put your plug from your audio panel in that jack as it is properly impedance matched. Although I have never seen one, you may have a "line out" jack that is labeled differently. Check your units instructions and see if it provides a way to hook it into your home stereo. If it does, connect to the jack shown in those instructions. > The problem is an impedance mismatch between your MP3 player's output and > the GMA340's music input. This website: [quoted text clipped - 16 lines] > > -Sami > > N2057M, Piper Turbo Arrow III > The problem is an impedance mismatch between your MP3 player's output and > the GMA340's music input. This website: [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > has an adapter that will fix the problem and allow you to get full volume. > On the web page, scroll down to "Stereo music impedance adapter" Well, good grief! Just what did Garmin have in mind for this "music" input option? Sounds more like a design flaw to me. My PS-Engineering PMA6000 has the music inputs, and my iPod provides more than enough volume. Not to mention the fact that I can completely disable the music muting, if I so desire. Looks like Garmin kind of dropped the ball on the whole music input idea. Happy Flying! Scott Skylane O., the impedance mismatch is a problem - but yours sounds more dramatic than it should be. Someone posted instructions on how to build an impedance matcher yourself here a while ago, which I will repost below: No need for field mods, nor for active components. If you have any soldering skills, pick up a couple of 8/1000 ohm matching transformers and a male/male mini-plug cable from Radio Shack. It's a minor impedance mismatch problem. I put one together for my Cirrus and it boosts volume by more than enough, and it's completely passive so there's no batteries or other stuff. One of my fellow Cirrus brethren came up with a great packaging hack--a small prescription pill bottle is big enough to hold everything. Drill a hole in the bottom and in the lid, tie knots for strain relief, and it's all quite tidy, if a mite funny looking. Dave; Do you put one on each side (of the output)? And is that what I ask for? An 8/1000 Ohm matching transformer? Thanks again om: Dave Katz <dkatz@cirrus.juniper.net> Newsgroups: rec.aviation.owning Subject: Re: Music in Intercom Date: 25 Jul 2002 10:00:59 -0700 Yep, one for each side if you want stereo. The low impedance side (red/white) goes to the audio device, and the high impedance side (green/blue) goes to the Garmin. You can snip off the black center tap on the high side. I hooked the white and green leads to the common (sleeve) connections on each side, but I don't suppose that it matters so long as you're consistent (so you don't phase-reverse one side.) They were the only transformers for sale at the Radio Shack at which I got mine. They may just be called "audio transformers" or somesuch, but it'll say 8 ohm/1000 ohm on the packaging. --Dave Thanks! I saw them at RatShack, about 3 bucks each. Total of about 12 bucks with all the other special goodies like a 2 dollar project box and 4 dollar cord. SignatureThomas Borchert (EDDH) |
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