Civa programming problems

[Guest Tim W]

I would appreciate a bit of help as I cannot get the CIVA unit to work, I am following the manual instructions but whatever I enter as far as the lat/long I get the red error light on and the green ready light never appears after I switch from stand by to AlignEven entering my position on stand with the brakes on taken from a shift+Z induces an error light. I have read all the pdf files in the CIVA directory but I am no further forward.As per the shift Z lat/long my stand position is N51*9.30, W0*10.14 entering either of these with one press of the insert button in between immediately gives a red error light. I have read that this error light is probably due to the CIVA not being started up in the same position as it was when last used, but I have never used it because I havent been able to get the thing to work.Any help is appreciated. Cheershttp://members.chello.nl/t.westnutt/realair.gif

[Bob Scott 7,719]

Tim; It's a bit tedious, but the best way to help is for you to describe...button by button...how you are doing it. Usually I can spot the mistake pretty quick that way.RegardsBob ScottATP IMEL Gulfstream II-III-IV-V L-300Santaigo de Chile

[Guest Tim W]

Hi Bob, Thanks for the replyAs per the manual really, parking brakes set,On the overhead, put the MSU unit onto standby, data selector to DSRTK/STS to check codes0 0 95 showing, Rotate knob to pos and enter lat/long of position as per shift Z. For Instance, pos shown as N51* 56.95 I enter N51569 press insert once, then enter enter E4* 26.15 as E42615 and press insert, within 2 secs the red WARN button comes on. Switch MSU to ALIGN and Data selector back to DSRTK/STS which gives the code O 006 95.And thats it, nothing more happens. Red light stays on and green ready light never comes on. Maybe I am entering the lat/long in the wrong format but the instructions are not very clear about the layout.I figure I am doing something basicly wrong but I have no idea what.CheersTim http://members.chello.nl/t.westnutt/realair.gif

[Vampire_NZ 0]

Hi Tim,Sure sounds like you're doing everything correctly. You're also right about the red warn light coming on as a result of the unit being somewhere other than where it was last time. Once the warn light comes on, clear it by pushing the 'Test' switch 2 or 3 times and this should clear it and allow the alignment to continue as per normal.Hope this helps,

[Guest Tim W]

Hi DavidI will try the test switch and see if that helps. Thanks for your reply.Cheershttp://members.chello.nl/t.westnutt/realair.gif

[Bob Scott 7,719]

>Hi Bob, >>Thanks for the reply>>As per the manual really, parking brakes set,On the overhead,>put the MSU unit onto standby, data selector to DSRTK/STS to>check codes>0 0 95 showing, Rotate knob to pos and enter lat/long of>position as per shift Z. For Instance, pos shown as N51* 56.95>I enter N51569 press insert once, then enter enter E4* 26.15>as E42615 and press insert, within 2 secs the red WARN button>comes on. Switch MSU to ALIGN and Data selector back to>DSRTK/STS which gives the code O 006 95.>>And thats it, nothing more happens. Red light stays on and>green ready light never comes on. Maybe I am entering the>lat/long in the wrong format but the instructions are not very>clear about the layout.>You're failing the gross error check due to entering the longitude (the E coordinate) wrong. Entering E42615 is longitude E 42 deg 61.5 min, not 4 deg, 26.1 min E. You're about 2300NM off.If the position is far enough away from actual (as in real life) the INS will fail the gross error check. You'll get an error code 6 that cannot be cleared, again, just as in real life.The coordinate should be entered E4262, or E004262 (last digit rounded up in this case). You have to pay close attention to the number of digits behind the decimal point and to the leading zeros on the INU display when entering coords.CheersBob ScottATP IMEL Gulfstream II-III-IV-V L-300Santiago de Chile

[Guest Tim W]

Aaah, I thought it might be my inputting the co-ordinates wrongly. I couldnt find anywhere that told me the correct way other than to ignore zero's at the beginning of a lat/long.I will try again with your suggestions, Thankshttp://members.chello.nl/t.westnutt/realair.gif

[Guest Tim W]

>You're failing the gross error check due to entering the>longitude (the E coordinate) wrong. Entering E42615 is>longitude E 42 deg 61.5 min, not 4 deg, 26.1 min E. You're>about 2300NM off.>>If the position is far enough away from actual (as in real>life) the INS will fail the gross error check. You'll get an>error code 6 that cannot be cleared, again, just as in real>life.>>The coordinate should be entered E4262, or E004262 (last digit>rounded up in this case). You have to pay close attention to>the number of digits behind the decimal point and to the>leading zeros on the INU display when entering coords.>Hi Bob,I'm slowly getting the hang of this and am currently flying the BOS-MIA tutorial which is going well, DME updating is a function I knew nothing about! I would have thought these INS's would have managed an auto update as long as they could pick up a VOR/DME signal, but I guess not.The tutorial talks about triple INS and a green flag on #2 which I dont seem to have but anyway I am making my way to Miami! It's certainly a hands on way to fly and a long way from the FMC of a 744!Anyway, thanks for your help.Cheershttp://members.chello.nl/t.westnutt/realair.gif

[Bob Scott 7,719]

Keep in mind that these INUs are technology from the 1970s. They were quite the wonder in their day. We used to call 'em the "instructor navigator system" because they were always way, way better than a coffee-slurping, sextant-dropping piece of self-loading baggage otherwise known as a navigator. If there are any ex-navs reading this, I apologize for speaking the truth so bluntly... :-hahTriple INS is only found on big birds with oceanic range. The few 732s that were retrofitted with inertial had single and occasionally dual INS...doubt that there was ever a 737 with a triple. Those INUs cost about a quarter-million US dollars each...in 1970s dollars.CheersBob ScottATP IMEL Gulfstream II-III-IV-V L-300Santiago de Chile