November 11, 201411 yr Hi, I'm considering to buy the Mindstar GNS 430/530 package. On the web site however, there is absolutely no information provided about the product/functionality... No detailed information, no manual, no images, no video. (If there is, they have kept it secret very good) And, as surplus, no return policy. The description says: The Mindstar GNS430/530 is a flight sim gauge that simulates 1 or 2 Garmin GNS430s or GNS530's To what extend simulates it the GNS430/530??? Normally this lack of information indicates lack of fuctionality and/or quality. Does anyone has the Mindstar GNS gauges, and are they any good? (Both graphic wise and functionality) I don't mind to fork out $50 but at least I want to know on exactly what I spend/spill my money on. thanks for your help, Egbert Location: Vleuten, The Netherlands, 17.3dme SPL 108.40 | Simulator: FS2024 System: AMD 7800X3D - Gigabyte X670 - RTX 4090 - 64GB DDR5 - 2 x 2TB SSD - 32" 1440p Display - Windows 11 Pro
November 11, 201411 yr Also, look here: http://forum.avsim.net/forum/712-the-mindstar-aviation-forum/ Best Regards, Vaughan Martell PP-ASEL KDTW
November 12, 201411 yr And look at my comments on Pilotedge... Regards, Chas My first sim flight simulator Take a ride to Stinking Creek! http://youtu.be/YP3fxFqkBXg Win10 Pro, GeForce GTX 1080TI/Rizen5 5600x OCd,32 GB RAM,3x1920 x 1080, 60Hz , 27" Dell TouchScreen,TM HOTAS Warthog,TrackIR5,Saitek Combat Rudder Pedals HP reverbG2,Quest2
November 12, 201411 yr I'm also on the fence to get this as I miss my Reality XP Garmins in Prepar3D. I e-mailed them about the realism. I was curious about the map page for instance. Does this have roads and railroads? In my mail I assumed it wouldn't have, because the Mindstars are based on the default FSX/Prepar3d GPS system. My assumption was never confirmed. This e-mail exchange took place almost two months ago. The Mindstar person (no greetings or introduction in the mail, so I have no clue whom I was corresponding with) also spoke of a video that they would get up on Youtube soon. Haven't seen it yet. Mindstar doesn't seem to keen on selling their product to us. I won't purchase until I have access to a full featurelist. And look at my comments on Pilotedge... Do you have a link? Cheers, Bert AMD Ryzen 5900X, 32 GB RAM, RTX 3080 Ti, Windows 11 Home 64 bit, MSFS 2024
November 12, 201411 yr Also consider the Flight1 GTN 650/750 units... they are the newer Garmin line, replacements for the GNS series. Bert
November 12, 201411 yr Also, there is a subscription to the Navdata that needs purchasing for Mindstar Garmin .. I do not know what the extra cost $$ is. Is there Terrain and Obstacle data also ?? WAAS, LPV approach? Need to see a features list to be sure. Edit: Rimshot : "I e-mailed them about the realism. I was curious about the map page for instance. Does this have roads and railroads? In my mail I assumed it wouldn't have, because the Mindstars are based on the default FSX/Prepar3d GPS system. My assumption was never confirmed." Sorry to hear that ... as product support is a very important. Best Regards, Vaughan Martell PP-ASEL KDTW
November 12, 201411 yr Also consider the Flight1 GTN 650/750 units... they are the newer Garmin line, replacements for the GNS series. I was expecting this response from you Bert, I've seen you leading people in the direction of the Flight1 GTN before I also intend to purchase these, but I still want to be able to use a GNS stack as well. Cheers, Bert AMD Ryzen 5900X, 32 GB RAM, RTX 3080 Ti, Windows 11 Home 64 bit, MSFS 2024
November 12, 201411 yr Author Also consider the Flight1 GTN 650/750 units... they are the newer Garmin line, replacements for the GNS series. I have but decided not to do: Nav data can not be updated, unless you pay several $100's Extra investment required for world wide data Expensive + a surplus for P3D users. Mindstar doesn't seem to keen on selling their product to us. I won't purchase until I have access to a full featurelist. I don't know either, but like you I won't fork out $90 (incl nav data) unless I know what I'm paying for. Location: Vleuten, The Netherlands, 17.3dme SPL 108.40 | Simulator: FS2024 System: AMD 7800X3D - Gigabyte X670 - RTX 4090 - 64GB DDR5 - 2 x 2TB SSD - 32" 1440p Display - Windows 11 Pro
November 12, 201411 yr Whatever floats your boat. The gtn units are superior in every way.. IMHO Bert
November 12, 201411 yr I'm also on the fence to get this as I miss my Reality XP Garmins in Prepar3D. I e-mailed them about the realism. I was curious about the map page for instance. Does this have roads and railroads? In my mail I assumed it wouldn't have, because the Mindstars are based on the default FSX/Prepar3d GPS system. My assumption was never confirmed. This e-mail exchange took place almost two months ago. The Mindstar person (no greetings or introduction in the mail, so I have no clue whom I was corresponding with) also spoke of a video that they would get up on Youtube soon. Haven't seen it yet. Mindstar doesn't seem to keen on selling their product to us. I won't purchase until I have access to a full featurelist. Do you have a link? Look for the forum, search mindstar, hesynergy C My first sim flight simulator Take a ride to Stinking Creek! http://youtu.be/YP3fxFqkBXg Win10 Pro, GeForce GTX 1080TI/Rizen5 5600x OCd,32 GB RAM,3x1920 x 1080, 60Hz , 27" Dell TouchScreen,TM HOTAS Warthog,TrackIR5,Saitek Combat Rudder Pedals HP reverbG2,Quest2
November 12, 201411 yr Looking to see what the map looks like , here are some http://forum.avsim.net/topic/452992-font-size-in-gns530-screen/page-2 I own the Mindstar 530 and took Bert's suggestion to check out the GTN 750 and now I own and use the GTN 750 Thanks again Bert
November 12, 201411 yr Nav data is $40 for quarterly updates. You need this for SIDS and STARS. I've owned Mindstar four months in P3d. Support is ok but sometimes a little blunt. One known problem it crashes P3d on changing aircraft - not yet fixed. Otherwise seems a good unit that works well. Integration in Panel can be challenging at first. There is a great video series in A2A Cherokee Google KPSP KOXR https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=vLrKuL6l3yM UK P3DV5 and Xplane 11 SimmerPilotEdge I11, CAT11, A-Z (ZLA), A-Z (WUS) System details: Gigabyte P57v7 CF2 17.3" laptop. Kaby Lake i7 7700HQ CPU (averaging 3.4mhz). NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 8mb (laptop version), 16 GB of DDR4-2400 RAM, SSD - Samsung 970 Evo 500GB M.2 NVMe, 1TB HDD 7200.
November 12, 201411 yr Egbert perhaps you could pm forum member WarpD, the very droll Ed Wilson, who is a Mindstar person. <_<
November 12, 201411 yr Whatever floats your boat. The gtn units are superior in every way.. IMHO Yea but the screens are too big I was gonna get them but they don't look good in the planes I fly (Steam gauges) ATP MEL,CFI,CFII,MEI. Type Ratings B-737, ERJ-190,ERJ-170
November 12, 201411 yr Author Thank you all for the replies. Based on these replies and on information / support expereinces of actual owners, I decided not to buy the Mindstar packages. So the alternative is the Flight1 GNS650.... Have to think about that for a while ^_^ Location: Vleuten, The Netherlands, 17.3dme SPL 108.40 | Simulator: FS2024 System: AMD 7800X3D - Gigabyte X670 - RTX 4090 - 64GB DDR5 - 2 x 2TB SSD - 32" 1440p Display - Windows 11 Pro
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