Peter wrote:
I wonder if there is any precedent for any compensation?
There is not – and there would not be.
If we look beyond the frustration of the OP, in this case we not even have to discuss how many years of useful life of a software product a consumer can expect. Ever tried to get compensation from Apple because they no longer provide SW-updates for the iPhone 5?
But in the case presented here the software still works perfectly fine! The problem is not the software functionality but that the OP these days wants to use the software with a database from a third party data provider (sold separately) that today is much bigger than it used to be 7 years ago and therefore the software (and probably even the hardware) can not process it. It can still perfectly process the data from 7 years ago.
It is like buying a conversion program to convert excel files into Lotus-123 format and now experience that it can not convert a modern xls-files that has more than 64k-columns.
The case itself happens all the times with software and is not even w/o precedence in aviation: The very reason why the EX500 could not update data any longer some years ago and required a (physical) upgrade has exactly been that the Waypoint DB became too big. (Not to mention that the ZIP-drives initially used to update the EX500 went out of service much earlier due to increasing data volumes and less expensive USB-sticks)
PetitCessnaVoyageur wrote:
In other words, it seems fair to expect Garmin, Cessna and Jeppesen to be in touch on a regular basis, to avoid losing the compatibility.
So when I sell you an STC to use MoGas in your plane you expect me to be in constant contact with Shell, BP, etc. to ensure that they will sell the very same fuel for the next 15 years and if they don’t (because e.g. due to national regulation they have to increase share of ethanol) it’s my fault? How much compensation did you get from Alcatel because your Minitel did no longer work after 2012?
In my case I didn’t have to buy the Minitel it was part of the phone package exactly as the Livebox is now. So I wouldn’t have expected compensation.
what would you consider basic IFR avionics to be?
Probably the basic functions you get in a KLN94/GNSx30, with sids, stars and approaches all properly mapped, and the primitive airspace maps you get on current boxes.
VFR mapping is too much of a transient product, as the Jepp 2013 debacle showed, and Garmin never depicted airspace in a usable way on any moving map product AFAICT.
Re renning Jepp charts, obviously a lot of people like that. I’ve never had that, but you can run that stuff on a tablet for similar money to running it in the panel, and you then get a backup for a total electrical failure. Yes; mounting a tablet without blocking something is difficult or impossible in many types…
Manufacturers can count on you malibuflyer !
Please don’t over emphasize my frustration. As Emir points out, there are much more serious shortcomings out there. The common point is the mindset, that’s why I shared the story.
To be accurate, you cannot use older database because after 6 months or so they expire and the Chartview disables. That’s how a certified device works.
For the sake of trial (2014 DB), I had to prevent the g1000 to know the date, by switching off both GPS. You can’t fly like this !
You didn’t express any opinion on the fact that the unlock card is still available for purchase, which shows they ignore the problem of compatibility.
As for database formatting. Don’t you think Jeppesen could separate the packages between different generations of legacy g1000, as they do between legacy and NXi ? It does not sound out of reach.
Mogas i don’t know, your example is really interesting, I wonder how STC holders deal with that. My intuition is that fuel won’t change short of starvation, but we would need to inquire STC holders to know what they have planned, and written down.
Minitel: what’s that ? 
What I take from this saga is that it is better to steer clear of Jeppesen, but is that possible if you want to fly IFR all over Europe.
It certainly is in France.
But it might also be an additional factor for those who give up the IR in favour of the LSA or ULM regimes.
it is better to steer clear of Jeppesen
You can’t. They produce all mapdata, all IAP data, etc, used in certified satnav boxes. Everything. Even the KLN94 uses data from Jepp.
You’re quite right, who’s a silly older person then.
That means that Jepp has in fact got us by the short and curlies.
And in the case of @PetitCessnaVoyageur so has Cessna and Garmin.
What a state of affairs the certified world has got itself in. And we are still prepared to pay over the odds for it.
That means that Jepp has in fact got us by the short and curlies.
We have had previous threads on this e.g. here. There appears to be a setup whereby all the manufacturers offload their liability for errors onto Jepp, and as a quid pro quo Jepp refuse to release the data to anybody making uncertified hardware.
is it right that the KLN94 can be WAAS enabled?
No. The pins (for LPV etc vertical guidance) come out on the connector, so obviously this was planned, but nothing is driving them. The KLN94 also could not do it for other reasons e.g. the GPS module is 1Hz but needs to be 5Hz. Many years later the GNC355 is aimed at the KLN94 replacement business.
PetitCessnaVoyageur wrote:
Don’t you think Jeppesen could separate the packages between different generations of legacy g1000
Yes, they can. Have you actually asked them for a quote for charts that work with non-WAAS G1000 as well? They provide customized charts for airline operations (actually their core business – GA is just a bonus for them) so for the right price they will provide you with whatever data you like. I just doubt that you are willing to pay a fair price for that individual service – and I also doubt that the market demand of those pilots that do not invest into WAAS-upgrade of their avionics but do want to spend 1k-EUR each year for a chart subscription is very limited in general.
PetitCessnaVoyageur wrote:
You didn’t express any opinion on the fact that the unlock card is still available for purchase,
Isn’t it the same unlock card you also use for WASS-G1000? Do they really market it to customers with a non-WAAS G1000? Just the fact you can buy it in some legacy web shop (or, to be more precise that a Webshop shows it as “available but you need to contact sales representative”) does not imply they actually recommend (or even sell) it to non-WAAS customers.
