ENGRAVITY CDU vs FDS CDU with Prosim737

[ian@737ng.co.uk]

hi guys..........
i'm looking to add a second CDU in the cockpit as i progress with the Prosim installation. so as cost is a major factor,
i have been doing a little homework and just wanted to get some feedback from anyone who has been down this road.

for years i have used my trusty Engravity CDU which makes me a little hesitant to change because it has given me excellent service. however looking at the cost, it appears to me that the FDS CDU even after adding the shipping and local taxes is quite a lot cheaper than the Engravity unit.

so, my question is: has anyone bought and installed an FDS CDU and hooked it up to Prosim without any issues. i see the hardware compatibility list at Prosim Lists the FDS CDU, but it has only been tested by 3rd parties and not Marty & Hanne themselves so i just want to see what my options are here before i go any further.

any input would be greatly appreciatted chaps.............

thanks in advance

ian

[brynjames]

I was wondering the same thing - the FDS looks like a very nice bit of kit, which I saw working in a SimFest cockpit a few weeks ago.

In case you missed there was a recent post by a user reporting that it only took him 15 minutes to configure the FDS CDU to go with ProSim - http://prosim737.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=23&t=1390 - looks very encouraging.

What would you guess for shipping/duty/clearance/VAT? The last time I bought some GoFlight kit from the US it came to something like 30% in total but that was some time ago.

Bryn

[Mike1984]

Hello

that post was from me.
it is realy very simple to set the FDS CDU up with prosim.
everything is working fine until now.
all leds are comming up when they should and so on.
just to set up the monitor is a little bit of work.
at the end i set my background to black and runing the CDU screen not in fullscreen mode, so it works for me perfect.
the CDU from FDS it self is amazing.
it just took a long time to come to austria (australia and austria is very similar in writing) :D
but it was no fault of FDS.

just write me an pn at the prosim forum if you want to know more.

mike

[Westozy]

Hi Ian, I'm keen to follow your progress with Prosim software aswel. I am still hesitating on buying Sim Avionics because of the high price and I have two FDS CDU units still in their delivery boxes! I do hope to start reassembling my sim this year but orders keep flowing in despite the closed sign on my website. Please keep us all informed!

Cheers Gwyn
Aerosim Solutions

[brynjames]

.....I have two FDS CDU units still in their delivery boxes! I do hope to start reassembling my sim this year
Cheers Gwyn
Aerosim Solutions

You could give your FDS CDUs a cheap test run with the Aerosoft.com.au aerosystems software as it provides native support for that CDU - unfortunately there is no overhead software and no plans to provide in the future due to the small market size, so not suitable for your long term goal of getting the full cockpit running again. As you probably know, there is a free demo and the full price of the software is very reasonable.

--
Bryn

[Willow]

I have the FDS CDU with Sim Avionics. The unit is excellent and took minimal time to set up with SA.

Here is an UNBIASED review I did on my blog a few days ago

http://bit.ly/w5v9Sp

My friend has the CDU from Engravity and likes it, although I have no experience with the Engravity model

WilloW