I'm not sure if I previously mentioned it, but my VP-X box wasn't giving me power to the "always on" starter pin. I tried everything to troubleshoot it, hooking up an external power supply to the circuit and getting the starter solenoid to engage - up to and including hooking a wire directly up to the pin and then attaching an LED to see if there indeed was power from the source? Nothing, so it wasn't a wiring or connector problem.
This snafu happened almost exactly when Vertical Power was bought by Ballard (Astronics). I was a tad bit worried that I would be ignored. I got Marc (previous owner and designer) via email and then Chad Jensen (the new customer service rep). Both were helpful and responsive. We decided to send the unit in for diagnostics and possibly repair. It turned out that a trace on that particular pin was burned on the board. We don't know how it happened (they were trying to reproduce it in the lab with no luck), although it was probably my boneheaded sloppiness that caused it. It was working at one point...I worry I might have shorted it out somehow my mistake with all the stray wires I had at during construction.
Two things became apparent during this ordeal. One, I would hope that the unit would be more robust than this...I am putting a lot of my flying faith in that little red box. I want it to be bullet proof, is that too much to ask? And two, when that box went off to the factory...my aircraft electrical system, for all intents and purposes, was down. That didn't give me a warm fuzzy. I call it the "brains" of the electrical system...and that has good and bad consequences. Don't get me wrong, I love the product and its features and I don't have any regrets on the purchase...yet, I hope it stays that way. Fingers crossed. (disclaimer: I have multiple backups to a full VP-X failure built into my system...it will not bring my electrical system down in flight)
Lastly, the customer service with the new acquisition was very good. Chad has always been great ever since I exchanged emails with him during his RV7 build a few years ago. The turnaround at the factory was quick, it took them two days to replace the board and ship it back. No charge since its under warranty, no questions asked as to if it might have been my fault. They backed up my settings and then reinstalled them before shipping. It was like the box never left...except for that one week downtime shipping back and forth.
So, once I got the box back...I was anxious to hook up my wingtip lighting and see if everything worked as advertised...including the strobe sync. Here is a quick video of the results, worked like a charm...cool eh?
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