Repairing an Enigma

[sonex1284]

Has anyone performed a DYI repair on an MGL Enigma? Do you have any photos, videos, or tips you could share?
I'll got an e-mail into support, but only crickets so far!

[XenosN42]

What’s broken?

[sonex1284]

The SD card retention didn’t work any more and I think I “may” have pushed the card down too far because now my moving map won’t load either. I’ve tried to reload everything from scratch but the system says now there isn’t enough memory...which there was before. Plus, after reading other posts, i'm afraid I might break-off the pitot, static & AOA posts when I remove it.

[XenosN42]

The SD card retention didn’t work any more and I think I “may” have pushed the card down too far because now my moving map won’t load either. I’ve tried to reload everything from scratch but the system says now there isn’t enough memory...which there was before. Plus, after reading other posts, I'm afraid I might break-off the pitot, static & AOA posts when I remove it.

That sounds very bad. The Enigma is so old it really isn't supported any more. However, you may find someone to work on it. Good luck. As for breaking off the tubing ports, I would suggest that you take a very sharp knife and slit the side of the tubing where it is attached to the ports. Should only take a cut of 1/2" or so. The idea is make it easy to remove the tubing so that you don't put any stress on the plastic posts.

Finally - just my opinion: I would never put an Enigma in a new airplane build. Mostly because it isn't supported any more. There are so many better options available. Might cost a few dollars more, but you get what you pay for.

[sonex1284]

This Enigma was installed in 2011 and has been a great EFIS. It's in a "legacy" model Sonex panel with no room for ugrading to an iEFIS.

[XenosN42]

This Enigma was installed in 2011 and has been a great EFIS. It's in a "legacy" model Sonex panel with no room for upgrading to an iEFIS.

The Enigma is in fact a good EFIS. I used one for about six years in my XENOS. Worked great. I did run into the same issue you had; the SD card pop-out spring broke. I 'fixed' that by using a small piece of tape. Not pretty, but it got the job done.

I assume you're working with Michigan Avionics. They are very good, hopefully they'll be able to help with the problem of no longer being able to load updated software/data. If they can't help I suggest you try resetting the system back to factory default. Procedure is in the manual.

[sonex1284]

I tried MA. They won't work on it. I've also reached out to Matt L. I've tried the factory reset with no success. I was hoping that someone has already "cracked" a unit open (before me) and could share some tips.

[kmacht]

I wouldn't give up on the Enigma. Even though they aren't produced anymore they can still be repaired. Matt is the right guy to contact. I had the stratomaster Ultra (original, not even the X) where the screen stopped working and 3 years ago and when I contacted Matt he was willing it repair it for not a whole lot of money. I ended up buying an Ultra X from another builder instead and then just bought an Enigma at the Oshkosh Fly Mart for $75 this year that I plan to install in its place over the winter.

These are day VFR fun flying airplanes. You don't always need an EFIS costing thousands to enjoy safely flying a Sonex. There isn't much that the new EFIS's provide that an Enigma and Ipad or cell phone running foreflight or similar can't also do. Heck, I flew from Connecticut to Oshkosh and back using only an old black and white Stratomaster EFIS, an Android phone running Avare, no transponder or ADSB, and a handheld ICOM radio tied into a intercom and external antenna. You can spend alot of money and build a fancy panel but the reality is that when flying the Sonex you are going to spend very little time looking at the panel and most of your time looking out the canopy.

With that said, if there is anyone that is looking to sell the AHRS or Compas modules that work with an Enigma, I'm in the market.

Keith#554

[bcharlton]

MGL has a shop in Torrence Ca . The employee there "Hirem" was very helpful repairing my RDAC unit for my Stratomaster, PHONE#310 534 2509

[Bryan Cotton]

The buttons on our Bräuniger Alpha MFD died. It's an orphan. With nothing to lose, I reverse engineered it and made my own button box. Not relevant to your MFD but I understand the quandary. Of course had I failed it would have been a major problem.