Stores Up To 1GB Of Music

There's a new audio panel coming that should go a long way towards making those long cross-country flights speed by a little quicker. PS Engineering has added a new player to its product line, the PMA8000B-MP3. This Audio Control Panel incorporates all of the capability of the popular PMA8000B, but adds an internal MP3 player that stores up to one gigabyte of music... which means pilots can leave their iPods secure in their flight bags.

"We saw the popularity of the MP3 player in our PMA9000EX and designed a way to add this functionality into the certified PMA8000B," said company founder Mark Scheuer, "Not only is the MP3 electronics carefully integrated, but the user interface is as simple and easy to use, which was our number one consideration when implementing the player."

Pilots may upload files to the panel using a portable USB Thumb drive. Once the Thumb Drive is connected to the audio panel by the supplied USB cable, pressing the Function and Transfer Keys automatically starts the transfer process. The PMA8000B-MP3 provides audio annunciations to keep the pilot advised of the status and the completion of the transfer. Front panel buttons accomplishes MP3 On/Off, Skip Forward, Pause, Random, Sequential, and Volume Up/Down. The music is distributed to the crew and passengers according the pilot controlled configurations, also easily changed 'on-the-fly.'

According to PS Engineering's VP of Engineering Steve Hudson, "Data transfer was designed to be as exceedingly simple. Just plug in the USB drive, and push the buttons, and the audio panel takes care of the rest. Once the tunes are loaded, there are no more cables running around the cockpit, and there is no risk of damaging personal electronics."

"In these days of ever-increasing expenses, PS Engineering works tirelessly to hold the line on costs," added Scheuer. "Not only does our price/performance of our products provide great value, but after sales care is the best in the industry. Our warranty program is known as ProSupport, which provide the owner of the PMA8000 Series a 3-Year Guaranteed Warranty Exchange Program. And once the warranty has expired, a flat repair fee of $149.95 covers the cost of repair.

The user interface is accomplished with secondary functions on the standard audio panel keys, with a female voice feedback that announces the modes. This is the same method introduced by the PMA8000-SR in 2005, which proved to be a very successful way to add functions, without making the everyday controls more complicated.

Slated to be available in August 2008, the PMA8000B MP3 is a slide-in replacement for the exiting PMA8000, PMA8000B, and Garmin GMA340 audio control panels. The PMA8000B with internal MP3 will add about $150 to the cost of a standard PMA8000B, with a Minimum Advertised Price of $1849.

The Standard PMA8000B MAP is $1695, while the SIRIUS Satellite Radio-equipped PMA8000SR carries a MAP of $2190.

FMI: www.ps-engineering.com