Argus 4 year check?

[cooperf1 0]

I have an Argus that I bought used recently.
Is there a way to determine via the interface when the next 4 year check is due?
If not how do I find this out?
thanks!
rob

[peter.draper 0]

it's due 4 years from the date of manufacture or from first turning it on. When the unit is on, hit the button twice, select menu.... info.... admin and get the manufacture date. It's likely to be 4 years +/- 3 months I think) from that date......

[cooperf1 0]

It says 17/1/2008 so based on that i would assume it is due.
It powers up fine and passes all of the self tests but does not give any message that it is due for the 4 year. Will it refuse to power up two months from now? I expected to receive a message that it is due for maintenance like my cypres gives.
thanks for the info.

[theonlyski 8]

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It says 17/1/2008 so based on that i would assume it is due.
It powers up fine and passes all of the self tests but does not give any message that it is due for the 4 year. Will it refuse to power up two months from now? I expected to receive a message that it is due for maintenance like my cypres gives.
thanks for the info.

Are you planning on packing it without sending it in for its check?

"I may be a dirty pirate hooker...but I'm not about to go stand on the corner." iluvtofly
DPH -7, TDS 578, Muff 5153, SCR 14890
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[DiverMike 5]

I just sent an argus into ChutingStar. They expire at the end of the calendar year of the 4 year anniversary, so it will expire on 12/31/2012. You can jump it this season, but must have it serviced before 2013.

For the same reason I jump off a perfectly good diving board.

[peter.draper 0]

the manual says 4 years from DOM or first use, and I think it gives you +/- 3 months (I don't have the manual here). A rigger should refuse to pack it if it's past due the service ..... pretty sure you won't get a message and it will still power up, you will just be using it contra the manufacturer's instructions

[pchapman 279]

I see that the Argus manual (at least one from end 2010) says

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Every 4 years (after the date of 1st use), the complete Argus must be send to one of our ServiceCenters in order to be checked.

That opens up the awkward issue of documentation of when the AAD was first used. Not when the dealer got it, not when the user got it, maybe when installed in a rig and tested, maybe when the rig was first jumped? Where is the proof of that date, especially if it isn't the original owner? One might easily have a couple months extra, above what the displayed date is.

The rule doesn't say 48 months, or +/- 3 months, or anything like that. So is 4.4 years still "4 years", but not 4.6 years? And if one sends it at 4.4 years, is it 3.6 years the next time?

I'm all for sticking to mandatory AAD checks if the manufacturer requires them, but the wording could be more instructive in this case.

I could see a rigger saying that since the date is more than 4.00 years since manufacture, therefore send it in.

It depends on the type of proof the rigger wants: Does he pack something if there's no proof that something is wrong, or does he refuse to pack if he has no proof that everything is absolutely correct?

But if a rigger were generous, one might let it go this time, with a note written on the repack card for a mandatory check at the end of the next full 180 day repack cycle. That's just making something up, but is the kind of thing that's nice to a customer but doesn't let them get away with totally ignoring AAD servicing rules.

Wonder what US dealers like Chuting Star or ParaConcepts think.

Hey, this is on ParaConcepts' site:

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The next required service for the Argus AAD needs to be completed by the end of the 4th year after the manufacture date or the last service date, whichever is later. This is a little more flexible than the Cypres service plan, and can be less costly to keep a unit in service, especially when it has been unused for a while. For instance, if an Argus 4 year check is not conducted until the 6th year, for whatever reason, the next check is not required until the 10th year from the manufacture date. No matter how old an Argus AAD is, it is considered airworthy until the end of the 4th year from it's last successful functional check.

That's a very generous interpretation, that one can go to 4.99 years multiple times. So is that just an opinion like anyone else's, or is that the official interpretation that they got from Argus when the company was still active with AADs?

ChutingStar's site just says every 4 years, so there's no clarification there.

[Edit: By the time I finshed all this, DiverMike provided a different interpretation of what ChutingStar wants -- end of 4th calendar year. But that penalizes anyone with a December manufacture date, so I'm wondering if it is supposed to be just 4.99 years. So I think we still need to get something more official from the dealers / distributors. ]

Someone should ask Mike & Kirk at the companies.


And of course don't forget the rule in the newer manuals to replace the battery at every repack. (Although I'm sure I'd ignore that if it is an unscheduled repack in the middle of a cycle, because the rule is written in a ridiculously inflexible manner.)

[DiverMike 5]

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ChutingStar's site just says every 4 years, so there's no clarification there.

Chutingstar told me on the phone I had until the end of the calendar year, which matches ParaConcepts description.

For the same reason I jump off a perfectly good diving board.

[spootch 0]

And of course don't forget the rule in the newer manuals to replace the battery at every repack. (Although I'm sure I'd ignore that if it is an unscheduled repack in the middle of a cycle, because the rule is written in a ridiculously inflexible manner.)


Not only do the batteries have to be replaced every year / re pack , they also must not expire right away. IIRC there is a "freshness" date of 6 years, for example a set of batteries that expire in 2014 can not be used in the Argus!

[riggerrob 643]

"

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... That opens up the awkward issue of documentation of when the AAD was first ... installed in a rig and tested, maybe ... Where is the proof of that date ...?

"

........................................................................

Just read the date on the packing data card, where it says "Assembled, inspected and packed."
All modern riggers externally inspect and watch the start-up routine of every AAD before they install it.

If an AAD is sold separately, the seller should include factory documents (manual, TSA card, production paperwork and inspections) and photo-copies of old packing data cards.