PSC
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Oct 21, 2015
- Messages
- 98
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Hello all,
I'm new here and the proud new owner of a '74 Warrior with a Garmin GTX327 transponder. I took the plane out on its first cross-country flight with my instructor (I'm a 28 hr PPL student) and when asked by ATC to change transponder codes, noticed that several of the buttons didn't work well, the 4,5,6, & 7 in particular. My instructor was able to change the squawk after some fiddling, but it was far from easy. I was dedicated to flying the plane and didn't attempt myself at that time.
I was at the airport last night and wanted to see just how difficult it really was, and I was unable to get the code changed. I called the previous owner and was told in so many words "it just never got used, they should loosen up after you use it a bit". I'm not sure I believe it will just "get better" after my experience last night and as a new pilot I don't want to dedicate any more mental resources in the cockpit to trying to change my squawk code than necessary. It may be important to note all other buttons and functions seem to be working flawlessly. There is no evidence of damage to the transponder unit, nor is there any obvious signs of spillage/leakage/other contaminates to the unit or surrounding panel.
Is this something anyone has seen before? Is it likely that simply cycling the keys over time will improve the situation? If I should plan to replace ASAP, I see several units available online for <$1000 - what documentation/otherwise would I need to look for?
Thanks,
Patrick
I'm new here and the proud new owner of a '74 Warrior with a Garmin GTX327 transponder. I took the plane out on its first cross-country flight with my instructor (I'm a 28 hr PPL student) and when asked by ATC to change transponder codes, noticed that several of the buttons didn't work well, the 4,5,6, & 7 in particular. My instructor was able to change the squawk after some fiddling, but it was far from easy. I was dedicated to flying the plane and didn't attempt myself at that time.
I was at the airport last night and wanted to see just how difficult it really was, and I was unable to get the code changed. I called the previous owner and was told in so many words "it just never got used, they should loosen up after you use it a bit". I'm not sure I believe it will just "get better" after my experience last night and as a new pilot I don't want to dedicate any more mental resources in the cockpit to trying to change my squawk code than necessary. It may be important to note all other buttons and functions seem to be working flawlessly. There is no evidence of damage to the transponder unit, nor is there any obvious signs of spillage/leakage/other contaminates to the unit or surrounding panel.
Is this something anyone has seen before? Is it likely that simply cycling the keys over time will improve the situation? If I should plan to replace ASAP, I see several units available online for <$1000 - what documentation/otherwise would I need to look for?
Thanks,
Patrick
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