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- Nov 5, 2015
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A friend has been flying my plane, with an Instructor that we both use. last week the COM radio started to fail. They said that it worked fine, but after flying for less than an hour, transmissions were answered back as garbiled, and not readable... last flight it would not transmit at all and they squaked 7600 in the class D area until the tower could hear the Icom handheld backup using a rubber ducky antenna.
At first I thought is was the intercom going south.. or the PTT switch... switched them out, as the Intercom is a portable type.. no change, next flight the same thing...
I checked the radio, it was loose in the rack. It was very hot to the touch. the lock lug was on top of the rack, and not locked in... so re-set the radio, checked the connector and the antenna connection... all good.. I went flying for 1/2 hour and all was well,,, tower reported strong transitions.
There is only one radio in the plane, a MX170B, and this has started my thinking about mounting another.... mostlikly an Icom 220.... I have Icom HAM radios that work very well, and so this is the direction I may go... Or a Garmin SL-40....
So the the process starts... what works good for a DAY VFR aircraft COM only radio??... what other equipment is needed to have 2 COM radios in the aircraft and use them together?.. I do fly out of a Class D airport, and sometimes need to transition a Class C, and stay as far away form the Class B as I can!...
What should I check on the MX170B?.. should there be an air cooling duct pointing to the radio stack?? did not see one in any manuals that I have found mostly here on Piper Forum. Can a COM radio be owner installed?..
At first I thought is was the intercom going south.. or the PTT switch... switched them out, as the Intercom is a portable type.. no change, next flight the same thing...
I checked the radio, it was loose in the rack. It was very hot to the touch. the lock lug was on top of the rack, and not locked in... so re-set the radio, checked the connector and the antenna connection... all good.. I went flying for 1/2 hour and all was well,,, tower reported strong transitions.
There is only one radio in the plane, a MX170B, and this has started my thinking about mounting another.... mostlikly an Icom 220.... I have Icom HAM radios that work very well, and so this is the direction I may go... Or a Garmin SL-40....
So the the process starts... what works good for a DAY VFR aircraft COM only radio??... what other equipment is needed to have 2 COM radios in the aircraft and use them together?.. I do fly out of a Class D airport, and sometimes need to transition a Class C, and stay as far away form the Class B as I can!...
What should I check on the MX170B?.. should there be an air cooling duct pointing to the radio stack?? did not see one in any manuals that I have found mostly here on Piper Forum. Can a COM radio be owner installed?..
