Did a cross country today to a new airport and had a blast. The fun was marred a little bit because we had a real hard time hearing the ARTCC on the radio. I've got a MAC1700 which went through the shop for a tune up and alignment two years ago, as well as a KX170B that also visited the tune up shop. Both have the same issue with reception. Other airplanes within 20 miles or so, I can hear str0ngly, and in the terminal areas I can hear Class D ATC at 15-20 miles without any issues.........but at 8500' in the mountains the ARTCC controllers can barely be heard. When they transmit, I get static and can barely hear the voice through it.
Beyond the radios themselves, what can I get together with my IA and do? I was thinking of pulling the antennas and cleaning the bases since I know grounding of antennas is important and these antennas have probably never been off since 1973 when the plane was new. Would that be worth trying? How about cleaning the cable connections at the antennas and the trays?
Beyond the radios themselves, what can I get together with my IA and do? I was thinking of pulling the antennas and cleaning the bases since I know grounding of antennas is important and these antennas have probably never been off since 1973 when the plane was new. Would that be worth trying? How about cleaning the cable connections at the antennas and the trays?
