IOWA'S 170

[iowa]

Flew to Newton, Iowa today
Flying just north of Des Moines.
I always call approach control
To fly through their airspace.

But...I could hear them
But they did not respond to my call ins.
When I keyed my mic
It didn't sound the same.

Do I need a need 2-way call button
Or do I have a more serious problem?

Thanks

Iowa

[IA DPE]

Do you have a different headset/ microphone you could try?

Does your aircraft have an Audio Control Panel, and if so, was it configured correctly (listening and transmitting on same radio)? This sometimes happens, to the best pilots…

[c170b53]

A description of the equipment might help, keying the mic sends your mic input to your transceiver low (your mic switch connects to ground) so you could try bypassing the switch to rule it out. On the ground try calling the tower or some one nearby, is it ok ? Is it an intermittent problem that shows up after take-off, in that the radio is initially ok but after a period of time your attempted transmissions sound like you’re under water? That could be a heat factor as in a output power transistor going bad. All guesses of course, hope its something simple.

[iowa]

flew early this am
my headphones work fine with the handheld radio
the 2 way switch on the plane doesn't work or feel right
at least not like it used to
i'll put in a new switch and see what happens
dave

[iowa]

what is the best PTT switch?
dave

[GAHorn]

I use the Telex product…but acquired it before the plague when it was still affordble. The MG might work well: https://marvgolden.com/mg-24-push-to-talk-ptt-switch/

Here’s a link to the several Spruce offers: https://www.aircraftspruce.com/categori ... tches.html

[iowa]

Had our local A&P take a quick look
When I key the mic it does come across on his handheld radio
But the sound is very weak and muffled
His return sounds great!?

Talked to Spencer Aviation in Spencer, IA
They'll take a look
But really want my plane for Oshkosh
And, of course, one only has to listen to their instructions
To arrive and depart
dave

[iowa]

My kx155 was a nav.comm
in all the years i've flown
i never used the nav!!

GTR series?

Dave

[c170b53]

I put two gtr 225’s into my plane Dave, they seem to do the job. They have a small cooling fan at the back which stick out a bit so get the specs and check whether it will fit. Fluff for me, to use the auto tune they also require a gps feed and also need database updates from Garmin to keep the auto tune current.

[iowa]

I really don't need anything fancy
Was thinking about using the GTR 200 comm only
Dave

[iowa]

Well...
Took my plane up to Spencer Avionics
My KX-125 was shot!
(this was my Christmas present in 1996)

Quint DeGroot, who owns the place,
talked me into a new Garmin GNC 355!
I went for it as he could have it installed in 2 days!!
and anything ordered new would take 6-7 months

Now am learning how to use all the bells and whistles
that my old 'faithful' Garmin 95 did not have.
(sad to retire this old unit...it was my father's and served me well during the past couple of decades)
Right now, am trying to figure out how to get the small towns to appear on the map.

Dave ('Iowa')

[IA DPE]

I put a -355 in mine and am quite happy.

Enjoy!

[iowa]

They installed it where my old KX-125 was
but I can easily see it

One question:
Does one turn off all radios individually
or just turn off the radio key on shut down?

Thanks
Dave
'Iowa'

[hilltop170]

Dave-
Nice looking radio! I always turn off the radio/avionics master and usually don't turn individual radios on and off. I never turn the radio/avionics master back on until after engine start, the charging circuit shows positive charge, and the amps are decreasing.

p.s. I still keep my old Garmin 396 up and running as a backup, just in case.

[hilltop170]

I really don't need anything fancy
Was thinking about using the GTR 200 comm only
Dave

Dave-
The GTR200 is not TSO'd and is for experimental aircraft. It can be approved for certified aircraft if used with certain other Garmin avionics, maybe it can be with the GNC355, you might want to check if you plan on using one. It has 25kHz freq spacing. https://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/ ... gtr200.php

The GTR225 is TSO'd for certified aircraft (and $800.00 more expensive ) and can have either 25kHz or .833kHz freq spacing (if you're going to fly it to Europe ). https://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/ ... gtr225.php