• If You Are Having Trouble Logging In with Your Old Username and Password, Please use this Forgot Your Password link to get re-established.
  • Hey! Be sure to login or register!

TSO Com?

Steve Pierce said:
My Dad really likes he A220 in his Clipper, has had it for several years. What are the issues?
Click to expand...

Typical complaints are background noises, sometimes intermittent. It will sound like breaking squelch. When the squelch is adjusted, there is no 'sweet spot'. It's either listen to the noise or tighten the setting down until you hear no radio calls until they're on top of you.

If the radio works in your particular aircraft, great. But I won't install a radio that has such a bad track record that I have to cross my fingers and hope it works. Right now, I have exactly one customer that is still running -A220's.

Web
 
md11freighter said:
So I guess you guys are saying replace my Icom A200 with a ky97 in instead of a Icom A220?

But the ability to monitor a frequency and talk on another is sooo tempting!
Click to expand...

A KY 97A will generally work better than the Icoms for range and clarity. The -A200's were built as one for one replacements for the KY 97A's and sold for half the price. They work ok but just not the same level of quality. And it was a good hook that any operator could just slide it into a KY 97A tray with no other mods. So if you have an -A200 that needs replacement and cost is an issue, find a used KY 97A.

Even if the later model Icoms worked better, that removable face is a horrible design. If you haven't seen it in action, let me explain; When you remove the unit from the tray, you first need to remove the faceplate from the radio. And since the face plate contains the display, it is connected with a thin ribbon cable style wire harness. So your only choice is to let the face dangle from the ribbon cable or remove it from it's connector. Either way will cause wear and tear on the cable. Once the faceplate has been removed, then you can unlock the rest of the unit and slide it out of the tray. Now imagine doing this several times while troubleshooting most types of radio problems.

If monitoring the standby frequency is actually necessary, choose another model. There are several out there that offer this function. Don't choose the function just because it's in a cheap radio.

Web
 
Web, what would your choice be on something like a Citabrias that is used to putt around. Val in it now is only working when the engine is off and he wants a new com, transponder and ADS-B.
 
I’ve ridden in a few planes with Icom’s and haven’t been impressed with the sound quality, doesn’t sound any better when talking to them over the air either. I put a Trig TY91 in my Ag Cat and have been real happy with it, good sound quality and reception, and haven’t had any complaints when talking to other traffic.
 
tio com, transponder ADSB Out

my CC-180
mini Ipad Stratus in and out
mode s transponder, tiny one, firelight. gives you every thing. mount with ram mount to wind shield high up right side and you've got everything you need. I have USB charger to keep mini charged. used it in friends 195 on way to oshkosh. used an small recharge battery pack. worked great except when the sun got to hot on it. piece of alum foil solved that problem
 
TSO com

forefflight, Mini I Pad, Stratus, Ram mount high on right side window.
195 to oshkosh, Had canadian maps , Us maps, I have USB plug for power in my 185, I just used portable battery pack that had USB plug in to keep mini charged. alum foil to keep the sun from melting the mini. I hve smallest mode S transponder in cub. Any transponder will work.
 
Steve Pierce said:
Web, what would your choice be on something like a Citabrias that is used to putt around. Val in it now is only working when the engine is off and he wants a new com, transponder and ADS-B.
Click to expand...

Depends on the customer. I'm a fan of simple, so my go to recommendation is always the KY 97A or KY 96A radios for comms. If the customer needs specific functions such as monitoring the secondary frequency or auto frequency selection then I recommend something like a Garmin GTR-225. Also Becker makes the AR6203 and Trig makes the TY97A. With these newer radios, it's important to fit the radio to the customer. Some people have extreme reactions (both good and bad) to the layout and controls for different models.

If the customer will go for the small stuff, without mounting trays, Becker and Trig both make great units.

Web
 
was installed by cub crafters , mode S before anyone knew what/to call it.
All my pilots were trained to put the tower and ground freq so if anything went wrong push com 2 and get back to the airport. On the to cub there was one switch above the panel. com one neutral com two. if you were on fire or any other high stress situation you won't even remember your name. fly the air plane until it reaches the ground
 
Not understanding this. What transponder is installed? What do you mean by 'any transponder will work'?

Web
 
Tell you what - if I am on fire I am landing, airport or no, and radio contact or no.

The KT 76A works with the μavionics tail beacon. That's all I know about ADS-B.
 
wireweinie said:
A KY 97A will generally work better than the Icoms for range and clarity. The -A200's were built as one for one replacements for the KY 97A's and sold for half the price. They work ok but just not the same level of quality. And it was a good hook that any operator could just slide it into a KY 97A tray with no other mods. So if you have an -A200 that needs replacement and cost is an issue, find a used KY 97A......
Click to expand...

I'm not 100% certain that a King KY97 will just slide into an Icom A200 tray (or vice versa) & work ... aka "plug & play".
I used to think this, based on how similar they look,
but was told by someone years ago that this was not the case.
BTW I installed an A200 in my last airplane & it worked just fine.
A buddy has had A200's in several airplanes & was always happy with them.
It's a shame that apparently the A220 & later are not as good.
Why do manufacturers always have to "improve" things?
 
I’ve had an A200 in my Cub for about 15 years. Works just fine with no problems to date, and I have 2 more on the shelf that were given to me when they were replaced with other units..
 
hotrod180 said:
I'm not 100% certain that a King KY97 will just slide into an Icom A200 tray (or vice versa) & work ... aka "plug & play".
Click to expand...

They do. That's why the -A200 was built; to be a drop in replacement for the KY 97A (not the same as a KY 97). Set the pinout diagrams side by side and check it out.

Web
 
you can only kill a horse once, unless if you believe if you beat him some more he will come back to life . ie; princess Bride "not completely dead but just partially dead"
 
I put the GRT-200 in the pacer last week and out a few flights on it. Love being able to monitor the standby freq. I have not gotten into programing all the user freq etc yet, will do that when I get back home in a couple weeks. So far the install was a breeze and its working well. The old Terra was not cutting it anymore. I can now contact the tower from my brothers strip with no issues and I was not able to do that with the old terra until I was airborne and over the trees at his place before the swap.
 
Web,
I currently have an Icom A210 in my plane. Like you said, I don't much care for the "background noise" that it allows. I do like the "monitor" feature, since I only have the one com radio (and no space for another in the "stack"). Are there any other "plug-n-play" alternatives besides the KY97A?
 
BC12D-4-85 said:
Weird response from Garmin....maybe it's a faulty design soon to be replaced. Usually peaking receiver sensitivity has to be accompanied by dealing with increased signal to noise ratio problems. A variable RF gain plus variable digital filtering can help.

Not uncommon for east asian companies to deny issues exist then offer upgraded products and save face. Question: Does disabling the intercom function have any effect on receiver performance?

Gary
Click to expand...
This horse has been so long even the maggots are gon
 
JimParker256 said:
Web,
I currently have an Icom A210 in my plane. Like you said, I don't much care for the "background noise" that it allows. I do like the "monitor" feature, since I only have the one com radio (and no space for another in the "stack"). Are there any other "plug-n-play" alternatives besides the KY97A?
Click to expand...

With the ability to monitor the standby freq? I don't think so, but things have been changing this last year. Give me a day or two to do some more checking.

Web
 
May be a nice option to monitor two frequencies while com on one with a single unit. Like an audio panel with two rigs. Facility in one ear and CTAF or emergency in the other biased via volume. Neat.

Gary
 
Well, the A210 certainly doesn't do the fancy "aural positioning" thing - you just get to listen to the secondary frequency until the primary frequency broadcasts something... But it is nice to be able to monitor that second frequency – especially in high-traffic areas like my home base near the DFW Bravo airspace. And it's one way I can monitor "guard" while flying, and without a second com radio, which would probably also require an audio panel. And since I don't even have room for the second radio, that's not going to happen.

For years, I lived with an old manually-tuned KX-170B in the '65 7ECA I used to own. Those radios (which supposedly have a "bulletproof" reputation) failed constantly in my plane. I don't think I ever had a fully-functioning COM and NAV at the same time... I went through about six different ones, because each time some part of it failed, it was cheaper to buy a "good" used KX-170B than to replace it with a new radio... I definitely could have paid for a new Garmin GTR-220 with the money I spent "fixing it on the cheap" – don't want to make that mistake again! But it WOULD be really nice to do the "plug and play" thing to upgrade the A210 to something else... The local avionics shops all have months of back-logged work, and going rates are around $95+ per hour. They do good work, though! But a plug-n-play option would definitely save me some money!
 
BC12D-4-85 said:
May be a nice option to monitor two frequencies while com on one with a single unit. Like an audio panel with two rigs. Facility in one ear and CTAF or emergency in the other biased via volume. Neat.

Gary
Click to expand...

The only factory unit similar to what you describe is the NAT, AA83 intercom. It has adjustments for intercom, radio receive, and music, to allow you to hear each one to the left, right, or centered.

Web
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

B
I hear rumors of a shop that will not install non-TSO radios
Replies
29
Views
9K
hotrod180
hotrod180
B
Garmin GTR-200 in Cubs
Replies
4
Views
2K
bob turner
B
TDTerry
XCOM Transceiver- Legal or Not?
Replies
22
Views
6K
sjohnson
sjohnson
B
Intercoms and headsets for open cockpits
Replies
3
Views
2K
bob turner
B
B
External RF noise
Replies
13
Views
3K
bob turner
B
Back
Top