Radio question

[DavePA11]

Glad you got it fixed. I fixed my radio noise issue too. Just have to get my Flycom helmet back to test it with intercom.

 

[CLS447]

Hey Mark !.......How many gyros have you owned ? How about some pics of ALL of them ?

Anyone else want to see them ? YAYYYYYYY !

 

[mark treidel]

Hello Chris,
Hope things are doing well with you and that you are getting in lots of safe, fun flying hours these days. Your S/S looks great! Don't see many like that anymore and you have sure kept her pristine.
I've had 4 machines in the last 12 years. Sorry, don't know how to put pics here yet but 2 of them are on the old chapter 38 pra site. Keep it upright.

 

[eddie]

Mark,glad everything worked out OK,electronics can be frustrating .

 

[mark treidel]

Thanks Eddie, BUT...now there is a new problem....I'm running out of hair to pull out!
Today, all was going well in the air, intercom, etc. until the 20 minute mark. The brand new radio I just installed (#5) quit on me again in mid flight.
I texted Matt who replied that it may have been wired wrong because it is designed to shut down the Xmit/Receive circuit upon higher spikes of electricity if I understand him correctly.
The screen, however, remained on and readable with dual channel (active/reserve) clearly visible. Only thing is, radio went quiet, but had intercom. Once again, I had to reboot the radio from the
avionics master since it doesn't have an on/off switch. The only items on that circuit are the Xpndr & radio. The radio can handle power anywhere from 8 - 28V. so I don't think it would 'spike'.
I asked him why this happened on only 2 of the 5 radio's I've had? He suggested placing some type of condenser on the power & ground lines?? I thought condensers were only for AC?
I'm probably wrong on that too. Now, I need to contact the factory to see if any wiring alterations were made. I remember some interference w/the landing light at first but that was resolved.
The saga continues....

 

[Abid]

Thanks Eddie, BUT...now there is a new problem....I'm running out of hair to pull out!
Today, all was going well in the air, intercom, etc. until the 20 minute mark. The brand new radio I just installed (#5) quit on me again in mid flight.
I texted Matt who replied that it may have been wired wrong because it is designed to shut down the Xmit/Receive circuit upon higher spikes of electricity if I understand him correctly.
The screen, however, remained on and readable with dual channel (active/reserve) clearly visible. Only thing is, radio went quiet, but had intercom. Once again, I had to reboot the radio from the
avionics master since it doesn't have an on/off switch. The only items on that circuit are the Xpndr & radio. The radio can handle power anywhere from 8 - 28V. so I don't think it would 'spike'.
I asked him why this happened on only 2 of the 5 radio's I've had? He suggested placing some type of condenser on the power & ground lines?? I thought condensers were only for AC?
I'm probably wrong on that too. Now, I need to contact the factory to see if any wiring alterations were made. I remember some interference w/the landing light at first but that was resolved.
The saga continues....

Mark: Do not do anything. There is a 25000 uF capacitor in the charging circuit that is supposed to clean out the spikes and of course the spikes should not be that bad that over 28 volts should reach the radio even without the capacitor. This may be a charging circuit issue where either the capacitor may be not in the circuit or gone bad. I can't do anything on the weekend but on Monday I will send you in writing certain instructions to check certain charging wires. Lets first do that before anything else. I am sure Matt meant Capacitors not condensers. Capacitor can even out the spikes. You already have the recommended one. Unless your rectifier is specially a bad one, it should be enough.

 

[eddie]

Mark,unbelievable it appears the fun never stops at beautiful mile high Denver.

 

[CLS447]

Hello Chris,
Hope things are doing well with you and that you are getting in lots of safe, fun flying hours these days. Your S/S looks great! Don't see many like that anymore and you have sure kept her pristine.
I've had 4 machines in the last 12 years. Sorry, don't know how to put pics here yet but 2 of them are on the old chapter 38 pra site. Keep it upright.

Things are great with me, thanks. Spent another Saturday working on my friends SH. With the instructions supplied, I'm sure their phone lines were always busy !

Do you have a digital camera ? Where do you unload it ? Try clicking the icon with the paperclip on the sheet of paper at the upper right corner of your post......then click on upload attachment at the bottom left......this should take you to your photo folder....then double click on the pic you want. like this........EASY !

My SxS has been patiently waiting in the garage, since the original underpowered engine was removed, for 10 years ! It only has 29 original hrs on her. Now it should have enough power for 2.

Are your previously owned machines being flown by their new owners ?

AC tandem with Subaru 2.2......

Dominator tandem with Viking......

What were the other 2 ?

Did you have radio trouble with the old machines ?

PS.... click on my picture & its gets even better !

 

[mark treidel]

Well, another week has gone by & I'm still chasing the elusive gremlins. Did some minor wiring adjustments to Rotax spex, rerouting the capacitor connections but during the next flight,
the radio went silent after 15 min. again. That was fun since there were over a dozen 'young eagle' flights in the pattern. Got the radio rebooted and landed...headed straight for the hangar.
Good thing I didn't have a gun there....the radio would have died permanently!
Meantime, only two other troubleshooting options remain. One is to remove the entire tail empennage and replace the rear antenna and connection. The other is to replace the
regulator/rectifier. I'm tired of dancing with the devil on this issue. The puzzling unexplained question is why only 2 of the 4 radios I've had (all the same model) have quit in flight and not the other ones??? Nobody seems to have an answer for that one.
Option 3 .... well, lets hope it doesn't come to that. More soon....

PS: Thoughts and prayers for the residents in the Texas gulf hurricane area.....makes my issue null/void!

 

[ckurz7000]

Most radios will cut out after a time if they have a bad antenna connection. The magic word here is standing wave ratio or SWR. A radio shop will be able to measure the swr easily.

Greetings, -- Chris.

 

[Abid]

That was my thought on Saturday when Mark told me results of the changed radio and making sure the 25k micro Farad 50 Volt capacitor is definitely in line before the consumer from the charging circuit. I highly suspect that the antenna cable has been pulled/tugged and has lost some connection since the first radio did not have issues except the dual volume software feature was not on it. We use a dipole Sirio MD-133 VHF antenna which has a built-in cable of a certain length and end connectors. Its already tuned for VHF range used in aircraft right from the factory. That is why they advise not to cut and change the length of the cable. Highly unlikely this is an actual wiring or radio issue at this point. That would be very surprising to me. Will be sending Mark a new antenna to change out to. Taking the tail off sounds like a lot but in fact should not take more than 0.5 hours of labor to do.

 

[mark treidel]

( I highly suspect that the antenna cable has been pulled/tugged and has lost some connection since the first radio did not have issues except the dual volume software feature was not on it.)...

The cable was never stressed or pulled in any way by me. There is plenty of slack behind the panel to leave it attached while pulling out the panel. However, I've always disconnected it from underneath before ever turning the first screw.
My thought, like yours, was that perhaps something happened to the cable when it was originally threaded through the keel. I believe the antenna and cable should be replaced as a unit as well.
By the way, is the rear antenna connection a standard BNC type as is the front? It does not appear that way in the website diagram.
I need to add here (for the readers) that Silverlight has been continuously supportive in this effort. Thanks to Abid & Co.
Testing and further updates to follow....

 

[Gyro28866]

I really can feel ya! I have fought intercom and radio issues for 5 years. I have tried Comtronics intercoms, Sigtronics intercoms, and one with no name; to no avail. The communication between my passenger and I was horrible at best. I purchased an Xcom 760 with built in intercom, and tried it. Numerous issues with it also. I even sent it to Austrailia twice for repairs. It now has residence on a bench in the hanger.
Everyone that I spoke with always spoke the most highly about the Flycom system. So, I ordered 2 helmets and an intercom and patchcord and PTT cord through Silverlight with Abid, and installed it on my Dominator. On Saturday at Mentone this year, I gave John Roundtree a ride. That was the first time for me to use the intercom and Icom A6 radio. The communication between us was incredible, very clear, no buzzing or whining or wind noise.
Yesterday, I give 2 rides at my local airport; to two different individuals that have never flown. They both told me that they could hear me perfectly and there was not any outside noise.
All I can say is, I HAVE NO REGRETS BUYING A FLYCOM SYSTEM!!!
I see you already have the helmets, buy one of the intercoms and patchcord and get rid of all the frustrations. I did.
It also give the ability to transfer it into my Kolb easily also.

 

[AirScooter]

I HAVE NO REGRETS BUYING A FLYCOM SYSTEM!!! .

What David said X2

My only complaint is that the Flycom helmets are hot for summer, but worth it for the clarity of comms.

 

[mark treidel]

Dave & Scott, I really enjoy my Flycom Helmets. They work well for noise attenuation and are very comfortable. Year round, I simply wear a cloth skull cap (doo rag) over my hair and it keeps the inside of the helmet liner dry and cool. Also hygienically beneficial for each passenger as I make them use one.
If there was one thing Flycom could improve upon, it would be to add a few slide open/closed vent holes. I believe that would help immensely with the summer heat issue.
The issue here is not one of headgear . It is the MGL V6 radio. It has a built in intercom that works well once properly programmed for 'dual volume' control of the radio/intercom.
The problem came when the radio cut out on me in flight a few times in 'heavy pattern traffic'. During that time, the power to the unit remained on and I could see the active/stdby. channels on the screen and also communicate over the intercom. The radio was silent for both reception/transmitting until I 'rebooted it'.
I rewired according to Rotax specs. only to have the same thing recur. Now I'm waiting for a different antenna to test and if that doesn't work, a replacement voltage regulator/rectifier (although I highly doubt it is an electrical issue at this point).
FYI, Flycom does not make a compatible patch cord for my model radio. Only for those that do not incorporate an intercom with the radio. More to come after testing. Thanks for all the suggestions.

 

[Abid]

The cable was never stressed or pulled in any way by me. There is plenty of slack behind the panel to leave it attached while pulling out the panel. However, I've always disconnected it from underneath before ever turning the first screw.
My thought, like yours, was that perhaps something happened to the cable when it was originally threaded through the keel. I believe the antenna and cable should be replaced as a unit as well.
By the way, is the rear antenna connection a standard BNC type as is the front? It does not appear that way in the website diagram.
I need to add here (for the readers) that Silverlight has been continuously supportive in this effort. Thanks to Abid & Co.
Testing and further updates to follow....

Hi Mark:
Yes everything points to some intermittent connection in probably the antenna connector or cable IMHO though I could be wrong but I don't believe in too many co-incidences. Process of elimination is pointing this way. The Sirio dipole antenna we use comes with a built-in and tuned cable. Its hard wired on the antenna end (no connector there) and has a screw on BNC connector on only the radio end. If somehow during snaking the cable through the keel tube the built-in cable snug out a tiny bit, there is not much else to do but to change the whole thing carefully.

I would simply try the new antenna we mailed you first by putting it and securing it to the seat belts with zip ties and letting it sit on the back seat. It does not need a ground plane. If that seems to work, we know the problem

 

[DavePA11]

Might want to verify there are no intermittent shorts between center conductor of RF cable and shield with ohm meter. This may happen if connectors installed incorrectly or cable cut somehow during routing. Also the 25,000 caps can be bad new. I had to rewire the placement of the 25,000uf cap so it was closer to rectifier since it had 10' of wire between output and cap causing RF interference. This fixed my issue, but also installed a Lonestar power filter for the radio. I didn't end up needing it but installed it since I had already bought it. Lonestar has a mag filter too which I installed for same reason. Power clean now. Check it on oscilloscope if you have one handy.

 

[eddie]

Dave I think Mark's problem may be the antenna,but I also installed the same lone star filters that you did and all of my radio problems went away.

They really work as advertised,great products.

 

[DavePA11]

Any updates Mark?

 

[mark treidel]

No Dave....Thought I had it though. Flew w/o a problem for over an hour. Radio was fine after rechecking all connections and then from Base to Final...radio crapped out....Sheesh!!
If I didn't have to rewire the whole new loom, I'd have gone to a different brand long ago. I'm ready to put a bullet into it, honestly. Or perhaps a Viking funeral??!! :rant:
I will keep at it though. I love a good challenge, no matter how challenging....:noidea:.....It makes the reward (or the revenge) that must sweeter!!