KX-165 Problem

[Seth]

My KX-165, my second com, had an issue yesterday.

 

When I powered up, it stayed dark.

 

To trouble shoot, I popped the circuit breaker, turned the radio on an off and here's what I've determined.

 

The radio is powering up and is functional.  You can even see for a blip the power lighting up the faceplate for an instant on power up, then it goes dark.

 

When not lit, the radio does work.  However, I'm not sure what frequency it is on.  The squelch works, and I can hear it when I turn on the audio for com 2 to listen, but the faceplate is dark, and thus I cannot figure out what frequency it is on.

 

So . . .

 

1.  The faceplate light sensor may be out.  It may think it's so dark that it's putting very little power to the faceplate.  I only was able to check in bright light.

 

2.  Does anyone know the frequency that the KX-165/155 start on when powered up from scratch?  That way I can try to tune it to a known frequency for more trouble shooting.

 

Thanks for any input.

 

-Seth

[carqwik]

Mine starts up with the last frequencies in the box on the prior shutdown.

[co2bruce]

I believe it starts up at the last freq used.

[N601RX]

These use a display that is mounted in a fingered socket that eventually has connection problems and require occasional cleaning and reseating. Sometimes pressing gently on different areas of the display will get them back on. You can also try turning them off and back on immediately (very fast).

[Seth]

the problem is I popped the circuit and thus potentially reset the box.  I know that if you reset the box it starts on a standard frequency - otherwise it would have been on the frequency I had left it on.

 

 

However, I'll use a flashlight on the side as a PM suggested to see what the frequency is, and also tap the edges and such to see if the connection is the problem. 

 

I did try quickly turning it off and on and did get a quick pop of display for an instant before it went dark again.  That's when I pulled the squelch and listened to com 2 and found that it was working, just with no display.

 

Thanks for the suggestions - keep them coming.

 

 

[N201MKTurbo]

The displays are gas discharge displays. They have a high voltage power supply to provide the ~400V needed. that power supply could have failed. There is one display for both sides so it could have failed (I hope not, they are expensive)

 

Any avionics shop should be able to fix it.

[flyboy0681]

Sounds very similar to the issue that I had with the KX 165. We had Sarasota Avionics rebuild the unit at a cost of $700. The result was a practically brand new radio, and two years later it's still working like new: fully functioning bright display and clear audio.

[Alan Fox]

Seth I have a KX165 that is tagged and ready to go , No glideslope if that's what you have , It is cheap.....  Let me know...

[Cruiser]

Default Mode

Turning on the KX 155A or KX 165A

while pressing either the COMM or NAV

frequency transfer button will bring the

unit up in the Direct Tune Mode.

120.00MHz (120.000MHz in 8.33 kHz

KX 165A) will be the active COMM frequency

and 110.00 MHz will be the

active NAV frequency. This will aid the

pilot in blind tuning the radio in the

unlikely event of display failure.

[flyboy0681]

 

Default Mode

Turning on the KX 155A or KX 165A

while pressing either the COMM or NAV

frequency transfer button will bring the

unit up in the Direct Tune Mode.

120.00MHz (120.000MHz in 8.33 kHz

KX 165A) will be the active COMM frequency

and 110.00 MHz will be the

active NAV frequency. This will aid the

pilot in blind tuning the radio in the

unlikely event of display failure.

 

 

The "A" models of the 155 and 165 are totally different animals. Different circuitry, overall look and functionality.

[Seth]

Thanks everyone! 

 

I went for a flight yesterday afternoon/evening, and when I powered up the plane . . . the radio powered on perfectly. 

 

So, it's "fixed" but I'm going to watch it over the next few months to ensure it's not an issue going forward. 

 

Really appreciate all the help - either there was a fuzzy connection, the extra voltage didn't power up for the gas, or the sensor showed it was dark out for some reason and thus, it was dark.

 

It's working fine now.

 

-Seth

[Seth]

Problem returned . . .

 

What avionics shops are people using around DC?  Will fly as far as PA, VA, DE, MD, WV

 

-Seth

[Marauder]

Seth - I would have recommended Penn Avionics at Brandywine 2 months ago, but I am tired of the non returned phone calls. Brett seems to like the Lancaster shop. PA no longer has sales tax on aviation related sales. Red Eagle in Wilmington is good, but I think Dale is a one man show these days.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Alan Fox]

Penn is in transition , probably on way out , Send it to Todd at Lancaster Avionics , and tell him I referred you.....Regards Alan......Again if it is without a G/S I will sell you a tagged unit for not much more than a repair will cost...

[Seth]

Thanks Alan- I'll let you know - if both the display and power supply are having issues, I'll purchase your radio.

A resistor or few, I'll just fix mine

-Seth

[PTK]

I diametrically disagree with the negative characterizations at the expense of Penn Avionics.

I had my gyro serviced by Penn. Excellent service and very reasonable.

Recently I called about a quote and spoke to Abe. Chris called me an hour or so later and I had the quote in my email the next morning.

I trust Penn Avionics. I consider myself fortunate to have such a premier caliber avionics shop so local.

Another excellent shop is Alron at 17N. I think Al and Ron are cutting back and retiring though.

[Alan Fox]

Pete , if you think Alron are excellent , you need to go to Lancaster Avionics ,

[PTK]

Pete , if you think Alron are excellent , you need to go to Lancaster Avionics ,

Alan, I'm a firm believer in supporting my local aviation related businesses.

 

Also for avionics work especially, I want my shop to be local. I never understood people who fly across the country for this work only to pay more and go back if something goes wrong! Our late friend Pat flew across the country for paint! 

 

Alron is a small shop with a lot of experience. Being that they're small they have low overhead and are able to pass savings onto their customer. It's not the size of the shop that counts but their experience.

 

 And since you mentioned Lancaster, Al and Ron wrote the book that Lancaster is still reading!

 

Personal experience: When my gyro was acting up I did call Lancaster. They wanted to sell me everything from an Aspen to another gyro! All over the phone! I called Ron at Alron and actually flew in to them. They properly diagnosed the problem being a sensor inside the gyro. They referred me to Penn. I flew into Penn where they removed gyro. Flew back a few days later and they put it back in the airplane. All for under 400$.