King KT74

[neilpilot]

On 10/19/2017 at 11:38 AM, Hyett6420 said:

well HOPEFULLY this will fix the other wows with it as well. or have i missed the post where you said "its all ok i can read the display now"

The warranty exchange KT74 was installed yesterday. That's the 4th unit in the past 12 months. But the hard-to-read display is a KT74 design issue, and is not solved. I can read it on cloudy days and at night, but it's nearly impossible to read when the sun is shining from behind.

[Oldguy]

I was investigating swapping out my 430W for an IFD but wanted to check on some things first, so I contacted Peregrine, the holder of the STC for the KT 74. Here is their reply:

The KT 74 has not yet been paired with the Avidyne IFD Series equipment for use as a position source with the ADS-B Out system. 
We are exploring this, and we hope to have the opportunity to approve this pairing under our existing STC in the near future.  
Please check back with us again soon, and make sure to let your BendixKing dealer know that you are interested in this equipment pairing.  

Thank you for contacting us regarding our STC.

Sincerely,

David Rankin
President, Peregrine

[jaylw314]

6 hours ago, Hyett6420 said:

Thats quite appalling really.  You should be able to read it in strong sunlight, after all isnt that what aeroplanes fly in!

I can confirm on my install if I look at the transponder from a low angle, the display is fairly hard to read in sunlight.  From above, it's quite bright and easy to ready.  I assume it's intended to be installed towards the bottom edge of the instrument panel, which seems to be where most of the KT-76's I've seen are installed.

[Piloto]

I think I am going to keep my trusty KT76 until it fails. After all I never go into Class B and rarely above 10,000ft.

José

[ArtVandelay]

I think I am going to keep my trusty KT76 until it fails. After all I never go into Class B and rarely above 10,000ft.
José

Given you are right next to Miami, there is Orlando airspace taking up the middle of the state, and don’t you fly to Puerto Rico, I thought it will be required for international flights as well, you’ll have to go out of your way not to need it?

[Piloto]

10 hours ago, teejayevans said:

Given you are right next to Miami, there is Orlando airspace taking up the middle of the state, and don’t you fly to Puerto Rico, I thought it will be required for international flights as well, you’ll have to go out of your way not to need it?

I fly out of KFXE to KORL VFR with no flight plan. Just stay out of class B airspace by flying underneath it. Hurricane Maria took care of the UAT in PR and the Bahamas and Latin America are waiting for US money for ADS-B.

 

[Hank]

22 hours ago, jaylw314 said:

I can confirm on my install if I look at the transponder from a low angle, the display is fairly hard to read in sunlight.  From above, it's quite bright and easy to ready.  I assume it's intended to be installed towards the bottom edge of the instrument panel, which seems to be where most of the KT-76's I've seen are installed.

I'm evaluating my options, as prices continue to fall. My plan is to not equip unless it becomes a pain. Recent discussion led to relatively inexpensive KT74 install. My G327 is at the top of my radio stack, above even the intercom. This revelation may take this off of the option list . . . . .

[jetdriven]

The garmin GTx335 with gps onboard for 3k sounds pretty good doesn't it?

[Andy95W]

3 hours ago, Piloto said:

I fly out of KFXE to KORL VFR with no flight plan. Just stay out of class B airspace by flying underneath it. Hurricane Maria took care of the UAT in PR and the Bahamas and Latin America are waiting for US money for ADS-B.

Flying under the shelf of the Class B will require ADS-B, since that still puts you inside the 30 NM Mode-C veil, per your diagram.

[Piloto]

Not according to this FAA airspace depiction. The blue shades indicates were ADS-B is required.

[jaylw314]

In that diagram, ADS-B rule airspace is depicted by the dashed lines, not the blue color.  As a reminder, from CFR 91.225:

 

(d) After January 1, 2020, and unless otherwise authorized by ATC, no person may operate an aircraft in the following airspace unless the aircraft has equipment installed that meets the requirements in paragraph (b) of this section:

(1) Class B and Class C airspace areas;

(2) Except as provided for in paragraph (e) of this section, within 30 nautical miles of an airport listed in appendix D, section 1 to this part from the surface upward to 10,000 feet MSL;

(3) Above the ceiling and within the lateral boundaries of a Class B or Class C airspace area designated for an airport upward to 10,000 feet MSL;

(4) Except as provided in paragraph (e) of this section, Class E airspace within the 48 contiguous states and the District of Columbia at and above 10,000 feet MSL, excluding the airspace at and below 2,500 feet above the surface; and

(5) Class E airspace at and above 3,000 feet MSL over the Gulf of Mexico from the coastline of the United States out to 12 nautical miles.

[Andy95W]

We're just trying to keep you out of trouble, José, come 2020.

[thinwing]

On 10/28/2017 at 6:26 PM, Piloto said:

Not according to this FAA airspace depiction. The blue shades indicates were ADS-B is required.

He is going to need a bigger pilot relief tube ,with all that additional time airborne avoiding ads b airspace!

[jaylw314]

On 10/26/2017 at 5:31 AM, neilpilot said:

The warranty exchange KT74 was installed yesterday. That's the 4th unit in the past 12 months. But the hard-to-read display is a KT74 design issue, and is not solved. I can read it on cloudy days and at night, but it's nearly impossible to read when the sun is shining from behind.

Updating an old thread.  I was poking around the Peregrine Installation Manual for the KT74 today and noticed in section 3.3.3 it specifically states "The transponder is to be installed in one of the two LOWER positions of the radio stack..." (my emphasis).

[flyboy0681]

On 10/27/2017 at 12:11 AM, Piloto said:

I think I am going to keep my trusty KT76 until it fails. After all I never go into Class B and rarely above 10,000ft.

José

We replaced our KT76A with a cheap, yellow tagged KT76C. It slid right in and lighted right up.

[neilpilot]

2 hours ago, David Herman said:

The 430 is Nav/Com#1 at the top of the stack (below the audio panel) and the KT-74 is at the bottom of the stack. I’ve never had trouble reading it ... and we’ve never had a problem with it. 

It's great that you are happy with your KT-74.  Our's is in the copilot's location, and the difficult to read display is not just in the pilot's seat but for the copilot who sits right in front of the unit.  I suspect there's some aircraft wiring issue, not related to the position, since all 4 KT-74 displays have been equally dim. 

However, our KT-74 failure  last October was not related to install position or display.  We were suddenly not able to enter a code; a push of any number entry button would return random numbers.  Bendix customer service said they had never seen anything like our failure, so maybe we're just unlucky.

[neilpilot]

46 minutes ago, David Herman said:

Maybe turn your “dimming switch” full bright and see if it’s on that circuit? I’m not very bright ... but I’m wondering if I am onto something? 

Our KT74 isn’t connected to a lighting bus. Also the light sensor works fine. 

The purpose of my post isn’t to rehash our dim display; we’ve given up on that issue. It was to let you know about the function failure we experienced,

[thinwing]

Here is a screen shot taken from a video of my Kt-74 in direct sunlight ..even with all the glare it is quite readable

[ArtVandelay]

Here is a screen shot taken from a video of my Kt-74 in direct sunlight ..even with all the glare it is quite readable

Try taking the video from same level as the KT74.

[LANCECASPER]

On 6/23/2018 at 3:00 PM, neilpilot said:

Our KT74 isn’t connected to a lighting bus. Also the light sensor works fine. 

The purpose of my post isn’t to rehash our dim display; we’ve given up on that issue. It was to let you know about the function failure we experienced,

I wouldn't be surprised if those two items (dim display and unit failure) are related. Maybe the wiring leading up to the transponder wasn't up to the task if all of the slide-in replacements were also dim. It wouldn't hurt to test voltage at the tray.

[thinwing]

4 hours ago, teejayevans said:

Try taking the video from same level as the KT74.

You want my head in my copilot s (wife's)lap?

[ArtVandelay]

You want my head in my copilot s (wife's)lap?

You don’t have to be flying to do this test.

[thinwing]

No thanks