PTT issue?

[chrixxer]

Or, this... Ellison Avionics Services will repair the Terras: 

Bench Checks/Evaluations     $112.50 Flat Labor Rate Fee
Bench Checks With Alignment  $225.00 Flat Labor Rate Fee
*Bench Repairs               $350.00 Flat Rate

A few hundred bucks per radio (plus parts) for repairs gives me more breathing / flying room, and those prices seem reasonable.

[thinwing]

57 minutes ago, chrixxer said:

Doesn't seem to be the PTT switch. Sidetone is same (very low or none) copilot or pilot jacks. Both jacks perform the same, as does the external. Today, ground could read me loud and clear, but tower (!), at the run-up (line of sight) said I was hard to read, but TRACON could read me fine, as could Chino tower and ground. Talked to a couple of avionics shops today. I'm probably 2 weeks away from the SL30.

Did hook up the voltage monitor (cigar(ette) lighter gizmo, verified accurate with my Jeep yesterday). At idle the generator is putting out 11.9-12.0 volts, increasing to 13.5 at 1200 rpm. At cruise power, 13.8-.9V. Seems rock steady, no matter what I ask the system to do (beacon, landing light, fuel pump, all avionics on, most avionics off, etc). Likewise, the ammeter always reads "0," though at 1200 rpm when I pop on the landing light I do get a momentary spike on the ammeter, before it settled back down. (Zeftronics G1500N controlling the generator.)

Meh. Part of me wants to drop $600 on a new TX720 just so I can fly her for a while, until I can put in the SL30. The rest of me knows that's pound foolish. OTOH, if I rent an Arrow twice because of the crappy radios, it's a wash...

Is this frequency related?Good on some frequencys and not others?

[chrixxer]

Just now, thinwing said:

Is this frequency related?Good on some frequencys and not others?

Yes but no. Totally frustating. On Monday ground (121.9) said I was unreadable (but the co-pilot was heard fine, same radio, same position, different PTT / headset / panel connections), talked to tower (120.1) and TRACON (125.2) just fine.

Today, parked in exactly the same spot, ground said I was loud and clear, but tower (from the hold short line) said I was barely readable, pilot headset / panel connections / PTT (also tried with aftermarket "hook and loop" PTT.) One TRACON controller said I was weak today (125.2), but the rest said I was loud and clear, and no issues at Chino (tower - 118.5 - or ground - 121.6).

There's no consistency or rhyme or reason.

[ArtVandelay]

Yes but no. Totally frustating. On Monday ground (121.9) said I was unreadable (but the co-pilot was heard fine, same radio, same position, different PTT / headset / panel connections), talked to tower (120.1) and TRACON (125.2) just fine.
Today, parked in exactly the same spot, ground said I was loud and clear, but tower (from the hold short line) said I was barely readable, pilot headset / panel connections / PTT (also tried with aftermarket "hook and loop" PTT.) One TRACON controller said I was weak today (125.2), but the rest said I was loud and clear, and no issues at Chino (tower - 118.5 - or ground - 121.6).
There's no consistency or rhyme or reason.

Maybe switch is dirty, soak it with some electronic cleaner and see if that helps.

[Godfather]

Portable unit to buy some time?  Swap com 1 and 2 to see if it's a wire issue?  Bypass the audio panel?  I really have no idea but do not like problems that are hard to isolate. 

[chrixxer]

4 hours ago, Godfather said:

Portable unit to buy some time?  Swap com 1 and 2 to see if it's a wire issue?  Bypass the audio panel?  I really have no idea but do not like problems that are hard to isolate. 

 I've been carrying a handheld since I got the plane, with the ram mount so I can stick it in the window and the remote PTT with the headset adapter.  Had to use it tonight coming back from Chino when in the middle of a transmission I lost the tiny bit of sidetone I had and ATC confirmed they were only getting a carrier, no voice, and both pilot and copilot jacks/PTT. COMMs are dead, AOG until I can swap something else in there. :/  More or less busted a Delta  arriving home tonight, could hear them but they couldn't hear me on the handheld 5 miles out, squawked 7600 and debriefed with the tower controller over beers a few minutes later when his shift ended. (I know most of our local controllers personally, and they've already come to know my tail number mostly because one of them is convinced she'll memorize it  but keeps getting the numbers wrong – long story.)

 Avionics aside, she flies like a dream, and the flaps are working pretty much perfectly. Got to take the cowling off with a new A&P, readily identified she'd been gear upped, but said the repair work looked good and the bird seemed solid. Two other Mooneys being worked on there today (two Ks), and one of his guys has an E.

[Yetti]

Most audio panels are PTT pins out to ground.  Most installs, the ground should point should be same for both sides. Trace the wire coming out of the yoke tube.  Sounds like you have a flakey ground plane in your antenna.  Remove antenna and clean and reinstall.  bonus points for running new RG 400 coax. Bonus bonus point for running extra to the roof for GPS antenna installs  To know for sure, an SWR meter is needed.

[chrixxer]

11 hours ago, Yetti said:

Most audio panels are PTT pins out to ground.  Most installs, the ground should point should be same for both sides. Trace the wire coming out of the yoke tube.  Sounds like you have a flakey ground plane in your antenna.  Remove antenna and clean and reinstall.  bonus points for running new RG 400 coax. Bonus bonus point for running extra to the roof for GPS antenna installs  To know for sure, an SWR meter is needed.

Given the way the radio just immediately failed, and both pilot and copilot jacks / PTT switches had the same behavior (carrier tone only, no voice transmission), I'm thinking the radio or the audio panel just died. I don't see an antenna doing that that suddenly (and wouldn't effect sidetone, loss of which exactly coincided with the transmission failure).

I will clean the antenna when I swap in a new radio.

The existing RG58 will stay until I have to pull the headliner, etc., to install a WAAS GPS antenna, at which point I'll rewire everything.

Though I may put the new radio on a newly installed belly antenna and remove the bent-wire coming out of the radio cowling.

[RLCarter]

1 hour ago, chrixxer said:

remove the bent-wire coming out of the radio cowling.

come on bud.....I dont want to be the only one left with that ugly ass antenna 

[chrixxer]

On June 2, 2017 at 6:32 PM, RLCarter said:

come on bud.....I dont want to be the only one left with that ugly ass antenna 

Turns out if you have some spare RG58 cable and replace the corroded hardware with fresh clean stainless nuts / washers, DeoxIT and scrub the rust from the threads, and hook up that bent wire to your Yaesu, you get really good TX/RX range!

Current (this week, hopefully) config:

Existing rooftop antenna -> SL30
Ugly ass antenna -> handheld (backup)

Phase 2:

Existing rooftop antenna -> switch box -> SL30 and -> handheld hookup (emergency)
Ugly ass antenna -> garbage bin
Belly antenna -> GTN-650