bp

[otto8118]

do VOR antennas go bad? 

[Justin Schmidt]

7 minutes ago, otto8118 said:

do VOR antennas go bad? 

It is rare that an antenna itself goes bad. With that said they can from damage/corrosion. More common is the connections, coax, interference, or the receiver.
Easy troubleshooting would include checking general condition the entire path. Check connections, ensure no corrosion and connected properly. Next steps would to check the receiver and interference. Also, check the correct coax is connected to the correct antenna.

[EricJ]

Generally not, but the mounts and connections can get corroded, dirty, etc.    If it is an older antenna that uses a balun-type cable (i.e., the cable is the balun rather than a separate balun built into the antenna), then that cable has to be in good shape, too.

If a VOR isn't working there are a number of elements involved between the radio and the antenna, including the balun, cable, any cable connections, usually a diplexer (splitter) under the panel somewhere and additional cabling to the radio from the diplexer.   If any of that has an issue it can affect the operation of the VOR.   

[hammdo]

Mine did - I replaced mine and the VOR works great. First was the splitter for LOC/VOR - after I replaced that I would loose VOR  signal around 18 miles from the station. With the new antenna, much better rec…

If you have a VOR/LOC splitter - may want to check that first. My avionics shop did that first - and confirmed the coax after they replaced the splitter.

Just a suggestion…

-Don

[Aerodon]

And also check that you have the correct splitter / combiner and there are no 'open' ports.  If ILS and VOR cables are switched, it will work but with very poor reception.