Comms

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phislett1
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Comms

Postby phislett1 » Mon May 16, 2016 4:17 pm

Having some issues with my Aquilla trike and my comms system. I have an airmagic intercom, airmagic headsets, an Icom A14 handheld radio, and that antenna that runs parallel with the airfoil tube on the front of the trike. I had some issues with my PTT, definitely a loose connection, have the wire one way, it 'transmits' (will get to that in a second), pressing the PTT makes no difference, and I can't hear my pax speak (assume the microphone gets disconnected so they can't interrupt my radio transmissions? They can however hear me fine), have the wire the other way, and it works fine, with my PTT working as it should when I press it. Secure it in that manner and it seems to be perfectly fine. So a loose connection could be the end of my problems? I wish. . .

Before taxiing I make a radio call, I then taxi to the holding point and perform a radio check with no response.. A helpful instructor confirms this with me by asking me to reply if I can hear him, I do but he lets me know that he didn't hear anything but could tell I was pressing the PTT while speaking, but no audio comes through. After taxiing back to the hangars I get lent a radio, connect it up, and we both read each other 5/5. I leave my radio to charge for about an hour and go for a flight.

This morning I come to fly and put my radio on charge again before attending to opening the hangars and preflight etc. I connect up the radio after charging for about another half an hour.. Perform a radio check with no response.. The problem has to be my handheld radio? Not quite. I connect up the instructors radio (well charged) and this time, the transmissions still have no audio. We change headsets, no difference, we change the intercom, no difference. We change the radio to a icom A6 radio with DC input and a regulator, and a radio check proves that that has solved the problem. We switch headsets again and the system still works fine, so the problem definitely doesn't lie with my headsets.

I can't come to any conclusion as to why my radio and the instructors radio are not transmitting when connected to the trikes antenna, but the A6 radio works fine. It could be either a problem with my Antenna or my handheld.

Does anyone have any advice or can see why I'm having these problems? Any help is very much appreciated!

Cheers!

Philip
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Gerrit.Tromp84
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Re: Comms

Postby Gerrit.Tromp84 » Tue May 17, 2016 9:32 pm

Hi Phillip where are you based? What plugs do you have on your Airmagic system?
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Re: Comms

Postby coline » Wed May 18, 2016 9:49 am

Hi Philip

First of all, make sure the connections are correct - right wire in the right place etc.
Then I always carry a small tin of electrical contact cleaner with me. Whenever there is a hint of poor reception or noise/interference on my Comms, I pull all the plugs and spray the plugs and sockets with contact cleaner. Problem gone.

In the old days I lost flights, spent hours riding stuff up to Buzzcom only for them to find no fault etc. Since I started to carry contact cleaner and spray the connections - no problems!

Colin
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phislett1
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Re: Comms

Postby phislett1 » Wed May 18, 2016 10:00 am

@gerrit I'm based in Durban, not too sure what you mean by plugs but I'm assuming you mean the ports that the headsets plug into on the intercom? They are similar to telephone jacks.

@colin Thanks for the advice, as far as I know everything is corrected properly, will get some contact cleaner and try it out 8)

I can't seem to find the root of the problem, because even with switching headsets, radios, and intercoms, the problem was still there.. So the only common denominator was the Antenna, but yet when we tried with the third radio which was the Icom A6 which has an auxiliary power input, it worked perfectly. I'm no master of electrics but is it possible that the Antenna is earthed or something and more power is needed to pass signal through it, hence why the Icom A6 was able to transmit as it has a power source from the aircraft and maybe more power to push the signal out of the antenna? (this is probably a stupid question :mrgreen: but it's the only conclusion I can come to)

Thanks for the help!
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Re: Comms

Postby Sad-Ham » Wed May 18, 2016 11:27 am

Had a similar problem with a Air-Magic system..... could receive transmissions clearly but not transmit. Problem was the batteries in the headset. When left in the headset for a period of time (couple of days ) they would become flat. Have to remove a battery after each flight to preserve battery power.
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phislett1
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Re: Comms

Postby phislett1 » Wed May 18, 2016 12:42 pm

That's interesting Sad-Ham! I thought that as long as the headset was unplugged it wouldn't lose much charge?

I have brand new Duracell batteries in there but they have been in for about a month.. Changing headsets with another pilot didn't solve the problem, the only thing that did was using a radio with one that used the aircraft's power source, so I'm still a bit confused as to where the problem lies.

Thanks though, I'll try change the batteries and see if that works with my intercom and radio system. (^^)

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