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Baklan 5 radio problem

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cookie2xs

Joined: 02 Jun 2009
Posts: 4
Location: New Zealand

Posted: Sat May 01, 2010 9:54 pm Post subject: Baklan 5 radio problem

Hi all

We have a ongoing RX problem with our Baklan 5 VHF. The unit TX is fine 

with good transmitter range. But the RX fades out at about 5 miles from 

the station with a loud clicking/ static throughout. (the clicking could be associated with a poor ignition suppressor.) 

We have replaced the original VHF antenna with a western one with no

change, using RG-58 cable and BNC connectors.

The RX problem seems to be worse on lower Freqs 118.0 thru to 123.6.

The new antenna has a SWR of 2.5:1. So we are guessing that its not 

an aerial issue.

Any help/ tips to resolve this ongoing problem would be much appreciated.



Many thanks

Darrin

Yak 718

Dale

Joined: 30 May 2007
Posts: 178

Posted: Sun May 02, 2010 7:20 am Post subject: Re: Baklan 5 radio problem

Make sure the spring that contacts the cigarette in the magneto rotor cap is making good contact and not corroded.  If your magneto cap drops on without needing to be pushed down to compress the spring it can cause the clicking sound in your radio as it is not making good contact.  Stretch spring and clean any corrosion.  This information can also be found on the Skyranch tips web site as a possible cause for radio interference from mags. This is exactly what was found on a friends Yak after three years of frustration trying to chase the clicking down and poor radio performance.

cookie2xs

Joined: 02 Jun 2009
Posts: 4
Location: New Zealand

Posted: Sun May 02, 2010 10:22 am Post subject: Re: Baklan 5 radio problem

Thanks Dale.

Will try that out and let you know the results

Cheers

Darrin

mark.bitterlich(at)navy.m
Guest

Posted: Tue May 04, 2010 10:00 am Post subject: Baklan 5 radio problem

The suggestion on the spring tension in the mag was a good one. 



Other things I would suggest... May sound a little nuts, but not really....   



Go fly above your airport and where all this starts happening.  Start shutting things off.  Start with the generator.  Continue shutting off everything you can and leave just the master switch on.  



Last thing... Shut off the mags one at a time, and then BOTH shut off.  In other words, kill the motor.   



Of course you can do a lot of this on the ground as well.  In that case, you would need a sig gen and inject a signal into the radio via a "T" connector so the antenna stays connected.  Inject just enough signal to hear it (1 Khz tone) and then start the thing up and troubleshoot it on the ground.  



RG-58 is "OK" but RG-142 or RG-223 is a LOT better.  Both are double shielded. 



If you can get it to do this on the ground with the sig gen, there are a lot of additional tests that can be done.  



Basically you need to determine whether it is coming in via aircraft power, (noise on the power wiring) or... It is coming in through the antenna.  If the latter, you then need to find what is causing it and take steps.  Can't tell you what steps to take until you can narrow down what is making the noise. 



Mark Bitterlich

 



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MarkWDavis

Joined: 03 Jan 2007
Posts: 104
Location: Syracuse, KS

Posted: Tue May 04, 2010 12:46 pm Post subject: Baklan 5 radio problem

I've had the same issue with my radios for the past year.  After reading 

Dale's post last week I pulled the cap off of both mags last weekend.  The 

spring tension was good, but the spring had rust/corrosion on it.  I removed 

and cleaned the spring and all contacts inside the cap, put it back together 

and the radio is now the clearest and loudest it's ever been.  Easy to do 

first before going deeper.



Mark Davis

N44YK

---

mark.bitterlich(at)navy.m
Guest

Posted: Wed May 05, 2010 9:55 am Post subject: Baklan 5 radio problem

Great info.  



Bottom line... Anything that creates a spark creates RF noise as well,

especially when dealing with high voltage sources.   The very first

radios were made using what was called "Spark Gaps", and they  still

work!   



This problem would have been found by turning the mags off one at a time

then both at once for a short duration in flight.  



For what it is worth, there are many ways to go about finding problems

in/with Avionics.  The method I personally use is based on a sequential

approach to determine the cause then use a technical method to attempt a

correction.  



Oftentimes in my line of work a person will have a problem that someone

else has personally experienced in the past and will jump right on that

and it will fix the current problem.  In record time I might add!  In

the meantime, there I sit with my head stuck in a book of schematics.

In the Fleet, this is what we refer to as "Shot-gunning" a problem and

it OFTEN works.  My methods are really only required when shot-gunning

fails.    



Mark Bitterlich

--

William Halverson

Joined: 27 Feb 2010
Posts: 88

Posted: Wed May 05, 2010 9:23 pm Post subject: Baklan 5 radio problem

Both off in flight?



I did that once by accident and scared the Hell out of myself ...



What's the restart procedure?  In my case when I turned them both back on I thought the engine was going to jump of the front end of my a/c!



+--

jan.mevis(at)informavia.b
Guest

Posted: Wed May 05, 2010 10:10 pm Post subject: Baklan 5 radio problem

Shot-gunning a problem fails very often, Mark. I have the same experience in

my technical job as you do. The analytical approach, narrowing the problem

down, always works. 

The schedule you described can help a less-technical guy to pinpoint where

the problem is situated, and then an "expert" can solve it.



Jan Mevis

--

mark.bitterlich(at)navy.m
Guest

Posted: Thu May 06, 2010 9:43 am Post subject: Baklan 5 radio problem

Sure... No big deal.  If you do it right, and I thought most everyone

had done that it on purpose at least once in their lives.  I have to

tell you a story here if I may.  It goes back to when I was a young

idiot (now I am an old one) and wanted to save money.  I'd rent a

PA-28-140, take it up as high as I could make it go, cool it down, then

bring the throttle to idle, turn off the mags, put down the flaps, hold

the nose up right into the stall and get the prop to STOP.  Of course

now you have no oil pressure.  Which means the rental aircraft HOBS

meter stops.  Which means you now have FREE FLIGHT TIME!   YES SIR

BUDDY!  But of course, you are also a glider.  



It is actually hard to get the prop to stop.  It WANTS to windmill.  All

you have to do is push the nose over and let the speed come up and the

prop will start turning all by itself, no starter required.  Of course,

if you want to be REALLY safe, do it over an airport!  This is actually

fun to do in our aircraft!  I do not do it all the time, but I have

taken my YAK-50 up to 10,000 feet or so, cooled it down slowly and then

following the procedure above, stop the prop.  Open the canopy.  Take

your freaking headset off!  Enjoy the sound of NO ENGINE and just wind

noise going by.  It's a ton of fun really.  However, it is pretty darn

hard to keep that prop STOPPED.  Just a simple increase in airspeed and

away it goes.  



Turn the mags back on, bring up the power very slowly and let the engine

warm up again.  Do NOT take it all the way to low altitude and then just

RAM the power to the engine.  Not a smart move.  However if you do it

right, it is perfectly safe.  No, I do not do it all the time, once or

twice in 10 years.  



The only real hazard of doing this is if you turn off the mags with the

engine developing serious power.  Turning them off and then back on

again is simply not too smart when the engine is putting out serious

energy!  



It is hard to actually do this, but if you ever accidentally turn the

mags off in flight, the smart procedure is to NOT TURN THEM BACK ON

AGAIN.  Bring the throttle to idle and THEN turn the mags back on again

and bring your power up slowly.   If you wanted to be REALLY safe, you

would also bring your mixture to cut off and THEN turn the mags back on

as well.  Then bring in the mixture, and bring up the throttle(s).  Of

course the M-14's have no mixture control.  Using the throttle method

alone works just fine.  

Mark Bitterlich

 



--

cookie2xs

Joined: 02 Jun 2009
Posts: 4
Location: New Zealand

Posted: Tue May 11, 2010 2:55 am Post subject: Re: Baklan 5 radio problem

Thanks guys

Found the mag spring on top of the cigarette was corroded and the tension 

was not enough.

Problem gone!!! Fantastic.

Still have a fair bit of clicking from the number one mag. This must be a 

lead breaking down. Question: which mag (left or right) is the number one mag?? 

Thanks all for your help. This has been an on going and a bit of a frustrating

problem. Really glad it was a simple fix

Cheers

Darrin

dsavarese0812(at)bellsout
Guest

Posted: Tue May 11, 2010 5:11 am Post subject: Baklan 5 radio problem

The left mag is the #1 mag.

 Dennis

 [quote]   ---

yakplt(at)yahoo.com
Guest

Posted: Sun May 16, 2010 4:40 pm Post subject: Baklan 5 radio problem

And that is exactly backwards on a YAK-50.  How strange is that? 

  

 Mark

 



--- On Tue, 5/11/10, A. Dennis Savarese <dsavarese0812(at)bellsouth.net> wrote:



 [quote]

From: A. Dennis Savarese <dsavarese0812(at)bellsouth.net>

Subject: Re: Re: Baklan 5 radio problem

To: yak-list(at)matronics.com

Date: Tuesday, May 11, 2010, 8:55 AM



    The left mag is the #1 mag.

 Dennis

 [quote] ---

viperdoc(at)mindspring.co
Guest

Posted: Sun May 16, 2010 5:38 pm Post subject: Baklan 5 radio problem

Priming is exactly backwards too. Must be a Romanian thing.  

doc  

     

From: owner-yak-list-server(at)matronics.com [mailto:owner-yak-list-server(at)matronics.com] On Behalf Of Yak Pilot

 Sent: Sunday, May 16, 2010 7:40 PM

 To: yak-list(at)matronics.com

 Subject: Re: Re: Baklan 5 radio problem  

  

              

And that is exactly backwards on a YAK-50.  How   strange is that?    

      

    

      

Mark   

      



   

   --- On Tue, 5/11/10, A. Dennis Savarese <dsavarese0812(at)bellsouth.net>   wrote:   

    	  Quote: 	
		     



   From: A. Dennis Savarese <dsavarese0812(at)bellsouth.net>

   Subject: Re: Re: Baklan 5 radio problem

   To: yak-list(at)matronics.com

   Date: Tuesday, May 11, 2010, 8:55 AM         

The left mag is the #1 mag.   

      

Dennis   

    	  Quote: 	
		        

-----   Original Message -----    

      

From: cookie2xs    

      

To: yak-list(at)matronics.com    

      

Sent: Tuesday, May 11,   2010 5:55 AM   

      

Subject: Re:   Baklan 5 radio problem   

      

    

   

--> Yak-List message   posted by: "cookie2xs" <cookie2xs(at)xtra.co.nz>

   

   Thanks guys

   Found the mag spring on top of the cigarette was corroded and the tension 

   was not enough.

   Problem gone!!! Fantastic.

   Still have a fair bit of clicking from the number one mag. This must be a 

   lead breaking down. Question: which mag (left or right) is the number one   mag?? 

   Thanks all for your help. This has been an on going and a bit of a   frustrating

   problem. Really glad it was a simple fix

   Cheers

   Darrin

   

   

   

   

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