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rickofudall
Joined: 19 Sep 2009
Posts: 1392
Location: Udall, KS, USA
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 Posted: Sun Sep 26, 2010 5:36 pm Post subject: Inexpensive radio installation |
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I fly to enough fly ins to make having a radio a nice convenience, so over the summer I've been putting together an inexpensive system for Zulu Delta. I looked at all the handhelds available and the cost of accessories. I looked at Sporty's JP 200, the Icom A6 and the Vertex 220. At $170 the Vertex won hands down. That it came with a headphone adapter (for which Icom charges $80) was icing on the cake. At first I tried using the VOX feature of the radio but the lowest sensitivity setting wasn't enough to resist the noise put out by the 582. I found a generic push to talk switch at Mypilot.com for less than $15.
I looked around for antenna ideas and found a chassis fitting (pn 278-201, $3.69) at Radio Shack that looked like it had possibilities. I also bought an adapter to use a BNC cable (pn 278-121, $4.99) and a 6' BNC cable (pn 278-964, $7.49) The chassis fitting was meant to put an antenna cable fitting on the back of radio but I turned it around and soldered a piece of 1/16" brazing rod into the wire socket. It probably wouldn't hold up for long by itself so I turned an aluminum cover and a teflon insulator to give the rod some extra support (see photo). The antenna needed a ground plane but there was no room for one where I wanted to mount the antenna so I used the aluminum frame for my nose hatch. Not perfect but it works just fine. The last thing I did was trim the brazing rod at 22" for the middle of the aviation band (+/-).
And speaking of working. My first flight with the radio installed I picked up the ATIS at Mid Continent at 300' from Cherokee Strip (26 miles). At 1000' I called the tower for a radio check. The controller reported a little noise otherwise I was clear. This last Friday night I tuned the radio to 122.8 for another check. At 1000' I could pick up aircraft in the pattern at McPherson 75 miles away. I listened to them while turning my aircraft to check reception from all aspects and could not hear any degradation even when the signal was coming from the rear.
So for less than $300, including headphones, I have radio communications in my Kolb.
Rick Girard
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Zulu Delta
Kolb Mk IIIC
582 Gray head
4.00 C gearbox
3 blade WD
Thanks, Homer GBYM
It is not bigotry to be certain we are right; but it is bigotry to be unable to imagine how we might possibly have gone wrong.
- G.K. Chesterton
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Richard Pike
Joined: 09 Jan 2006
Posts: 1671
Location: Blountville, Tennessee
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| Posted: Sun Sep 26, 2010 5:55 pm Post subject: Re: Inexpensive radio installation |
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Excellent. Do you have any pictures of the radio installed in the cabin?
Richard Pike
MKIII N420P (420ldPoops)
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John Hauck
Joined: 09 Jan 2006
Posts: 4639
Location: Titus, Alabama (hauck's holler)
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| Posted: Sun Sep 26, 2010 7:30 pm Post subject: Inexpensive radio installation |
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That it came with a headphone adapter (for which Icom charges $80) was icing on the cake.
Rick Girard
Rick G/Gang:
For info only.
Icom A6 includes headset/push to talk adapter, no extra charge.
john h
mkIII
[quote][b]
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John Hauck
MKIII/912ULS
hauck's holler
Titus, Alabama |
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rickofudall
Joined: 19 Sep 2009
Posts: 1392
Location: Udall, KS, USA
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| Posted: Sun Sep 26, 2010 9:10 pm Post subject: Inexpensive radio installation |
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No, I just run with it strapped to my left leg.
Rick
On Sun, Sep 26, 2010 at 8:55 PM, Richard Pike <richard(at)bcchapel.org (richard(at)bcchapel.org)> wrote:
--
Zulu Delta
Kolb Mk IIIC
582 Gray head
4.00 C gearbox
3 blade WD
Thanks, Homer GBYM
It is not bigotry to be certain we are right; but it is bigotry to be unable to imagine how we might possibly have gone wrong.
- G.K. Chesterton
[quote][b]
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The smallest miracle right in front of you is enough to make you happy.... |
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rickofudall
Joined: 19 Sep 2009
Posts: 1392
Location: Udall, KS, USA
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| Posted: Sun Sep 26, 2010 9:45 pm Post subject: Inexpensive radio installation |
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For an average of $100 more for the A-6 I would hope so. The comparable Icom is the A-14 and it doesn't include a headset adapter and still on average $20 more.
Rick
On Sun, Sep 26, 2010 at 10:27 PM, John Hauck <jhauck(at)elmore.rr.com (jhauck(at)elmore.rr.com)> wrote:
| Quote: | That it came with a headphone adapter (for which Icom charges $80) was icing on the cake.
Rick Girard
Rick G/Gang:
For info only.
Icom A6 includes headset/push to talk adapter, no extra charge.
john h
mkIII
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get="_blank">http://www.matronics.com/Navigator?Kolb-List
tp://forums.matronics.com
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--
Zulu Delta
Kolb Mk IIIC
582 Gray head
4.00 C gearbox
3 blade WD
Thanks, Homer GBYM
It is not bigotry to be certain we are right; but it is bigotry to be unable to imagine how we might possibly have gone wrong.
- G.K. Chesterton
[quote][b]
| | - The Matronics Kolb-List Email Forum - | | | Use the List Feature Navigator to browse the many List utilities available such as the Email Subscriptions page, Archive Search & Download, 7-Day Browse, Chat, FAQ, Photoshare, and much more:
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zharvey(at)bentoncountyca
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| Posted: Mon Sep 27, 2010 2:40 am Post subject: Inexpensive radio installation |
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Rick, What do you use to strap it to your leg with?
Gene
Read this topic online here:
http://forums.matronics.com/viewtopic.php?p=313830#313830
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arget="_blank">http://www.matronics.com/Navigator?Kolb-List
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--
Zulu Delta
Kolb Mk IIIC
582 Gray head
4.00 C gearbox
3 blade WD
Thanks, Homer GBYM
It is not bigotry to be certain we are right; but it is bigotry to be unable to imagine how we might possibly have gone wrong.
- G.K. Chesterton
[quote]
href="http://www.matronics.com/Navigator?Kolb-List">http://www.matronics.com/Navigator?Kolb-List
href="http://forums.matronics.com">http://forums.matronics.com
href="http://www.matronics.com/contribution">http://www.matronics.com/c
[b]
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Thom Riddle
Joined: 10 Jan 2006
Posts: 1597
Location: Buffalo, NY, USA (9G0)
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| Posted: Mon Sep 27, 2010 4:18 am Post subject: Re: Inexpensive radio installation |
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Rick,
I'm glad you got a good radio system built for your Kolb. It makes a huge difference in situational awareness in and around populated areas. Nobody cares what brand radios we have. If it works well then it is a good radio.
I bought an SP-200 many years ago and its reception was good and the nav feature was a but saver for me on one occasion but I did not know it did not have a side-band when I bought it. Since then the transmit side has quit working but it still receives well. But the lack of side-band was enough to make me wish I had bought something else.
Last year I purchased an iCom A-6 for $239 from MarvGolden.com and that included the headset adapter and 12-v power plug. Right out of the box it sounds nearly as good in my Slingshot as the iCom A-200 did in the much quieter Allegro. Connected to the Kolb antenna makes no difference in the sound quality but increases the range a good bit, I pick up pilot chatter from airports I've never heard of, which means they are quite some distance from my local area.
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Thom Riddle
Buffalo, NY (9G0)
Don't worry about old age... it doesn't last very long.
- Anonymous |
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rickofudall
Joined: 19 Sep 2009
Posts: 1392
Location: Udall, KS, USA
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| Posted: Mon Sep 27, 2010 8:53 am Post subject: Inexpensive radio installation |
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I have some velcro straps that have been around for years. Nothing fancy, just just hook the belt clip and snug up the velcro. I'll do something more elaborate when I get some more experience with it.
Rick
On Mon, Sep 27, 2010 at 5:34 AM, Gene & Tammy <zharvey(at)bentoncountycable.net (zharvey(at)bentoncountycable.net)> wrote:
--
Zulu Delta
Kolb Mk IIIC
582 Gray head
4.00 C gearbox
3 blade WD
Thanks, Homer GBYM
It is not bigotry to be certain we are right; but it is bigotry to be unable to imagine how we might possibly have gone wrong.
- G.K. Chesterton
[quote][b]
| | - The Matronics Kolb-List Email Forum - | | | Use the List Feature Navigator to browse the many List utilities available such as the Email Subscriptions page, Archive Search & Download, 7-Day Browse, Chat, FAQ, Photoshare, and much more:
http://www.matronics.com/Navigator?Kolb-List |
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_________________
The smallest miracle right in front of you is enough to make you happy.... |
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