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MicroAir products

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rdunhamtn(at)hotmail.com
Guest

Posted: Mon Jan 16, 2006 2:23 pm Post subject: MicroAir products

I'm about to order transceiver & transponder for my Sonex. I like the small 

MicroAir radios and they're the cheapest so far. Also, the dealer is here in 

Tennessee which makes it convenient. Can anyone offer feedback about them 

(or Becker or XCOM) ??? especially when combined with the Jabiru 3300. Also 

feedback on the dealer, Jabiru USA would be appreciated.



Rodney

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aaaron(at)tvp.com.au
Guest

Posted: Mon Jan 16, 2006 3:11 pm Post subject: MicroAir products

I have a microair transponder. Its worked fine for me over the past

three years. I did have to send it back once for a software update but

the service was quick and free.

Allan 



--

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BigD(at)DaveMorris.com
Guest

Posted: Mon Jan 16, 2006 3:25 pm Post subject: MicroAir products

See this comparison chart:

http://www.mcp.com.au/microair/comparison/comparison.html



Dave Morris

At 04:22 PM 1/16/2006, you wrote:

 	  Quote: 	
		  

<rdunhamtn(at)hotmail.com>



I'm about to order transceiver & transponder for my Sonex. I like the small

MicroAir radios and they're the cheapest so far. Also, the dealer is here in

Tennessee which makes it convenient. Can anyone offer feedback about them

(or Becker or XCOM) ??? especially when combined with the Jabiru 3300. Also

feedback on the dealer, Jabiru USA would be appreciated.



Rodney

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rv7a(at)cox.net
Guest

Posted: Mon Jan 16, 2006 3:51 pm Post subject: MicroAir products

FWIW I have a MicroAir in my Nieuport replica and it works fine with the 

open cockpit noise etc.  A friend is also using one in his Stearman.  He had 

a lot of problems initially but it was an early serial number radio.  They 

took care of it and things are great.  No complaints and may move mine to my 

RV as a secondary radio.



Jim Thorne

RV7A QB CHD

---

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Larry McFarland

Joined: 10 Jan 2006
Posts: 36
Location: East Moline, Illinois

Posted: Mon Jan 16, 2006 4:20 pm Post subject: MicroAir products

Rodney,

I'm using a Becker Transponder and I found the install extremely easy, 

operation is bulletproof.

Never have any trouble with it, setup was intuitive and the human 

interface is very natural.



Larry McFarland - 601 HDS at www.macsmachine.com

Rodney Dunham wrote:



 	  Quote: 	
		  



I'm about to order transceiver & transponder for my Sonex. I like the small 

MicroAir radios and they're the cheapest so far. Also, the dealer is here in 

Tennessee which makes it convenient. Can anyone offer feedback about them 

(or Becker or XCOM) ??? especially when combined with the Jabiru 3300. Also 

feedback on the dealer, Jabiru USA would be appreciated.



Rodney

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_________________
Larry McFarland - 601HDS - Stratus

brian

Joined: 02 Jan 2006
Posts: 643
Location: Sacramento, California, USA

Posted: Mon Jan 16, 2006 4:28 pm Post subject: MicroAir products

Dave Morris "BigD" wrote:

 	  Quote: 	
		   

 

 See this comparison chart:

 http://www.mcp.com.au/microair/comparison/comparison.html


	


Microair radios suffer from front-end overload. Don't expect them to

perform well near other airplanes. That is why we were talking about

antenna attenuators a couple weeks back -- to deal with a deficiency in

the Microair Comm transceivers. This becomes a real problem if you plan

to fly formation with other aircraft.



-- 

Brian Lloyd                         2243 Cattle Dr.

brian-yak at lloyd dot com          Folsom, CA 95630

+1.916.367.2131 (voice)             +1.270.912.0788 (fax)



I fly because it releases my mind from the tyranny of petty things . . .

- Antoine de Saint-Exupery

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_________________
Brian Lloyd
brian-yak at lloyd dot com
+1.916.367.2131 (voice) +1.270.912.0788 (fax)

I fly because it releases my mind from the tyranny of petty things . . .
- Antoine de Saint-Exupery

czechsix(at)juno.com
Guest

Posted: Tue Jan 17, 2006 4:06 pm Post subject: MicroAir products

I wouldn't get the Microair comm if you're flying in the U.S. They have some fundamental design problems that they can't seem to understand or resolve. A buddy of mine, Alan Kritzman, went through about half a dozen iterations of their transponder with his RV-8...he also tried a new antenna, relocated it, new coax, etc. Nothing resolved the problem which is intermittent operation (replies to ATC interrogations) in our local Class C airspace here at KCID. We finally figured out that the ASR-9 radar here is a very powerful analog system (it may be the most powerful system in operation). The newer radars are digital and less powerful. Anyway there are other transmitters like the one here located around the U.S. but there are none in Australia and if you don't go near these Class C facilities you probably won't see the problem. So, there are some users here in the U.S. who have no complaints. 

We finally took the latest two versions of the transponder (about a year ago) into our avionics lab here at Rockwell Collins where we work as Systems Engineers. We hooked both of them up to the ATC test sets we use all the time with Collins equipment. Both the Microair units--the latest and greatest--failed all the tests. We know the test sets are good, calibrated units. We sent the results to Microair but at that point we gave up and asked for a refund.

I must add that Microair's customer service has been outstanding in the sense than they are eager to resolve the problem and I'm sure they would have kept exchanging and updating their units indefinitely if we had that much patience. But their engineer(s) don't understand how to fix it and they don't have a real certified transponder test set (which is a very expensive piece of equipment and they are a small company), so they may never figure it out without access to proper test equipment. In the end they gave us a good refund and we put in Garmin units which work flawlessly.

I might also add that we've heard from half a dozen others in the U.S. that have had the same problems with intermittent operation near major Class C facilities around the country (depends on the radar system in use), so it's not just a local thing at our airport.

By the way the microair comm radios seem to work just fine.

I hope Microair finds a fix for their transponder...I loved the compact, light weight/low power consumption of their design, and it was a major pain to have to cut a new rectangular hole in my panel for the boat-anchor Garmin (messed up my panel layout), but you've gotta have a transponder that works!!

--Mark Navratil

Cedar Rapids, Iowa

RV-8A N2D

Time: 03:12:02 PM PST US

Subject: RE: MicroAir products

From: "Allan Aaron" <aaaron(at)tvp.com.au>


I have a microair transponder. Its worked fine for me over the past

three years. I did have to send it back once for a software update but

the service was quick and free.

Allan 

--

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james(at)berkut13.com
Guest

Posted: Tue Jan 17, 2006 4:28 pm Post subject: MicroAir products

Thanks for saving me alot of typing. 



I also had the same transponder experience (as did another Berkut builder in 

LA) - intermittent xponder operation in dense/active ATC, several exchanges 

of the unit with MicroAir without success, etc.  And since I fly out of a 

towered airport under the DFW Class B, transponder ops are not optional.  I 

replaced the unit with a Becker and have not had a single issue thus far.  A 

more detailed account is on my website.



I'll also echo the kudos to MicroAir customer support.  My issues were over 

a year ago now, so it is possible that MicroAir has redesigned around the 

problem...any "alpha testers" out there?  



James Redmon

Berkut #013  N97TX

http://www.berkut13.com





 	  Quote: 	
		   

 <czechsix(at)juno.com>



 I wouldn't get the Microair comm if you're flying in the U.S. They have 

 some fundamental design problems that they can't seem to understand or 

 resolve. A buddy of mine, Alan Kritzman, went through about half a dozen 

 iterations of their transponder with his RV-8...he also tried a new 

 antenna, relocated it, new coax, etc. Nothing resolved the problem which 

 is intermittent operation (replies to ATC interrogations) in our local 

 Class C airspace here at KCID. We finally figured out that the ASR-9 radar 

 here is a very powerful analog system (it may be the most powerful system 

 in operation). The newer radars are digital and less powerful. Anyway 

 there are other transmitters like the one here located around the U.S. but 

 there are none in Australia and if you don't go near these Class C 

 facilities you probably won't see the problem. So, there are some users 

 here in the U.S. who have no complaints.

 We finally took the latest two versions of the transponder (about a year 

 ago) into our avionics lab here at Rockwell Collins where we work as 

 Systems Engineers. We hooked both of them up to the ATC test sets we use 

 all the time with Collins equipment. Both the Microair units--the latest 

 and greatest--failed all the tests. We know the test sets are good, 

 calibrated units. We sent the results to Microair but at that point we 

 gave up and asked for a refund.

 I must add that Microair's customer service has been outstanding in the 

 sense than they are eager to resolve the problem and I'm sure they would 

 have kept exchanging and updating their units indefinitely if we had that 

 much patience. But their engineer(s) don't understand how to fix it and 

 they don't have a real certified transponder test set (which is a very 

 expensive piece of equipment and they are a small company), so they may 

 never figure it out without access to proper test equipment. In the end 

 they gave us a good refund and we put in Garmin units which work 

 flawlessly.

 I might also add that we've heard from half a dozen others in the U.S. 

 that have had the same problems with intermittent operation near major 

 Class C facilities around the country (depends on the radar system in 

 use), so it's not just a local thing at our airport.

 By the way the microair comm radios seem to work just fine.

 I hope Microair finds a fix for their transponder...I loved the compact, 

 light weight/low power consumption of their design, and it was a major 

 pain to have to cut a new rectangular hole in my panel for the boat-anchor 

 Garmin (messed up my panel layout), but you've gotta have a transponder 

 that works!!

 --Mark Navratil

- The Matronics AeroElectric-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?AeroElectric-List

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