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KLX 135A issues

 
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vanremog



Joined: 27 Mar 2019
Posts: 5
Location: Milpitas CA
PostPosted: Sat Jul 11, 2020 1:18 pm    Post subject: KLX 135A issues Reply with quote
Many RV builders in the ‘90s installed a Bendix/King KLX 135A Nav/Comm as part of their avionics suites, right up until everything changed and sophisticated Glass Panel Displays from Dynon, Garmin and the like started to become available.  I’d like to get just a few more years out of my steam gauges, original VM1000 and conventional radio stack setup before I fully upgrade my panel.  I use an ASUS tablet running Avare for navigation these days, so the KLX 135A moving map is my backup, and I have ADS-B in/out.
 
I’ve had a few issues with the KLX 135A that many may soon experience.  My unit, originally installed new in 1997, now has ~1100 operational hours.  I have a copy of the Maintenance Manual to reference for replacement parts, however Honeywell Bendix/King has been somewhat less than accommodating of end users in this regard, instead allowing only shops like South Eastern Aerospace to buy parts and do their repair work.  Don’t get me wrong, SEA is a great shop, but boxing up and sending my unit off to FL for 6wks is not always a good option.  Since retiring, I no longer have access to test equipment necessary for proper troubleshooting, but I am a USAF trained technician, comfortable with SMD defense electronics repair.  So when I see a simple circuit with a simple problem, I assume I can fix it straightaway, if I can get part(s).
 
The KLX 135A was a solid Nav/Comm at the time, but like all electronics, some components are inherently life-limited.  Tadiran TL-5135 battery on digital board requires periodic replacement, Aluminum electrolytic filter capacitors on power supply and audio boards dry out, LCD display on main board bleeds out and reflector photo interrupters on frequency tuning dials get weak.  Heat the unit sees when parked on the ramp non-operating contributes significantly to limited life.
 
My internal battery has been replaced twice, once by LAC in San Jose, CA and more recently by SEA, but I’ve been told it is a relatively simple DIY job.  LAC replaced the power supply and audio capacitors after us having to phone up the tower and go NORDO into KLVK one day, and more recently SEA replaced the LCD.  When tuning of the decimal digits in the radio section began to get sluggish and didn’t always increment/decrement properly during rotation, I examined the unit and reviewed the simple circuit.  My EE buddy told me the IR LEDs in the photo interrupters were likely getting weak due to age.  After buying the last B/K 007-08094-000 parts I could find in the states and replacing them, the unit now operates 5by5.  The unit should last another 5 years.  Honeywell won't have more parts until Nov 2020.
-GV RV-6A N1GV

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garyvanremortel(at)gmail.
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PostPosted: Sat Jul 11, 2020 7:10 pm    Post subject: KLX 135A Issues Reply with quote
Many RV builders in the ‘90s installed a Bendix/King KLX 135A Nav/Comm as part of their avionics suites, right up until everything changed and sophisticated Glass Panel Displays from Dynon, Garmin and the like started to become available.  I’d like to get just a few more years out of my steam gauges, original VM1000 and conventional radio stack setup before I fully upgrade my panel.  I use an ASUS tablet running Avare for navigation these days, so the KLX 135A moving map is my backup, and I have ADS-B in/out.
 
I’ve had a few issues with the KLX 135A that many may soon experience.  My unit, originally installed new in 1997, now has ~1100 operational hours.  I have a copy of the Maintenance Manual to reference for replacement parts, however Honeywell Bendix/King has been somewhat less than accommodating of end users in this regard, instead allowing only shops like South Eastern Aerospace to buy parts and do their repair work.  Don’t get me wrong, SEA is a great shop, but boxing up and sending my unit off to FL for 6wks is not always a good option.  Since retiring, I no longer have access to test equipment necessary for proper troubleshooting, but I am a USAF trained technician, comfortable with SMD defense electronics repair.  So when I see a simple circuit with a simple problem, I assume I can fix it straightaway, if I can get part(s).
 
The KLX 135A was a solid Nav/Comm at the time, but like all electronics, some components are inherently life-limited.  Tadiran TL-5135 battery on digital board requires periodic replacement, Aluminum electrolytic filter capacitors on power supply and audio boards dry out, LCD display on main board bleeds out and reflector photo interrupters on frequency tuning dials get weak.  Heat the unit sees when parked on the ramp non-operating contributes significantly to limited life.
 
My internal battery has been replaced twice, once by LAC in San Jose, CA and more recently by SEA, but I’ve been told it is a relatively simple DIY job.  LAC replaced the power supply and audio capacitors after us having to phone up the tower and go NORDO into KLVK one day, and more recently SEA replaced the LCD.  When tuning of the decimal digits in the radio section began to get sluggish and didn’t always increment/decrement properly during rotation, I examined the unit and reviewed the simple circuit.  My EE buddy told me the IR LEDs in the photo interrupters were likely getting weak due to age.  After buying the last B/K 007-08094-0000 parts I could find in the states and replacing them, the unit now operates 5by5.  The unit should last another 5 years.  Honeywell Bendix/King says they won’t have more of these parts until November 2020 but they can be reached at techsupport(at)bendixking.com (techsupport(at)bendixking.com)
-GV RV-6A N1GV

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hcrv6(at)comcast.net
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PostPosted: Sun Jul 12, 2020 11:22 am    Post subject: KLX 135A Issues Reply with quote
GV, good to know you are still flying, I wasn't sure since I haven't seen you for seems like a couple years. I have the same nav/com and have almost 1700 hours on it so far with no issues, knock on wood. I haven't used to nav side of the unit for probably 10 years, I have wanted to replace it with a com with standby monitoring capability for several years but the size of the BK means I'll have to do a patch job on my panel which I hate to get into. I guess I'll just wait until it fails and that'll force me to do something about it. I just got back into the air after having to repair cracks in my engine mount that took me almost four months largely due to the Corona virus shutdown. Anyway, it's good to know you are still flying.
Quote:
Harry Crosby On 07/11/2020 8:06 PM Gary VanRemortel <garyvanremortel(at)gmail.com> wrote:





Many RV builders in the ‘90s installed a Bendix/King KLX 135A Nav/Comm as part of their avionics suites, right up until everything changed and sophisticated Glass Panel Displays from Dynon, Garmin and the like started to become available. I’d like to get just a few more years out of my steam gauges, original VM1000 and conventional radio stack setup before I fully upgrade my panel. I use an ASUS tablet running Avare for navigation these days, so the KLX 135A moving map is my backup, and I have ADS-B in/out.


I’ve had a few issues with the KLX 135A that many may soon experience.  My unit, originally installed new in 1997, now has ~1100 operational hours. I have a copy of the Maintenance Manual to reference for replacement parts, however Honeywell Bendix/King has been somewhat less than accommodating of end users in this regard, instead allowing only shops like South Eastern Aerospace to buy parts and do their repair work. Don’t get me wrong, SEA is a great shop, but boxing up and sending my unit off to FL for 6wks is not always a good option. Since retiring, I no longer have access to test equipment necessary for proper troubleshooting, but I am a USAF trained technician, comfortable with SMD defense electronics repair. So when I see a simple circuit with a simple problem, I assume I can fix it straightaway, if I can get part(s).


The KLX 135A was a solid Nav/Comm at the time, but like all electronics, some components are inherently life-limited. Tadiran TL-5135 battery on digital board requires periodic replacement, Aluminum electrolytic filter capacitors on power supply and audio boards dry out, LCD display on main board bleeds out and reflector photo interrupters on frequency tuning dials get weak. Heat the unit sees when parked on the ramp non-operating contributes significantly to limited life.


My internal battery has been replaced twice, once by LAC in San Jose, CA and more recently by SEA, but I’ve been told it is a relatively simple DIY job. LAC replaced the power supply and audio capacitors after us having to phone up the tower and go NORDO into KLVK one day, and more recently SEA replaced the LCD. When tuning of the decimal digits in the radio section began to get sluggish and didn’t always increment/decrement properly during rotation, I examined the unit and reviewed the simple circuit. My EE buddy told me the IR LEDs in the photo interrupters were likely getting weak due to age. After buying the last B/K 007-08094-0000 parts I could find in the states and replacing them, the unit now operates 5by5. The unit should last another 5 years. Honeywell Bendix/King says they won’t have more of these parts until November 2020 but they can be reached at techsupport(at)bendixking.com (techsupport(at)bendixking.com)


-GV RV-6A N1GV





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hcrv6(at)comcast.net
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PostPosted: Sun Jul 12, 2020 11:40 am    Post subject: KLX 135A Issues Reply with quote
Quote:
Harry Crosby On 07/12/2020 12:19 PM HARRY CROSBY <hcrv6(at)comcast.net> wrote:




GV, good to know you are still flying, I wasn't sure since I haven't seen you for seems like a couple years. I have the same nav/com and have almost 1700 hours on it so far with no issues, knock on wood. I haven't used to nav side of the unit for probably 10 years, I have wanted to replace it with a com with standby monitoring capability for several years but the size of the BK means I'll have to do a patch job on my panel which I hate to get into. I guess I'll just wait until it fails and that'll force me to do something about it. I just got back into the air after having to repair cracks in my engine mount that took me almost four months largely due to the Corona virus shutdown. Anyway, it's good to know you are still flying.
Quote:
Harry Crosby On 07/11/2020 8:06 PM Gary VanRemortel <garyvanremortel(at)gmail.com> wrote:





Many RV builders in the ‘90s installed a Bendix/King KLX 135A Nav/Comm as part of their avionics suites, right up until everything changed and sophisticated Glass Panel Displays from Dynon, Garmin and the like started to become available. I’d like to get just a few more years out of my steam gauges, original VM1000 and conventional radio stack setup before I fully upgrade my panel. I use an ASUS tablet running Avare for navigation these days, so the KLX 135A moving map is my backup, and I have ADS-B in/out.


I’ve had a few issues with the KLX 135A that many may soon experience.  My unit, originally installed new in 1997, now has ~1100 operational hours. I have a copy of the Maintenance Manual to reference for replacement parts, however Honeywell Bendix/King has been somewhat less than accommodating of end users in this regard, instead allowing only shops like South Eastern Aerospace to buy parts and do their repair work. Don’t get me wrong, SEA is a great shop, but boxing up and sending my unit off to FL for 6wks is not always a good option. Since retiring, I no longer have access to test equipment necessary for proper troubleshooting, but I am a USAF trained technician, comfortable with SMD defense electronics repair. So when I see a simple circuit with a simple problem, I assume I can fix it straightaway, if I can get part(s).


The KLX 135A was a solid Nav/Comm at the time, but like all electronics, some components are inherently life-limited. Tadiran TL-5135 battery on digital board requires periodic replacement, Aluminum electrolytic filter capacitors on power supply and audio boards dry out, LCD display on main board bleeds out and reflector photo interrupters on frequency tuning dials get weak. Heat the unit sees when parked on the ramp non-operating contributes significantly to limited life.


My internal battery has been replaced twice, once by LAC in San Jose, CA and more recently by SEA, but I’ve been told it is a relatively simple DIY job. LAC replaced the power supply and audio capacitors after us having to phone up the tower and go NORDO into KLVK one day, and more recently SEA replaced the LCD. When tuning of the decimal digits in the radio section began to get sluggish and didn’t always increment/decrement properly during rotation, I examined the unit and reviewed the simple circuit. My EE buddy told me the IR LEDs in the photo interrupters were likely getting weak due to age. After buying the last B/K 007-08094-0000 parts I could find in the states and replacing them, the unit now operates 5by5. The unit should last another 5 years. Honeywell Bendix/King says they won’t have more of these parts until November 2020 but they can be reached at techsupport(at)bendixking.com (techsupport(at)bendixking.com)


-GV RV-6A N1GV





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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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vanremog



Joined: 27 Mar 2019
Posts: 5
Location: Milpitas CA
PostPosted: Wed Apr 28, 2021 5:54 pm    Post subject: Re: KLX 135A issues Reply with quote
The photointerrupters are Sharp P/N GP2S07B.

http://www.serenityelectronics.com/search.asp

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