Quote:
Originally Posted by Wxman2000  OK, so I've been having a few problems with the xponder in my plane and was wondering if anyone might have a few ideas what the problem may be with it.
Sometimes, it works great, no problems through the flight. Other times, ATC is unable to pick up anything from it, though I'm still getting a reply light in the plane. And even other times, it seems to be hit and miss through the flight with ATC seeing it, sometimes not at all, sometimes what they describe as "very weak". All the while in all these cases, I'm continuously getting a reply light on the unit itself.
Any ideas what may be the problem? I was wondering if maybe it was the antenna or something since it seems to be working fine by how it acts in the plane. Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks. |
How old is the avionics in your airplane? Older resistors, transistors, capacitors and the like can degrade over time. They are susceptible to heat and vibration. In this day and age of disposable electronics (not necessarily avionics) people don't tend to repair electronics anymore. How many television repair places do you see anymore? However, with the cost of avionics, people rightly so continue to use older equipment. However, older avionics are, as I mentioned, susceptible to degradation.