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Tom, It sounds like you may have misunderstood my purpose in asking the Tech list for help, so I'm posting my reply there as well, in case others also misunderstood. You wrote, "You might just have to bite the bullet and pay an expert to come in and fix your radio. Expensive up front, but worth it in the long term." Tom, I did not appeal to the list to avoid paying an expert. I would be very willing to pay an expert to fix the problem -- if I could FIND one! I was not posting to get free help, but to get competent help. You'd be surprised how isolated a brand new Ercoupe owner can be, even at a decent-sized urban airport like Torrance, CA (TOA). There are NO active A&Ps here who know Ercoupes -- and I've asked all around. I spent most of last Sunday walking around and asking. Everyone I have asked has said that THERE IS NO radio shop at TOA, and there ARE NO avionics people who are known to be knowledgeable in trouble-shooting radios. I know only one, part-time avionics man who moonlights from United, but he doesn't have time for my plane. (He's part of a part-time A&P team that had my plane sit on the ground for 2 weeks last month, just waiting for them to take care of one loose wire -- which had already been diagnosed by an Ercoupe A.I./A&P at a fly-in! I had been resorting to that part-time team because they were all I knew, but they had never worked on Ercoupes before, and charged me for learning time -- in addition to being too busy for my plane. Guess they have bigger fish to fry...) I spent all last Sunday asking around the airport, and I found an A&P last week who did have time for me. While he didn't know Ercoupes, he could & did clean the radio connections and check and clean the grounds -- but he professed himself stumped by the fact that my transmissions worked fine on the ground but not in flight. He, too, ceased having any time to go further after last Wednesday, and left town saying he had another part-time avionics man whom he would have call me. I never got a call. That's the professionals. As I asked around, three different amateur hanger-chatters also asked what my problem was, offered to help, talked a lot, told stories, tested one thing each... then when that didn't turn out to be the problem they "ran out of time" or "didn't have the right equipment" and left. The guidance of this Tech list saved me from just floundering around. If I hadn't asked, I would have had no central list or logical sequence of what needed to be checked and eliminated to make any progress in the troubleshooting at all. And I've been warned -- I think on this list, too -- that anyone who wasn't a radio tech should not be paid to troubleshoot the radio beyond the basics of cleaning connections and such. With the collective ideas of the experts on this list who kindly responded, I was at least able to piece together a reasonable sequence of priorities in what to get checked next. As I said, I was asking the list for ideas on "what to check until the doctor arrives." I felt constrained to stick to TOA field because -- in busy L.A. airspace -- I felt afraid to try flying to another field without a reliable radio (even if I'd known of any experts at another one!). What if John Cooper's prediction happens and the radio degenerates quickly from unreadable transmissions to a totally dead radio? Late this afternoon, my CFI (who is at least somewhat familiar with Ercoupes although he is about a 40-min. flight from me) finally finished his holiday shopping and had time for a long phone chat, and I brought him up to date. We both had expected the ICOM hand-held radio to work in the cockpit, but since it didn't, we talked over a way to temporarily connect it to the plane's antenna, IF there's anyone at TOA on Tuesday morning who has co-ax cable available &/or a Tee fitting, and has the time to help. If not, he has assured me that -- so long as I can still transmit well enough to take off -- I can carefully fly a route he has designated along a freeway, at altitudes he has specified, to narrowly stay out of anyone's airspace, and get to a non-towered airport out at Corona, where he can meet me, and where Aircraft Spruce has a shop for parts. I did not think it was legal to fly there or land there if I lose communications, but he has assured me that it is ok. If my hand-held can be wired up to the antenna to work ok, that will hold me until Wayne's radio arrives and we can nail down whether I need a new one or not. Or, if we find out that the antenna or its connection is bad, well that will end the trouble-shooting. Thanks to the knowledgeable people who responded on this list, the other likely culprits have now been checked & eliminated, and we seem to be down to (1) antenna connection, or (2) the radio itself. I am very happy this Tech list was able to help me narrow it down; I could not have gotten to this point without the ideas posted here: no single person I found at my home field knew as much or had the time -- paid or otherwise. Thanks for your help, everyone! I will post the final diagnosis and cure when it's solved. Happy Holidays to you all! Linda From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Date: Sun, 24 Dec 2006 16:19:29 -0700 (MST) To: "Linda Abrams" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: Re: [COUPERS-TECH] Re: today's tests Re: radio transmitting problem Hi Linda. I know the owners of Alexair and their Hawaii operation, but couldn't remember if they still had something at TOA or not. The tool list is good for the future for an aircraft tool kit even if one doesn't work on one's plane. Having a tool kit and being able do simple things such as tighten something or stick a screw or bolt back in or take out and clean the spark plugs can be mighty handy sometimes. You might just have to bite the bullet and pay an expert to come in and fix your radio. Expensive up front, but worth it in the long term. Since you're just starting out, I'll give you an old timer's point of view on a couple of things......whether you want it or not..... I don't know your flight instructor's experience level or background, but be cautious about taking advice from aviators and instructors until you know they know of what they speak (and be aware that a lot of flight instructors might know how to fly, but they're very seldom experts on aircraft or avionics or maintenance). I always asked my flight instructors as to total flight time, time in type, etc. Amazing how many haven't that much experience and/or are just trying to build time. Also, there are a lot of guys on the tech list - the majority, I'd say - who haven't much more experience than you, so keep that in mind. I'm presently rebuilding several Ercoupes/Aircoupes amongst other aircraft projects and a full-time aviation job. I also have a pile of Ercoupe parts, so if you need anything, let me know and I'll see if I have it. Merry Christmas! Tom ============================================================================== To leave this forum go to: http://ercoupers.com/lists.htm
