Best value 8.33 mhz comm

[lutonvarieze]

Recently acquired a varieze that needs re permitting. At the point where I need to sort the avionics. It has a Garmin GNC 250XL but I think now might be a good time to up grade to 8.33. Just want something compact as weight is always an issue with the varieze. I see there is a Dittel KRT2 available for 999 pounds inc vat from LX avionics. Anybody seen a better deal out therehttp://images.ibsrv.net/ibsrv/res/src:www.pprune.org/get/images/smilies/confused.gifhttp://images.ibsrv.net/ibsrv/res/src:www.pprune.org/get/images/smilies/confused.gifhttp://images.ibsrv.net/ibsrv/res/src:www.pprune.org/get/images/smilies/confused.gif

[m.Berger]

Lucky fellow! I would love to own a Rutan. Have you ruled out using a hand held? The Icom A6E is 8.33 and now permitted for use in aircraft by the CAA. With all the bells and whistles, a bit under £400.

[Andy H]

There is an Icom A6e on eBay at the moment at £268.

[Shoestring Flyer]

Yes I have been looking at the Dittel KRT2 but I am slightly concerned about the size of the digits shown on the display and also what it is like in bright sunlight under a full canopy.The view of someone who has actually flown behind one would be good.
My own thoughts at the moment are that the Funkwerk may be a better bet for a couple of hundred more. Not the OLED version which I have seen is only very average in bright sunlight.The LED version is better in this respect.

[A and C]

If you want a hand held that is fixed into the aircraft using an antenna that is fixed to the aircraft you can find a number of these but the range is a bit lim mite as is the intercom options.

If you have a panel mount then it is between Becker and Trig, the gliding community favor the Becker because of the lower power consumption..... Both are utterly reliable and this has a value that lasts far beyond the initial price tag.

[Shoestring Flyer]

Yes I would agree TRIG is now the cream of the crop and of course it is made in Scotland which makes life easy should any problems develop. But it is quite a bit more expensive than Dittel or Funkwerk.
Becker today unfortunately is not the Becker of 10years ago and there are now too many reports of failed units compounded by poor after sales service for my liking.
Funkwerk have had there fair share of problems as well in the past but the units now seem to be holding up reliability-wise now ok.

[kestrel539]

Shoestring,
I have a KRT2 in a Grob 109B.
No problem with the display to my old eyes, just a bit of finger
trouble now and again switching between active and stdby freq's.
Nice radio to my mind.

[Shoestring Flyer]

Kestrel,

Thanks for the info...that's good to know.The flip-flop button is a tad small and close to other buttons maybe?

[SawMan]

Not a pilot but I'm a 'radio nut', I've also found my fat fingers press the wrong buttons all too often :ugh: My solution is to glue a shirt button or a small 'anything I've got that fits' onto the one I need most which raises it above the ones I don't want to be pushing. You can use something smaller to, just don't make it so big that you can't press the surrounding buttons without pressing the modified one. This also creates a 'tactile' button so you can feel what you're doing as well as seeing. And if you've got a button you don't want pushed, find something to make a plastic ring to fit around it. You can still press that one, but you will have to be centered on it- 'tactile' assistance again. If you can get by with a smaller 'tactile' button, just a blob of glue alone might serve your purposes well. My radio stuff has every variation of this theme. Looks odd but works fantastically and it's performance that I'm seeking.

Not wanting to 'goo up' any expensive equipment permanently, I test the glues with a tiny dab on an inconspicuous part of the plastic to make sure I'm not going to permanently disfigure it- many glues will 'melt' different plastics. So far the glue I've found that works best with most plastics is "Shoe Goo", well known in the US to hikers and campers. Holds very well, but can be peeled off when you want that. "Household glues" are similar but more viscuous which can be a problem. "Hot melt" glues work with other plastics, but don't let them get fully hot before use, just enough to barely melt the glue to start with- you'll have to experiment here. Sometimes rubber cement or tire patch glue works well. Stay away from 'strong' glues like those for plumbing pipes and super-glues, as they may actually destroy the button underneath or become permanent. Also avoid brittle glues like epoxies and wood glues as these sometimes pop off all too easily with flexible plastics or in the heat of sunlight. Always test function well before putting the modified unit into service.

With the right stuff, the button enhancements stay put under all conditions but the shoe-goo seems to need renewing every year or so which is easily done. The best part is that you can usually peel the button and glue off carefully anytime you want with no harm to the buttons save for paint markings. You just make sure that no glue goes where the paint is and even that comes off clean- but only when you want it to. Being that there are so many plastics that react differently to different glues, you're on your own if you try this. I'm just passing along my solution to to similar problems that has worked excellently for me.

[lutonvarieze]

Thanks for your comments. Going to be doing some motor gliding this spring so might get a chance to evaluate whatever is fitted there. It might pay me to pick up a cheap Icom for now and evaluate the other options over a period of time. The Icom could always be sold on again.......

[3 Point]

I fitted the Funkwerk 8.33 radio (and the transponder) in my aeroplane a couple of years back, couldn't be more happy!

3 Point

[Whiskey Kilo Wanderer]

Having used Icom hand-helds for the last twenty odd years I’ve found they have done everything I need. I get 40nm range to other aircraft and can usually raise London Info from half way between Cap Griz Nez and Lydd.

The most important thing with any radio installation is the antenna. Hopefully the existing antenna set up in your Varieze will have a suitable ground plane. This is more of an issue on composite aircraft than on metal or rag and tube construction.

I seem to recall that there was a problem with RF signal getting in to the mic/audio input to some later Icom hand-helds if a headset adapter / intercom was used. It wasn’t a particular model, just odd units were affected. Hopefully it has been resolved, but possibly worth checking if you buy second hand.