Radio Box

[otrcman]

Re: Radio Box

I have a Becker and it is great. A couple friends have them in their supercubs and have been very happy too.
Rod

Thanks for the input, Rod. Is the display easy enough to read ? Knobs & buttons easy enough to adjust even in turbulence ? I think the Becker includes an internal intercom ? Are you using the IC also ?

Dick

[TimHicks]

Re: Radio Box

Here is a snapshot of my radio / intercom comparison spreadsheet.
I wish there were a tradeshow or something (I know, I just missed Oshkosh) that I could go to to try all of these units out.
I can't see a clear winner combination from where I'm sitting.

[N-43121]

Re: Radio Box

Thanks for the input, Rod. Is the display easy enough to read ? Knobs & buttons easy enough to adjust even in turbulence ? I think the Becker includes an internal intercom ? Are you using the IC also ?

Dick

Dick, I'm very pleased with the Becker. I gave up the left side glove box area for all my avionics and I have no problem reading the display on the Becker. Knobs and buttons are easy to reach and easy to use even in rough air. I went with a separate intercom. I'm using a PSE PM1000-II and like it as well. It is mounted in the same panel. I installed headset jacks in the wing root area just behind the heads of the pilot and co-pilot seats. I can plug in music through the PSE intercom, but I find myself using the bluetooth capabilities of my Lightspeed Zulu ANR headset. I did a little research and went with Becker because of the reliability I heard from other pilots.

Good luck with your decisions and set up.

Rod

[mikerice]

Re: Radio Box

I built a radio box using a MGL Avionics V-10 (3.25" Dia.) and it includes a VOX and 3 VOGAD Intercoms. Very tunable to different noise levels and microphones. Click here for more info.

I have been very happy with power output, intercom noise suppression and power consumption. The MGL V6 is a 2.125" Radio, and it has knobs for tuning. The V10 uses a tactile soft button that takes a little getting used to, but is easier and easier to use with time.

[TimHicks]

Re: Radio Box

I'm getting closer to comitting to a radio and intercom.
Contrary to what I said previously, my latest choice has MGL V6 as my radio and FlightCom 403 LSA as my intercom. I'm interested in any / all feedback on these choices.

I found a new voltmeter and have already purchased it. The renderings below reflect my latest thinking on the layout.

I will normally use the PTT on the yoke. But the recessed one on the face of the box is a backup.

The voltmeter stays off until you press one of the momentary contact rocker switches to show battery A voltage or Battery B voltage.

So I envision that, when I'm ready to fly, I'll bring this box with freshly-charged batteries to the airplane. I'll set it on the floor, plug in the antenna, the PTT cable and probably an aircraft ground cable.

I still haven't figured out how I'm going to strap it down so it doesn't slide around.

[Mark Julicher]

Re: Radio Box

I like it your design - although I would be inclined to make the master switch a SPDT and let it select A or B battery and then not have individual switches for the intercom and radio. Of course, with the voltmeter you will always know the health of your battery pack, so why not just parallel the batteries to begin with?
I am strongly leaning toward adding a separate intercom to my radio box and putting the headset jacks as you show them I have also heard that the new MGL has an improved intercom, but I have not tried it out as yet.

Hold it in place by putting a bungee on your kick plate.

[mikerice]

Re: Radio Box

I think you are going the right direction with the MGL-V6: our V10 has been trouble-free for a year now.
one thing you might not have noticed is the MGL's have built in voltmeters. I find this very useful in eliminating components and complexity.
Like wise with a built-in intercom, why add a separate unit? Again the MGL has VOX and VOGAD (with 3 levels of noise suppression) and also does pilot and copilot microphone gain adjustments (separately) and squelch. It took a little fiddling with settings, but it has been a very good intercom.

Notice the voltmeter reading in the photo below:

[Hank Jarrett]

Re: Radio Box

You don't want to parallel the batteries because the failure of one (like from an internal plate warp that shorts a cell) will pull the other one down with it. With two fully independent power supplies you get redundancy. If you parallel them you increase the total Amp Hours, but it is lighter to just use a bigger single battery with the higher Amp Hour rating.
Hank

[TimHicks]

Re: Radio Box

Thanks everybody for your feedback.
For Mark, one of the main things I'm looking for is to be able to run the Radio and the intercom on separate batteries. The guys that run two batteries tell me that when a battery is too low to transmit, it can still run the intercom for a long time. So I'll switch the radio to the fresh battery, and be able to leave the intercom on the low battery.

Mike is exactly right in that the V6 is very seductive in having its own voltmeter and intercom. In my case, depending on the internal radio voltmeter only works if I have one battery (I don't want to have to switch the radio between batteries just to test a battery). And having only one battery only works if two things happen: 1.) I can live with their intercom. (And that is the big unknown right now. I know exactly what I'm going to get with the FlightCom intercom.) and 2.) the V6 radio/intercom uses the same or less power than the intercom. (I do a lot of flying with the intercom on and the radio off. To use the V6 intercom means that the radio is on all the time. This is no big deal if it doesn't use any more power.)

So my current plan is to install the flightcom and do some testing with the V6 intercom. I'll let y'all know if it works with just the V6 radio/intercom/voltmeter.

One other thing is that I plan to wire the voltmeter circuit around the Master switch. That way, I can test the battery voltage with the Master Off.

[Mark Julicher]

Re: Radio Box

Tim,
Your design parameters make perfect sense to me now. I will be very interested in your results with the MGL vs external intercom.

[TimHicks]

Re: Radio Box

Do I need openings to allow airflow? For cool air to get in and for hot air to escape?
It's easily done, but adding holes will allow dirt and gradoux to enter more easily.

Also, I just learned recently that something about the MGL V6 intercom doesn't work right with ANC headsets (which I use for myself but not for my co-pilot).

[Mark Julicher]

Re: Radio Box

No cooling louvers seem necessary. Mine works good and lasts a long time.
We never get gradoux in our radios in Texas, only occasional grunge and a stray mud dauber or two.

[TimHicks]

Re: Radio Box

Thanks, Mark,
I'll start without any cooling holes.
Gradoux covers a wide range of funky, grimy, hard to describe filth. Probably overlaps Texas grunge somewhere along the way.

[Bigdog]

Re: Radio Box

I think you are going the right direction with the MGL-V6: our V10 has been trouble-free for a year now.
one thing you might not have noticed is the MGL's have built in voltmeters. I find this very useful in eliminating components and complexity.
Like wise with a built-in intercom, why add a separate unit? Again the MGL has VOX and VOGAD (with 3 levels of noise suppression) and also does pilot and copilot microphone gain adjustments (separately) and squelch. It took a little fiddling with settings, but it has been a very good intercom.

I built a radio box around the MGL V6. Because the V6 is so shallow (~4") I was able to fit everything in a 6.5x3.5x10 project box I picked up at Fry's. I shoe horned in a 7AH battery. I had to move the circuit breaker to the opposite side to provide clearance with the radio connector. I did all the layout and building from the spec sheet since I couldn't get the radio right away and that was the only goof once I got the radio and dropped it in.

I have not had a chance to use it seriously in flight but I think I'm going to like it.

[mikerice]

Re: Radio Box

Very nice radio setup Greg. That is about as compact as you can get. I put a 14 AH battery in our box, but that takes up much more space. My guess is a 7AH will last a long time.
I like the PTT on top as well, I wired a jack and it requires a wired PTT on the yoke to work. That is convenient, but one more wire in the cockpit and if you forget the wired PTT on our rig, you are receive only. Ask me how I know that!