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MicroAir products

 
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rdunhamtn(at)hotmail.com
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PostPosted: Mon Jan 16, 2006 2:23 pm    Post subject: MicroAir products Reply with quote

I'm about to order transceiver & transponder for my Sonex. I like the small
MicroAir radios and they're the cheapest so far. Also, the dealer is here in
Tennessee which makes it convenient. Can anyone offer feedback about them
(or Becker or XCOM) ??? especially when combined with the Jabiru 3300. Also
feedback on the dealer, Jabiru USA would be appreciated.

Rodney


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aaaron(at)tvp.com.au
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PostPosted: Mon Jan 16, 2006 3:11 pm    Post subject: MicroAir products Reply with quote

I have a microair transponder. Its worked fine for me over the past
three years. I did have to send it back once for a software update but
the service was quick and free.
Allan

--


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BigD(at)DaveMorris.com
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PostPosted: Mon Jan 16, 2006 3:25 pm    Post subject: MicroAir products Reply with quote

See this comparison chart:
http://www.mcp.com.au/microair/comparison/comparison.html

Dave Morris
At 04:22 PM 1/16/2006, you wrote:
Quote:

<rdunhamtn(at)hotmail.com>

I'm about to order transceiver & transponder for my Sonex. I like the small
MicroAir radios and they're the cheapest so far. Also, the dealer is here in
Tennessee which makes it convenient. Can anyone offer feedback about them
(or Becker or XCOM) ??? especially when combined with the Jabiru 3300. Also
feedback on the dealer, Jabiru USA would be appreciated.

Rodney



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rv7a(at)cox.net
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PostPosted: Mon Jan 16, 2006 3:51 pm    Post subject: MicroAir products Reply with quote

FWIW I have a MicroAir in my Nieuport replica and it works fine with the
open cockpit noise etc. A friend is also using one in his Stearman. He had
a lot of problems initially but it was an early serial number radio. They
took care of it and things are great. No complaints and may move mine to my
RV as a secondary radio.

Jim Thorne
RV7A QB CHD
---


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Larry McFarland



Joined: 10 Jan 2006
Posts: 36
Location: East Moline, Illinois

PostPosted: Mon Jan 16, 2006 4:20 pm    Post subject: MicroAir products Reply with quote

Rodney,
I'm using a Becker Transponder and I found the install extremely easy,
operation is bulletproof.
Never have any trouble with it, setup was intuitive and the human
interface is very natural.

Larry McFarland - 601 HDS at www.macsmachine.com
Rodney Dunham wrote:

Quote:


I'm about to order transceiver & transponder for my Sonex. I like the small
MicroAir radios and they're the cheapest so far. Also, the dealer is here in
Tennessee which makes it convenient. Can anyone offer feedback about them
(or Becker or XCOM) ??? especially when combined with the Jabiru 3300. Also
feedback on the dealer, Jabiru USA would be appreciated.

Rodney






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Larry McFarland - 601HDS - Stratus
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brian



Joined: 02 Jan 2006
Posts: 643
Location: Sacramento, California, USA

PostPosted: Mon Jan 16, 2006 4:28 pm    Post subject: MicroAir products Reply with quote

Dave Morris "BigD" wrote:
Quote:


See this comparison chart:
http://www.mcp.com.au/microair/comparison/comparison.html

Microair radios suffer from front-end overload. Don't expect them to
perform well near other airplanes. That is why we were talking about
antenna attenuators a couple weeks back -- to deal with a deficiency in
the Microair Comm transceivers. This becomes a real problem if you plan
to fly formation with other aircraft.

--
Brian Lloyd 2243 Cattle Dr.
brian-yak at lloyd dot com Folsom, CA 95630
+1.916.367.2131 (voice) +1.270.912.0788 (fax)

I fly because it releases my mind from the tyranny of petty things . . .
- Antoine de Saint-Exupery


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_________________
Brian Lloyd
brian-yak at lloyd dot com
+1.916.367.2131 (voice) +1.270.912.0788 (fax)

I fly because it releases my mind from the tyranny of petty things . . .
- Antoine de Saint-Exupery
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czechsix(at)juno.com
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PostPosted: Tue Jan 17, 2006 4:06 pm    Post subject: MicroAir products Reply with quote

I wouldn't get the Microair comm if you're flying in the U.S. They have some fundamental design problems that they can't seem to understand or resolve. A buddy of mine, Alan Kritzman, went through about half a dozen iterations of their transponder with his RV-8...he also tried a new antenna, relocated it, new coax, etc. Nothing resolved the problem which is intermittent operation (replies to ATC interrogations) in our local Class C airspace here at KCID. We finally figured out that the ASR-9 radar here is a very powerful analog system (it may be the most powerful system in operation). The newer radars are digital and less powerful. Anyway there are other transmitters like the one here located around the U.S. but there are none in Australia and if you don't go near these Class C facilities you probably won't see the problem. So, there are some users here in the U.S. who have no complaints.
We finally took the latest two versions of the transponder (about a year ago) into our avionics lab here at Rockwell Collins where we work as Systems Engineers. We hooked both of them up to the ATC test sets we use all the time with Collins equipment. Both the Microair units--the latest and greatest--failed all the tests. We know the test sets are good, calibrated units. We sent the results to Microair but at that point we gave up and asked for a refund.
I must add that Microair's customer service has been outstanding in the sense than they are eager to resolve the problem and I'm sure they would have kept exchanging and updating their units indefinitely if we had that much patience. But their engineer(s) don't understand how to fix it and they don't have a real certified transponder test set (which is a very expensive piece of equipment and they are a small company), so they may never figure it out without access to proper test equipment. In the end they gave us a good refund and we put in Garmin units which work flawlessly.
I might also add that we've heard from half a dozen others in the U.S. that have had the same problems with intermittent operation near major Class C facilities around the country (depends on the radar system in use), so it's not just a local thing at our airport.
By the way the microair comm radios seem to work just fine.
I hope Microair finds a fix for their transponder...I loved the compact, light weight/low power consumption of their design, and it was a major pain to have to cut a new rectangular hole in my panel for the boat-anchor Garmin (messed up my panel layout), but you've gotta have a transponder that works!!
--Mark Navratil
Cedar Rapids, Iowa
RV-8A N2D
Time: 03:12:02 PM PST US
Subject: RE: MicroAir products
From: "Allan Aaron" <aaaron(at)tvp.com.au>

I have a microair transponder. Its worked fine for me over the past
three years. I did have to send it back once for a software update but
the service was quick and free.
Allan
--


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james(at)berkut13.com
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PostPosted: Tue Jan 17, 2006 4:28 pm    Post subject: MicroAir products Reply with quote

Thanks for saving me alot of typing. Wink

I also had the same transponder experience (as did another Berkut builder in
LA) - intermittent xponder operation in dense/active ATC, several exchanges
of the unit with MicroAir without success, etc. And since I fly out of a
towered airport under the DFW Class B, transponder ops are not optional. I
replaced the unit with a Becker and have not had a single issue thus far. A
more detailed account is on my website.

I'll also echo the kudos to MicroAir customer support. My issues were over
a year ago now, so it is possible that MicroAir has redesigned around the
problem...any "alpha testers" out there? Wink

James Redmon
Berkut #013 N97TX
http://www.berkut13.com


Quote:

<czechsix(at)juno.com>

I wouldn't get the Microair comm if you're flying in the U.S. They have
some fundamental design problems that they can't seem to understand or
resolve. A buddy of mine, Alan Kritzman, went through about half a dozen
iterations of their transponder with his RV-8...he also tried a new
antenna, relocated it, new coax, etc. Nothing resolved the problem which
is intermittent operation (replies to ATC interrogations) in our local
Class C airspace here at KCID. We finally figured out that the ASR-9 radar
here is a very powerful analog system (it may be the most powerful system
in operation). The newer radars are digital and less powerful. Anyway
there are other transmitters like the one here located around the U.S. but
there are none in Australia and if you don't go near these Class C
facilities you probably won't see the problem. So, there are some users
here in the U.S. who have no complaints.
We finally took the latest two versions of the transponder (about a year
ago) into our avionics lab here at Rockwell Collins where we work as
Systems Engineers. We hooked both of them up to the ATC test sets we use
all the time with Collins equipment. Both the Microair units--the latest
and greatest--failed all the tests. We know the test sets are good,
calibrated units. We sent the results to Microair but at that point we
gave up and asked for a refund.
I must add that Microair's customer service has been outstanding in the
sense than they are eager to resolve the problem and I'm sure they would
have kept exchanging and updating their units indefinitely if we had that
much patience. But their engineer(s) don't understand how to fix it and
they don't have a real certified transponder test set (which is a very
expensive piece of equipment and they are a small company), so they may
never figure it out without access to proper test equipment. In the end
they gave us a good refund and we put in Garmin units which work
flawlessly.
I might also add that we've heard from half a dozen others in the U.S.
that have had the same problems with intermittent operation near major
Class C facilities around the country (depends on the radar system in
use), so it's not just a local thing at our airport.
By the way the microair comm radios seem to work just fine.
I hope Microair finds a fix for their transponder...I loved the compact,
light weight/low power consumption of their design, and it was a major
pain to have to cut a new rectangular hole in my panel for the boat-anchor
Garmin (messed up my panel layout), but you've gotta have a transponder
that works!!
--Mark Navratil


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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:

http://www.matronics.com/Navigator?AeroElectric-List
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