[muffin]

From another organisation that I am a member of.

“The CAA is about to announce some flexibility regarding the change to 8.33 KHz radios. They recognise installation difficulties, and that a number of airfields will not have 8.33 ground stations on January 1 2018. Therefore they will allow old 25 KHz radios to be used for a time, legally, to contact ground stations that are still using 25 KHz equipment. Once that ground station changes to 8.33 KHz it will no longer be legal to call them using s 25 KHz radio.

They are also making it easier to make your claim the 20% rebate. You now only have to have ordered the radio before 31 December 2017, and it does not have to be installed by then. The CAA still have just under £3 million to give out!

A full announcement will come from CAA in the next few days.”

[rf3flyer]

Something I'm still not clear on yet. My handheld is 8.33 capable so in six weeks time do I change it's frequency range setting from 25KHz to 8.33KHz?
I get the impression that (some) installed radios will automatically flip between the two ranges depending on frequency selected/received but I will have to manually select. Most of the time I'm on SafetyComm so that may not matter, but I often have a dual watch frequency set to hear the nearby airport tower which, I feel sure, will be an early adopter of an 8.33 frequency.

[Marvin]

I flipped mine over sometime ago, but then I have been flying in places where I was expected to have the ability to select a 8.33 frequency.

There is no difference in operation and the radio will use either 25 or 8.33 spacing for TX/Rx according to what frequency is selected. Handheld and fixed both operate in the same way apart from I believe a specific model of ICOM installed radio which requires a firmware update.

The only downside is the greater number of “knob twiddles” to get to a frequency but I guess with a handheld which usually have a keyboard entry that’s not such a concern.

I’d just do it either now or on the 1st Jan then there is no issue

[Paul_Sengupta]

Do the Garmin GTN series and Avidyne IFD series with their touch screens have keypad frequency entry?

[smokescreen]

The GTN series does, I can't answer for the Avidyne.

[Robin500]

From another organisation that I am a member of.

“The CAA is about to announce some flexibility regarding the change to 8.33 KHz radios. They recognise installation difficulties, and that a number of airfields will not have 8.33 ground stations on January 1 2018. Therefore they will allow old 25 KHz radios to be used for a time, legally, to contact ground stations that are still using 25 KHz equipment. Once that ground station changes to 8.33 KHz it will no longer be legal to call them using s 25 KHz radio.

They are also making it easier to make your claim the 20% rebate. You now only have to have ordered the radio before 31 December 2017, and it does not have to be installed by then. The CAA still have just under £3 million to give out!

A full announcement will come from CAA in the next few days.”

Well thats good to know. £3 Million left in the coffers, I thought they only had 4 to start with! The uptake must be huge then , not. 2 things, why then is it taking so long to pay out the derisory 20%. And I wonder if what is left will be distributed amongst those of us stupid enough to install new kit, when it is becoming clear that those that only frequent light GA fields etc could have put this off for an indeterminate time!

[Paul_Sengupta]

I don't think there will be a "distribute". It's "up to" rather than a set amount, with the bill going in to the EU for the exact amount once all payments have been made.

[T67M]

Do the Garmin GTN series and Avidyne IFD series with their touch screens have keypad frequency entry?

The IFD does - and it also includes very neat "geo-prediction" so that the most likely frequencies are listed by name and are often only three screen-taps away from the "active" box. Any known numeric 8.33 channel can be made active with a maximum of seven taps.

[scottish_ppl]

they will allow old 25 KHz radios to be used for a time, legally,

Looks like the rebellion is going legit for a while

Wasn't this what they said would never, ever, happen...

[riverrock]

We decided the 20% rebate on hardware cost wasn't enough to tempt us to change COM2. We'll just continue to use it has a backup, listening to ATIS, talking to FIS etc. which may never move to 8.33.

[Boswell]

We’ve left it rather late to make a claim (by 31st December?). Full details are on CAP150 (see: https://goo.gl/B8461S ).

Interesting to see that in additional to actual VHF sets, handhelds are included (max. 2 fixed sets, 2 handhelds per aircraft) plus accessories, intercom, audio panel, aerials and headsets(!). Labour costs are not eligible for the grant. Hardware can be purchased from abroad.

One question (CAA are currently elusive) is what they mean by “refund only, no forward pre-purchase funding”?

Another is whether anyone can recommend a reputable avionics outfit who could fit a Garmin GNC 255A Nav/Com – preferably in the South – without paying a premium for short-notice work (there are some exotic quotes floating around)?

[Marvin]

This has just been published by AOPA.

The CAA has just released an update concerning 8.33 kHz radios - see http://www.caa.co.uk/General-aviation/A ... Hz-radios/ .

UK adoption of 8.33 kHz VCS capable equipment is increasing and feedback shows that over 50% of the UK GA fleet is already equipped, many successfully applying for funding. But the CAA has recently become aware of aircraft equipage issues regarding the limited availability of installers. Hence the Authority has agreed to invoke a number of limited time exemptions to provide flexibility for users and to help with the capacity issues that have been identified. The exemptions will run to 31 December 2018 and are listed in CAP 1606 which may be viewed at the following link: http://publicapps.caa.co.uk/docs/33/CAP ... ptions.pdf .

Please note that 8.33 kHz compatible radios are backwards compatible, so will retain the capability to communicate with existing 25 kHz ground stations before those ground stations have been converted. Also that existing 25kHz radios can be left installed provided that they are only used for exempted frequencies.

[johnm]

Our box one is a GTN 650 which has been configured for 8.33 for some while. It also can select nearest stations for convenience.

Our box two is a king 165 and TKM are about to launch a straight plug in replacement which we’re considering......

[GAFlyer4Fun]

One question (CAA are currently elusive) is what they mean by “refund only, no forward pre-purchase funding”?

My guess is it avoids the hassle of dishing out some grant money and then having to claw it back if the intended purchase did not happen for whatever reason.

[GAFlyer4Fun]

Do the Garmin GTN series and Avidyne IFD series with their touch screens have keypad frequency entry?

The IFD does - and it also includes very neat "geo-prediction" so that the most likely frequencies are listed by name and are often only three screen-taps away from the "active" box. Any known numeric 8.33 channel can be made active with a maximum of seven taps.

As T67 says, it is very very easy with an IFD.

It knows all VFH Com frequencies begin with a "1" and have a decimal point so don't need to tap those when entering a frequency. Also dont need to enter trailing zeros or thousandth digit.

So press the screen on the current Standby Com frequency to bring up the keyboard.... and start typing , noting it will geo-fill (predict based on location) the new frequency as you type so as soon as it displays the right one press Enter. That's it in Standby... then press the Active - Standby toggle and it is the active frequency. It also names the frequency if it is in its certified database.

Another way is to twist the lower right knob slightly which will display a list of nearest frequencies. Tap the one you want to make it the Standby frequency. Press the Active - Standby toggle and it is the active frequency. Can go through lists swiping the touchscreen or twisting the other knob on the right.

Another way is if looking at the airport plate, tap on the displayed frequency makes it the standby frequency. Similarly if display the list of nearest airports, or recent frequencies,... tap on the displayed frequency and it becomes the standby frequency.

For those that like to tune by twiddling the tuning knob they can do that too. Big ring for the digits left of the decimal point, small ring for the digits right of the decimal point.

For those that like a list of presets, it can do that too.

The IFD also comes with a free Ipad App called the IFD100 which wifi connects to the IFD. This does many things including letting you select the standby frequency, with an even bigger screen for the keyboard. The functionality this App offers as extra IFD (not just mirroring the display on the unit), makes the IFD unit worth serious consideration if in the market for a GTN.

If you get the Bluetooth keyboard option (which is quite small) bundled in for free, you can select the standby frequency using physical buttons rather than touchscreen buttons. We tend not to use the BT keyboard.

So many quick simple ways to select a standby com frequency means less time eyes in and more time eyes out looking for traffic, terrain, obstacles, birds, drones,..

Nav Aid tuning is also very easy. e.g. it can auto tune the next VOR in the active flight plan. If doing approaches, that is just as easy with auto tuning. If you want to enter Navaid frequencies manually you can, but you dont enter the frequency just the navaid Id, with geo-fill predicting what you want based on location so might not need to type the full Id.

Have a look at the pilot manual for the IFD, sales brochures, online videos,..