[PeteSpencer]

Laughable that anyone would waste money on a handheld unless in a microlight or something! 27 years flying and never needed to waste my money.

ils on a hand held, do me a favour.

Bolleaux.

I fly a fully airways spam can with two radios (one 8.33) and I also have a trusty 16 yearold Icom A22E which I use regularly in my 22 years of flying:

Only concession is I no longer use rechargeable battery but regularly change AA batts so I know it'll always work, which can't be said of the charge drop in an eldetly NiCad

I'll give you a few f'rinstances:

#1) If I'm on an IFR flightplan I use the Icom before startup to get the departure ATIS without having to fire up the main avionics to get ATIS then power off avionics before engine start.(not good to keep switching avionics on and off quickly)

# 2) If I'm at a busy airfield where startup has to be approved I call for start up on the Icom for the same reasons asin #1).

# 3) If Ive landed somewhere having asked for fuel and after40 minutes from shutdown the fuel hasn't arrived (Er, Cambridge usually), I can call up the tower to see if they can hustle the fuel bowser, saves me a 100yd walk to the aeroclub then another 100yd walk back to a/c when fuel eventually arrives.

#4) I don't do ILSs with Icom as I have dual NAV/CDI/GPS/Old fashioned RNAV but I occasionally do some VOR tracking just for old times sake.

#5) and it works with the headset adapter and my DCs unlike some later, smaller. posher models.

#6) Oh and it's there if I ever get a complete electrical failure

So, don't knock the 'kin ICOM, its a great bit of kit: Money well spent.

Peter

[riverrock]

I agree that the saving UI is not nice on the device. It is simple to save something (there is a dedicated save button) but painful to add names to the save options, then trying to input all the other info such as true runway headings and lat / longitude coordinates to use the GPS! So really it does so much more than the old ICOM you are comparing chalk and cheese. If you only want to store a few frequencies that can be quickly selected on the front screen, great, but if you want to use the full functionality the windows program makes it much more usable for setting it up. You can group the memory banks and from this you can scan specific memory banks only. You can stop the scan using PTT or via the menu.
The squelch becomes one button to activate and then you turn the inner ring of the volume knob to change it, or to turn it off entirely (so raw radio) you can hold the squelch button for a second or two.
None of these seem like issues to me?

Anyway - I like mine!

[segillum]

I've been very pleased with my FTA-750L and find the additional GPS functionality to be well worth the modest price differential. I was a little surprised that it doesn't come with any sort of case as standard and there doesn't appear to be an optional accessory case. Has anyone come across one that will fit and give a bit of extra protection?

[foxmoth]

Just borrowed one of these (750), looking at how it works there does not seem to be a way of tuning a VOR/ILS, you have to wait until it picks one up and that is it, is that right or is there a way of tuning it?

[riverrock]

1. Select the frequency. This can be from a saved list or by dialling in the frequency. If out of range, this can be done in advance
2. Ident by listening to the output;
3. check that VOR / Localiser / Glideslope flags are displayed at the top;
4. if a VOR select OBS.

Just like a normal instrument (only flags are positive rather than negative, and if you have the 750 you can get a GPS derived HSI indication.

[Keef]

I have an Icom A22E. I made up an interface cable for it with a PTT button which cable-ties to the yoke in the Arrow. It worked with my ANR headset.

Perhaps I should sell the Icom now.

[foxmoth]

[list=1][*]Select the frequency.

Wow, thanks RR, if you read my post you will see that the question was actually how you do exactly that which you do not answer, the rest is superfluous and I am fine with. The reason for the question is that all the radios I have used before, tuning for coms and Nav were seperate, I now see that on the Yaesu you tune both from the same selection.

[davey]

Does anyone ( sooty ) know which intercom systems are compatible with the 550, or are they all pretty much the same ?

[riverrock]

foxmoth - sorry - didn't see you message. Yes - same menu / system for nav and comm. It knows which frequencies are comm, which are nav, so adjusts automatically when you select either a nav or com channel. I didn't see how this was an issue as iComs are the same but it would be different from a panel radio.
So as I said in my post, you can select the channel from the list of frequencies on the front screen, you can dial a frequency or, if you really want, you can turn the knob at the top, although it involves a lot of turning, especially if you have 833 spacing turned on. If your selection is a nav frequency, the system will respond as appropriate.

[foxmoth]

I didn't see how this was an issue as iComs are the same but it would be different from a panel radio.

Not an issue if you have used iCom for Nav before, I have rarely used one and then only for comms, hence the question.

[davey]

Does anyone ( sooty ) know which intercom systems are compatible with the 550, or are they all pretty much the same ?

Bump.

[neilmurg]

why bump?


I already ordered a 750L, seems too cheap to not get, even if I only use it as a backup / scanner / engine start / 8.33MHz compliance

[davey]

OK, so either nobody knows about intercom systems or the deafening silence means they are all the same

[riverrock]

Davey
The major manufacturers have produces wiring diagrams such as:
Sigtronics:
https://www.sigtronics.com/_pdf/air_pdf ... 0_Inst.pdf

The FTA-750 is (I believe) pin compatible with previous Yeasu radios such as the FTA-310 but the connector now has screws to keep it in place. So I would expect that it works in the same way and so be fine once a PTT is bought (see http://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/a ... skycom.php ).

However - my aircraft has a built in radio so I've never tried to plug it into anything.

[davey]

Thanks RR, my current aircraft has panel mounted radio, but the aircraft I'm just buying a share in has no electrics, hence the questions.

My idea is to buy the FTA550 + some sort of two place intercom, I'll look at the Sigtronics equipment but am open to other suggestions.