Snowbird wrote:
: I know people who say the TKM radios are junk, and I think actually
: their problem is elsewhere in the system. Don't overlook the issue
: that you ARE reusing the wiring/antenna etc.

Having seen the inside of one, I can say that they are built more
like personal computers than middle-aged avionics (like a KX-170B). The
old King units are solid, well-potted inside, and built with bullet-proof
guts. Their breakage problems are typically dried up caps, cold solder
joints from thermal cycles, and physical wearing of switches, etc. The
TKM radios have standard ribbon cables, connectors, DIP chips (often
socketed)... all of which makes them cheap to build. In a high-vibration
environment, however, that can potentially cause more problems with
fatigue, chafing, and oxidizing of sockets, in addition to the problems
with the old brick-sh!thouse radios.

That said, I think you're right that most people with bad
experiences with slide-in replacements had bad wiring to begin with.
That's the most likely culprit of most avionics problems.

-Cory

--
************************************************** ***********************
* The prime directive of Linux: *
* - learn what you don't know, *
* - teach what you do. *
* (Just my 20 USm$) *
************************************************** ***********************