DME recommendations

Roy Smith wrote:

In article ,
"Dude" wrote:



"jsmith" wrote in message
...


Don't waste your money on a DME. Too much maintenance.
Purchase a good used IFR GPS.



What he said!

I am presently looking to replace my RNAV/DME with a new GPS. By the time
you buy and install a used DME system you will be getting pretty close to a
used IFR GPS.



What he said, squared. About the only thing I can think of that you can do
with a DME that you can't with a terminal-certified GPS is use it to fly an
ILS-DME (because you don't have the location of the ILS DME ground station
in the GPS database). Unless you have some very specific reason to need
DME for one of the very few things GPS can't replace it for, I think it
would be foolish to invest in DME these days.


I have found the DME location in my KLN 89/B database. I tried it once.

ross

jsmith wrote:

Don't waste your money on a DME. Too much maintenance.
Purchase a good used IFR GPS.

mindenpilot wrote:

Some DMEs seem to have an indicator, and then a separate receiver
box, like the ARC 800 DME.
Others I've seen just seem to be an in-panel job, like the Narco DME
190 or the King KN62A.
I've seen some on Ebay, and wanted to make sure that the Narco 190/
King KN62A don't require an additional recieving unit, like the ARC 800.
That is, if I were to purchase a yellow-tagged Narco 190 (and tray
and connectors), would that be all I need? Antenna?


Adam, that is what I did. I had a ADF that didn't work and no DME. I
purchased a factory reconditioned KLN89/B and had it installed and
removed the ADF. The 89/B is working for me althought a Garmin 530 would
also me nice.

Ross

--
Regards,

Ross
________________________________________
972.952.3170 Phone 972.949.9249 Pager
972.952.2574 FAX

McKinney / Wing A2 North @ 48v72

"Ross Richardson" wrote in message
...
jsmith wrote:

Adam, that is what I did. I had a ADF that didn't work and no DME. I
purchased a factory reconditioned KLN89/B and had it installed and removed
the ADF. The 89/B is working for me althought a Garmin 530 would also me
nice.

Ross

--
Regards,

Ross
________________________________________
972.952.3170 Phone 972.949.9249 Pager 972.952.2574 FAX

McKinney / Wing A2 North @ 48v72

Ross,

Since the original post, I've been looking at the KLN 89B.
How do you like it?
Is it certified for both enroute and approach?
I was thinking of selling my Airmap 1000 to help finance the purchase.
Is it good enough that I won't miss the moving map, etc?

Adam
N7966L
Beech Super III

P.S. Are you in McKinney, TX? That's where I bought my plane last
October...

mindenpilot wrote:

Since the original post, I've been looking at the KLN 89B.
How do you like it?
Is it certified for both enroute and approach?
I was thinking of selling my Airmap 1000 to help finance the purchase.
Is it good enough that I won't miss the moving map, etc?

The Airmap has an obstruction database and all the airport data, since
they are now selling for nearly half the price of what they once were,
I'd hold on to it...

mindenpilot wrote:

"Ross Richardson" wrote in message
...


jsmith wrote:





Adam, that is what I did. I had a ADF that didn't work and no DME. I
purchased a factory reconditioned KLN89/B and had it installed and removed
the ADF. The 89/B is working for me althought a Garmin 530 would also me
nice.

Ross

--
Regards,

Ross
________________________________________
972.952.3170 Phone 972.949.9249 Pager 972.952.2574 FAX

McKinney / Wing A2 North @ 48v72



Ross,

Since the original post, I've been looking at the KLN 89B.
How do you like it?
Is it certified for both enroute and approach?
I was thinking of selling my Airmap 1000 to help finance the purchase.
Is it good enough that I won't miss the moving map, etc?

Adam
N7966L
Beech Super III

P.S. Are you in McKinney, TX? That's where I bought my plane last
October...




Yes, I work in McKinney and commute from 35 miles north. Small world.

The 89/B is certified for enroute, terminal, and approach. It is old
technology but works for me. The owners manual is poor. I got a couple
of hours dual with an instructor that had knowledge in the unit and
boght the John & Martha King videos on GPS and they use the 89/B as the
example. Watched them several time. Keys I discovered: 1) must be in the
flight plan mode ( not direct to) to get the approach to activate, and
2) I like the heading up (vs north up or trk up) mode and the moving
map (it does have moving map) even as simple as it is, gives good
infomation. I update via laptop getting the downloads from the
internet.. You will need a enunciator panel and CDI to interface with
it. I got a separate CDI (total of 3 now one each radio and GPS).


Sure, I would like one of the new Garmins, but couldn't afford it. You
can store flight plans, modify the plans you have in use, calculate TAS,
wind driection, etc. I bought a factory reconditioned unit.

Hope this helps.

Ross

Email me privately who you brought the plane from if you do not mind.

jsmith wrote:
Don't waste your money on a DME. Too much maintenance.
Purchase a good used IFR GPS.


Maintenance? I've had a KN64 in my panel for over a decade.
I haven't had any maintenance done to it. Now the rest of the
King SC stack is a different story. The GS crumped and occasionally
the displays on the KX155's fail. The transponder needs regular
attention and the stupid ADF I am never certain if it is ever working.

I'm in the middle of switching over to a Garmin stack, the only
thing I'm keeping is the KN64.

On the other hand, I'm not sure I'd go out of my way to install one
if I didn't already have one. Back when I put it in, I knew it was
likely to be the first casualty of the GPS era.

Ron Natalie wrote:
: Maintenance? I've had a KN64 in my panel for over a decade.
: I haven't had any maintenance done to it. Now the rest of the
: King SC stack is a different story. The GS crumped and occasionally
: the displays on the KX155's fail. The transponder needs regular
: attention and the stupid ADF I am never certain if it is ever working.

: I'm in the middle of switching over to a Garmin stack, the only
: thing I'm keeping is the KN64.

: On the other hand, I'm not sure I'd go out of my way to install one
: if I didn't already have one. Back when I put it in, I knew it was
: likely to be the first casualty of the GPS era.

I'll pipe in here and say that a DME is still incredibly handy to have. It's
stone-cold simple to dial up, independent of databases and the rest of the GPS
fiddling cruft. If you already have one and it works, it's got a lot of utility for
situational awareness if you have a chart in front of you. The IFR GPS doesn't give
you as much quick situational awareness unless it's moving map, since you'll have to
fiddle with something to get a distance/bearing to something.

That said, for people shelling out big bucks for an install, what everyone
said about the GPS makes sense. I put a KNS-80 (ILS/GS/NAV/DME/RNAV) in my Cherokee
about 2 years ago, as we needed another NAV and a GS. It's lots of bang for the buck,
and they're almost free on ebay these days. If you're going to pay $1000-$2000 for an
install, though, the $500 KNS-80 isn't quite as useful as a $1000 IFR GPS UNLESS you
need another NAV/ILS/GS as well. Then it makes a lot of sense.

-Cory

--

************************************************** ***********************
* Cory Papenfuss *
* Electrical Engineering candidate Ph.D. graduate student *
* Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University *
************************************************** ***********************

Keep in mind that a DME is a transmitter.
At some point in time, the transmitter final stage power transistors
are going to die and need replaced. When they need replaced depends on
how often you have it turned on.

(PS... A new stack, eh? So does this mean the Navion will be at OSH this
year? :-)) )

jsmith wrote:
Don't waste your money on a DME. Too much maintenance.
Purchase a good used IFR GPS.

Ron Natalie wrote:
Maintenance? I've had a KN64 in my panel for over a decade.
I haven't had any maintenance done to it. Now the rest of the
King SC stack is a different story. The GS crumped and occasionally
the displays on the KX155's fail. The transponder needs regular
attention and the stupid ADF I am never certain if it is ever working.
I'm in the middle of switching over to a Garmin stack, the only
thing I'm keeping is the KN64.
On the other hand, I'm not sure I'd go out of my way to install one
if I didn't already have one. Back when I put it in, I knew it was
likely to be the first casualty of the GPS era.

jsmith wrote:
Keep in mind that a DME is a transmitter.

It is...but irrelevent.

At some point in time, the transmitter final stage power transistors
are going to die and need replaced. When they need replaced depends on
how often you have it turned on.

At some point ANY electronic component may die and require replacement.
Transistor finals will last the lifetime of the airframe unless abused.

On Sun, 03 Apr 2005 17:19:22 GMT, jsmith wrote:
Don't waste your money on a DME. Too much maintenance.
Purchase a good used IFR GPS.


I beg to differ. My Cheap ******* IFR Upgrade circa-1980 KNS80
VOR/GS/DME unit has required ZERO maintenance in the 2 1/2 years
since I had it installed. If it had been an IFR GPS, I would be
poorer by about $1200 (i.e. $400/yr) for GPS database updates.
So my KNS80 has essentially paid for itself ;-)

The KNS80's are great units, and can be had for about half the cost
the cheapest used IFR GPS units. Cheaper to install too.


Ross Oliver
Cheap ******* Aviator