Audio Panel Recommendations

Jay Honeck wrote:

Any recommendations?

See if you can get a new faceplate from NARCO. Failing that, pick up another one
on Ebay and swap faceplates. Anything to avoid having to redo the wiring.

George Patterson
Great discoveries are not announced with "Eureka!". What's usually said is
"Hummmmm... That's interesting...."

Have you considered Jim's audio panel kit?

I just found a completely assembled version of Jim's unit for sale on Ebay.

See http://makeashorterlink.com/?D2AE15627 .

It looks like a tempting price, but it still looks like major work.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

Jay Honeck wrote:

It looks like a tempting price, but it still looks like major work.

Keep in mind that it *is* an auction. Many people (including yours truly) wait
until the last minute to place bids in the hope of getting something cheap. It
may or may not be reasonably priced tomorrow.

George Patterson
Great discoveries are not announced with "Eureka!". What's usually said is
"Hummmmm... That's interesting...."

"Marco Leon" mleon(at)optonline.net
When I did my research, the Garmin GMA 340 came out on top comparing price
vs. features. However, like othe posters ahve mentioned, the bulk of the
cost is in the labor so if it works fine, then make sure the benefit
justifies the cost for you.

I came up with the Garmin panel too (over the PS).

It was cheaper, the shop was leaning that way, it looks better. And I had a
beatup older PS panel of some type that had become less than solid in
performance while looking like hell.

Having said that, everything I've heard is that the PS panel is excellent as
is the the Garmin.

Wire in a stereo input jack for your IPOD or music machine of choice.

Yeah, I've got a few. But judging from the crap you've taken by trying to do
good over the last week or so, I'm reluctant to comment.

Jim


"Jay Honeck"
shared these priceless pearls of wisdom:

-Any recommendations?



Jim Weir (A&P/IA, CFI, & other good alphabet soup)
VP Eng RST Pres. Cyberchapter EAA Tech. Counselor
http://www.rst-engr.com

Yeah, I've got a few. But judging from the crap you've taken by trying to
do
good over the last week or so, I'm reluctant to comment.

Oh, c'mon, Jim. Where's that old college spirit?

When YOU start blanching in the face of underwhelming opposition, I'll know
that all is lost in these groups...

Go ahead -- slap me with some RST spam!

;-)
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

How refreshing - a thread that's actually about airplanes!

One of our first upgrades was a King KMA-28, which is a re-branded PS
Engineering PMA7000. The thing just works perfectly. The built-in intercom
with "intellivox" works great, and the extra features like the split
control of the radios, "Karaoke" mode, etc. are all very nice.

I also have some experience with the RST kits, having successfully
assembled the 564 panel. It's not a King or PS, but the design and parts
quality are very good and assembly was straightforward. We're still working
through some installation check-out issues, but the panel looks good. Jim
will no doubt disagree (nothing personal), but there is some controversy
regarding installation of kit-built avionics in a certified airplane. As
Jim says on the web-site - work it out with your A&P and/or FSDO. It's not
really approved until someone is willing to sign off the log book entry as
a minor mod, or else try to go the 337 route, which could be problematic.
(or as someone said here awhile back, "I was just troubleshooting the
landing light circuit."!)

Mike



"Jay Honeck" wrote:

My Narco audio panel works just fine. However, the faceplate has been
glued back together twice by my avionics shop. (How it got broken in
the first place is anyone's guess...)

In the recent intense cold, the epoxy has let go again, so I think
it's time to replace the unit. Other than requiring the marker beacon
lights/receiver to be built-in, I have no prerequisites. Well, it
would be nice if it fit in the same hole without too much bother.

Any recommendations?

Jay,

Only two choices, IMHO:

Garmin 340 or PS Engineering (7000?). The latter is a little more
expensive, but also more capable.

Just saw that you have PSE in the plane already. In that case, it's a
no-brainer.

Oh, you won't find a modern audiopanel without intercom funcionality.
IMHO, you shouldn't have gotten it in the CD-player.

--
Thomas Borchert (EDDH)

Roy,

2) Split operation (allows one pilot to use one radio while the other
pilot uses a different radio). The pilot flying can continue to talk to
ATC, while the PNF can get the ATIS, talk to flight service, etc,
without distracting the PF.


For that, in my experience, it is quite important to have the com antennas
on different side of the aircraft - one on top, one on the bottom.
Otherwise, you'll likely have bleed-over.

--
Thomas Borchert (EDDH)

Oh, you won't find a modern audiopanel without intercom funcionality.
IMHO, you shouldn't have gotten it in the CD-player.

Well, at the time I had a perfectly functional audio panel, no music, and a
crappy intercom -- so it seemed logical to combine those purchases into the
one unit.

We've been very, very happy with the PS Engineering unit. I wouldn't want
to do a long cross-country flight without it anymore.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"