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...."

In article nMQPb.125135$na.126504@attbi_s04,
"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?

Two features I've found useful in audio panels:

1) Integrated intercomm. No separate i/c box means less panel space,
fewer wires, less stuff to break, simplier operation.

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.

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)

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?

I would recommend that you get a unit with a music input. Not only can
you plug in CD players (something Jay already has), but you can plug
in a handheld radio, cell phones, anything with a standard RCA music
jack.

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)

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"

Jay,
Based on my experience, I'd say there are two choices. Something
from PS Engineering or whatever is in second place. Yes, the King KMA
28 is provided to Honeywell (...Allied Signal...Bendix...King, yada
yada yada) as an OEM product designed and manufactured by PS
Engineering. Likewise the SL-10 and SL-15 from Garmin-AT (...UPS
AT...II Morrow...Apollo, yada yada yada) are also designed and
manufactured by PS Engineering. They may great audio panels and
intercoms. Their reputation for quality and support is a model of how
gen av folks should run their business.
I am flying behind the same stack that came with my plane when I
bought it four years ago. The whole stack is vintage 1980 King Siler
Crown, including a KMA-24. No complaints, and not a single need for
repair yet. The intercom is a six place PS Engineering. I bought my
previous plane without and intercom and installed a PS Engineering.
Eventually, I will be upgrading the KMA-24 to a PMA 7000B. I've
worked in aviation for the past 24 years, and have personally
integrated their products with air-to-ground cellular and satellite
systems.
Since you already have a PS-Engineering intercom, the most costly
part of your wiring has already been done, the wires from the panel to
the cabin audio jacks. The easy way to wire it is to have an
interface cable made up that can be put in place. That is, get a
mating connector that is the same as the one on the back of your
intercom. The PMA 7000B has two slide in connectors in the tray. The
top connector is the intercom, which is the what you want for this
harness.
The audio panel wiring that you want to remove from the existing
unit all wires to the lower connector. Slide the Narco intercom out,
remove the tray fasteners and pull the tray out as far as possible.
Then find out the pinout and get a one to one correspondence between
the power connections and other avionics. The key is that all of
these wires are already connected to your radios, and conveniently
located at the back of the audio panel tray. Here is what you will
likely need to re-connect:

1) Connection to the marker beacon receiver: 5 wires and one coax
2) Two VHF comm radios: 5 wires each, TX pair, RX pair, Gnd
3) Audio connections from two VORs: 2 wires each (might be the same
GND if you have a Nav/Comm)
4) Audio connection to the ADF: Two wires
5) Audio connection to DME if applicable: Two wires
6) Direct wired pilot mic/PTT and headphone: 6 wires
7) All of your other wiring to mic and headphones, which go from the
existing intercom to the top connector on the tray, and can be made on
the bench.

All in all, one harness that can be made on the bench for the
audio, and about 30 more wires and one coax that have to be done in
the plane - but they are already there. Remember to use twisted
shielded pairs on all audio lines, and only bond the shield to
airframe at one end, preferably the end that the audio comes from.
Even that may already be taken care of pretty well. All of the nav
radios are only RX at the audio panel, so should be bonded at the
radio end. All you need to deal with is bonding of the two VHF comm
TX pairs.
It may not be trivial to get to. Mine is not too bad because the
audio panel is at the top of the stack and I can remove a cooling
grate on the top of the glareshield. It's worth talking this over
with your radio shop to see if they agree. They could probably do the
pre-wiring on the bench in about an hour. Re-connecting the radio
wires to the new tray connector will depend on accessibility.

Good luck,
Brian Cox