dumb question probably, radio woes, maybe its me

[exncsurfer]

I think I need a procedure to set the radio volumes. Then again the radios could be defective, that was my first conclusion, but i'm not so sure now. So today I was skeptical of one radio that didn't work for me on Sat. so my backup plan was just to use #2. Right off the bat the radios sound SUPER loud so I turn them down to a comfortable level(maybe my first mistake). I make my initial calls on #1 just to see if its still broken, I think its working, ok, a cutting out a little on the reception. I get tired of that and to be safe i switch to the 2nd radio, nothing, what the... I'm sitting at the hold short line flipping back and forth between radios cycling them, at one point, I broadcast and wait, i can see the 'R' lighting up but hear nothing. I turn the volume up and its blasting in my ears, but I can hear them fine now. I turn my headset down and don't touch a thing, fly with that radio. So, does the radio have a volume level where if its borderline it cuts it out to silence, on the reception? I know the intercom does this and how to set that and I could hear everyone inside and myself fine the whole time. The line guy said he was having issues with the radio as well the previous week. Is it just wonky where people are setting the levels all wrong, or faulty, or a bit of both?

Is there a procedure you renters use to set levels when previous pilots may have hosed everything. Like, turn your headset down, turn all the volumes up, then turn your headset up till its JUST a bit too loud and then lower the radios a bit?

Yea, I know, ask a CFI, you should know this, yada yada. And yea, I'll be reading the radio manual as well. Help.

 

[rk911]

have you/dud you check the squelch setting?

 

[Ravioli]

There's a lot of places to look for this.

The two radios are feeding an audio panel where you're doing your switching, right?

So.. start with your headset at it's mid-point of volume adjustment (if it has one)

Switch the audio panel to monitor comm 1 only and adjust that radio to a comfortable volume. ATIS/AWOS is a good freq since it's usually talking.
Switch the audio panel to monitor comm 2 only and do the same.

Now, put your audio panel to monitor both radios. How's that sound?

Now, go to ground or clearance or ctaf and test based on which radio you are talking on. Could be different.

Once you get it balanced out so everything sounds "the same" you can use the Audio panel volume to increase in flight... and or your headset volume... and the two audio sources should stay in balance.

If this is a rental plane, I'd make myself a note of the volume knob positions I "liked" so I could turn them the way I want before turning on the Avionics Master switch. It's a bit like you know which notch on the seat rails you like the seat.

 

[Skyrys62]

I've been in a few different rentals, and the settings are usually different. I can work them out typically, but one of the 172's always had something weird that made it cut out, sound muffled, not work at all, or work perfectly the next time. I squawked about it and always heard 'its ok'.
Never had any issue with any other of the 5 rentals I've flown.

If this is a rental plane, I'd make myself a note of the volume knob positions I "liked" so I could turn them the way I want before turning on the Avionics Master switch.

good advice... maybe even a pic with the phone.

 

[Shawn]

Personally I just always use Com 1 for Tx and Com 2 only for my Rx of ATIS/AWOS and monitor...and I always ask for a radio check on frequency before I am somewhere I need to make a call to be sure my Tx and Rx levels are good.

 

[jamie clabaugh]

There's a lot of places to look for this.

The two radios are feeding an audio panel where you're doing your switching, right?

So.. start with your headset at it's mid-point of volume adjustment (if it has one)

Switch the audio panel to monitor comm 1 only and adjust that radio to a comfortable volume. ATIS/AWOS is a good freq since it's usually talking.
Switch the audio panel to monitor comm 2 only and do the same.

Now, put your audio panel to monitor both radios. How's that sound?

Now, go to ground or clearance or ctaf and test based on which radio you are talking on. Could be different.

Once you get it balanced out so everything sounds "the same" you can use the Audio panel volume to increase in flight... and or your headset volume... and the two audio sources should stay in balance.

If this is a rental plane, I'd make myself a note of the volume knob positions I "liked" so I could turn them the way I want before turning on the Avionics Master switch. It's a bit like you know which notch on the seat rails you like the seat.

Took the words out of my mouth.

 

[exncsurfer]

This is the first paragraph in the manual, I think I did this by accident in my frenzy when it started working:

COMM Transceiver Rotate the VOL knob clockwise from the OFF position. Pull the VOL knob out and adjust for desired listening level. Push the VOL knob back in to actuate the automatic squelch.

I'll have to start doing that on start up and also if I have any reception problems. That should let me hear if the signal is actually being received.

One thing is puzzling about what happened, the manual says: An “R” will appear between the ACTIVE and STANDBY displays if a detected signal is strong enough to open the squelch, signifying that the transceiver is in the receive mode of operation.
But I was seeing the 'R' and hearing nothing. However now I know I could pull the volume out and take that squelch out of the equation. Maybe my inadvertent pull reset the squelch somehow and made it start working properly.

Thanks for the input.

 

[denverpilot]

COMM Transceiver Rotate the VOL knob clockwise from the OFF position. Pull the VOL knob out and adjust for desired listening level. Push the VOL knob back in to actuate the automatic squelch.

Before completely automatic squelch circuits, you had to set it. This meant most everyone who used radios like that still has a habit of getting in, turning everything down, and then after setting the headset about halfway if it has its own volume control, running through a little setup where you first check the intercom is at a sane level, and then open the squelch on each Comm receiver to briefly hear the static (makes sure the receiver is actually working) then setting volume of the static to something you know sounds "about right" and then flipping the squelch back on. Then you see how that works out with the ATIS or AWOS/ASOS and if close enough, good. If too loud or soft, you know both radios need to be tweaked a bit, just by listening to one of them.

But modern "auto everything" audio panels never added "auto gain control" and some people fly with their headset all the way up and the intercom very low, or vice cereal which affects how much audio you'll need out of each Comm receiver also.

And then you'll go to tune at identify the VOR or ADF and someone will have left THAT set to some insane level, too. I leave the squelches pulled out on the VOR radios -- no point in having a squelch on those at all. If I hear static, it's a guarantee either I tuned the frequency wrong or there's a real problem with that navaid that nobody has noticed yet, or it's unmonitored and you have to tell them...

The auto squelch on the King and Garmin stuff works really well, but at times, low and slow over the desert southeast where controllers may be talking through any number of remote transmitter sites, I've run into scenarios where you could tell they were fading and you wouldn't be able to hear a call from them unless they switched transmitters, but if you just pull the squelch out to the test mode and turn down a bit for the static, you'll hear all their calls. Or if you hate the noise, just wait for them to call you three times when you couldn't hear them, and then they'll switch transmitter sites.

 

[luvflyin]

Good stuff here. I'm a renter and fly all kinds of different combinations. Sometimes there as many different brands of avionics as there are avionics. Good ideas here to develop a 'routine' to set things up.

 

[denverpilot]

Good stuff here. I'm a renter and fly all kinds of different combinations. Sometimes there as many different brands of avionics as there are avionics. Good ideas here to develop a 'routine' to set things up.

It gets more important as you head for the Instrument ticket. You really want the radio stack prepped so it's the last thing that's creating a distraction in the cockpit during departure into the grey. If it can be configured before the throttle goes forward for takeoff, you configure it and check it.

DG to compass, heading bug, first nav frequency, second nav frequency... or in the case of GPS, flight plan entered and checked. If you can receive those nav sources on the ground, flip on the audio and identify them. Pro crews flying something bigger, programing the FMS isn't optional... etc. And all the Comm stuff.

If you get as much stuff done on the ground as possible, there's more brain cells left for flying the plane. It becomes a habit pretty quick.

 

[luvflyin]

It gets more important as you head for the Instrument ticket. You really want the radio stack prepped so it's the last thing that's creating a distraction in the cockpit during departure into the grey. If it can be configured before the throttle goes forward for takeoff, you configure it and check it.

DG to compass, heading bug, first nav frequency, second nav frequency... or in the case of GPS, flight plan entered and checked. If you can receive those nav sources on the ground, flip on the audio and identify them. Pro crews flying something bigger, programing the FMS isn't optional... etc. And all the Comm stuff.

If you get as much stuff done on the ground as possible, there's more brain cells left for flying the plane. It becomes a habit pretty quick.

Yeah. I get the stack set up with the logical sequence of events. It's verifying all the transmitters work that I've been lax on.