Skybeacon issue

jd21476

jd21476

Line Up and Wait
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Jan 17, 2018
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San Diego, CA
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jd21476
I installed the skybeacon on the wingtip and did a validation flight today. I ran an FAA ADS-B Performance Report and it says my Mode 3A failed?
I am running the Skybeacon and the the Narco AT50 Transponder.
 
Skybeacon plays much better with solid-state transponders.

Your ancient Narco is probably the problem.
 
Well, I am going to try adjusting the threshold as per the instructions above. Thanks Forane
 
kgruber said:
Skybeacon plays much better with solid-state transponders.

Your ancient Narco is probably the problem.
Click to expand...

As long as the transponder is functioning well enough to pass a ramp test, it should be good to go. Agree that the Narco is old....but Skybeacon was designed to work with older transponders. Good luck..
 
kgruber said:
Skybeacon plays much better with solid-state transponders. Your ancient Narco is probably the problem.
Click to expand...
I doubt that, and the AT50 is solid-state.
What Doug said.

JD, please update after threshold adjustment.
 
Still a piece of junk and any money spent on it is good after bad.

From a well known shop................

""""As the AT-50 has gotten older, it has not aged gracefully. We no longer recommend the AT-50 for a new Transponder installation.

The Narco AT-50, AT-50A, and AT-150 are all directly interchangeable. If you have one of these Transponders, and want to minimize the installation effort, we strongly recommend the AT-150 over the other Narco choices. While still an old Transponder, it offers better reliability than either the AT-50 or AT-50A.

The Narco AT-50 is a very common transponder, and the original "50" series model. The AT-50 offers basic transponder functionality at a reduced cost (compared to King and Collins).""""
 
I did the threshold adjustment today and even got my squawk code but when I pulled my ADSB report after the flight is still showed a failed mode 3A
 
jd21476 said:
I did the threshold adjustment today and even got my squawk code but when I pulled my ADSB report after the flight is still showed a failed mode 3A
Click to expand...
Keep playing with the threshold. I had to adjust mine down a few times. Now it works with my Narco AT-50 just fine.
 
My skybeacon worked with my old Narco without issues other than a failure on the first test flight. They told me to turn on the master and start and stay still for at least 5 minutes before moving in case the beacon is undergoing an update cycle or having trouble getting GPS lock. If you move too early it can through trouble codes on the report but otherwise be working properly.
 
I adjusted the threshold until it picked up my squawk (I set my transponder to 1100 to ensure it was picking up my transponder) then went for a flight. Afterwards I ran the FAA check and it still said Mode 3a fail.
 
Ill try sitting still for 5 min next time. If it picked up my squawk should I mess with the threshold again or leave it as is?
 
jd21476 said:
I adjusted the threshold until it picked up my squawk (I set my transponder to 1100 to ensure it was picking up my transponder) then went for a flight. Afterwards I ran the FAA check and it still said Mode 3a fail.
Click to expand...
While adjusting my threshold, mine would ALWAYS pick up my squawk, but still get errors, until I adjusted it down (down until the errors stopped).
 
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