Interrupted Communications from Equipment Failure
With the incredible increase in miniaturization of avionics an old enemy still rears its head...HEAT. Remember the story about how cool transistors ran and the rage in the aviation community after spending thousands for new avionics only to have them fail. The answer to theses communication failures is simple: Get rid of the heat!
The best way is an air- conditioned hanger. Hangering an airplane goes a long way toward solving heat-induced avionics problem. For many of us, that is far too expensive.
Alternatives are much cheaper but may not be as effective. One of these is borrowed from autos, a cheap reflective foil panel for installation when the plane is parked. That will reduce but not eliminate entirely, the heat build-up problem.
Arrange for proper stack cooling if you have your plane serviced regularly. Vent ports are a good idea. Keep heat producing power devices above sensitive avionics. Same goes for your positioning of your home TV-Audio-Cable stuff...why not do the same in the plane. Unpressurized aircraft are easier to vent. Pressurized are more complex because they can't have any openings to the outside. Fans are okay but be careful of the magnetic fields created by fan motors that could cause problems with sensitive navigational equipment.
A problem with corporations that manufacture avionics is their sales stress reliability. If suddenly they seem to mention cooling that reflects, in an adverse way, on reliability. The majority of manufactures today insist on proper cooling of their avionics installation or the warranty is invalidated. Good enough reason for you to retrofit well preserved antique aircraft that you wish to communicate from consistently.
With the incredible increase in miniaturization of avionics an old enemy still rears its head...HEAT. Remember the story about how cool transistors ran and the rage in the aviation community after spending thousands for new avionics only to have them fail. The answer to theses communication failures is simple: Get rid of the heat!
The best way is an air- conditioned hanger. Hangering an airplane goes a long way toward solving heat-induced avionics problem. For many of us, that is far too expensive.
Alternatives are much cheaper but may not be as effective. One of these is borrowed from autos, a cheap reflective foil panel for installation when the plane is parked. That will reduce but not eliminate entirely, the heat build-up problem.
Arrange for proper stack cooling if you have your plane serviced regularly. Vent ports are a good idea. Keep heat producing power devices above sensitive avionics. Same goes for your positioning of your home TV-Audio-Cable stuff...why not do the same in the plane. Unpressurized aircraft are easier to vent. Pressurized are more complex because they can't have any openings to the outside. Fans are okay but be careful of the magnetic fields created by fan motors that could cause problems with sensitive navigational equipment.
A problem with corporations that manufacture avionics is their sales stress reliability. If suddenly they seem to mention cooling that reflects, in an adverse way, on reliability. The majority of manufactures today insist on proper cooling of their avionics installation or the warranty is invalidated. Good enough reason for you to retrofit well preserved antique aircraft that you wish to communicate from consistently.
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