Skip to main content

I need input

The previous owner of my plane posted a bunch of photos online so he could send the link to any prospective buyers. I still look at them from time to time, because I'm still learning about the plane and there are sometimes things I want to look at when I'm at home.

Several days ago, I was looking through the photos when something caught my eye. The photo in question was this one:


Below the transponder is a small light, and what looks like a small audio socket. When he was showing me the plane, the seller explained what the light was for but I couldn't remember what it was. And I didn't recall any mention of the jack at all. So I emailed him about it.

The light is for the ADS-B out transmitter. If it experiences a fault and is no longer transmitting my position, this light will illuminate. I looked up the pilot guide for the Garmin GDL-82 that is installed in the plane and it has a reference to this feature as well. One question answered.

As for the thing next to the light, he believes it is a place where a switch could be installed that toggles a feature of the GDL-82. If the switch is installed, switching it on enables "anonymous" mode where the tail number is not included in the ADS-B out broadcast. This feature is also described in the pilot guide for the GDL-82.

Thing is, it really, really looks like a standard 1/8" stereo plug. I know that the intercom has an input for an external audio source so you could hook up a phone, music player, etc. If this object really is an input jack, I could use a cable with a 1/8" stereo plug on each end to connect my iPad mini to the intercom by plugging one end into the headphone jack on the tablet, and other into the jack on the panel.

So today I went out to the airport to check on a couple things. The first thing I wanted to do was make sure the plane was okay after the major winter storm that went through last weekend. I also wanted to test the radios again, as well as try out my handheld backup radio. Finally, I wanted to see if this object actually is an auxiliary audio input jack for the intercom so I took a short, double-ended cable and my iPad.

When it comes to the radios, radio number 1 seemed to work just fine, even with the intercom turned on. Radio number 2, however, seemed not to be transmitting voice. It was transmitting carrier, as I could trigger the automatic weather reporting system, but requests for a radio check got no response. The backup handheld radio worked fine so, at the very least, I can use it if I fly before the shop has a chance to look at the comm stack and things go screwy again.

When it comes to the jack, well, it turns out that it really is a 1/8" jack and it really is wired up to the intercom as an aux input. This is really cool. This means that I can connect the iPad to it and, if I'm running an app that provides an audible traffic alert like ForeFlight or FltPlan Go, I'll be able to hear it.

Comments

  1. GaryMarch 17, 2021 at 4:40 AM

    My new to me Commander did not come with a bluetooth audio panel like my last plane had. I found a work around using the imput jack on my panel by connecting a bluetooth device that runs for 10-15 hours and connects to my iPad and phone. The unit is made by TaoTronics.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

My engine is so pretty

I went out to the shop today to take a few pictures of my engine and plane before the engine is remounted. The baffling and some other stuff has already been attached to the engine. The engine mount is not back yet. Since the nose gear is attached to the engine mount, the plane is currently sitting on the main gear, and a couple of supports just behind the firewall, and under the tail. Here are a few of the photos I took. The engine looks lovely, to me at any rate, especially since I know those are new cylinders.
2 comments
Read more

She flies again!

It's been a long and sometimes difficult road to get to this point but today I flew Ariel for the first time since last March. It is difficult to describe the emotions I felt after I stopped in front of the hangar and shut her down after the flight. I about broke down crying. I've waited for this for so long, and had to deal with so many frustrating setbacks that it sometimes felt like I'd never fly her again. Following the instructions from Preston, I flew her for half an hour at 3000' feet over the airport in case something went wrong. I ran the engine at 75% power (maybe a bit more, but that's okay) for as much of the flight as I could. The engine started right up, and I thought it sounded better than it had before. It seemed smoother, somehow. When I took off, I had one notch of flaps in, and she flew off the runway on her own without me having to pull back on the yoke. It was as if she was eager to get back into the sky. The flight was completely uneventful, as...
1 comment
Read more

The family that flies together...

The weather wasn't great today, but it was nice enough to go for a local flight, and my wife went with me for the first time since 2004, shortly after I got my private pilot license. It was a bit windy, but there was little crosswind so we had no problem taking off from Harvey's relatively short runway. As we climbed, it became rather bumpy, with the wind changing direction several times. It was a bit better when we got to 3000' MSL, but still not very smooth. I kept the flight short. I headed southeast for a ways, then turned north, then came around the north side of the airport to the west, and finally headed back in to land on runway 15. Despite it being a bit windy and gusty, I made a landing that I'm very proud of, touching down smoothly and slowing in plenty of time to exit at the taxiway, instead of having to go to the end of the runway. Overall, Ariel performed beautifully. I love that plane more every time I fly it. The flight was only about 25 minutes, but I w...
1 comment
Read more