Audio Panel

[jnmeade]

I would like to have two comm radios in my Flight Design CTSW. That implies an audio panel.

Do any of you have a light sport with two comm radios and an audio panel? What is your setup? Any problems? Do you like it? What would you change?

Of course, I'm happy to hear of your experiences with you SL30/40 and similar radios with a monitor feature, as the proposed Dynon is alleged to have, and as the PS Engineering PAR100EX advertises. Still, I'm most interested in present installations with 2 comm radios and an audio panel.

TIA

[theskunk]

The Remos that I fly has an SL30/SL40 and garmin GMA 340 (I think...)

I like being able to set my radios up for ground/atis/clearance on the com2, and then all tower/departure on the com1... makes it so i can start tuning in ATIS a long way out and simply waiting and still be able to catch a freq change without playing a giant juggling game.

[Jim Stewart]

Don't know if you're interested in going this route, but the Icom IC-A210 has 2 channel receive, weather radio receive and a decent 2 headset intercom. I have one in my CT and I like it a lot. By the time you buy and install an audio panel, another radio and another antenna, you could probably pay for an A210. And then sell your existing radio on ebay.

[ct4me]

'Also use the SL30/40 combo, without ever feeling like I needed more. I make liberal use of the monitor feature, whether it's punching in ATIS on the monitor side, or switching back and forth between Flight Following and plane-to-plane. Once in a great while, I'll forget what freq I'm on, but I suspect that would happen with any multi-radio setup. A Handheld, with dual capability, is always inches away (with headset jacks).

[Jack Tyler]

"Do any of you have a light sport with two comm radios and an audio panel? What is your setup? Any problems? Do you like it? What would you change? "

While I don't fly an LSA, I've found the full dual comm functionality provided by a comm panel to be very helpful. Many of us are trained to use Comm 1 as the 'active' radio and Comm 2 as the 'Aux' or supplemental radio. As we overfly a busy area (e.g. skydiving activity or dense training area) we monitor the CTAF or Approach freq while still being able to hear & respond to a freq change associated with Flight Following. As we approach our destination, we are monitoring ASOS or ATIS (again, while still able to hear and act on a freq change), then closer in monitor the CTAF (we're based at a non-tower airport) to determine active runway, how busy the pattern is, if their are sailplanes in their own pattern, etc. Occasionally, I'll fly with a co-pilot and audio panels also allow one to split the comm function, so one crew member can talk on Comm 2 with Flightwatch, get a wx update, file a pirep etc. while the other remains able to talk with FF/Approach/Center on Comm 1 if necessary. That may or may not be useful to you.

If you had a Nav receiver, the audio panel would offer some add'l benefits but I gather that isn't an option (or need) for you. For me, one of the features we occasionally appreciate most is having the last freq in the back-up or stand-by position (rather than have it dedicated to some 'aux' freq). This means that, when we screw up a freq change and need to go back to the last ATC source and have it repeated, that last freq is just sitting there, on the other side of the flip-flop switch. We principally fly using either FF or on an instrument flight plan, so for us Comms flexibility and versatility may be far more important than it is for folks who principally fly locally in less dense airspace. But these are all examples of the benefits of dual comms and an audio panel, in my mind.

[deltafox]

I also use the SL30/40 combo in my PiperSport. I have occasionally gotten confused and tried to talk on the monitor frequency but would probably do that with comm 2 if I had the option.