KT-76 low power?

Speaking of KT-76A's, the little 'blinky' interrogation light on the
front of mine gave up the other day. The transponder still reports
just fine as confirmed by San Antonio class-C controllers. But no
indication light.

Anybody know how difficult it is to replace the light (bulb) or what
type it is???


Chuck



On Thu, 16 Sep 2004 12:34:22 GMT, Doug Vetter
wrote:

wrote:
It's a 76, not a 76A. I just took it up the other day after getting back, and
the local Class-C was able to see me from 2000' AGL, 20 miles away in "mountainous"
(i.e. Appalachian) terrain. Whatever it is, it's either low power, intermittent
problem, or both. I suppose it could be a frequency tolerance issue and some
centers/approaches are more tolerant of that. Wouldn't an transponder cert check
that?

Cory,

Transponder reception problems are usually caused by being off-frequency
or a/c gate misalignment. The older units really do drift over
time...hence the importance of the 2 year check. A simple test at your
avionics shop can reveal what's wrong, and chances are it just needs an
adjustment.

That said, if the problem is ultimately determined to be the tube or
some other hard-to-diagnose intermittent problem, I have a KT76 in good
operating condition that I could let you have for a steal. Email me if
you are interested.

-Doug