What Radio Should I Pick????

I have a KX-170 that's *sometimes* just not working right in my VFR
Cessna 150.
For the same price (about $1,300) I could get either

A McCoy MAC-1700 as a slide in replacement for the 170b
-or-
An Icom 200 as an additional radio (with the flaky KX170b as backup).

Any recommendations?

-Charles Talleyrand

P.S. I did look into www.kx170.com. But he does not give yellow tags
with his repair and chooses not to be certified, so I don't think I
can go that way.

On Thu, 29 May 2008 22:45:53 -0700 (PDT), Charles Talleyrand
wrote:

I have a KX-170 that's *sometimes* just not working right in my VFR
Cessna 150.
For the same price (about $1,300) I could get either

A McCoy MAC-1700 as a slide in replacement for the 170b
-or-
An Icom 200 as an additional radio (with the flaky KX170b as backup).

Any recommendations?

-Charles Talleyrand

P.S. I did look into www.kx170.com. But he does not give yellow tags
with his repair and chooses not to be certified, so I don't think I
can go that way.

The Icom A200 would be the gold standard in radios.
beautiful little things.
I rely on one all the time.
Stealth Pilot

Charles Talleyrand wrote:
I have a KX-170 that's *sometimes* just not working right in my VFR
Cessna 150.
For the same price (about $1,300) I could get either

A McCoy MAC-1700 as a slide in replacement for the 170b
-or-
An Icom 200 as an additional radio (with the flaky KX170b as backup).

Any recommendations?

-Charles Talleyrand

P.S. I did look into www.kx170.com. But he does not give yellow tags
with his repair and chooses not to be certified, so I don't think I
can go that way.

I don't know a thing about the McCoy but I've been studying up on the
Icom line as I make the decision as to what I will put into my plane.

At first I was 100% decided on the Garmin SL40 mainly because of it's
ability to monitor the standby freq. That was until the A210 came out.
In a side by side comparison of the SL40 and the A210 the A210 whips the
SL40 in almost every way and cost about $300 less.

For the same price (about $1,300) I could get either

A McCoy MAC-1700 as a slide in replacement for the 170b
-or-
An Icom 200 as an additional radio (with the flaky KX170b as backup).

Any recommendations?

Third option: MX-170B. We've used this radio in two planes, and love it.
It's a "slide-out/slide-in" affair. No muss, no fuss. (Assuming your
wiring isn't the issue!)

Here's one for $1295: http://www.bennettavionics.com/mx170b.html
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

On 2008-05-30, Charles Talleyrand wrote:
A McCoy MAC-1700 as a slide in replacement for the 170b
-or-
An Icom 200 as an additional radio (with the flaky KX170b as backup).

I own a bunch of Icom ham radios. (Eight, to be precise.) I also have an
IC-A24. Icom makes fine gear that's never given me a moment of trouble, and
I wouldn't hesitate to get one. (The only reason N55ZC has an SL40 instead
of an IC-A210 as COM2 is because the rest of the stack is Garmin, and I
wanted a sole source solution.)

OTOH, have you considered installation costs? The MAC-1700 (or the MX-170B)
will cost you less to install, just because they *are* slide-in
replacements; the IC-A200 will require some rewiring and a new tray. That
may tip the balance.
--
Jay Maynard, K5ZC http://www.conmicro.com
http://jmaynard.livejournal.com http://www.tronguy.net
Fairmont, MN (FRM) (Yes, that's me!)
AMD Zodiac CH601XLi N55ZC (ordered 17 March, delivery 10 June)

On May 30, 6:45*am, "Jay Honeck" wrote:
For the same price (about $1,300) I could get either

A McCoy MAC-1700 as a slide in replacement for the 170b
*-or-
An Icom 200 as an additional radio (with the flaky KX170b as backup).

Any recommendations?

Third option: MX-170B. * We've used this radio in two planes, and love it.

On May 30, 9:56 am, Jay Maynard
wrote:
On 2008-05-30, Charles Talleyrand wrote:

A McCoy MAC-1700 as a slide in replacement for the 170b
-or-
An Icom 200 as an additional radio (with the flaky KX170b as backup).

OTOH, have you considered installation costs? The MAC-1700 (or the MX-170B)
will cost you less to install, just because they *are* slide-in
replacements; the IC-A200 will require some rewiring and a new tray. That
may tip the balance.

I have considered this. The Icom price includes installation.

-Charles Talleyrand

On 2008-05-30, Charles Talleyrand wrote:
I have considered this. The Icom price includes installation.

If that's an installed price, grab it. You'll be very pleased.
--
Jay Maynard, K5ZC http://www.conmicro.com
http://jmaynard.livejournal.com http://www.tronguy.net
Fairmont, MN (FRM) (Yes, that's me!)
AMD Zodiac CH601XLi N55ZC (ordered 17 March, delivery 10 June)

Charles,

I have a pair of KX-170Bs in my 172. When I had an issue with
the NAV receiver in one of the units, I just bought a used KX-175B
via EBay for about $300 and slid it in. Problem solved. No wiring
or mounting changes required. With all the upgrades to Garmins, it
is easy to find good working KX-170B or KX-175B radios for not
a lot of money. You can find a working replacement for less than the
shop cost to troubleshoot and repair one.

Before you take that route, make sure the problem is in the radio
and not in the installation. I once had a Escort 110 which some-
times works and sometimes didn't. I initially thought the problem
was the radio, but it turned out to be a broken connection in the
antenna balun. Find a known good KX-170B loaner that you can
side into your panel and check the installtion.

I also have an ICOM A200 in my Aztec. The only issue I've ever had
was the need to have the LCD replaced recently. The A200 has given
good service except for one, very strange phenomenon which has cropped
up within the last year. Austin approach changed their east side frequency
from 118.8 to 127.22 a while back. Ever since, I've been unable to make
them hear me when using the Icom. I can hear them fine on the Icom, but
they can't hear me. The KX-155 in the same panel works in both transmit
and receive. When I sent the Icom in for the LCD replacement, the work
order indicated it was slightly off frequency and had been adjusted. I
thought
that would explaing the issue and fix it. It did not. I still have that
problem.
The Icom works fine everywhere else, but not east of KGTU trying to talk to
AUS on 127.22. I'm not saying it is the radio itself, but an odd
combination of
antenna placement and direction of travel and maybe a slight frequency
offset.



"Charles Talleyrand" wrote in message
...
I have a KX-170 that's *sometimes* just not working right in my VFR
Cessna 150.
For the same price (about $1,300) I could get either

A McCoy MAC-1700 as a slide in replacement for the 170b
-or-
An Icom 200 as an additional radio (with the flaky KX170b as backup).

Any recommendations?

-Charles Talleyrand

P.S. I did look into www.kx170.com. But he does not give yellow tags
with his repair and chooses not to be certified, so I don't think I
can go that way.

Charles Talleyrand wrote:
I have a KX-170 that's *sometimes* just not working right in my VFR
Cessna 150.
For the same price (about $1,300) I could get either

A McCoy MAC-1700 as a slide in replacement for the 170b
-or-
An Icom 200 as an additional radio (with the flaky KX170b as backup).

You can get an A210 for $1100 at Pacific Coast Avionics.
I have one and I love it. 2 channel receive, one button
121.5, built in 2 place intercom and an absolutely wonderful
big bright display.


Any recommendations?

-Charles Talleyrand

P.S. I did look into www.kx170.com. But he does not give yellow tags
with his repair and chooses not to be certified, so I don't think I
can go that way.