Handheld problem in NORDO plane

Hey folks,

I just bought a Luscombe 8A and am launching tomorrow to fly it home.

The problem is the handheld transceiver I'm using to communicate. It
works fine on the ground. But as soon as I get 100-200 feet off the
ground it gets overwhelmed with static, like the squelch is wide open.

It's a Vertex VXA-300 attached to an external antenna.

I' ve tried turning the squelch to max. I haven't checked whether it
occurs on all frequencies because that didn't occur to me until I had
put the plane back in the hangar.

Any ideas what's going on here? All help is appreciated.

Tailwinds and blue skies,
Mike

Sorry. The frequency involved is 122.7.

Thanks again.

wrote:
Hey folks,

I just bought a Luscombe 8A and am launching tomorrow to fly it home.

The problem is the handheld transceiver I'm using to communicate. It
works fine on the ground. But as soon as I get 100-200 feet off the
ground it gets overwhelmed with static, like the squelch is wide open.

It's a Vertex VXA-300 attached to an external antenna.

I' ve tried turning the squelch to max. I haven't checked whether it
occurs on all frequencies because that didn't occur to me until I had
put the plane back in the hangar.

Any ideas what's going on here? All help is appreciated.

Tailwinds and blue skies,
Mike

Sorry. The frequency involved is 122.7.

Thanks again.

wrote:
Hey folks,

I just bought a Luscombe 8A and am launching tomorrow to fly it home.

The problem is the handheld transceiver I'm using to communicate. It
works fine on the ground. But as soon as I get 100-200 feet off the
ground it gets overwhelmed with static, like the squelch is wide open.

It's a Vertex VXA-300 attached to an external antenna.

I' ve tried turning the squelch to max. I haven't checked whether it
occurs on all frequencies because that didn't occur to me until I had
put the plane back in the hangar.

Any ideas what's going on here? All help is appreciated.

Tailwinds and blue skies,
Mike

*Only* when you hit a few hundred feet...or anytime the engine is running?

Personally I'd venture to take a guess that it's picking up electrical
interference from an ignition component.

In article ,
Mark Morissette wrote:

*Only* when you hit a few hundred feet...or anytime the engine is running?

Personally I'd venture to take a guess that it's picking up electrical
interference from an ignition component.

I thought that too, but it doesn't make sense that it would start
100-200 feet AGL. If it is ignition, it will be present any time the
engine is running.

john smith wrote:
In article ,
Mark Morissette wrote:

*Only* when you hit a few hundred feet...or anytime the engine is running?

Personally I'd venture to take a guess that it's picking up electrical
interference from an ignition component.

I thought that too, but it doesn't make sense that it would start
100-200 feet AGL. If it is ignition, it will be present any time the
engine is running.

Airframe static? Isn't that what they have the static dissipation
wires for? Just a WAG.

What's a static dissipation wire?

Jim


wrote in message
oups.com...


Airframe static? Isn't that what they have the static dissipation
wires for? Just a WAG.

RST Engineering wrote:
What's a static dissipation wire?

Jim


wrote in message
oups.com...


Airframe static? Isn't that what they have the static dissipation
wires for? Just a WAG.


It's the name I thought of late at night, for the wires that trail the
wings/elevators to dissipate static. People who know better probably
have a different name that more folks, also knowledgable, recognize
more quickly. Like I said, WAG. If I really knew what I was talking
about, I'da said so. big grin, late at night on Saturday

I'll be interested in the real cure, when the OP figures it out. I
learn a lot that way...

I thought that too, but it doesn't make sense that it would start
100-200 feet AGL. If it is ignition, it will be present any time the
engine is running.


Agreed, hence my query to double confirm that.

I think someone else further down the thread may have nailed it -
airframe static, perhaps.

At the speed of the 8A in clear air, I doubt it is static
electricity, wicks are usually not installed until cruise
speeds get into the 150 + speed range.
Install a shield ignition system if you can, make sure that
your external antenna is properly installed.


"Mark Morissette" wrote in
message
m...
| I thought that too, but it doesn't make sense that it
would start
| 100-200 feet AGL. If it is ignition, it will be present
any time the
| engine is running.
|
|
| Agreed, hence my query to double confirm that.
|
| I think someone else further down the thread may have
nailed it -
| airframe static, perhaps.