So I have decided to install a panel mount radio...I am sick of taking the hand held in and out every flight. I am leaning towards the Icom, but that's because of the price. I don't need a real expensive piece of equipment, just one that works. Any thoughts on the two?

Jon

Hi Jon
I don't know anything about the Icom A200, but I have the Garmin SL40 and have had it for a little over a year. Small, light radio. Works very well and has been trouble free. Give you the opton to monitor the standby frequency which I like alot. Along with my other radio, I can monitor 3 frequencies when I want. Also if you couple it to the Garmin 496 you can enter frequencies from the 496. Nice little convenience. Gary

looks like theIcom A 210 has all the features of the Garmin SL 40 and is about $250 cheaper. It will glean freq's from the GPS database, too. I need a better (more modern than the 170B) radio, too.

From the descriptions I read I couldn't tell if the A200 had a built in intercom like Garmin says the SL40 has. I found that the A200 was $700 less than the SL40...which means I can afford it now instead of having to wait.

Jon

$700 less? my God how much have seen the Garmin for?

$1495 for the SL 40, $795 for the A200-100

donknee,

I too like the look of the A210..the large readout would be good for my Dad , but I could not tell if it was TSO'd or not. The reason I question is because Icom makes the A200 which is non-TSO'd and the A200-100 which is TSO'd. Did you find a place that says it is?

Jon

The least expensive radio seems to be the Val, but it's kinda funky. No standby freq display, etc. A friend has had the Icom 200 in a couple different airplanes and really likes them. The little Microair and Xcom radio's look good too. I think they have built-in intercom's but I believe they're hot mike/PTT systems, not VOX.

Eric

I have the non TSOd A200 (virtuall identical to the TSOd model). It's been in the cub for about 5 years with no complaints until a couple days ago. It has an automatic squelch that lately just randomly breaks squelch for a pretty annoying racket. I don't believe you can xmit when it does this either. I'm guessing maybe a bad ground or something simple? I have been pleased enough with it's service that I thought of just buying a new one and sliding it into the old sleeve. Although I suppose the problem could be in the sleeve wiring. One thing nice about the SL40 is that you can listen to your standby freq at the same time as your active. In busy areas that's kind of nice.
Rob

Well the Icom A-210 is a newer model I had not seen before, and it does monitor the standby channel, have the 2 place intercom and read the gps radio info. It's a little more $$ than the A 200 and less than the SL40. Looks like pretty similar features. It is nice to have the ability to monitor atis and a primary freq.

http://www.gulf-coast-avionics.com/deta ... m/IC-A210/

http://www.gulf-coast-avionics.com/deta ... min/SL-40/

Thought I'd resurrect this old thread. I never did get a new radio...still using the handheld. I haven't been flying the plane since December but my Dad has been. There has been some intermittent issues with transmitting but we can always receive. He found that if he pulls power then he can transmit so when he has to talk to the tower he just pulls power. Haven't been able to figure it out yet but I'm sure we will.

Anyways we are getting tired of fiddling with this thing all the time and just want to put a panel mount in and be done with it. Ideally we would like one with a built in intercom and an aux audio input so I can plug in some tunes. From the lookin I have done the A200 intercom sucks and isn't worth using. The A210 still isn't TSO'd. The SL40 looked good but after some reading some reviews I'm not sure its intercom is very good either. Apparently it doesn't work very well and when you key the mic it activates both mics...so when my passenger blurts something out while I'm talking to the tower the tower will hear it too and it doesn't have a aux audio input.

Anybody have a different experience with the SL40? Any other options, opinions?

A friend of mine installed an SL40 in his 180 several years ago, it was a good radio BUT-- the voice-activated intercom feature muted whenever someone transmitted on the active frequency. So unless you set it on some unused frequency (like 136.975-1/2??), you could plan on it cutting in and out. So it was no good for monitoring a freq & talking in the cabin at the same time.
I just installed an Icom IA-200-100 TSO a month or two ago, and I really like it. It was hard to find one in stock anywhere, I believe Icom will be discontinuing it once they get the TSO on the A210. I paid about $850 for the A200, the A210 is 1200+. The A200 does have a built-in VOX intercom feature, but you have to wire in a "com/intercom" switch so, again, you can't BS & monitor a freq also.
Might be best to just bite the bullet & install both a com radio and a separate intercom.

Eric

Rob wrote:I have the non TSOd A200 (virtuall identical to the TSOd model). It's been in the cub for about 5 years with no complaints until a couple days ago. It has an automatic squelch that lately just randomly breaks squelch for a pretty annoying racket. .........

It might be worth trying this... remove the radio from the tray, and look for a couple little silver-foil dots which cover access holes for adjusting the squelch & the sidetone & (can't remember for sure) maybe the mike gain. You could try turning up (??) the squelch a bit to see if that fixes the problem. They are marked for which one is squelch & which is sidetone, but they may not be marked which way to turn for adjustment. The installation & operating manuals I have are no help there. Just be sure & keep track of which way/how much you adjusted, so you can go more or go back as required. As shipped, I remember that my squelch was OK but the sidetone needed some fine tuning.
All under the supervision of an A&P and/or avionics tech, of course!

Eric

hotrod150 wrote:Might be best to just bite the bullet & install both a com radio and a separate intercom.

That's kinda what I'm thinking too...I was just hoping there was one out there that had a good intercom. I'm using a battery powered intercom now that works good, I don't want to install a new radio and have it be the intercom that was the problem yet I don't want to buy a new intercom if the current one is fine. It's that dang vicious circle.

The Citabria I learned to fly in had an ICOM A200 radio. Nevery had any problems with it except that the buttons are pretty small so it was hard to use in turbulance or with gloves on. I really like the big clunky dials on my 170B, but my radio shop tells me there arn't any new parts available for them, so next time something breaks, it's done.

Phil

I just talked with Icom and they don't currently have any plans to ge the A210 TSOd and they no longer make the A200. I don't get why they would make a aircraft radio that we can't really use, but whatever. I know getting a field approval is an option for a non-TSOd radio but I don't want to go there.

Have I got a deal for you.

http://www.ksl.com/index.php?nid=218&ad ... 151&lpid=1

SixTwoLeemer wrote:Have I got a deal for you.

http://www.ksl.com/index.php?nid=218&ad ... 151&lpid=1

That is a good price but it is not the TSOd version

I wouldn't think that getting a field approval for a radio installation would be too hard, IF your local FAA PMI is a good guy. It's not quite the same thing as dropping a 327 Chevvy engine into your Taylorcraft... but some FAA types (and A&P/IA's) just hear "field approval" and that's all she wrote. I think besides having to do a "field approval" 337 (needs FAA sign-off) instead of a (major) alteration 337 (needs IA sign-off), the only problem with a non-TSO radio is that it can't be certified for IFR use. This is what a couple A&P/IA friends told me anyway.

Eric

hotrod150 wrote:I wouldn't think that getting a field approval for a radio installation would be too hard, IF your local FAA PMI is a good guy. It's not quite the same thing as dropping a 327 Chevvy engine into your Taylorcraft... but some FAA types (and A&P/IA's) just hear "field approval" and that's all she wrote. I think besides having to do a "field approval" 337 (needs FAA sign-off) instead of a (major) alteration 337 (needs IA sign-off), the only problem with a non-TSO radio is that it can't be certified for IFR use. This is what a couple A&P/IA friends told me anyway.

Eric

I have looked into using a non-TSO radio but never could get a straight anwser on what I needed to do to make it legal...seemed nobody really knew and would just say submit a 337 and get the feds blessing. Sure that is simple enough if you want to deal with it.

I could be totally outta wack here but my plane was certified under CAR 4a, which has no radio requirement for NAC (non-aircarrier) planes operated in VFR, has no radio requirement on the TC, and I can't find where the FARs say a radio used for VFR has to be TSOd:

121.345 Radio equipment.

(a) No person may operate an airplane unless it is equipped with radio equipment required for the kind of operation being conducted.

121.347 Communication and navigation equipment for operations under VFR over routes navigated by pilotage.

(a) No person may operate an airplane under VFR over routes that can be navigated by pilotage unless the airplane is equipped with the radio communication equipment necessary under normal operating conditions to fulfill the following:

(1) Communicate with at least one appropriate station from any point on the route;

(2) Communicate with appropriate air traffic control facilities from any point within Class B, Class C, or Class D airspace, or within a Class E surface area designated for an airport in which flights are intended; and

(3) Receive meteorological information from any point en route by either of two independent systems. One of the means provided to comply with this subparagraph may be used to comply with paragraphs (a)(1) and (2) of this section.

(b) No person may operate an airplane at night under VFR over routes that can be navigated by pilotage unless that airplane is equipped with—

(1) Radio communication equipment necessary under normal operating conditions to fulfill the functions specified in paragraph (a) of this section; and

(2) Navigation equipment suitable for the route to be flown.


So why is it that I need a TSO radio? I am totally fine with having to get a TSOd radio...I'd just like to know where it says it has to be TSO.

J, have you looked into the little Becker COM units? I've heard good things, and it's fairly comparable in price to the A200 and SL40. I have a Bendix/King KY97A that's a few years old, and it really sounds good according to those on the listening end. You may be able to find a used/refurbished one for cheaper.

http://www.beckerusa.com/products/detail/index3.php?search=551