Couple days ago I get a call from wasilla city manager telling me they had a local mechanic go unlock my plane and shut off my elt. Immidatly I was wondering why I had not got the call from RCC asking about it, so I called them. Turns out, CAP was out flying and picked up a 121.5 strong at the airport in wasilla. Tracked it to my plane had someone unlock and pull the plug so to speak. No 406 transmition... Next day I pull the elt. Get home and it's corroded around the antenna connector. So off to NLA in Los Anchorage. They pull it apart and the sealed case has a extream amount of water in it, in the form of water drops and moister..with much more corrosion inside. What? Yep it's 5 years old! Told it's junk but we can sell you a new one...for another grand...
So, this is a Kannad Compact. No warranty but only 5 years old with enough water in it to kill it. Looked in the plane, bone dry. Always has been. Anyone flying with a Kannad see this at battery change time?
Needles to say, Kannad has been scratched from the replacement list. I may have needed that coroded POS to save my ass.
What are y'all runnin for elts now? Like it?
And no, haven't flown in a week or so, so it wasn't me

Yup! The Kannad AF compact in my cub did the exact same thing except for the sat portion did work and the RCC called my wife and work right away. Considering i had just told my wife "to hell with work im going flying today" she was a bit worried!
Airplane was still tied down but it was raining like it was Ketchikan in Anchorage. Same deal, dry as a bone everywhere but inside the ELT.
Had one scramble its brains for no reason and had to get it re-programmed. That took weeks as there is only one shop in the US that can do it.
Had another one G switch not work.
Basically they have all the same problems the old school ELTs have and seemingly the same failure rate except for one big thing. They are WAY more expensive to replace, battery is WAY more expensive to replace.
Anyways i would go with anything but a French built Kannad like an ACK or Ameri king, Both are cheaper and at least are US based companies.

I am on my second ACK and i really like it. First one worked great when i hit a fence post. Got a call pretty shortly. So put the same one in my 180 when i bought it.

A1Skinner wrote:I am on my second ACK and i really like it. First one worked great when i hit a fence post. Got a call pretty shortly. So put the same one in my 180 when i bought it.

Ditto on thumbs up on the ACK. I too am on my second one....first one sold with the plane. They are the cheapest 406 on the market, and they work. They also can be connected to any GPS (portable or otherwise) with an NMEA output. So, RCC gets your lat/long location on the first hit.

Sorry to hear about these Kannad failures.....those things are NOT cheap. And, they're supposed to be waterproof.

MTV

So after a few minutes of reading, do the ACK elt's have to have 2 other batteries? I read that in the reviews on Aircraft Spruce. If so is it a deal killer for anyone? They look to be about the best deal around otherwise.

Yes the ack does need a second battery. The main battery for the elt and a second tiny battery in the remote switch. The remote uses a Duracell that you can get at the grocery store. It is a six year battery as well and they are only 7 or 8 bucks so it's not a big deal. I bet a new elt comes with the remote battery but I would check.

I don't want to hear that. I have one.

PAMR MX wrote:Yes the ack does need a second battery. The main battery for the elt and a second tiny battery in the remote switch. The remote uses a Duracell that you can get at the grocery store. It is a six year battery as well and they are only 7 or 8 bucks so it's not a big deal. I bet a new elt comes with the remote battery but I would check.

Actually, the ACK units use TWO separate batteries, besides the big one that powers the unit itself.

One of those batteries, as noted here, powers the remote switch....and as noted, it's a grocery store/hardware store, etc battery....cheap and good for six years.

The other additional battery powers the remote buzzer, which alerts you to the fact that the ELT is alerting with an audible tone. That battery is also a simple, locally available watch type battery, also cheap, and that one is good for ten years.

So, yes, there are additional batteries, total price for mine was I think, less than $10, and they're good for a looooong time, and easily acquired most anywhere.

I like the ACK unit, and would go there again in a heartbeat.

MTV

Picked up a new ACK. For the price ($595 in Wasilla) it beats the hell out of another $1k Kannad. Thanks for the info everyone, should be a easy install from here.
Greg

I have one of the first Artex ME406's after they were approved for sale. A few months ago I changed out the bracket which had a Velcro retention strap and replaced it with a new bracket with a stainless steel retention strap. It does not have a built-in GPS, but it is connected to my panel GPS. No problems so far--but then, I haven't crashed!

Cary

Cary wrote:I have one of the first Artex ME406's after they were approved for sale. A few months ago I changed out the bracket which had a Velcro retention strap and replaced it with a new bracket with a stainless steel retention strap. It does not have a built-in GPS, but it is connected to my panel GPS. No problems so far--but then, I haven't crashed!

Cary

Not that I have a Artex or am going to get one now, but how long have you had that unit? Artex and ACK have been most recommended with the ACK being a good bit cheaper in price and thats what I went with. Thats good news yours has gone for a good while now!

roamak wrote:

Cary wrote:I have one of the first Artex ME406's after they were approved for sale. A few months ago I changed out the bracket which had a Velcro retention strap and replaced it with a new bracket with a stainless steel retention strap. It does not have a built-in GPS, but it is connected to my panel GPS. No problems so far--but then, I haven't crashed!

Cary

Not that I have a Artex or am going to get one now, but how long have you had that unit? Artex and ACK have been most recommended with the ACK being a good bit cheaper in price and thats what I went with. Thats good news yours has gone for a good while now!

Not really sure--I know it was installed during an annual while Fort Collins Downtown Airport was still open, and it was closed on November 1, 2006. So something over 6 years, but without looking in the airplane's logs, I can't be certain. It was a really complete kit, with the unit and its bracket, the antenna, the beeper to warn of inadvertent activation, the panel switch, and detailed instructions. At a previous annual, I'd had my IA pre-wire for the connection between the panel and the ELT. It was the first 406 ELT on the market, but other manufacturers got theirs on the market soon after.

Cary

Cary wrote:

roamak wrote:

Cary wrote:I have one of the first Artex ME406's after they were approved for sale. A few months ago I changed out the bracket which had a Velcro retention strap and replaced it with a new bracket with a stainless steel retention strap. It does not have a built-in GPS, but it is connected to my panel GPS. No problems so far--but then, I haven't crashed!

Cary

Not that I have a Artex or am going to get one now, but how long have you had that unit? Artex and ACK have been most recommended with the ACK being a good bit cheaper in price and thats what I went with. Thats good news yours has gone for a good while now!

Not really sure--I know it was installed during an annual while Fort Collins Downtown Airport was still open, and it was closed on November 1, 2006. So something over 6 years, but without looking in the airplane's logs, I can't be certain. It was a really complete kit, with the unit and its bracket, the antenna, the beeper to warn of inadvertent activation, the panel switch, and detailed instructions. At a previous annual, I'd had my IA pre-wire for the connection between the panel and the ELT. It was the first 406 ELT on the market, but other manufacturers got theirs on the market soon after.

Cary

Thanks for the pirep Cary!
I also have a interesting one for ACK. Started unpacking and looking at what its going to take to mount this in place of the Kannad, and noticed this unit had no expiration date on the battery. A call to ACK and a couple of pics sent and a new battery is heading north as we speak on UPS! No hesitation what so ever. (If anyone has a ACK that has a battery getting old, I have a brand new one with no expiration date stamped on it, install at your own risk. FREE). Im happy with that. And its made in good ol 'merica

If I wanted to order an ACK, where would y'all recommend?

CamTom12 wrote:If I wanted to order an ACK, where would y'all recommend?

I picked this one up from A.E.R.O. Alaska for $595. Think Spruce wanted $580 or so.

roamak wrote:

CamTom12 wrote:If I wanted to order an ACK, where would y'all recommend?

I picked this one up from A.E.R.O. Alaska for $595. Think Spruce wanted $580 or so.

Yeah, it looks like spruce is the cheapest. I'm going to order one from them tomorrow unless anyone else knows another company I should use.

Cam,

Got mine from Spruce last year. The line from the remote panel switch to my unit wasn't long enough. Had to add an extension.

Brett

UH-60andC-180 wrote:Cam,

Got mine from Spruce last year. The line from the remote panel switch to my unit wasn't long enough. Had to add an extension.

Brett

Good deal, good info. I'm going to call and order in the morning

Thanks!

Has to send my Kannad in for some sort of recall work...mid continent did the work. I'm in the midst of a complete rebuild....wanted to move the ELT antenna to the interior just behind the rear bulkhead... Kannad doesn't allow the internal antenna installation like the ACK. Have made a stringer antenna mount mid way between the wing and vertical stabizer. Will install and shrink fabric where the ground field will go...then install copper tape from the aviation section of lowes....supposes to repel slugs and snails.. Will tin the mount first...then solder the copper foil to the mount...should've bought the ACK...

CamTom12 wrote:

UH-60andC-180 wrote:Cam,

Got mine from Spruce last year. The line from the remote panel switch to my unit wasn't long enough. Had to add an extension.

Brett

Good deal, good info. I'm going to call and order in the morning

Thanks!

Bought both mine from Spruce. Good service on both...best price I could find.

MTV