Hi! Guys.
Just a "rider" to my previous info' on the ICOM unit. in the light of Graham
Singleton's message about the CAA approval and Nick Hammonds notes below. I
know not NOW from where my information came but I don't seek to pass
information on the basis of "hearsay" and was advised by someone in
authority perhaps PFA or their Inspector that the ICOM IC A200 wasn't now
authorised for new Installations.
Having offered that information in good faith I don't intend spending my
'phone expense to verify or otherwise the facts. May I therefore suggest
that the folks who receive this information take the trouble to speak to the
Radiocommunications Agency Branch of the CAA before they spend their cash
possibly unwantonly. It's by the way that my experiences are that it's a
piece of "sh..." and that so called ICOM agents at Wolverhampton couldn't
adjust it to suit my installation nor would they fly in the a/c to try to
adjust it more suitably in working conditions and could only bench set it to
the written instructions with a shrug of the shoulders as to the likely
cause of the problem.
Regards
Bob Harrison G-PTAG
-----Original Message-----
From: owner-europa-list-server@matronics.com
[mailto:owner-europa-list-server@matronics.com]On Behalf Of Nick Hammond
Subject: Europa-List: RE: Europa-List Digest: 15 Msgs - 05/21/03
<Nick.Hammond@saabsystems.com.au>
Brian,
>
> Does any one know of a UK supplier for the Icom IC A200 transceiver? I
know
> I can get it from the US but it would be nice to have UK supplier support.
>
> Brian Davies kit 454
I have one of these but as yet no in-flight performance experience. The
issue of "approval" or otherwise will vary from country to country but
despite a fair amount of research I found nothing at all to confirm the
rumours. I suspect this is a typical piece of the "noise" (replicated by
well meaning people who like bad news and believe everything they hear) that
makes the Internet an unreliable source of information unless you apply a
reasonable degree of skepticism to the information content.
The real bad news is that the technical support for the IC-A200 leaves a lot
to be desired. The radio is a good looking unit and includes very nice
features like a built in intercom and multiple audio inputs but the
documentation supplied with the unit is essentially an external wiring
diagram -- no application notes and no information on singal levels or even
the meaning of the abbreviations. I have checked all the Icom websites
(Europe, USA, Australia and Asia) and they have nothing useful.
The local so-called "technical support" people have this documentation and
detailed repair manuals but no design guidance of any form and their view
was that nothing else would be available from other centres. In other words,
if you want anything but the most basic istallation, you are on your own. My
radio came with a partially complete kit but I try to steer of companies
with this sort of attitude. There are plenty of other good and relatively
inexpensive VHF Aircraft radios available.
If you do decide to go ahead with the Icom unit and want to use some of the
features, let me know off list and I will share what I have been able to nut
out.
Best regards,
Nick
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