GPS 296 and its "RF Ingress"

[ZULU1]

Good Day

 

Over here in South Africa, we have a growing trend in that Trike pilots are using the Garmin 296, they have multi roles as you may be aware.. Any way when used on a trike the tendency is to use "hand helds" as this does not require a radio station licence.

 

This presents some problems, namely on certain frequencies they give out some horrible rf into the radio (not the intercom). We spent hours tracking it down (even changed the antenna length). It was definitely getting into the radio.. Anyway in most trikes the PTT cable is flexible and sits on the bar, this is by default close to the GPS antenna. The PTT switches through the Intercom normally and is a straight path to the radio. This is where the rf gets in. The fix; search out a rf bead and place around the PTT line. Best ones come with the Icom chargers as they clip on and the frequencies are perfect for the job. We have fixed two now, really worth the effort.

 

I hope this helps save some people time...

 

Paul