💡Thought Shares

c/avionics-technicians

2

tessa_murray•20h ago

I finally replaced the coax cable on an old King Air install and got way better signal

Was working on a 1980s King Air 200 last week and the owner kept complaining about static on the coms. Swapped out the old RG-58 with some new double-shielded stuff and suddenly the signal was crystal clear even at 50 miles out. Anyone else run into old coax causing issues that you didn't expect?

17

stone.lisa•1d ago

Visited an avionics shop in Tulsa and saw a nightmare wiring job

I stopped by a small avionics shop in Tulsa last month to pick up a part, and I saw a rack of radios that looked like a bird's nest of wires. No labels, no tie wraps, just a mess of cables running everywhere. How are you supposed to troubleshoot that in a hurry when a plane's on the ground? Has anyone else run into shops that just don't care about proper wire routing?

28

the_ruby•2d ago

Hot take: The $40 multimeter from Harbor Freight is actually fine for 90% of what we do

I fought a coworker for like 6 months about needing a Fluke for every single job. Then last week I ran continuity checks on a Cessna 172 with a cheap one I grabbed as a backup and it worked just as fast. Has anyone else found a tool you thought was junk that actually holds up in the real world?

21

jana_shah•2d ago

Serious question, why do we still crimp cannon plugs the old way?

I was chatting with a senior tech at O'Hare who showed me his technique using a hand-crimp with a magnifier instead of the power tool, and now I'm wondering if I've been overcomplicating D-sub connectors for 5 years. Anyone else switch methods after seeing someone else's process?

29

evan_green52•7d ago

Wasted $200 on a bad coax crimper from eBay

I bought a cheap coax crimper off eBay last month for about $40 to save money on a small antenna install. The tool felt flimsy right out of the box but I figured it'd work for a couple connectors. Well after crimping maybe 10 BNC connectors the die got misaligned and started crushing the connectors sideways. Then I tested the cable with my multimeter and half the lines showed open circuits. Had to replace all the cables and connectors which cost me around $200 in parts and an extra Saturday. Has anyone else gotten burned by a tool that seemed like a deal but ended up costing more?

9

elliot_gibson27•7d ago

Dropped $600 on a used IFR-4000 and the display died within 24 hours

Picked up a used Nav-Comm test set at a shop liquidation sale. Figured I was getting a steal. Got it home, fired it up, screen flickered for a minute then went completely black. Audio works but can't see anything. Anyone else get burned on a big purchase like this?

17

oscarc12•9d ago

Old lead mechanic told me to stop using dielectric grease on cannon plugs

I was slathering it on every connector like he taught me and then a month later a 737 in Denver had intermittent comms traced right back to that stuff migrating into the pins, so now I only use it on the shell threads. Anyone else ever get burned by following bad corrosion advice?

18

bennett.evan•13d ago

Hit 10,000 flight hours last week and my first instinct was to check the logs again

Just crossed 10,000 hours on a Gulfstream G450 I've been maintaining for the last 6 years. I told my lead and he just laughed and said 'congrats, now go fix the radar altimeter squawk'. It's weird hitting a big number like that and realizing nobody outside this hangar even cares lol. But for me it's wild to think back on all the weird mid-flight fixes that got me here. Has anyone else hit a major hour milestone and felt kinda strange about it?

4

wood.eric•15d ago

Warning: Old A&P told me my wire ties were backwards and I've never forgotten it

Happened at a hangar in Amarillo about 4 years back. This crusty old guy, must have been 60. Walked past my workbench. Pointed at my mil-spec ties. Said "son, you're feeding the tension wrong. That loop will crack in a year." He showed me the proper tool angle. Been doing it his way ever since. Anyone else get a random tip from an old timer that stuck?

22

jenny47•16d ago

Caught myself wiring a backup generator wrong for like 2 years straight

I was doing a routine inspection on a King Air 350 last Thursday in Wichita and noticed the emergency bus wasn't getting power during a test. Turned out I had been mixing up the ground and the sense wire on the voltage regulator this whole time. The tip-off was a senior tech named Dave who just watched me for a minute and said 'you know that's backwards, right?' Has anyone else had a moment where a simple wire swap was causing phantom issues for months?

31

nancyj11•18d ago

Rant: Pulled an old KX-155 out of a 172 and the thing still worked after 30 years of Texas heat

I put it on the bench just to test it before tossing it and it passed every single check, which really makes me wonder if we're overcomplicating these new glass panels with all their failure modes.

35

rubyk26•18d ago

Senior tech told me my harness routing was 'aesthetically lazy' and it stung but he was right

I spent 3 years just jamming wire bundles into whatever path was shortest until he showed me how a 15 minute reroute kept them away from a hot bleed air line and now I check clearance on every install, anyone else get humbled by a grumpy old timer on something you thought didn't matter?

27

paige331•19d ago

PSA: My bench power supply died mid-test and I found a bad solder joint on the regulator board

So I was working on a Garmin G5 install last Friday, testing the power draw on the bench, and my old HP power supply just clicked off and went dark. No lights, no output, nothing. I figured the main transformer gave out, but when I cracked it open I found a cracked solder joint on the voltage regulator heatsink. A quick reflow with my iron and it fired right back up. I guess these older units get heat cycled so much the joints just fail over time. Has anyone else had a bench supply die from a bad solder joint instead of a component failure?

4

the_taylor•20d ago

Update: I used to swear by D-sub crimpers over soldering, now I'm switching back

Spent 3 hours yesterday re-terminating a DB25 on a King radio that kept giving intermittent faults. The crimp tool I've used for years just wasn't grabbing right anymore. Picked up a cheap soldering iron from Hobby Lobby and finished the job in 45 minutes with zero issues. Anyone else find that older aircraft harnesses just respond better to solder?

11

miles_hall•20d ago

Hot take: I think terminal block lugs are better than crimp pins for most GA panels

Idk maybe it's just me but I switched to terminal blocks after spending 3 hours on a Cessna 172 panel rework trying to chase a bad crimp. Saves me time on troubleshooting since I can meter each lug without digging into a harness.

24

thomas_torres•22d ago

Had to choose between a used Fluke meter and a new bargain brand one

Last month at a pawn shop in Phoenix I found a beat-up Fluke 87 for $80, but it had a cracked screen. The new off-brand meter at Harbor Freight was $15. I went cheap and bought the Fluke, spent $30 on a replacement screen from eBay, and fixed it in my kitchen in 20 minutes. Works perfect now, but honestly I was sweating bullets when I opened it up. Has anyone else taken a gamble on a used meter and gotten lucky?

27

skyler_jackson27•22d ago

Pitot static test failure saved my butt last Tuesday

I was running a pitot static check on a King Air at Decatur airport and the altimeter kept showing 40 feet off at 10,000 feet. Turned out a mouse nest was blocking the static port on the right side, not even visible from the ground. Anyone else find weird stuff blocking ports that you almost missed?

29

the_lisa•23d ago

Used to solder every wire on a bench in the hangar, now I'm all about the portable station

Back in 2019 at the Denver FBO, I would drag every harness to the back bench with a big Weller station. Now I carry a TS100 iron in my tool bag and solder right on the wing of a Cessna 172. It saves me 20 minutes per job with no walk time. Anyone else made the switch to a portable iron for their daily work?

20

taylor.reese•23d ago

That one line from a pilot at LAX still sticks with me

I was doing a quick pit stop on a regional jet at LAX last summer when this older captain walked over while I was checking the transponder. He watched for a minute, then said 'if you treat every wire like it's your last one, they'll treat you back right.' Sounds silly but it hit me. I think about that every time I'm tempted to hurry a splice. He just nodded and walked off, never even got his name. Has anyone else had a random comment from a crew member that stayed with you?

17

kelly.charlie•23d ago

Old timer at the avionics shop told me to stop trusting the pinout diagrams

I was wiring up a new GPS antenna on a King Air 350 last week and kept getting a null signal on the test set. The pinout chart from the manufacturer showed pin 4 as the coax center, but this crusty old guy named Dave who's been doing avionics since the 70s saw me struggling and said 'that chart is wrong, swap pins 4 and 5.' I almost ignored him because the diagram was printed right there, but I figured what the hell, I'd try it. Swapped the pins and bam, signal came through clear as day. Turns out the revision on that installation manual was from 2019 and they never updated it after a harness change. Now I double check every pin with a continuity tester before I even look at the chart. Has anyone else run into bogus documentation from the OEM on newer installs?

7

stone.lisa•23d ago

Hot take: bad crimps were my fault for 6 years until a senior tech called me out

I used to blame bad crimps on cheap connectors or the tool. Then during a line maintenance check in Denver last spring, a 30 year veteran watched me work and said "you're pulling the wire too tight before you crimp, that's why the barrel splits." He was right. I changed my angle and let the wire sit loose before squeezing. Now I check each crimp with a pull test and my rework rate dropped from maybe 10 percent to near zero. Anyone else get humbled by some simple habit they thought was fine?

16

violar35•24d ago

Shoutout to the old D-sub connectors that took me 3 hours to fix today

Ran into a 1990s era wiring harness on a King Air this morning, and the pins were so corroded I had to remake the whole connector from scratch. Took me three times longer than I budgeted because I kept snapping the little retention clips. Anyone else spend way too long fighting ancient connectors that should've been retired a decade ago?

27

susanb34•25d ago

Just hit 10,000 hours on my bench multimeter

Was doing a continuity check on a 737 nav antenna yesterday and noticed the counter rolled over. That's a lot of troubleshooting since I bought it back in 2017. Anyone else keep track of how long their gear lasts?

11

dakota415•26d ago

Warning: I spent 2 years torquing connector backshells by feel like an idiot

Last month a senior tech at a Delta hangar showed me the actual torque specs for ARINC 600 connectors and I realized I'd been under-tightening them since I started. Has anyone else had a similar wake up call on something you thought was basic?

23

spencer_park26•28d ago

I dropped $400 on a Fluke meter and honestly I think it was overkill

Everyone in this sub seems to swear by Fluke for everything, but I picked up a 87V last month and for basic bench work it's way too much. I'm just doing radio swaps and checking continuity on old wiring... not flying space shuttles. My old $80 Craftsman did the same job for 5 years without a hiccup. Has anyone else regretted going top-tier when a mid-range tool would have worked?