King 86 ADF

Rob Schaffer

Rob Schaffer

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Hey guys,... I'm looking for information on the King 86 ADF with the rotating card. I can't find a manual or sheet online giving input as to the settings of the center switch, where you can select ADF-ANT-BFO.
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I presume that I just need to turn the unit on in the lower right, dial in the NDB Frequency and set this switch to ADF,... but I"m not certain.

Also, above the ADF in the photo is the Collins AudioPanel that we have in the plane. Selecting the ADF to the phones or speaker will just output the morse code from the station correct, or do I have to set that center switch on the ADF to a different position to listen to the morse code and ID the station?

I know how to use the ADF based on the books anyway,.. so I figure it's time to start using it in flight to get good and familiar with tracking the NDB and determining bearings to the station before I start on the instrument ground work.
 

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ANT = equals the omni antenna, great for listening to the ball game, provides no directional information

BFO = Beat Frequency Oscillator. It is also the omni antenna but adds an internal RF carrier just off of the main frequency so as to create a tone in the audio output. This is for helping you hear the morse code identifier easier

ADF = Auto Directional Finder. This is the setting when you want to have the needle point to the station.
 
Rob Schaffer said:
Hey guys,... I'm looking for information on the King 86 ADF with the rotating card. I can't find a manual or sheet online giving input as to the settings of the center switch, where you can select ADF-ANT-BFO.
Click to expand...
ADF means normal ADF operation -- normal audio output, needle points in the direction of the station. ANT means "antenna" -- increased sensitivity for signal detection, but no direction finding. BFO is Beat Frequency Oscillator, which provides a beat frequency in the audio to help pick the Morse out of the mush.

I presume that I just need to turn the unit on in the lower left, dial in the NDB Frequency and set this switch to ADF,...
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Well, you do want to identify the station with the Morse Code somewhere in there, but yeah, that's the general idea.
Also, above the ADF in the photo is the Collins AudioPanel that we have in the plane. Selecting the ADF to the phones or speaker will just output the morse code from the station correct,
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Correct.
or do I have to set that center switch on the ADF to a different position to listen to the morse code and ID the station?
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Only if there's a lot of static or the signal is weak -- then BFO will help you hear the Morse code more clearly, after which you go back to ADF for direction finding.
I know how to use the ADF based on the books anyway,.. so I figure it's time to start using it in flight to get good and familiar with tracking the NDB and determining bearings to the station before I start on the instrument ground work.
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I recommend against that, as you'll probably either have a lot of trouble learning to track properly or end up just homing rather than tracking -- I've cleaned up that mess in IR training before, and it wastes everyone's time. I'd suggest at least one lesson on ADF orientation, interception, and tracking (even in the sim) before you start teaching yourself and reinforcing bad habits.
 
Doesn't one of those switch settings also slew the pointer to 090 as a test? I know it did in the Cessna 172R.
 
The knob that says "Heading" and "Test"? By the compass card? Push it and the needle moves to 090 or some such thing.
 
Yep. The button just to the bottom right of the compass card sets the compass direction when rotated. When pressed, it makes the needle point to the left-right indication for test purposes. On the rare occasions I use my KR86 for something besides a ballgame... The test function is a useful feature - to prove that the needle actually is alive.


TangoWhiskey said:
Doesn't one of those switch settings also slew the pointer to 090 as a test? I know it did in the Cessna 172R.
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The last section of the manual has a brief operation description including the "test" function.
 

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Awsome info!, thankyou. This weekend when I am out on a brunch/lunch run I will turn it on and make sure the functions work correctly. Then I think I will talk to one of the cfi's for a lesson and flight. I don't wnt to start off on the wrong technique.
 
Rob Schaffer said:
Awsome info!, thankyou. This weekend when I am out on a brunch/lunch run I will turn it on and make sure the functions work correctly. Then I think I will talk to one of the cfi's for a lesson and flight. I don't wnt to start off on the wrong technique.
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What technique do you need? You tune the local sports station on it and listen to the ball game. DONE! You are an ADF master ;)

IF you are doing an instrument course make sure you now how to properly placard an instrument INOP for your checkride. The INOP instrument will be the ADF. :D:D
 
smigaldi said:
What technique do you need? You tune the local sports station on it and listen to the ball game. DONE! You are an ADF master ;)

IF you are doing an instrument course make sure you now how to properly placard an instrument INOP for your checkride. The INOP instrument will be the ADF. :D:D
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ADF's and NDB's are misunderstood by so many. Once mastered it's really no more difficult than any other non precision approach.

However since most CFII's don't understand them then they don't bother to teach them correctly either. Their students don't learn them correctly and when that student eventually becomes a CFII they don't have the basics either. And so it goes to each new generation.

Also, most CFII's don't bother to teach someone how to "monitor" the NDB during an approach. Without proper monitoring by having the volume of the ADF on in the background there is no way to know if the NDB has failed during the approach. Whenever I would have a student flying the NDB approach if they turned the volume back down after identifying the station, once they establish inbound I would fail the NDB. They would continue flying along marveling at how well they are tracking inbound not realizing the needle was dead.
 
Rotor&Wing said:
Whenever I would have a student flying the NDB approach if they turned the volume back down after identifying the station, once they establish inbound I would fail the NDB. They would continue flying along marveling at how well they are tracking inbound not realizing the needle was dead.
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I can't think of ANY reason for the "speaker" button on the ADF select (KMA 24 or higher) except for the ident tone....for the ADF signal......
 
Rotor&Wing said:
Also, most CFII's don't bother to teach someone how to "monitor" the NDB during an approach. Without proper monitoring by having the volume of the ADF on in the background there is no way to know if the NDB has failed during the approach.
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My eyeeye is an old crusty guy, he taught us to always monitor. Unlike the VOR head, there is no nav flag to alert you if the station goes down.

That said, with a 430 WAAS, ILS, and VOR, the last time I did an NBD approach was on my checkride.
 
The ADF generates a 40 Hz tone that drives the needle. In "ADF" position the 40 Hz tone is there but not always noticeable. It can mess up the audio if you're trying to listen to some broadcast station, so the "ANT" position shuts the 40 Hz off. The needle goes dead but the audio is clear.

That switch leads to finger trouble with many pilots. They'll complain that the ADF isn't working; we go out and flip that switch, the ADF comes alive, and then they want to know what we did. Too many buttons for some guys, I guess.

The "test" button applies the 40 hz without letting it reach the null when the needle points at the staion.

Dan
 
Rotor&Wing said:
<SNIP>


Also, most CFII's don't bother to teach someone how to "monitor" the NDB during an approach. Without proper monitoring by having the volume of the ADF on in the background there is no way to know if the NDB has failed during the approach. Whenever I would have a student flying the NDB approach if they turned the volume back down after identifying the station, once they establish inbound I would fail the NDB. They would continue flying along marveling at how well they are tracking inbound not realizing the needle was dead.
Click to expand...

I was going to ask "why?"...got the answer below-

Bill Jennings said:
My eyeeye is an old crusty guy, he taught us to always monitor. Unlike the VOR head, there is no nav flag to alert you if the station goes down.

That said, with a 430 WAAS, ILS, and VOR, the last time I did an NBD approach was on my checkride.
Click to expand...
 
smigaldi said:
IF you are doing an instrument course make sure you now how to properly placard an instrument INOP for your checkride. The INOP instrument will be the ADF. :D:D
Click to expand...

That doesn't work! I had a placecard on mine when I took the check ride. It still tracked, but I could not receive sound to identify the station. The examiner had me identify the station by using a VOR radial to overfly the station. He then proceeded to hand me a homegrown "practice" plate for an approach into SEG. No published ADF approach in the area and there I was flying one on the check ride. If it's in the plane, know how to use it.
 
swingwing said:
That doesn't work! I had a placecard on mine when I took the check ride. It still tracked, but I could not receive sound to identify the station. The examiner had me identify the station by using a VOR radial to overfly the station. He then proceeded to hand me a homegrown "practice" plate for an approach into SEG. No published ADF approach in the area and there I was flying one on the check ride. If it's in the plane, know how to use it.
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A tyrap around the pullled CB for the ADF along with the "Inop" label ought to defer most examiners and if that feels insufficient, few would know how to resurect a failed ADF that had it's antenna cable disconnected from the receiver (and properly secured).
 
swingwing said:
That doesn't work! I had a placecard on mine when I took the check ride. It still tracked, but I could not receive sound to identify the station. The examiner had me identify the station by using a VOR radial to overfly the station. He then proceeded to hand me a homegrown "practice" plate for an approach into SEG. No published ADF approach in the area and there I was flying one on the check ride. If it's in the plane, know how to use it.
Click to expand...

gismo said:
A tyrap around the pullled CB for the ADF along with the "Inop" label ought to defer most examiners and if that feels insufficient, few would know how to resurect a failed ADF that had it's antenna cable disconnected from the receiver (and properly secured).
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LOL!!

When I had my instrument checkride that airport we were going to most of the approaches at had an NBD approach and my ADF was working fine. I had practiced those approaches until I was pretty good at them. But the night of the ride that airport was IFR. So we went to another that did not have an NDB approach. Instead I flew and ILS, LOC-BC and a GPS.

I later flew the NDB approach at that first airport in actual IMC during daylight. That was the only time I had ever flown an NDB is actual. I am glad there are other approaches that are far more accurate to chose from.
 
gismo said:
A tyrap around the pullled CB for the ADF along with the "Inop" label ought to defer most examiners and if that feels insufficient, few would know how to resurect a failed ADF that had it's antenna cable disconnected from the receiver (and properly secured).
Click to expand...

FWIW, for an ADF to be truly "INOP" then the CB must be pulled and a logbook entry made. As a mechanic making the entry in the logbook I would have also tie wrapped the CB.
 
Dan Thomas said:
The ADF generates a 40 Hz tone that drives the needle. In "ADF" position the 40 Hz tone is there but not always noticeable. It can mess up the audio if you're trying to listen to some broadcast station, so the "ANT" position shuts the 40 Hz off. The needle goes dead but the audio is clear.

That switch leads to finger trouble with many pilots. They'll complain that the ADF isn't working; we go out and flip that switch, the ADF comes alive, and then they want to know what we did. Too many buttons for some guys, I guess.

The "test" button applies the 40 hz without letting it reach the null when the needle points at the staion.

Dan
Click to expand...

Dan, I'm not aware of any ADF units that "generates a 40Hz tone". All (two) of the ones I've looked into simply used the detected carrier from the directional antenna to drive the indicator in the direction that makes the sin/cos output of a resolver match the relative strengths from the directional antenna. Besides, not only is 40 Hz inaudible for most of us, it likely wouldn't be reproduced by headsets or speakers.
 
If you really want to learn how to use an ADF,

Try http://www.visi.com/~mim/nav/

This simple simulator will help you understand how it works a whole lot better and cheaper than you would in the airplane. Start by setting the wind at about 20kts out of the south and then tracking 270 and then tracking other headings. When you can hold perfectly in about a 50 knot crosswind with this using the ADF you will have a very good understanding of how ADF works.

Brian
CFIIG/ASEL
 
gismo said:
Dan, I'm not aware of any ADF units that "generates a 40Hz tone". All (two) of the ones I've looked into simply used the detected carrier from the directional antenna to drive the indicator in the direction that makes the sin/cos output of a resolver match the relative strengths from the directional antenna. Besides, not only is 40 Hz inaudible for most of us, it likely wouldn't be reproduced by headsets or speakers.
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I hear it all the time in the ADFs I've used. Here's the block diagram:
 

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Dan Thomas said:
I hear it all the time in the ADFs I've used. Here's the block diagram:
Click to expand...

That's just the "chopper" applied to the balanced modulator in the directional drive path. It's not deliberately added to the audio path which runs from the sense antenna to the right. If it shows up in the audio output the radio is suffering from internal crosstalk issues.
 
BTW I pushed the test button on my KR 86 today and the indicator just keeps spinning around. It did not just turn 90 degrees. I also was able to use the ADF so I know it works.
 
smigaldi said:
BTW I pushed the test button on my KR 86 today and the indicator just keeps spinning around. It did not just turn 90 degrees. I also was able to use the ADF so I know it works.
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If it was turning continuously clockwise then it was the correct test response. That little tidbit is why I posted the installation manual.
 
Rob, good luck finding an NDB to work with. Rainbow, down by Millville, is the only one I can think of and I'm not positive that it's still on the air.
 
Hmm. I thought I had read that UKT had been decommissioned. Lucky Rob!
 
I heard UKT is active yet too, and Dave a friend of ours that was doing the cirrus transition training flew it not to long ago IIRC from his blog.

I didn't get to try the ADF this weekend, rough engine on startup so I cancelled the flight with my daughter. Tom is supposed to check it out tomorrow, hopefully fixed easily. I will probably see if I can tune UKT and Trenton's when I do get out again though.
 
@ clark1961, thank you for the file, found by searching
also found this little gem http://www.testflysundance .org/documents/aircraft/Cherokee/kr86-pilot-guide.pdf
 
When I took my ifr check ride, I had to pick up my dpe at a neighboring airport then fly to my home airport to do the precision approaches. No gps, only dual VORs and an ADF but no ndb approach. All when well until the ride back to his airport where he asked if I could fly an ndb approach. I said I hadn't practiced but would give it a try. Using the ADF and iPad as situational awareness it wasn't hard at all. Check ride, passed! It's not something that's required but unless it's inop, it's fair game.
 
ADF I honestly thought that was all decommissioned, just like HIWASS was turned off.
 
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