NAV/COMM went out. What Are the Options to Replace?

Bonchie

Bonchie

Pattern Altitude
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Bonchie
Our club 182's secondary Nav/Comm went out (Garmin 430 is the primary). We also have a GNS375 that does WAAS/LPV, so that's a dual GPS setup with one working radio and one working ILS still. The GPSs currently share a CDI on a switch to go back and forth.

Now, for IFR, we absolutely need a second radio. That's a no-brainer. But do we really need a second ILS in this day and age of LPV approaches and WAAS reliability?

My opinion is to just get a comm unit and then simplify the cockpit by tying each GPS to its own CDI. No more stupid switch. Wouldn't having ILS + LPV in two separate units still be enough redundancy in the plane?

Alternatively, if there are any glass options that include a comm or nav comm, I'd rather spend more money on new technology that does more than $5K on a "new" 40-year-old radio.

Opinions?
 
With what you have, I would certainly not install a second Nav radio. You have one, and 2 IFR GPS units, so just a replacement Com radio should work fine. I would go with something like a GTR225 and yes, it would make sense to have the CDI separate between the 430 and the 375.
 
For just a new NAV/COM the options seem pretty thin these days. There's the GNC255 and...???
(I'm not counting the TKM radios since they don't come with a tray)

Even for a new COM-only, I think the choices come down to just Garmin, Trig and ICOM.
 
What's the make and model of the radio that went out? If that's something with a plug-in replacement available from TKM might this be considered?
 
What's wrong with a used radio? Check the classifieds on this forum.
 
My first thought is that you need a second nav radio because that’s what everyone has, it’s the way it’s done, etc.

So yeah - it seems like you should. I can offer no reasoning for that however. I would imagine years ago people would argue for keeping an ADF, LORAN, and DME for the same reason.
 
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