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Strange A210 radio issue

prkaye

Well Known Member
I have an ICOM A210 Com radio. After some panel maintenance, when I fired everything up again, it was all working except that I couldn't hear my own transmissions when I hit the PTT. I could hear my voice normally through the intercom (a separate box), but when i pressed PTT and was transmitting, I couldn't hear myself through the headset. The radio displayed "TX" and someone in a nearby aircraft verified that my transmissions were being received loud and clear.
A few minutes later, after my run-up, suddenly it started working again, and I could then hear myself through the headset when transmitting.
Any ideas what this might have been?
 
No, I didn't change that setting, nor any setting in the menus. It just started working again after a few minutes of running.
 
maybe ribbon cable?

So yesterday on a x-country the same issue recurred where my side-tone stopped working (I couldn't hear myself when transmitting). I found that by pushing on the faceplate of the radio itself, that fixed the issue and made the side-tone work again.
Later in the flight, my reception of ATC and other aircraft around Toronto became very garbled and unreadable. I told the controller this and tried a different frequency with her, and it was still unreadable. She said she was reading me 5x5. Again, I tried pushing on the faceplate of the radio with my hands, and suddenly my reception was clear again.
I'm thinking perhaps it's a damaged Ribbon cable? The radio has recently been removed for panel maintenance, so maybe that fragile ribbon cable was damaged during re-install. Does this sound like the kind of symptom a damaged ribbon cable to cause?
Where can I get a replacement?
 
Same problem

I have the same, or at least similar problem with my A210 but it only seems to happen in hot weather. I was about to install a cooling fan but perhaps I should replace the ribbon cable first. I have a couple of spares that I got when the radio was in for a firm ware upgrade.

It would be good to know how you get on.

Oh - And the problem has lead to one NORDO departure from a towered airport. The controller seemed to enjoy practicing with the signal lamps!

Jim Sharkey
 
About 90% sure that's a ribbon cable issue. Check that it's fully inserted into *both* connectors. There's one on the main body of the radio that connects the same way as on the faceplate, and after a few insertions/removals the one on the body will work loose if you're not checking it every time.

Also check that the contacts on the ends of the cable are intact. One of mine "peeled" off the plastic carrier, and folded back on itself. Not straight though, it folded on an angle and shorted to the adjacent line. Radio did all sorts of odd things until I found that.

You can order a spare ribbon cable from iCom, they may or may not charge you a couple of bucks for it. It's handy to have one waiting in reserve just in case you break one. Sadly, it's the weakest point of what is otherwise a pretty stellar radio.
 
Concur with Rob:

I had a ribbon problem during a cross-Canada trip which turned out to be resolved when the cable was replaced. When you order the replacement, order 5... They're cheap.

John
 
Changed Ribbon Cable Today

I changed the cable today. No obvious damage but it's hard not to get the front plate back on without folding the cable si there may have been some damage causing intermittent connection. We'll see. I have one more spare.

Jim Sharkey
 
I changed the cable today. No obvious damage but it's hard not to get the front plate back on without folding the cable si there may have been some damage causing intermittent connection. We'll see. I have one more spare.

Jim Sharkey

Flew yesterday and after 30 minutes lost transmit sidetone and intercom - again!

It would be good to get to the bottom of this on the A210.

Could it be something to do with settings?

Jim
 
... lost transmit sidetone and intercom - again!
So IOW, you weren't hearing anything in your headphones now? It sure sounds like a loose connection somewhere. Before, when you lost sidetone, you said you could hear the intercom "through a separate box". So the problem is not your headset, then. How is this separate box tied to the audio output of the A210?
 
So IOW, you weren't hearing anything in your headphones now? It sure sounds like a loose connection somewhere. Before, when you lost sidetone, you said you could hear the intercom "through a separate box". So the problem is not your headset, then. How is this separate box tied to the audio output of the A210?

I use the built-in A210 intercom.

I'll try plugging into the passenger sockets.

Jim
 
... it's hard not to get the front plate back on without folding the cable ...

You may have the cable in backwards. All the pins are straight-through so this won't affect operation, but the cable when it's in the correct orientation will almost retract itself into the body of the radio during assembly. I found that if I used an Allan key to guide the ribbon into the hole in the body, once it went closer than about an inch to the panel the cable almost wanted to pull the front panel in.

When I removed it once to check both ends I could see that the pre-existing folds were closer to one end than the other. If you turn it around (I tried that once to extend the life of the cable) the cable doesn't self-retract anymore, and it's harder to get it all in there while installing the front panel. It did still work just fine in that orientation though, so it's possible you have something else going on.

Is it possible you have a wire somewhere else that's intermittent, like on your PTT or in between?
 
And don't forget that when you plug into the co pilot side socket , it is possible that the co pilot side will not transmit due to the set up in the 210 . There is a set up that allows tx on both or only the pilot side mic socket. Sometimes it's difficult to outsmart the radio! And all that does is confuse the troubleshooting issue. Good luck on the troubleshooting.
 
On the second leg of today's flight I lost sidetone again. Fine on the first leg.

Does anyone know about the Interlock function on the A210 and CS-A210"cloning software"?

I have a single radio but the Interlock function is still an option on the menu. Not sure if that is significant.

Jim
 
I had an A210 and had the same problem, but it's likely not the radio.

It's likely your jack connections.

Can you also confirm that you're not actually transmitting when you lose sidetone (and that the Transmit light -- TS -- on the A210 illuminates?)
 
I had an A210 and had the same problem, but it's likely not the radio.

It's likely your jack connections.

Can you also confirm that you're not actually transmitting when you lose sidetone (and that the Transmit light -- TS -- on the A210 illuminates?)


The TX illuminates and I get a carrier signal on a handheld. Also get an RX when using the test button but nothing in the headset. The headset works fine when connected to the handheld.

Jim
 
What happens when you plug into the passenger side jacks and transmit?

Same problem. I have pulled the plug out of the tray and dropped the harness for a better look at some of the joints. The radio was bought from GulfCoast and they made the harness. Might be something with connections there.
 
Update

Made half a dozen short flights giving rides yesterday at the CVFC Fly-in.

For flights one and two the radio worked fine.

At the start of flight #3, and after having shut down and sat in the sun for 10 or 15 minutes I had no intercom or side tone. Decided to fly NORDO but after 5 or 10 minutes into the flight the headsets came alive again.

This exact same sequence repeated for the next three flights.

Any thoughts? Thinking it is a cooling issue. But why come alive again into the flight?

The radio is mounted above a GTX327 that may be a significant source of heat. Perhaps I should try some test flights without the transponder.

And would anyone near 1B8 be interested in temporarily swapping A210s to see if the problem is the radio or the installation?

Jim
 
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