Ralphieflies
Well Known Member
I'm in need of a transponder certification......any recommendations for a shop near Austin, TX?
Thank you
Thank you
Van's Air Force
Don't miss anything! Register now for full access to the definitive RV support community.
Avionics shop near Austin
- Thread starter Ralphieflies
- Start date
Mike S
Senior Curmudgeon
How about Walt A. http://www.vansairforce.com/community/member.php?u=1964
LifeofReiley
Well Known Member
Don't think he is near Austin, TX. ACS in Taylor hands down!
Ralphieflies
Well Known Member
Perfect...Only 12 miles away.....Could almost taxi there
I spoke to Mike....Great price too!!!.....Thanks!!!
Mike S
Senior Curmudgeon
I have no idea of Texas geography, but at RV speeds----------
Ralphieflies
Well Known Member
Its not an RV (still looking to buy the right one).....Its a DA20 and only does 145 KTAS.....
emuyshondt
Well Known Member
I use McKee Avionics, in San Marcos. Erik was really good when I had a transponder problem and also did my IFR certification. I didn't have good luck with ACS. My transponder quit on my way from their VFR cert home. It didn't work as soon as I took off after they signed off my logbook.
Last edited:
LifeofReiley
Well Known Member
That would most likely be due to the fact your transponder had issues before you went in for the cert. That is the reason certs are performed. Many transponders have issues pilots are unaware of. When the cert is performed the transponder is ran through a lot of knob turning or button pushing... many never leave 1200 for years. ACS does great work hands down!
emuyshondt
Well Known Member
I am surprised by the great ratings ACS gets. I went there because of them. However, I rate my experience as bad.
My transponder had been working fine, it just needed a certification. It got flaky once they started sending signals with their test equipment. Maybe removing it to read the serial number caused something in the old transponder to go (not their fault). They had some issues with it but still certified it. I felt they should have failed it, but it was late and I needed to go. His whole procedure didn't inspire much confidence in me. Finally he gets it to pass. On taking off, the light didn't blink anymore and ATC wasn't getting a Mode C reading.
Also, I had made an appointment for the transponder check (and IFR cert) maybe a week earlier. When I got there at the appointed time, they guy's brother informs me the guy went to fly someone in a King Air and wasn't sure when he'd be back. I did not get a phone call or other indication about this ahead of time. This was on a Friday, so I had taken time off work to get it done. Fortunately my airplane partner is building an RV6A at Taylor, so I went to hang out at his hangar. Three hours later the guy shows up. He no longer has time for the IFR cert, but can do the VFR transponder check.
I also tried to get an estimate from them on getting a radio installed. I couldn't get a straight answer on what it would cost. They just couldn't come up with a firm estimate of how long it would take. This was for a single VAL INS 429 indicator on an almost empty Cessna 172 panel. I already had a NAV antenna installed. They had to hook up power and ground, connect the antenna bayonet connector, and hook the audio output to my audio panel. I already had a harness with the wiring. It was not so much what they wanted to charge, but rather their uncertainty that bothered me the most. They ended up estimating 8 hours of time, but weren't sure. They also had to get back to me on whether I would have to send the radio back to the manufacturer to get a form 8130. They weren't sure about the requirement for that either. It seems to me a radio shop should have been more certain about these subjects. I called VAL, and they didn't think it was necessary, though they'd be happy to look over my unit.
I called McKee and over the phone he quoted me somewhere around 2 hours to install the radio. Took the plane down, confirmed the estimate and was done within the estimated time. He was also able to troubleshoot the transponder issue and then sent it in for repair. ACS had mentioned if I had issues wth mine they had some nice Garmin GTX 327 that I should consider buying since old transponders weren't worth fixing.
My transponder had been working fine, it just needed a certification. It got flaky once they started sending signals with their test equipment. Maybe removing it to read the serial number caused something in the old transponder to go (not their fault). They had some issues with it but still certified it. I felt they should have failed it, but it was late and I needed to go. His whole procedure didn't inspire much confidence in me. Finally he gets it to pass. On taking off, the light didn't blink anymore and ATC wasn't getting a Mode C reading.
Also, I had made an appointment for the transponder check (and IFR cert) maybe a week earlier. When I got there at the appointed time, they guy's brother informs me the guy went to fly someone in a King Air and wasn't sure when he'd be back. I did not get a phone call or other indication about this ahead of time. This was on a Friday, so I had taken time off work to get it done. Fortunately my airplane partner is building an RV6A at Taylor, so I went to hang out at his hangar. Three hours later the guy shows up. He no longer has time for the IFR cert, but can do the VFR transponder check.
I also tried to get an estimate from them on getting a radio installed. I couldn't get a straight answer on what it would cost. They just couldn't come up with a firm estimate of how long it would take. This was for a single VAL INS 429 indicator on an almost empty Cessna 172 panel. I already had a NAV antenna installed. They had to hook up power and ground, connect the antenna bayonet connector, and hook the audio output to my audio panel. I already had a harness with the wiring. It was not so much what they wanted to charge, but rather their uncertainty that bothered me the most. They ended up estimating 8 hours of time, but weren't sure. They also had to get back to me on whether I would have to send the radio back to the manufacturer to get a form 8130. They weren't sure about the requirement for that either. It seems to me a radio shop should have been more certain about these subjects. I called VAL, and they didn't think it was necessary, though they'd be happy to look over my unit.
I called McKee and over the phone he quoted me somewhere around 2 hours to install the radio. Took the plane down, confirmed the estimate and was done within the estimated time. He was also able to troubleshoot the transponder issue and then sent it in for repair. ACS had mentioned if I had issues wth mine they had some nice Garmin GTX 327 that I should consider buying since old transponders weren't worth fixing.
Last edited:
LifeofReiley
Well Known Member
Henry,
There are NO brothers at ACS!!! Perhaps you can get your story straight before condenming a reputable and well known professional company.
There are NO brothers at ACS!!! Perhaps you can get your story straight before condenming a reputable and well known professional company.
Last edited:
emuyshondt
Well Known Member
While I may have the familial relationship of the two guys I spoke to wrong, it was most definitely ACS that I dealt with. I double checked the invoice and e-mail address I used.
There's two guys that had shaved heads. Maybe they were just business partners, and I misunderstood their relationship. Only one of them was able to do the certification. The other did other work at the shop. It doesn't change what I experienced, though.
As I said, I had high expectations because I had heard good things about the shop. I was predisposed to like them. I don't know why my experience was not the best.
This was my first and only direct interaction with them. I have no particular reason to like or dislike them. I was only answering the OP about what shop I used and was happy with, and what my experience was with the other shop.
There's two guys that had shaved heads. Maybe they were just business partners, and I misunderstood their relationship. Only one of them was able to do the certification. The other did other work at the shop. It doesn't change what I experienced, though.
As I said, I had high expectations because I had heard good things about the shop. I was predisposed to like them. I don't know why my experience was not the best.
This was my first and only direct interaction with them. I have no particular reason to like or dislike them. I was only answering the OP about what shop I used and was happy with, and what my experience was with the other shop.
Last edited:
Walt
Well Known Member
Henry,
There are NO brothers at ACS!!! Perhaps you can get your story straight before condenming a reputable and well know professional company.
I personally don't think there was any need for this comment, the fact that "there are no brothers at ACS" doesn't change what happened. The poster merely related his experience, simple as that.
I can also understand ACS's position, rather than just turn down a job some shops will just bid them high knowing they probably won't get the business. And I also understand about old transponders, fixing them can be temporary at best as many are on their last leg, I often recommend a new unit over fixing an old unit because in the long run, it generally makes more sense.
Last edited:
db1yg
Well Known Member
Recommend McKee
Erik at McKee Avionics in San Marcos did the complicated portion of the wiring on my RV9a build back in 2005. At that point he had completed the wiring on several RV builds in the area as well as doing panel upgrades on many other experimentals. He is a skilled avionics professional, an honest man, and I would not hesitate to recommend him (and I have many times) to anyone needing avionics work.
Cheers,
db
Erik at McKee Avionics in San Marcos did the complicated portion of the wiring on my RV9a build back in 2005. At that point he had completed the wiring on several RV builds in the area as well as doing panel upgrades on many other experimentals. He is a skilled avionics professional, an honest man, and I would not hesitate to recommend him (and I have many times) to anyone needing avionics work.
Cheers,
db
emuyshondt
Well Known Member
I agree with your comments, Walt. I was not bothered by the offer for the new transponder, and it is a reasonable option against repairing the old one. I didn't go that way, because I want to get to an ADS-B Out solution and want to wait out that market for another couple of years. However, I also see the wisdom of getting something new vs. trying to repair an old unit. It is not black and white, but indeed a reasonable consideration and recommendation.
What I didn't feel right about was a certain lack of assurance on the part of ACS. The procedures they followed and statements they made were as if they were not sure of what they were doing. The radio installation was a pretty simple procedure. Even if they didn't want to do it, they shouldn't have hesitated so much, they could have just quoted an outlandish price, or they could have said they didn't do that kind of work, or something more forthright. They would have gotten my business if I hadn't seen what happened with my transponder. I even brought the NAV radio to the transponder check, so they could see exactly what I needed and establish when they could install it.
Maybe they were trying to do me a favor by going through with the transponder certification, but the transponder was very obviously not right after they pulled it to read off the serial number (the failure was definitely not their fault - they did NOT mistreat the unit). However, my observation of how they were trying to fix the problem was that they didn't seem quite confident in what they were doing. They tugged a harness here, wiggled a wire there, had puzzled looks, and never even opened the transponder to see if there was something obviously wrong inside of it. I expected an experienced avionics shop to be able to address a flaky transponder more directly than they did, just like I experienced at McKee's.
What I didn't feel right about was a certain lack of assurance on the part of ACS. The procedures they followed and statements they made were as if they were not sure of what they were doing. The radio installation was a pretty simple procedure. Even if they didn't want to do it, they shouldn't have hesitated so much, they could have just quoted an outlandish price, or they could have said they didn't do that kind of work, or something more forthright. They would have gotten my business if I hadn't seen what happened with my transponder. I even brought the NAV radio to the transponder check, so they could see exactly what I needed and establish when they could install it.
Maybe they were trying to do me a favor by going through with the transponder certification, but the transponder was very obviously not right after they pulled it to read off the serial number (the failure was definitely not their fault - they did NOT mistreat the unit). However, my observation of how they were trying to fix the problem was that they didn't seem quite confident in what they were doing. They tugged a harness here, wiggled a wire there, had puzzled looks, and never even opened the transponder to see if there was something obviously wrong inside of it. I expected an experienced avionics shop to be able to address a flaky transponder more directly than they did, just like I experienced at McKee's.
larrynew
Well Known Member
+1 for Erik. Over the years, he's done several soldering and wiring classes at our EAA Chapter meetings. He has always been available to help the experimental guys in the area. No relation other than a satisfied customer. Well, actually not even a customer as he answered a dozen or so of my wiring and avionics questions and wouldn't take any money so I forced him to accept a gift card. I will be going to him for my avionics certs.
