Van's Air Force
Don't miss anything! Register now for full access to the definitive RV support community.
XCOM Radio info
- Thread starter Mel
- Start date
Great radio. Had to have it serviced once which was a bit more than I expected, but it sounds great, Xmits strong and has a very nice intercom. Dual watch is handy. No regrets. Does take a while to fine-tune all the settings. Squelch the intercom high or you will pickup some cockpit noise, at least I did until I "learned."
Bob Kelly
Bob Kelly
jferraro17
Opulence, I has it...
Do you fellas know if that built in intercom/music input is stereo? Don't see it mentioned on the web site.
Does it require external cooling? Pretty tight package...
Thanks
Joe
Does it require external cooling? Pretty tight package...
Thanks
Joe
Last edited by a moderator:
Nope, just mono input. Wasn't a big deal to me as I have stereo wired around the XCOM with a switch to kick it on or off. No mention of needing external cooling and all I can say about that is that the face never gets warm. And yes, it is incredibly small and light.
Bob Kelly
TravisHamblen
Active Member
2.4" X 2.4" X 5.83" to the back of the BNC connector.
Thanks Mel!
Mel, thanks for the post. It got me to thinking that this radio would be a nice change from the wide tray type (icom) radios. It would be a nice change to the landscape of the panel. And it has all of the features that we wanted in the new icom, but did not get.........
......
And less than 6" deep!!! that's great.......
Mel, thanks for the post. It got me to thinking that this radio would be a nice change from the wide tray type (icom) radios. It would be a nice change to the landscape of the panel. And it has all of the features that we wanted in the new icom, but did not get.........
......And less than 6" deep!!! that's great.......
Last edited:
One thing worth mentioning, this radio has only one receiver. The "dual watch" feature while better (IMHO) than the Icom still does not let you hear 2 frequencies at the same time. But it does give the primary frequency priority.Mel, thanks for the post. It got me to thinking thet this radio would be a nice change from the wide tray type (icom) radios. It would be a nice change to the landscape of the panel. And it has all of the features that we wanted in the new icom but did not get.........
And less than 6" deep!!! that's great.......
Go to www.mcp.com.au/xcom760/features/features.html
Last edited:
I own XCOM radio 321.
I purchased the unit from a US supplier several years ago with whom I am completely satisfied.
Since the radio was a few years old, I decided to upgrade the software before I installed it. I talked with the XCOM folks in Australia about having them e-mail me the updated software so that I could update the firmware via the serial port as described in the XCOM literature. Unfortunately, this feature is not available. The radio had to be shipped to Australia for the software update. They also upgraded/updated a few hardware pieces--the display, I think.
I fired it up for the fist time on 11/21/07.
The sidetone disable feature did not work.
The intercom squelch reset itself when I turned the unit off then on with the avionics master switch. The squelch setting still showed my desired setting (squelch all the way closed), but the actual squelch was wide open.
I sent the radio back to Australia for repairs on 01/04/08. They received my radio on 01/11/08. They shipped my radio back to me on 02/08/08 and I received it today (02/11/08) via UPS.
I will re-install the radio tomorrow and let you all know if the problems were repaired.
Them's the facts. My post is intentionally void of inflamatory or emotional statments. Not trying to bash anyone--just provide information. Hope this meets with the approval of the moderators!
Best regards,
I purchased the unit from a US supplier several years ago with whom I am completely satisfied.
Since the radio was a few years old, I decided to upgrade the software before I installed it. I talked with the XCOM folks in Australia about having them e-mail me the updated software so that I could update the firmware via the serial port as described in the XCOM literature. Unfortunately, this feature is not available. The radio had to be shipped to Australia for the software update. They also upgraded/updated a few hardware pieces--the display, I think.
I fired it up for the fist time on 11/21/07.
The sidetone disable feature did not work.
The intercom squelch reset itself when I turned the unit off then on with the avionics master switch. The squelch setting still showed my desired setting (squelch all the way closed), but the actual squelch was wide open.
I sent the radio back to Australia for repairs on 01/04/08. They received my radio on 01/11/08. They shipped my radio back to me on 02/08/08 and I received it today (02/11/08) via UPS.
I will re-install the radio tomorrow and let you all know if the problems were repaired.
Them's the facts. My post is intentionally void of inflamatory or emotional statments. Not trying to bash anyone--just provide information. Hope this meets with the approval of the moderators!
Best regards,
Caution
I own this radio in a new EuroFox (http://www.eurofox-usa.com). First let me say that I think this is a well designed radio and based on my research, is by far the most feature packed radio you can find for the size and for the money. It is so small and light that when you hold it you think that something surely must be missing.
However, the Australian manufacturer has had some serious problems of late and they have a number of bad radios in the market. I have one of the bad ones (my second bad one). I meet with the owner of the company at Sebring. He did acknowledge that they had problems. Basically, they outsourced the build to some company in Asia (I think). All went well for a period of time and all of the sudden they started having radios returned for problems that were difficult to replicate and to find the cause. Through what he represents to be a long investigation, they determined that the manufacturer had started using some grey market parts that were not up to specs (I want bore you with the details, but it sounded legit).
If you do a little looking on the internet you will find (as you did on here) people who love them (pre grey market parts), and people how hate them (post grey market parts). At least that is the way it appears to me.
As of the beginning of this month, XCOM has started manufacturing the radios in house, in Australia. They estimate that they will be shipping radios in the next couple of weeks.
I do think, and very much hope, that XCOM will get their hands around this. I hope so because they have a unique and feature packed product that I like very much .... when it is working correctly.
Bottom line, DO NOT buy a radio from existing stock. Make sure you are getting a radio that has been built in their factory no earlier than this month. And if you are not in a hurry, I'd wait until some of us get these radios and confirm they have them fixed the problem. This is a very software intensive radio and the possibility still exist that this is a software problem, not a hardware problem.
Keeping my fingers crossed, and my handheld radio close by.
PS: I debated with myself on whether to send this because I do not want to make anyone mad. Could I just ask that it not be sent out side of this forum. If you do, I may not ever get my radio fixed. Thanks
I own this radio in a new EuroFox (http://www.eurofox-usa.com). First let me say that I think this is a well designed radio and based on my research, is by far the most feature packed radio you can find for the size and for the money. It is so small and light that when you hold it you think that something surely must be missing.
However, the Australian manufacturer has had some serious problems of late and they have a number of bad radios in the market. I have one of the bad ones (my second bad one). I meet with the owner of the company at Sebring. He did acknowledge that they had problems. Basically, they outsourced the build to some company in Asia (I think). All went well for a period of time and all of the sudden they started having radios returned for problems that were difficult to replicate and to find the cause. Through what he represents to be a long investigation, they determined that the manufacturer had started using some grey market parts that were not up to specs (I want bore you with the details, but it sounded legit).
If you do a little looking on the internet you will find (as you did on here) people who love them (pre grey market parts), and people how hate them (post grey market parts). At least that is the way it appears to me.
As of the beginning of this month, XCOM has started manufacturing the radios in house, in Australia. They estimate that they will be shipping radios in the next couple of weeks.
I do think, and very much hope, that XCOM will get their hands around this. I hope so because they have a unique and feature packed product that I like very much .... when it is working correctly.
Bottom line, DO NOT buy a radio from existing stock. Make sure you are getting a radio that has been built in their factory no earlier than this month. And if you are not in a hurry, I'd wait until some of us get these radios and confirm they have them fixed the problem. This is a very software intensive radio and the possibility still exist that this is a software problem, not a hardware problem.
Keeping my fingers crossed, and my handheld radio close by.
PS: I debated with myself on whether to send this because I do not want to make anyone mad. Could I just ask that it not be sent out side of this forum. If you do, I may not ever get my radio fixed. Thanks
Geico266
Well Known Member
XCOM recently opened their new manufacturing facility in which 100% of the radios are assembled where as before they were assembled by out sourced suppliers. This lead to some quality issues that have now been eliminated by better on site quality control.
They make a fine radio and to date have over 2,200 in service around the world.
The built-in VOC intercom is second to none.
If anyone has trouble with XCOM, getting service, getting questions answered, or general questions email me.
They make a fine radio and to date have over 2,200 in service around the world.
The built-in VOC intercom is second to none.
If anyone has trouble with XCOM, getting service, getting questions answered, or general questions email me.
Last edited:
In fairness to XCOM, I received an almost immediate response to an e-mail I sent earlier this evening re: concerns over the latest repair.
I first received an e-mail from the president of XCOM and then within the hour I received an e-mail from one of the technicians.
The proof will be in the pudding, as they say, tomorrow when I re-install the radio and test it.
I'll be sure to post one way or the other.
I really hope this radio works out. As others have said, the price is right and it's loaded with features. Since mine is installed in a single-place aircraft, I'm planning to use the intercom purely to amplify the music input from an mp3 player. I've got the coolie hat setup to flip flop the frequencies or scroll through memory channels. The backlighting is wired to illuminate with my other interior lighting and my position lights.
It's all very cool. The unit is very lightweight and requires minimal depth behind the panel. If the factory continues to work with me to resolve the ongoing issues, I wouldn't hesitate to install one of these in my RV-8 project or a Pitts S-1T I've got my eye on!
Best regards to all.
I first received an e-mail from the president of XCOM and then within the hour I received an e-mail from one of the technicians.
The proof will be in the pudding, as they say, tomorrow when I re-install the radio and test it.
I'll be sure to post one way or the other.
I really hope this radio works out. As others have said, the price is right and it's loaded with features. Since mine is installed in a single-place aircraft, I'm planning to use the intercom purely to amplify the music input from an mp3 player. I've got the coolie hat setup to flip flop the frequencies or scroll through memory channels. The backlighting is wired to illuminate with my other interior lighting and my position lights.
It's all very cool. The unit is very lightweight and requires minimal depth behind the panel. If the factory continues to work with me to resolve the ongoing issues, I wouldn't hesitate to install one of these in my RV-8 project or a Pitts S-1T I've got my eye on!
Best regards to all.
lucaberta
Active Member
And by the way, Michael Coates, XCOM's brains, is always reading this forum, and I am sure is totally happy about the good feedback on his product!
Oh, let me add another comment from a happy user here, I have the XCOM installed on my Pipistrel Virus motorglider based in Rome, Italy, and while I too had a small problem with the transmitter when I first used the radio, XCOM and Pipistrel were speedy fast to send me a new radio to swap the malfunctioning one (this was a brand new radio in a brand new plane).
Great radio, and Michael Coates is a very nice person to have a chat with, met him on both sides of the pond in the past two years.
Ciao, Luca
Pipistrel Virus I-8501
Rome, Italy
Oh, let me add another comment from a happy user here, I have the XCOM installed on my Pipistrel Virus motorglider based in Rome, Italy, and while I too had a small problem with the transmitter when I first used the radio, XCOM and Pipistrel were speedy fast to send me a new radio to swap the malfunctioning one (this was a brand new radio in a brand new plane).
Great radio, and Michael Coates is a very nice person to have a chat with, met him on both sides of the pond in the past two years.
Ciao, Luca
Pipistrel Virus I-8501
Rome, Italy
I told everyone I'd post one way or the other after I had a chance to test my XCOM 760 after having received it back from Australia after a little warranty work by the factory.
I installed the radio in my Midget Mustang this morning.
The short story: It still doesn't work.
The longer story: XCOM contends that the problem is with my wiring harness. I built a completely new wiring harness this evening at home and bench-tested the radio. It exhibits the exact same symptoms as when installed in my airplane and exactly the same symptoms as when I originally discovered the problems back in November.
I spent about an hour making a new test harness this evening and then about 4 more hours testing all the different menu combinations in an effort to isolate the problem. I typed up a 3-page e-mail of my findings and sent it to Mr. Coates along with a proposal to resolve the problems one way or the other.
I am disappointed that the radio didn't work out of the box, but can accept that these things happen. My ultimate opinion of XCOM will not be based on the fact that the radio didn't work out of the box, but rather on the company's approach to fixing the problem or reaching a resolution.
Best regards to all.
I installed the radio in my Midget Mustang this morning.
The short story: It still doesn't work.
The longer story: XCOM contends that the problem is with my wiring harness. I built a completely new wiring harness this evening at home and bench-tested the radio. It exhibits the exact same symptoms as when installed in my airplane and exactly the same symptoms as when I originally discovered the problems back in November.
I spent about an hour making a new test harness this evening and then about 4 more hours testing all the different menu combinations in an effort to isolate the problem. I typed up a 3-page e-mail of my findings and sent it to Mr. Coates along with a proposal to resolve the problems one way or the other.
I am disappointed that the radio didn't work out of the box, but can accept that these things happen. My ultimate opinion of XCOM will not be based on the fact that the radio didn't work out of the box, but rather on the company's approach to fixing the problem or reaching a resolution.
Best regards to all.
Looks like XCOM is making a real effort to take care of this.
I received a phone call from a technician about 45 minutes after sending my latest e-mail. I'm going to fabricate a serial cable so that we can check a few internal settings without resorting to sending it back to Australia.
If all goes well, I'll fabricate the cable and do a few checks tomorrow with the results forwarded via e-mail to Australia.
Still hoping for a positive outcome!
I received a phone call from a technician about 45 minutes after sending my latest e-mail. I'm going to fabricate a serial cable so that we can check a few internal settings without resorting to sending it back to Australia.
If all goes well, I'll fabricate the cable and do a few checks tomorrow with the results forwarded via e-mail to Australia.
Still hoping for a positive outcome!
Geico266
Well Known Member
Most, (if not all) of the time it is the wiring harness. I have seen guys swear up and down it is the radio only to find out it was the homemade wiring harness, this after bashing the radio. XCOM can (and they prefer to) make one for you so these problems don't come up. They 100% test the wiring harness to a standard to make sure it works before hooking it up to your radio. I'm not saying yours is bad, but the chances are it is. Be patient, they will take care of you and find out what is wrong.
Last edited:
To RocketBob:
I'd like to disable the sidetone because it saves battery power in my battery-only installation. I have no engine-driven source of electrical power. The XCOM manual touts this feature for exactly this scenerio.
To Jeff in Austin:
I bought it and I'd buy it again if it ends up working. You can't beat the feature set for the price. I've already doodled the panel for my RV-8 and it included an XCOM 760. Again, this was and is my first choice. I haven't hesitated to share this with the folks at XCOM. I'm excited that someone seems to have come up with a better mousetrap at a lower price!
To Larry:
I will publicly eat crow if my wiring harness is to blame. I will tell everyone I can what I did to screw up so that they might learn from my mistake and avoid a similar problem in the future. I'm just looking for a solution. I don't want a $1000 paperweight and I really don't want to spend an additional $1500 to buy a Becker that doesn't have nearly as many features as the XCOM.
As of right now, it appears that XCOM and I are working together to find a solution. In the meantime, my reason for sharing is that I'm hoping someone else will have experienced similar issues and might provide a solution.
I guess this is one of the problems with sharing information on the internet. People spend more time defending themselves and their motives than actually looking for a solution. I'm just looking for a solution. I don't care who's right.
I'd like to disable the sidetone because it saves battery power in my battery-only installation. I have no engine-driven source of electrical power. The XCOM manual touts this feature for exactly this scenerio.
To Jeff in Austin:
I bought it and I'd buy it again if it ends up working. You can't beat the feature set for the price. I've already doodled the panel for my RV-8 and it included an XCOM 760. Again, this was and is my first choice. I haven't hesitated to share this with the folks at XCOM. I'm excited that someone seems to have come up with a better mousetrap at a lower price!
To Larry:
I will publicly eat crow if my wiring harness is to blame. I will tell everyone I can what I did to screw up so that they might learn from my mistake and avoid a similar problem in the future. I'm just looking for a solution. I don't want a $1000 paperweight and I really don't want to spend an additional $1500 to buy a Becker that doesn't have nearly as many features as the XCOM.
As of right now, it appears that XCOM and I are working together to find a solution. In the meantime, my reason for sharing is that I'm hoping someone else will have experienced similar issues and might provide a solution.
I guess this is one of the problems with sharing information on the internet. People spend more time defending themselves and their motives than actually looking for a solution. I'm just looking for a solution. I don't care who's right.
Last edited:
Geico266
Well Known Member
An honorable position to take. I will help all I can.
No eating crow allowed, just double / triple check the wiring harness. I'm certain XCOM will help you though this.
SWeidemann
I'm New Here
XCOM Radio or SL40 of BECKER?
Greetings,
I have an XCOM very recently installed in my Luscombe. I picked it because of the small size, light weight and many features, but I wouldn't do it again. It's plagued with finnicky little problems that make it unreliable however I'm working on getting it fixed by plugging away at the "adjujstments I'm finding out from others. IF you need the small size and small faceplate, I recommend the Becker com radio. It is TSO'd and has a good reputation, but doesn't have all the fancy features of the SL-40. If you DO have the room I would go for the SL-40 with it's built in vox intercom, active & standby frequency (with standby monitoring), NOAA weather and forget the XCOM for sure.
I know the manufacturer is concerned about user problems and is supposedly working on changes to make the hardware and software more reliable, but in the meantime we've got what we've got. The XCOM sounds good on paper but from all the problems I've experienced and heard about, I don't think it's worth it or safe to rely on it if you have other reliable equipment to choose from.
My two cents.
Skot
Greetings,
I have an XCOM very recently installed in my Luscombe. I picked it because of the small size, light weight and many features, but I wouldn't do it again. It's plagued with finnicky little problems that make it unreliable however I'm working on getting it fixed by plugging away at the "adjujstments I'm finding out from others. IF you need the small size and small faceplate, I recommend the Becker com radio. It is TSO'd and has a good reputation, but doesn't have all the fancy features of the SL-40. If you DO have the room I would go for the SL-40 with it's built in vox intercom, active & standby frequency (with standby monitoring), NOAA weather and forget the XCOM for sure.
I know the manufacturer is concerned about user problems and is supposedly working on changes to make the hardware and software more reliable, but in the meantime we've got what we've got. The XCOM sounds good on paper but from all the problems I've experienced and heard about, I don't think it's worth it or safe to rely on it if you have other reliable equipment to choose from.
My two cents.
Skot
Not Happy with my XCOM!!
Sorry, but I've not had the same experience that you guys have had with XCOM. All reports are that my transmissions are weak and scratchy. Several e-mails to Michael Coates just result in "It's your wiring harness." I have redone the harness twice with same results. I've been doing wiring for Texas Instruments and the US Air Force for over 40 years. I've also wired many experimental aircraft over the last 25 years without problems.
I spent the extra $$$ for the extended warranty. Obviously that was wasted money. If they won't take care of the problem now, they certainly won't take care of problems later.
Sorry, but I've not had the same experience that you guys have had with XCOM. All reports are that my transmissions are weak and scratchy. Several e-mails to Michael Coates just result in "It's your wiring harness." I have redone the harness twice with same results. I've been doing wiring for Texas Instruments and the US Air Force for over 40 years. I've also wired many experimental aircraft over the last 25 years without problems.
I spent the extra $$$ for the extended warranty. Obviously that was wasted money. If they won't take care of the problem now, they certainly won't take care of problems later.
XCOM issues - NOT anymore
I have a XCOM 760 that was weak and scratchy. I sent it back to Australia after wasting a LOT of time swapping out RF cables and antennas. After 2 or 3 months, I got it back. They didn't say in details what was done but they did say "it was repaired but then failed again during pre delivery testing for some reason" and then they said "made all the modifications to it to bring it up to the late specifications and adjust needs to be updated with the latest software". Don't know exactly what they did before and after the pre-delivery test that failed but there was some hint of SW upgrade along the way. Works great now and they did it under warranty. If I had to do it over again, I'd go with either the sl40 for vfr or sl30 for ifr missions because of their ability to be 'autotuned' by other avionics equipment including garmin handhelds.
Now that its working properly it works as good as any mono system I've ever used. The mono VOX is very nice and it gets kudos from other pilots I take up. The comm reception/sensitivity is now very good. I hear hear a lot of chatter now on the same Freq as my airport from very far away at very low altitudes (i'm west of Philadelphia and I hear all the taxi helicopters and planes flying up and down the Hudson/NYC port areas - kind of cute to hear them calling out position reports referencing "the lady" or "XYZ bridge") which I never heard before including flying in other airplanes in and out of my airport on the same freq. So now that it's in and working correctly it's fantastic. Easy to install, small, light. It's fine other than not being able to be integrated with other avionics.
I have a XCOM 760 that was weak and scratchy. I sent it back to Australia after wasting a LOT of time swapping out RF cables and antennas. After 2 or 3 months, I got it back. They didn't say in details what was done but they did say "it was repaired but then failed again during pre delivery testing for some reason" and then they said "made all the modifications to it to bring it up to the late specifications and adjust needs to be updated with the latest software". Don't know exactly what they did before and after the pre-delivery test that failed but there was some hint of SW upgrade along the way. Works great now and they did it under warranty. If I had to do it over again, I'd go with either the sl40 for vfr or sl30 for ifr missions because of their ability to be 'autotuned' by other avionics equipment including garmin handhelds.
Now that its working properly it works as good as any mono system I've ever used. The mono VOX is very nice and it gets kudos from other pilots I take up. The comm reception/sensitivity is now very good. I hear hear a lot of chatter now on the same Freq as my airport from very far away at very low altitudes (i'm west of Philadelphia and I hear all the taxi helicopters and planes flying up and down the Hudson/NYC port areas - kind of cute to hear them calling out position reports referencing "the lady" or "XYZ bridge") which I never heard before including flying in other airplanes in and out of my airport on the same freq. So now that it's in and working correctly it's fantastic. Easy to install, small, light. It's fine other than not being able to be integrated with other avionics.
rocketbob
Well Known Member
Guys I'm in the same boat, own two of these radios and have had various problems with both. Michael did send me two replacement radios and those too have issues. The other night I tried to key the lights on our runway on and the XCom started resetting itself, with the display going nuts. I'd say that they're trying to get things resolved and about the only thing I can do wait until the next hardware revision of the radio, which should be in the next two weeks. It really is a feature packed radio with good comm reception and clarity, and a good intercom. I'm trying to remain optimistic they'll sort things out.
jferraro17
Opulence, I has it...
Any updates/quality news on this radio? Still high on my list for primary comm.
Thanks--
Joe
Thanks--
Joe
rocketbob
Well Known Member
Joe there's been a lot of improvement since then, in fact my radios have been flawless since version 202.5 of the firmware, which came last year. While working with them on some firmware bugs at that time I became one of their support reps in the US.
They are also now made by Narco in PA.
Its been months now since I've had a radio shipped to me for service work.
At OSH one of the big avionics vendors was selling the XCom for $1039.
They are also now made by Narco in PA.
Its been months now since I've had a radio shipped to me for service work.
At OSH one of the big avionics vendors was selling the XCom for $1039.
jferraro17
Opulence, I has it...
Thanks for the heads up Bob. I think I saw somewhere in the search that you were a rep now. So here's another question for you...
Can you wire it into a stereo intercom, or is there some work-around to get XM music or iPod input to stereo headsets while using this radio? I'm a wiring novice so thanks for the advice.
ACS has a package deal with a harness and an antenna that seems like a good deal too.
Joe
Can you wire it into a stereo intercom, or is there some work-around to get XM music or iPod input to stereo headsets while using this radio? I'm a wiring novice so thanks for the advice.
ACS has a package deal with a harness and an antenna that seems like a good deal too.
Joe
If you were using LIGHTSPEED HEADSETS, you would just plug your i-pod into them and have a great stero sound and an auto mute when trensmitting or receiving. And just use a Y splitter for 2 headsets.
rocketbob
Well Known Member
It's got a mono music input (mono intercom.) With this radio you don't need an external intercom. I used to have a PSEngineering intercom before I did an avionics upgrade, and the XCom intercom works just as well. I have the XM music output from my 396 wired via this input and it works fine, and you can choose whether or not the music gets muted on receive.
jferraro17
Opulence, I has it...
But not in stereo, if I understand it correctly?
rocketbob
Well Known Member
Michael Coates XCOM
Member
Hello everyone, I'm happy to report, in fact estatic to report that since we changed our manufacturing over to Narco in the USA we have not had any problems whatsoever. Without checking fully to the best of my knowledge there is only being one failure in service of the several hundred radios that Narco have now produced. This is giving us the failure rate which was approaching 10% in the first 12 months down to around 0.3% which is really good news. The XCOM product has always been very reliable if it was built properly. When we first started manufacture in Australia it was built properly and many of the original radios are still out there and going in service today, some with more than 3000 hours in flying schools but unfortunately as business became tighter our manufacturer (without our knowledge) decided to take some shortcuts and parts substitute and this greatly affected the quality of the radio. Fortunately we were able to identify these problems, we immediately stopped selling the radio and some four months later we entered into an agreement with Narco who are now producing our radios to the very high standards. TSO approval is currently well underway and fingers crossed expected towards the end of this year or very early next year. The biggest problem is finding suitable people to review the software components of our radio. Like Bob has mentioned above we are just not getting any of the new radios which are serial number 5000 and above coming back for any reasons, they are now just really good. We do however continue to fully support any of our earlier production and if it ever gets returned we update it at minimal charge to the customer to the latest specifications so at the moment is travelling quite well and the reliability issues are now a thing of the past (thankfully!) As always anybody is welcome to contact me directly if they have any problems or questions. Many thanks Michael Coates XCOM
Michael Coates XCOM
Member
no, mono i mono.
I'm not sure if I understand the question correctly here but if you have a separate stereo intercom system and you why the XCOM radio into that intercom system and use the intercom system as an interface to your music player then you will get stereo music coming from your headsets but there are a couple of things you must know.
VHF radios work on the AM band and as such are only mono, never stereo.
The XCOM intercom system which is built into the radio is a mono system, the reason we did this at the time was that to integrate stereo into the system was going to cost more money and lift the selling price so at the time we chose to keep it mono. We also did extensive testing with music import coming through in mono and also in stereo and to be absolutely honest even with the best headsets at the time (which were Bose headsets) the only time you couldn't really tell the difference in a normal four seater aircraft was on the ground with the engine stopped. Once you were flying with all of the engine noise, wind noise etc etc it was almost impossible to differentiate between mono and stereo sound. With the XCOM we use a stereo to mono converter so you are not missing any components of the music it is just combined into a single channel.
In summary, hopefully without confusing anybody. AM transmissions in the VHF band are mono, the intercom which is built into the XCOM radio is also mono. If you have a separate stereo intercom and you feed music into that you will hear stereo sound but you will only ever receive VHF transmissions in mono
Geico266
Well Known Member
no, mono i mono.
Opps! I meant mono only!
The radio and intercom work extremely well in noisey RVs. I have installed two in RVs I have upgraded and got many compliments on their performance after they were sold. I have one in my RV-3 and love the scanning feature. It scans the frequencies I load in (up to 99) so I know what is going on and where everyone is going.
Look for X-COM to continue with new products in the future. They are not sitting on their butts during this down time.
Last edited:
I have to put in a word here for Michael, and XCOM radios in general. I bought one of those that had a manufacturing problem. It didn't show up for over a year, but it was assembled missing some screws and finally went TU. The previous repair place did a seemingly good job repairing it, at least it has held up for over a year. There was a dispute over who would pay for this travesty, but Michael made it good. I like that.
I have always liked the XCOM. Now I know Michael is good to his word, and with NARCO building them, XCOM is a real contender. I hope it gets the TSO. I wouldn't trade it for anything I have ever used, regardless of price or nameplate.
BTW, thanks, Michael.
Bob Kelly
I have always liked the XCOM. Now I know Michael is good to his word, and with NARCO building them, XCOM is a real contender. I hope it gets the TSO. I wouldn't trade it for anything I have ever used, regardless of price or nameplate.
BTW, thanks, Michael.
Bob Kelly
flyboykelly
Well Known Member
Considering the xcom
Does anyone have any recent field reports on the xcom. I'm considering it for my 8. Thanks,
Brian
Does anyone have any recent field reports on the xcom. I'm considering it for my 8. Thanks,
Brian
flyboykelly
Well Known Member
Thanks for responses!
