RST Kits? What's Your Experience

hevansrv7a · #1 05-22-2007, 05:38 PM

I'm considering some RST Engineering kits. I'm thinking of the audio panel w/ intercom and mkr beacons.
http://rst-engr.com/rst/catalog/marker_receiver.html
I would like to hear from anyone who has first or second hand experience with them. Thanks.

RickWoodall · #2 05-22-2007, 06:04 PM

Your link doesnt work, may want to retype.

RV6_flyer · #3 05-22-2007, 06:15 PM

This links works.
http://www.rst-engr.com/
It is a copy paste from my browser.

I have 1,998 hours on the hobbs meter of my RV-6 since first flight September 1997. I have an RST panel mount intercom and an RST marker beacon. Had a sticking relay in the intercom when I first started flying but what ever cause d it went away as no fault found. The intercom has worked well ever since.

I have an SL-30, GX-60, RMI microMonitor, and Pioner AM/FM/CD-MP3 all running through the intercom to my Lightspeed 30ThreeG headsets.

n5lp · #4 05-22-2007, 07:42 PM

I have never hooked up the marker beacon. The intercom works better than most of the ones I'm exposed to, but not as well as an old PS Engineering I had. I have had no trouble with the audio panel.

The whole thing is not quite the standard panel size and doesn't have the gravitas of most of the factory jobs. It also uses an unconventional hookup arrangement. On the other hand, he just about gives them away. Tremendous value!

tomwebster · #5 05-22-2007, 08:15 PM

I've built 6 RST intercom kits over the years.
I currently have one in my Luscombe and one
in my RV-7A. They are both the portable intercom,
(RST-442), but are both mounted on an aluminum panel
and installed in the panels above the radios. They are
easy to build and work fine, even in the noisy RV.
Tom

az_gila · #6 05-23-2007, 01:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by n5lp

I have never hooked up the marker beacon. The intercom works better than most of the ones I'm exposed to, but not as well as an old PS Engineering I had. I have had no trouble with the audio panel.

The whole thing is not quite the standard panel size and doesn't have the gravitas of most of the factory jobs. It also uses an unconventional hookup arrangement. On the other hand, he just about gives them away. Tremendous value!

Larry.. I believe RST now has two sizes (widths) of panel available for the audio panel.
The first design matched the older Cessna avionics that was about 6.5 inches wide. The alternate front panel (just a hardware change) is the now standard 6.25 inches wide. An existing model can be upgraded - I actually have one of each panel size in my workshop...

The RST kits have been good value for the $$$. I'm still using two 2 channel comm. radios (one upgraded to 6 channel) for sailplane use. I built then both in the late 70's.

I have a completed, but untested marker beacon receiver that might be for sale if anyone is interested....

gil in Tucson

Barry · #7 05-23-2007, 03:57 AM

I have the RST Audio Panel plus the marker beacon in my RV6A.

They have worked fine so far, 8 years and 770 hours.

I believe they are good value for money and another advantage is you get the complete circuit diagram so it should be easy to fix if something goes wrong.

Barry F-PRVM

johnp · #8 05-23-2007, 08:16 AM

i built one of the nav/coms (562?) rst sold years ago. it was as good a com radio as you can get. (the nav was acceptable.) i also built one of the audio panels. modded it with relays and dual ptt's, and later models had a similar mod incorporated. it was just fine, thank you.

i have built 3 of the marker receivers. can't beat the deal. you really need a 75 MHz rf generator that is modulatable and an audio generator to do the alignment, but it is straightforward.

good bang for the buck.

john