R

Robert Anglin

Well Known Member
OK, I have been going over some of the small things and questions to ask at Oshkosh this year. This one came to mind but would be served by this format. ON the coms. we see that there is an up-grade in power out-put from 10 Watts to 16 Watts. How much does the higher power shorten the life of the transmitter? I am not a big electron guy, but I am thinking more power would mean shorter life. If I am right then by how much? Sorry about the wording, but as said above, not in my pay grade. Yours as always R.E.A. III #80888
 
The answer is, it depends. Heat is the enemy, more power means more heat. But if the box is properly designed to expell the heat, there should be no difference.
Now, My opinion: save your money. Ten watts is plenty for RV altitudes. These frequencies are only good for line of sight, so unless you fly in the flight levels (or have an inefficient antenna) ten watts is enough.
 
Thanks

Thanks Bob. The answer is we have two big "T.C.A.'s" to deal with at both ends of a full cross country. AS we are looking at going with a full Garmin panel. We see a good need to ask before we pull the trigger on this one.
It would be nice to hear from other. The guys from Garmin, with the test data on this subject at their beckon. I do understand what you have said and thanks for taking the time. Yours as always R.E.A. III # 80888
 
I have no connection to Garmin, and didn't sleep at a Holiday Inn Express, but was an electrical engineer in a past life and did a good deal of RF stuff...

My feeling is that the duty cycle of your transmitter is so low (on the order of 1-2% overall, and maybe 10% for a few minutes in a busy environment), the increased power output is not likely to have a significant effect on your radio's lifespan. Something else will most likely kill it first, or it will become obsolete...I'm sure that the engineers at Garmin took into account the increased heat output and have designed appropriately.

Short of a stuck mic for hours on end, I wouldn't be too worried; and even in that case I am sure there is thermal protection built in.

I'm sure a call or email to Garmin will allay your concern.

Chris
 
I have a 10 watt 650 and recently talked to a teammate at just under 200 miles last weekend. The interesting thing was, I was able to talk to him also on my PS Engineering PAR 100 EX at the same distance with its 5 watt (I think) transmitter. We were at 10,000 ft.
 
Robert Anglin said:
OK, I have been going over some of the small things and questions to ask at Oshkosh this year. This one came to mind but would be served by this format. ON the coms. we see that there is an up-grade in power out-put from 10 Watts to 16 Watts. How much does the higher power shorten the life of the transmitter? I am not a big electron guy, but I am thinking more power would mean shorter life. If I am right then by how much? Sorry about the wording, but as said above, not in my pay grade. Yours as always R.E.A. III #80888
Click to expand...

Hello Robert,

Perhaps you are considering the GTR 225 VHF COM radio for your system. It is indeed available in both 10W (GTR 225 and GTR 225A) and 16W (GTR 225B) versions.

We would encourage you to consider the 10W GTR 200 panel mount and 10W GTR 20 remote mount radio for your Garmin G3X system. The GTR 20 is used exclusively with the G3X Touch system.

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At a minimum advertised price of $1,199 for the GTR 200 and $995 for the GTR 20, you won't find a better value in a COM radio at any price and the many features, including 3D audio and a 10W transmitter, will more than meet your needs.

Here are some links to previous announcements of these products.

GTR 200, July 2013

GTR 20, March 2014

All of our products are extensively instrumented and temperature tested to assure that they are properly designed to dissipate heat and thus promote long life in a wide range of operational temperatures.

Please contact us if you have additional questions.

Thanks,
Steve
 
Thanks!

Thanks to Steve and all above. Yes it is the 255 that we have been looking at, but I do know of the remote 200. Yes a remote would be the best option. The question of output was prompted by our trip profile at the end of a long cross country going into two big "T.C.A.'s". That being we would like to use Center at both ends from 150-200 miles out, at 12 to 16,000 ft. That part is not new to us, but putting together a good glass panel to do the job very well is.
As well this is to do some study before we come to Oshkosh and not be a big drain on you guys. Yes some times I have slow it down a little tell I get it, but once its there we go have fun in the sky. Thanks again yours as always R.E.A. III # 80888
 
Unless you are really in the boonies you shouldn't have trouble raising ATC. "Oakland Center" doesn't have transmitters just in Oakland, they've got them in Nevada, north and south as well. You don't need to transmit 200 miles to reach ZOA even when you're 200 miles out.
(and yes, I know Oakland center isn't really in Oakland)
 
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