ACK E-04

[jimgreen]

Just doing my first annual and did the ELT test this afternoon. I have the ACK406 E-04. Did the normal test/reset and got the correct beep as it reset.

Then I removed it from the a/c and did the shake test to trigger the G switch.
That also worked fine, so I reinstalled it in the aircraft and pushed the test/reset button one more time. This time I got three beeps which indicates low RF output. I don't know what this means exactly, but take it to mean weak signal to the antenna.

Tried the coax connections to the antenna and they seem fine.
Anyone got any ideas? I'll phone ACK tomorrow, but hoping to get a jump on it.

This a one year old unit, never been fired in anger.

 

[Walt]

You may try installing the portable antenna and try it again just to eliminate things.

 

[jimgreen]

Thanks Walt. This a fixed style ELT - no portable antenna.
Spoke to ACK and they say send it back. Apparently the 'Low RF output' threshold was set a bit high on some units, giving a false fault code.
They seem like good people to deal with.

 

[jimgreen]

Ignore the flashes

The ELT did need repair and they took care of it, no problem.

A quirky thing about this ELT. When you test it you get flashes on the RCPI and beeps. You have to ignore the flashes and just count the beeps, which don't correspond. For me it is easy to confuse the two.
Apparently it's a legacy thing.