Remote Com indication
Dear Mike:
I would like to explain why our original answer to you was "no" and then tell you why we were potentially wrong by saying no.
First one (and probably does not apply to you) is that it is TSO'd, so we can't return to service a modified unit without the necessary FAA paper work.
Second, the amount of engineering time to design a circuit that we believe would be robust enough to be installed in an aircraft is not inexpensive. So "Would we make this modification for you if you do not need a certified part?" Maybe.
At minimum, it would be at least one man day to design and prototype the change. Then at least another day integrating it back into our production line as a "modified" unit for a complete retest of the system.
So, we probably should not have told you no, but should had given you a rough estimate to how much it would cost to make the change.
We should have put you in the position so you could have made that decision, and I'm sorry we didn't.
On the other hand, if we told you how much it would cost, you "might" have taken the position that PS Engineering is asking a rediculous amount of money to make such a simple change. We might have been profiled as price gougers.
The cost we would charge would reflect the amount of time it would take to make a design change, prototype the change, test the change, and then return the unit to service. Finally, the cost of pulling an engineer off a project is significant as well. The consequence of interrupting an engineer is "priceless"
If the unit is in a certified aircraft, the answer would still be no. The added cost to make a change to our TSO would be prohibitive.
I have a question, I am assuming you have just two radios, in order to elminate the swap function from cycling through all three radios, if you configure Com 3 for Telephone mode, you then will only cycle through Com 1 and Com 2. Has the PMA7000B been configured for Tel mode?
Hope this helps.
Mark Scheuer
PS Engineering, Inc.
I have an Apollo SL15/
PMA 7000B that works perfectly fine. One problem, it sits low in the panel and I can not see what COM is selected when Im busy entertaining folks.
In the middle of a show Im swapping back and forth (com swap on stick) to deal with the team and air boss. I have screwed up more than once transmitting on the wrong com due to sunlight on the audio panel that washes out the lights.
What I need is for someone to wire up a jumper to a spare edge card finger so I can pull off of it and wire up a remote light up on my glare shield to show com 2 transmit is active.
PS Engineering will not help me even though its their unit.
Please PM me if your interested in this work.