IBob

I would recommend going to JG's website Stolspeed and reading the Props Comparison (scroll down to find the link on the left): https://www.stolspeed.com/ It's an interesting and informative read on props, tested on JG's Savannah VG In fact, the whole site is interesting and informative.

Yes, I can see what you are driving at, Mark. And I'll certainly try the adjustments you suggest. The bit I'm missing is why my mic would open this way during receive traffic, and not otherwise (I'm not responding to the traffic, just listening).

Okay, I will certainly try the INTSQH. I guess the part I am not understanding here is, if this is noise coming in my mic, why do I not hear this noise until I have incoming radio traffic? Or, put another way, if noise into the mic and mic gain and Xcom mic vol are great enough to trigger the comms, would I not be hearing this noise all the time???

Okay. The Xcom has among it's main Mode options: SIDEVOL (sidetone) INTVOL and INTSQH (intercom volume and squelch) Then among the Setup Options (which are accessed differently than the Mode options) it has: GAIN (adjusts mic gain The manual says GAIN should only be adjusted by a technician, as transceiver performance will be affected. I was adjusting the Zulu mic gain down, and trying to offset that by adjusting the Xcom GAIN up. What I should add is that the Zulu/Xcom combination has worked just fine out of the box, except for this overlay of hash at full power. In all other situations both transmit and receive are clean and clear.

Mark, what is the Vox adjustment you refer to? I can see no reference to that in the driving instructions...........

Hi Mark, thanks for that. I was aware that the mic needs to be as close as possible to the lips, also that the mic needs to be turned to face the lips (this can lose alignment over time, and is not always obvious with the foam mic cover on...but it's easy to check by feel.) My Zulu mic gain settings were both at 12oclock, or just under half. The difficulty I struck was that once I turned them down to any degree from there, no amount of boosting of the mic audio on the radio would reliably pick them up. It occurred to me later that perhaps parameter adjustments in the radio are not immediately actioned: it would be nice to know. In the end, I just put the radio back to factory settings, with the Zulus turned back just a bit to approx 11oclock. I don't yet know if this has made any improvement, I need incoming traffic on takeoff or hard climb to know. If there is no improvement, I will try all this again...

Thanks, Dan. That's a useful bit of info, and something else to check. Am currently circling a problem of radio noise on reception that only occurs when at full power, and does not occur at all at normal cruise settings. So far I inspected and tidied up all the plug leads, spacing them wherever possible from the metalwork, then ground run up to 4500RPM (the brakes/tires won't hold beyond that) with reduced squelch to check for ignition noise.....but I have yet to check at full power. I have also sourced but not yet fitted a 12V power filter: I doubt this is the problem, but these are the easy steps. I was also advised to turn down the mike gain on my Zulu headset/s, but that created problems where the radio wasn't picking up reliably from the mic. I wish I had a clearer idea of how all this works: back in the day my work was troubleshooting mainframe computers, and while I am certainly rusty now, my instinct is to proceed in a logical manner, rather than just taking a number of stabs at it....(

Hi again Luca. I found it essential to use all 3 sources of information during my build: 1. The written description in the manual. Though this is translated from Italian, and the English is sometimes 'strange', there is essential info there. 2. The illustrations in the manual. I found these very good. 3. The 'exploded' diagrams in the parts manual. I found these very helpful for identifying parts and also for order of assembly. I put these in a separate manual, to have it open alongside the assembly manual. Some dealers also supply sets of build pics, and I found these very useful at some stages of the build. Almost all of the kit will go together exactly as supplied (in just one or two areas there was very minor trimming of edges or corners for a better fit) so I would encourage you not to make changes. Good luck, and we look forward to pics of your progress!

Luca, if I remember correctly, the top and bottom rivets that fasten the nose rib/s to the main spar are A5. The rest of the rivets between those (that also hold the rear ribs to the main spar) are A4.

Hi Luca. I cannot see where in my instructions it says to use A5 rivets to attach the ribs to the longerons. Can you post a picture of your instructions for this? My recollection for attaching the wing ribs to the main spar is that there are both A4 and A5 rivets, and you just use the rivet to fit the hole size. At no point in my build did I have to drill a hole to a bigger size. Also, from your picture the bottom rivet looks correctly pulled, but the top rivet looks like an A4 rivet in an A5 hole?

It may not be an issue for your particular application, but be aware that some papers expand and contract considerably with varying humidity. I once made a very precise brown paper pattern for a shaped piece of glass, got it cut on a rainy day and it didn't fit.......

Here's a Kiwi flier, just hit the news today............

That's a pretty provocative statement, Nev! It's my impression that both countries (and probably every country) present some unique combinations of weather and terrain, which the local pilots learn, as best they can, to work with?

Hi Mark et al. I had a first stab at adjusting the mic trim today: On the ground, engine off, 1 headset only, I first listened to myself with the intercom on. I then turned the mic pot down as suggested: minimum is 8oclock, max 5oclock/it was set at 12oclock, and I set it back to 9 oclock. Once I did this, performance was very intermittent, with my voice dropping out or not picking up at all, and no amount of fiddling with the radio mic amp setting or squelch seemed to fix it. In the end I factory reset the radio to be sure I was back to basics, set the mic pot to 11oclock, where it did seem stable but quieter, and since it was a perfect day, went flying. This is a low traffic area, so I was not aware of any transmits on takeoff or hard climb: which is to say I have no idea if my slight reduction in mic trim has made any difference. I wonder if Lightspeed have altered something in their design so that the mic output is better matched, and doesn't require so much turn down? It would also be nice to know when the Xcom picks up any alterations to it's parameters: immediately/on exiting that part of the menu/on cycling of power? It doesn't say. It does say not to mess with the radio mic setting, as this will change the whole behaviour of the radio....

Thanks Flyboy, Blueadventures, Spacesailor and Mark. I'll do as Mark suggests and start with the headset mic adjustment, since this does seem to be a required adjustment with the Lightspeed/Xcom combination. It will be good if it turns out to be that simple! I'll post here again when I have a result.

Blueadventures, I'm getting hash over incoming calls when at full throttle. Without incoming calls all is quiet. Is this what you had? The Xcom offers radio squelch and intercom squelch. I adjust the first as required, have not adjusted the intercom squelch. If my understanding of squelch is correct (and it may not be) adjusting squelch would stop the noise, but would do so by stopping the incoming calls? What I'm wanting is to hear those incoming calls, but without the hash I get at full throttle.

It only happens at full throttle. At cruise settings it's all good. See my first message. And while I'm most aware of it on receive, it may be that it also affects my transmit, I haven't taken steps to check that. I should add that these are receives of local transmits (may even be in circuit with me) so it's not a matter of distant weak signals.

Thanks for that, FlyBoy. I believe this happens with the intercom off (too) but I do need to check that. I will certainly check both squelch settings. To be clear, I don't get this hash on takeoff or full climb until there is incoming radio from someone else. (I haven't yet checked if it is there when I transmit too.)

Starting a new thread to avoid confusing the existing thread with too many owners and issues: I have an XCom radio and Zulu headsets in my Savannah. Engine is Rotax 912 and fitted with the large electrolytic smoothing capacitor. I also ran a negative cable from battery to a central point behind the instruments at time of build. The radio/headset arrangement works fine, I am told I am very clear, also receive clearly, except on takeoff or climb at full throttle, when I get a lot of hash over any incoming calls and have to reduce power and ask for a repeat: reducing to 5000 - 5100RPM and the hash vanishes. So, this looks like being engine noise(?) I would welcome suggestions as to where to start and in what order to come at this. Thanks. (PS I note on the other radio thread references to turning the mic down in the Zulu headsets. At this point I have made no adjustments at all to the headsets or the radio.)

This fear-mongering has gone on so long that there are nations on earth who truly believe the Russians/Arabs/Chinese/South Americans/Some Foreigners will pour across the borders and massacre them or worse the moment they drop their military guard...and who live in a state of endless gratitude to their military for their daily 'service' in preventing this. So, yes, it leads to the continuous expansion and glorification of the military. And it is also used, in the supposed interest of national security, as a means to pass oppressive laws.

Yes, but now you're our resident Matco parking brake expert......)

Yep, I for one misunderstood: my park brake is just a pair of ganged ball valves (one for each line): press on the brakes and turn off the valve. I guess there must be some good reason for the arrangement of poppet valves and lift cams in the unit you have, presumably that you can apply the brakes regardless of the valve position...

You may want to check the duration of the smoke too, so as to best time your pass/es. The old cannisters were quite brief....maybe a minute? The other thing I recall was it was quite a stiff cross-pull to fire them, so the cannister had to be fastened so that it didn't skew when pulled sideways at the top. Again, I'd definitely be doing a test firing, on the ground and away from the aircraft, to get the feel of the thing.

I don't know what's used now, but skydiving smoke used to be a pyrotechnic can that could run quite hot: we used to just duct tape it to the side of a boot, but occasionally someone would get a very hot foot that way. Whatever you use, I would reccomend a test-firing on the ground so you and any crew know what to expect. If attaching it to a strut, I would be putting something between the can and the strut to avoid marking the strut. I would also think about getting it out far enough that it's not smoking the tail, as some of these smokes do stain. Oh, and don't fire it in the aircraft, where the smoke will go round and round, making it hard to see where you are going... Post pics!

Yep, here it is: https://www.recreationalflying.com/topic/27309-that-black-stuff/?_rid=6547