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My lead tech told me to always check the cannon plug first on a comms fault
I was working on a King Air 200 last month with a broken VHF radio. The logbook said 'no transmit, audio panel shows TX but no signal'. I spent a good two hours pulling the radio tray, checking the antenna cable run, even swapping the control head with a known good one from the shop. Nothing fixed it. My lead, Mike, walked over, saw me sweating, and just said 'Did you pull and reseat the cannon plug on the back of the box?'. I hadn't, because the fault seemed more complex. I did it, and the radio came right back to life. It was just a tiny bit of corrosion on one pin causing an intermittent ground. Felt like a total rookie move. How many hours do you think we all waste by skipping the simple stuff first?
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miasanchez6mo ago
I mean, I get where you're coming from with the rookie move feeling, but honestly, skipping the simple stuff isn't always a waste. Sometimes the logbook write-up points you in a specific direction and you gotta follow that trail. If it says 'no transmit' with TX showing, checking the antenna run and control head makes total sense to me. You were doing logical troubleshooting. That cannon plug thing is a good tip, but it's not a magic fix for every single comms fault. Maybe it's just me, but I'd rather rule out the more likely issues first sometimes.
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oliviatorres6mo ago
Oh man, that story hits way too close to home. (We've all been there, sweating over a box for hours while the fix was just a wiggle.) I see what @miasanchez is saying about following the write-up, but man, sometimes the simple fix is just sitting there laughing at you. It's like the universe's way of keeping us humble, you know? That "did you try turning it off and on again" feeling is the worst, but it's a classic for a reason.
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