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Garmin 430W Com Quit Going to Garmin

Darren Kerns

Well Known Member
Well, my Garmin 430W finally quit transmitting. Having it sent to Garmin to fix. $900 flat rate is high but what do I do. When I was transmitting on my SL40 I had a lot of cockpit or white noise in my headset. I have a Lightspeed 25XL headset.

I wondered if I should have switched the stereo to mono or vice versa to notice a difference. Is there something else I should be looking at. When I first transmitted it about blew my eardrums out. Was not expecting that.

Thanks,
Darren Kerns
RV7 N599DT
 
Well, my Garmin 430W finally quit transmitting. Having it sent to Garmin to fix. $900 flat rate is high but what do I do. When I was transmitting on my SL40 I had a lot of cockpit or white noise in my headset. I have a Lightspeed 25XL headset.

I wondered if I should have switched the stereo to mono or vice versa to notice a difference. Is there something else I should be looking at. When I first transmitted it about blew my eardrums out. Was not expecting that.

Thanks,
Darren Kerns
RV7 N599DT

It all depends on your intercom and how is it wired. Most of the modern intercoms are stereo. Older ones are mono. They tend to not work properly if the headset setting doesn't match.

If the 430 is truly dead, you don't have any options. $900 is less expensive than purchasing a new GPS/COMM.

Noise in the headset is most likely a wiring issue with how the shields are terminated or a ground loop issue. These are a real PITA to troubleshoot in a flying aircraft.

The volume when you transmit is called sidetone. You can adjust that volume in the setup menu while on the ground.
 
Thanks Bob. I was thinking I may need to adjust my sidetone. I have an Garmin 240 Audio Panel. I need to check jacks for corrosion or loose connection. I am receiving fine but just not transmitting.

My GPS works great. GPSS works great. I have a feeling it is something in the transmitter. Anyway, Garmin will find it.

Again, Thank Bob for helping me.

Respectfully,
Darren
RV7 N599DT
 
If it makes you feel any better..... Your 430 will come back like brand new. They will replace the screen, face, latest updates and anything they find. I guess that's how they justify the huge repair fee. But still..
 
Thanks Bob. I was thinking I may need to adjust my sidetone. I have an Garmin 240 Audio Panel. DT

Use caution switching your headphone from stereo to mono. The earlier versions of the 240 have an internal fuse that can blow if you accidently short one of the outputs. Then it's back to Garmin for a fixed price repair.

Edit: Correction, see below. Garmin has acknowledged this issue, and the fixed price is free. Still use caution.
 
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Oh dear... the internet strikes again! It seems we need to re-post this same explanation yet another time:

Hello all,

The internet is great for distributing ideas and knowledge, but one of the problems is that it's difficult to get rid of bad information once it gets out there. We just addressed this question about the GMA 240 in another thread from a few days ago.

One of the earlier posters in this thread who commented on the GMA 240 is sharing out of date information. While it is true that early models of the GMA 240 would, in very rare cases, blow an internal fuse, this circuit protection was revised in early 2013 and there have been NO reports of issues since then. In the unlikely event that anyone with any GMA 240 has any issues with this circuit protection, please contact us and we will take care of the repair.

- Matt
 
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