In a Cessna 172SP with steam gauges, if the radios (COM1 and COM2) are turned off, the corresponding button lights on the audio panel should typically turn off as well, since the radios are no longer powered. The lights on the audio panel reflect the status of the radio equipment. If the radios are off, the selection on the audio panel should not be functional, and the button lights would go dark.
TRUE OR FALSE ?
Note: we are NOT talking what happens in the Sim, but rather what happens IRL
Anyone has access to a C172SP with audio Panel, can test this to be 100% certain ?
Can’t say for sure in the typical Cessna installation, but in all three Pipers that I have flown with very similar or the exact Bendix and Garmin radio stack, the indicator on the audio panel only showed which device was selected to provide audio.
The 430 in our Saratoga was at one point removed from the aircraft for repairs at the factory and I flew her back to home base with only the 530 installed.
At that time the Audio Panel would still show 1-2 or both. I know because out of habit I turned on BOTH when within 10nm of L67 to monitor CTAF, which we would usually have on COM2:smiley:
More modern audio panels may be slightly more crosslinked, I left CA 2013 and have only flown occasionally since then when an opportunity came up.
But yes generally there is really no need for the audio panel to check if that receiver is on or off.
That is what the pilot in command is for
Flew Pipers with this kind of setup (was a GMA340 paired with GNS units) back in the day and can also confirm.
To OP: Think of the radio panel like an audio mixer - you’re selecting sources (input and output) and controlling volumes. It doesn’t really care what is or isn’t connected or powered on/off. In fact, if you have a source selected that is powered off, you’ll probably get a nice pop in your headset when you power it on.
As ‘Toga said, your mileage may vary with newer, more integrated panels.
Thanks, I think this is how it must work, but none of the Garmin Audi Panel Manuals go into that detail.
I assume an Installation manual would show the wiring, and if there were any feedback signals from the radios to rhe Audio Panel selector.
There isn’t anything like that for that model. It’s just audio in from and audio out to the transceiver, mic in and mic keying, then an optional dummy load for the speaker.
There are some internal squelch/noise reduction features, but that’s about it.
The most advanced was the all Garmin suite that we went to with the big panel and exterior update on the Saratoga, which allowed to pipe in MP3 or other music while flying along and then auto mute the non-essential audio channel when something happened on COM1 or COM2.
Though I actually had more fun trying to dial in a local radio station on the ADF we still flew around.
Todays pilots have Sirius Sat radio and streamed playlists or podcasts.
No more worrying if you missed Car-Talk or Wait-Wait-don’t tell me
Absolutely, great memories listening to ballgames on night cross-countries on the ADF. Or hearing the sferics from (hopefully) distant thunderstorms, with the gauge doubling as a poor-man’s strikefinder.
Listening to the ADF would have been a great feature in MSFS
BUT
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NDBs are rapidly being decommissioned in many parts of the world, but many aircraft still have an ADF system installed. Through that, we can still listen to AM radio and have the ADF needle point at those (much more powerful) transmitters. I’ll never forget flying along at about 120kts GS for a couple of hours, watching the needle slowly trudge through only about 30° of bearing change (at a fairly oblique angle) because the radio station was over 500 miles away to start.
