Menu Sign In Contact FAQ
Banner
Welcome to our forums

Skywatch 497 repair ... $ 3869 plus freight

I just got my Skywatch 497 back from Goodrich/L3 with latest mods and soft applied at a 3’869US$ plus 700GBP on taxes and duties. Primarily I sent it over for to get the latest mod in order to display traffic data on the GNS/GTN combination of my aircraft. I share Flyer59’s views that most of the issues with the skywatch are not related to the box but to bad connectivity and the antenna. Its worthwhile to check the connections, apply a bit of contact spray gently at the connectors and inspect the seal around the antenna for any leakages.

They will keep the unit for spares (of whatever).

= Doorstop

FAA A&P/IA
LFPN

Quote L3 wants USD 915 for the benchtest of the Skywatch (plus 300 Dollars for freight)

Aren’t they suppose to hold a gun to your head when they rob you??!!

Last Edited by spirit49 at 11 Feb 23:16
spirit49
LOIH

Update:

Today I got an eMail from Avionik Straubing: L3 wants USD 915 for the benchtest of the Skywatch (plus 300 Dollars for freight). “Benchtest fee” they call that. (I call it robbery).

My reaction: I told them that I would under no circumstances pay for that. I offered that I would max. pay USD 300 and that otherwise they could sue me and that I would rather fly without Traffic for the rest of my Cirrus life than accept that.

For clarification: Nobody had informed me about any fees like that before they sent the unit to the US.

In the afternoon I got an answer: Avionik Straubing will pay for the benchtest, i will pay only for the freight. They will keep the unit for spares (of whatever).

Thumbs UP for Avionik Straubing for helping me out of this – but definitely Thumbs DOWN for L3 trying to rip me off like that. Personally I think that this behaviour (Garmin, Avidyne, S-TEC, … al the same!) will ruin GA. Not even a Californian Billionair will accept that (there’s a reason why people become billionaires :-))

Last Edited by Flyer59 at 11 Feb 20:49

Case is already closed, because i will get the replacement tomorrow. And i have no idea where anybody could get that MM.

I mean, there’s no other practical solution than to send it in and pay whatever they want. They want $ 3900 for the overhaul – and i can accept or not. And there’s nobody else who would/can repair it

Avionic Straubing diagnosed it and the CPU is bad

That is almost a contradiction in logic.

PROB99 they plugged a laptop into it and got some error message, which means the CPU is just fine. I don’t think I have ever seen a duff microprocessor, since I started in this in 1978.

Electronics expertise is extremely thin on the ground in avionics.

To start with, I would suggest opening it up and looking for something that is broken or has come loose on the PCB.

Then via “some means” try to get a MM (maintenance manual for it) and find an electronics boffin who can change the most likely items which might have packed up. I would start by checking internal voltage rails and maybe replacing power transistors.

Administrator
Shoreham EGKA, United Kingdom

Do you have a service manual for it?

For spares

JP-Avionics
EHMZ

No Jesse, it is broken – Avionic Straubing diagnosed it and the CPU is bad … I already ordered the other one, so why would i want the old one?

Get your old skywatch unit back. I doubt the processor itself has failed. They just call the box the “processor”.

Most failures of Skywatch and TAS systems I have seen are caused by poor installations. Jumping targets are also likely caused by poor installation, as well as incorrect positions.

UHF is often underestimated in my opinion, and quite some installers lack knowledge on high frequency stuff.

JP-Avionics
EHMZ
60 Posts
Sign in to add your message

Back to Top