Any update from TERRA owners on the reliability and after sales service for
the radios and transponders?
Jerry
Only bad news from us unfortunately, our Terra radio is playing up yet
again. The unit had an intermittent fault from new, which gave distorted
transmission and reduced reception range. After several months of trying
to verify that the fault was indeed the radio and not the installation, I
finally sent it back to Thurstons, who said they had indeed found a fault
on it. They made the repair, along with replacing the guts of our
transponder (which had never worked from new) under warranty, as good as
gold.
Both units worked fine on refit and the transponder continues to do so, but
the radio is a constant problem. After several months of perfect operation
it started to develop the same fault, so I returned it to Thurstons again
for repair, they could not get it to play up even after a week of bench
soak testing, so they returned it. I fitted it and sure enough it worked
perfectly, until recently, when the gremlins got in again.
On a short trip to Sywell I had great difficulty making myself understood.
Returning to Bidford, Coventry gave me a radio five check, and the next few
flights were all without problems.
Mike Smith took the plane to Ireland this weekend, and Pam and I went in
formation in a Robin. Communications between us were perfect right up to
the last leg when the 'Terrible Terra' started to show
its other personality again, Mikes transmissions gradually became totally
unreadable. After a rest over night, it worked perfect for the rest of the
trip, right up until we got within an hour of home, then the gremlins woke
up again, I was back to trying to decipher Mikes Martian like
transmissions, then on his call down wind for Bidford, it came over perfect
again.
Talk about frustrating!
Anybody found a good service shop for them ?
Jim
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