FAA Warning Letter regarding ADS-B and Mode S ICAO

[provoshane]

I received a letter today from the FAA regarding two issues. I am trying to figure out what to do.

First, as far as I know, my Dynon D1000 is NOT equipped with ADS-B OUT, but I do have a Mode S Transponder.

The wording from them is as follows (abbreviated):

The ADS-B system which is installed in Aircraft N667Z is transmitting an improper ICAO code. Current records associated with the registration of this aircraft indicate the assigned ICAO Hex Code (Mode S Code) of 52150171, however your aircraft is transmitting a Mode S code of 04432126.

This letter is also to notify you that the FAA has monitored flights in which the installed ADS-B system was transmitting an improper ICAO code. Current records associated with this aircraft indicate the ICAO code is A8D079 however your aircraft is transmitting a ICAO code of 123456.

So, according to the FAA I am transmitting a Mode S ICAO code that is inaccurate (and I am not aware of having a Mode S transponder) and an ADS-B ICAO code that is inaccurate (and I never purchased ADS-B Out).

Of course, they want me to correct this with all haste.

How do I enter these ICAO codes into the D1000? I cannot find the info in the docs.

Comments or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Shane Mitchell

 

[swatson999]

p. 11-16ff in the Installation Guide....

 

[dynonsupport]

Shane,
First, this is not an ADS-B issue. All Mode-S transponders also send out the ICAO code. You must have this set correctly to legally operate one in the USA.

It's pretty clear what happened here- the Dynon transponder ships with an ICAO of 000000, but if you have this, it won't come out of standby. So someone went in and put 123456 in there in order to get it to work.

Now, the Dynon transponder is also ADS-B OUT, and it's not an additional option. If you have our transponder, you have ADS-B OUT. But you'd need to set the IACO code even if that wasn't true. Dynon doesn't sell a non-ADS-B transponder. Be happy - you just got one expensive step closer to being legal post-2020 for free!

To fix this, in version 14 of SkyView, just setting the N number sets the ICAO correctly. So if you're running v14, just go in and change you N-number by one digit, then change it back. Your ICAO will be correct now. If you're pre v14, then go into ICAO and enter A8D079. As Steve says, this is all covered pretty directly in our install manual. Make sure you aren't looking in the pilot's guide.

Finally, this issue is something that is supposed to be caught by the 91.413 bi-annual transponder check, which needs to be done before the plane first flies. So if you haven't had that check done yet, you should do that as well.