FlightDek 180 EMI with SL30

David_Prince

New Member
Joined
Jul 6, 2007
Messages
14
I am in the testing phase of my new Glasair with the D-180 and sl-30 in the panel. When keying the mic I get a crackling noise in my ear when the Dynon unit is turned on. if the Dynon is off, the radio is crystal clear. I have shielded cable going to the headset and mic jacks and have routed these cables away from the Dynon unit however the noise is still a real problem. Other aircraft report that they are receiving my transmission clear but it it really anoying to have the noise. Is dynon working on a filter for the EMI issue or are there any recommendations.
David Prince
 

dynonsupport

Dynon Technical Support
Staff member
Joined
Mar 23, 2005
Messages
13,226
Every line inside the D180 that can produce noise has an EMI filter on it. We had issues a long time ago with the D10 and learned our lesson. We do lots of testing to prevent this, so your experience is pretty unique.

It tells us something that other people hear your transmission OK. It means that the noise is on the headset speaker lines, not the mic lines, so it's probably not RF interference. My first guess would be that this is a grounding problem somewhere, which is causing the ground of your phones to dip a little when the EFIS draws power. Since the EFIS doesn't draw perfect DC power, this can sound like noise if it gets into the phones.

I'd make sure your headphones are only grounded at the SL-30 or your intercom, and not at the airframe or to any other wire. I'd then make sure the D180 and the SL-30 have good, solid grounds and power lines to your battery without sharing any small wires along the way. I would probably run an extra ground to the case of the D180, especially if your panel is composite instead of metal. Composite panels don't ground all the cases together well so they can make some grounding issues much worse.

If your D180 is hooked to the SL30 via serial, probably worth disconnecting this wire as a test. Not something we have heard of as a problem, but you never know.

Let us know how these things go and we can work from there if they don't help.
 

David_Prince

New Member
Joined
Jul 6, 2007
Messages
14
Thanks for the quick reply. I will start checking the grounds and power as described. I will let you know.
David Prince
 
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