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Backfeeder spike fried my panel during a routine pitot test

Was checking a Cessna 172 at KPDX last Thursday and someone on the ramp keyed up a radio right when I had the pitot-static tester hooked up. Fried the airspeed indicator and the transponder controller in about 2 seconds. Has anyone else had a radio transmission mess with their test gear?
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3 Comments
kim_davis
kim_davis15d ago
Fried the airspeed indicator" yeah that sounds about right. I've seen a backfeeder spike do weird stuff before, once had a buddy's GPS lock up during a radio check. The RF noise just bleeds through everything if the shielding is old or the tester isn't grounded right. Cessna 172s are notorious for that too. Hope you didn't have to eat the repair cost.
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blake_kelly19
Man that sucks, I hate when random RF crap kills gear. @kim_davis is right about 172s having sketchy shielding too, I've seen it mess up transponder checks more than once. Hope the shop comped you.
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the_robin
the_robin15d ago
Dunno, I've tested tons of 172s and never had that issue. Maybe its the tester.
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