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Bob,
It would be silly of me to argue with *you* about electronics, so I'm just writing back to let you know my thinking, wrong as it may be.
I need one, absolutely as for sure as possible operating transponder for the next three weeks. Warranty will not help me, it has to work.
My thinking is that the best bet I have for getting that is to buy a new, current mfg transponder. I believe that the newer (i.e. 76C, G327, UPSAT equiv) transponders are more reliable than older technology, so I have a somewhat improved chance of reliable performance over next few weeks. (Of course, I could get a premie, nothing is certain in this life.) Of the current new models, I like the
Bringing my existing transponder along just uses up weight, as it is likely to fail again when it gets hot. I could buy another one for $500, but then I would be spending 1/3 of what my shop is charging me for the Garmin installed, and it could fail in a few months. The $1000 reman is an interesting idea, but remans are repaired factory returns, and from my time in the electronics biz, I don't want one of those. It could be a unit with an intermittant failure that has just been signed off as "cannot duplicate", and resold.
There is probably an emotional component, in that this transponder has failed twice in the last 12 months, and each time it was "tweak" to tune it again. I am tired of the additional stress that an inop transponder creates in IFR operations.
So, the cheapest, and probably smartest, way to go would be to buy TWO more KT76 transponders for $1000, and throw each one away when it fails, but that could be both in a short time, or not, who knows...
Sometimes, it just seems simplest to buy something new. Maybe not cheapest, maybe not smartest, and maybe it will fail after 3 hours of use. But it feels like the best long term use of the money.
I don't think mandatory Mode S is near enough to enter into this decision.
Who knows.
Kevin
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