Comments on: Double GPS system failure

By: Ian D

Ian D — Wed, 18 Jan 2017 18:33:10 +0000

I have really enjoyed every one of your blogs!
Best of luck with your aviating!

By: Johan Prins

Johan Prins — Mon, 30 Mar 2015 17:50:15 +0000

Hi Matt,

I thought of that today: a rotating beacon has a motor to turn the reflector, which can create radio noise nearby and along the supply cable. A simple R/C (resistor/capacitor) combination and a few RF chokes (ferrite beads) right at the motor normally take these parasitic signals out. (I used to be a TV technie before going into IT – now completely different: renewable energies in the French outback, and som (too little) mountain flying.

Have safe flights, with GPS’s always operational.

By: Matt Dearden

Matt Dearden — Mon, 30 Mar 2015 05:05:43 +0000

In reply to Johan Prins. The beacon is really a continuous red light with a spinning reflective shield to make it flash. I don't actually know what the solution was in the end but it's fixed now and both GPSs work fine with the rotating beacon on.

By: Johan Prins

Johan Prins — Sun, 29 Mar 2015 16:56:23 +0000

Old thread, but interesting, as I had a anticollision strobe on the glider tow-plane that I built de-sensitize the comms radio, before I changed to a different strobe. Is the rotating beacon really a rotating, continuous, red light, or a flashing device? These create a lot of radio noise, enought to wipe out the faint GPS sat’s signals. What was the solution found / applied?

By: Matt Dearden

Matt Dearden — Mon, 04 Nov 2013 07:34:44 +0000

A follow up to this story, it turns out the problem with the GPS dropping off-line was traced to the rotating beacon. This particular aircraft is our only G950 equipped aircraft with a rotating beacon. Pilatus/Garmin are looking into it but for now the beacon’s had it’s CB pulled and locked off until a proper solution is found.