MGL V6 LOST SIDETONE

[Bellancabrian]

I am running a MGL V6 with Lightspeed ANR. I am a recent owner to the V6, but after some minor adjustments to match my headset, everything worked great for e few hours and multiple flights. Now I have no sidetone when I hit the ptt. Tried 3 headsets, ANR and non ANR. Reset to factory and started over. Same problem. No matter what settings, no Sidetone when I hit the ptt. Tx indication comes on but not much bar activity.
Need help.

[rainier]

Sounds like you TX transistor is blown - likely caused by a bad antenna match ?
You may have to send it in for a repair.

[rainier]

Please also note that for the last 4 years MGL does not make or distribute the V6 radio. They have changed but I am no longer in the loop. They are now South West electronics V6 radios.

[Mraustein]

I also have an V6 that need a software update.
Tried to Google South West Electronics, but nothing valid came up.. Do You have a link?

Thnx

Morten
LN-AAR Vans RV-4 ENOL

[rainier]

I am terribly sorry but I do not have anything.
The dealer you bought it from should be able to help you out.

[psmith3556]

Did the O.P. get any satisfaction on this?
I have the same radio, newly installed in a just-completed experimental, same headset, same symptoms.
Not finding South West Electronics on any searches.
No good info on the Aircraft Spruce website. Install manual still lists MGL for support.

[Mraustein]

I bought it from You directly...
You may remember I helped organize an approval for the V6 in Europe with the Norwegian telecomunication authority based on the Finnish approval of the V10? You and Ria van der Wel were kind enough to get a V6-set shipped to my hotel in Pretoria when I attended a meeting there in 2014.
A few years after, I sought advice on issues with no split volume for radio and intercom, and You replied an update was coming including that feature.

Brgds Morten Raustein

[rainier]

There is no software update that would address your issues I think.
The OP is complaining that he has no sidetone. There are only two possibilities: Either he switched the sidtone OFF (in the setup) or the TX output transistor is blown. As it worked for a few hours I suspect the latter. This is caused by bad antenna SWR coupled with just the right length of antenna cable and tuned frequency (wavelength) do create a strong reverse power feed into the radio - that takes out the transistor.
It needs to be replaced.

This does not happen with our own radio design the V16 as it is designed to handle anything you can throw at it...

[Mraustein]

Hi again!

See below a copy of a posting from You (Rainier Lamers) on Vansairforce.com in 2016 that indicate an firmware update is available for the V6, including the feature I am seeking, dual volume setting for radio and intercom.
Can You verify that the link in the posting is still valid, and is the latest update available for the V6?

I now have an MGL Voyager G2 to facilitate the update easily, but just need the update file to put on an SD-card. I have yet to hook up the Voyager, so I have not been able to verify the validity of the update file yet..

BRGDS Morten Raustein

Copy of posting on Vansairforce:

Old 08-19-2016, 09:24 AM
Rainier Lamers Rainier Lamers is offline
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Somerset West
Posts: 1,033
Default MGL V6 Firmware update

http://www.mglavionics.co.za/v6f.html (Link to update)

Updates to the V6 (also for V6 remote) are significant:

New digital audio filtering of the microphone signals with very steep responses based on cockpit spectral noise research results.
Faster reaction time for all Vogad noise reduction algorithms.
Longer delay to switch off for VOX intercom (extended to one second)
New band filter implementation for very noisy environments with two settings (Mild and Strong).
Dual volume settings: Radio RX and Intercom now have independent volumes. Rotate volume knob to set radio volume. Press volume knob briefly and then rotate to set Intercom volume.
RF feedback elimination system. Digital signal processing eliminates effects of RF feedback in compromised installations.
Doubled rate of radio status transmission on RS232 for remote control systems.
Modifications to PTT join/separate operation allows voice on intercom from blocked source but not on air.

The new DSP algorithms are developments of the existing ones I have been working on for some time. They effectively are pushing the limits of what is possible using the 32 bit ARM processor in the V6. The audio signal processing is done entirely in assembler using the fastest possible methods painstakingly developed step by step to squeeze the last drop of possible performance out of the hardware. The result is good.

Note: You can update the firmware on your V6 using an MGL iEFIS or Odyssey/Voyager G2 EFIS very easily.
Alternatively you can construct an RS232 cable with instructions provided in the above link and use the provided Windows application with a USB/RS232 dongle (unless you have a PC that has a built in RS232 port).
If you don't want to do it yourself, contact your MGL distributor.

Rainier

CEO MGL Avionics

[rainier]

The V6 radio is produced by South West electronics.
It was based on a design I did early in 2000 but never put into production. South West took over the design and folded it into what became the V10 radio and later the V6. The V6 has gone through many hardware iterations due to unavailability of components (a very annoying thing - if you ever get into this business you will understand).

When we decided to split a few years ago I gave them all of the source codes and development tools needed (at no charge in case you are wondering).

Looking at our website it seems the last version update is still there.

The direct link is: www.mglavionics.co.za/Software/MGLV6Radio.exe

Hope this helps - it's about all I have...