Hot take: The new test set from AeroTech gave me a false pass on a 737's ADF

I was using their new AT-5000 to check the ADF system on a 737-800 last week, and it showed a perfect pass on the bench. When we reinstalled it, the bearing was still shot and the needle was all over the place. I learned to always do a final ops check with the actual antenna, not just the simulator. Anyone else run into this with newer digital test gear?

3 comments

3 Comments

blair_martin2mo ago

Wait, it passed on the bench but the bearing was totally gone? That's wild. Honestly, that's a scary fail for a brand new unit. Makes you wonder what exactly their "perfect pass" is even testing for. Tbh I'd be sending that AT-5000 right back to them with a very angry note.

wendyprice2mo ago

Oh man, that's exactly right. I read a forum post last week where someone's AT-5000 passed the bench test but had a grinding noise right out of the box, just like @blair_martin is saying. Their "perfect pass" seems to just check if it turns on, not if it runs right. It makes the whole test sheet feel like a pointless piece of paper. If a bearing is shot, the unit is dead on arrival, test or no test. That's just poor quality control, plain and simple.

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lily702mo ago

Yeah, we had the same thing happen with an old Collins VOR unit. The AT-5000 gave it a clean bill of health, but it failed the actual range check miserably. Their test gear seems to miss real world signal problems.

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