Making Yourself Heard
Since the mid 1990s when GPS units found their way into GA aircraft for the first time, comm sets have been integrated in the GPS unit, which saves space and weight. For some, it meant never having to worry about an independent comm set; for others it meant the opportunity to have a second comm for the first time.
It is almost a given now that a primary GPS unit will have the comm built-in, but dedicated, stand-alone radios still have a place in GA cockpits. They provide a second active frequency, and act as a back-up should the primary nav/comm unit wink out at a inopportune moment.
And in the LSA and experimental markets, new EFIS systems like the G3X will display frequencies on the screen that have been fed to it by an external comm set. Some units, such as Dynon’s SV-COM-X25 and-X83, were created to work in larger avionics systems like SkyView and can’t function as a stand-alone comm.
What has changed over the years is the driving technology. Comm sets are now sleek and easy to use with flip-flop switches, frequency databases, timers and LCD or OLED displays that can be read easily in direct sunlight. Yes, the days of clunky dial-type frequencies
