New Garmin GTR 200 Radio with Intercom - Impressive & Easy Install.

[Glenn Patterson]

We just bought the Garmin GTR-200 radio that is a new model that has the features of their certified radios but at a lower price. Garmin is not certifying the radio to keep costs low for homebuilders & to be competitive in the homebuilt market. I did research on the radio that it has everything we need and it has good user reviews. It was one solution to get a new up to date radio and an intercom system that we could afford. One advantage is that the installation is straight forward as it can be purchased with the intercom all prewired in a complete harness. No aneurysm trying to figure out the electrics.

We bought the radio with the intercom kit which is all inclusive and only requires connecting the anntena, power leads and the PTT. The radio with the intercom prewired comes with a complete wiring harness. The intercom mic and audio jacks only require drilling the mounting holes and to be secured. There are a pair of long PTT talk leads that can be run into the stick controls. I opened the box and braced for a wiring challenge similar to the Dynon D180 &the transponder. I was pleasantly surprised that it was so simple an install. The harness is all connected and it simply needs to be attached to the radio and the intercom jacks located.. It is nice to have such a complex system so easy to install. Garmin could give lessons to other electronic equipment suppliers.

I would recommend that a builder research the new Garmin GTR 200 if they are looking for a good new radio and give it serious consideration.
Glenn
BH727

[swpilot3]

Hi Glenn,

Great find. Thanks for sharing! I did a quick look at the Garmin website and notice it's wired for a 2-place intercom. Were you able to adapt it to a 4-place intercom?

[Glenn Patterson]

Hi swpilot3.
This may be worth a conversation with Garmin. I think that the unit could be configured differently or be connected to communicate with a 4 person intercom the same as any radio.
We decided to stick with the 2 place intercom and not wire in a different arrangement. The radio with the 2 place harness was less expensive than a radio & an intercom set. The radio is quality and everything we were looking for at a decent price.
I have been a member of the flying club for the past 8 years and they have replaced the intercom on the club plane twice in my time. Not sure why. There may be less issues with the intercom & radio with it all coming from Garmin. We usually fly as a pilot and a passenger about a half hour out to a lake and half hour back. It will be a little inconvenient talking with a 3rd or 4th but it is okay for the short runs. I am surprised with all the bluetooth technology that they do not make headsets connected to the radio through blue tooth. Phones can be blue toothed to headsets.
It may not be that difficult to connect the radio to a 4 place intercom unit. The Garmin GTR manuals are on line.

If it were possible. The easiest would be to connect to the copilot jacks with parallel circuits to another pair of jacks. Not sure if that is safe as it may harm to the radio. If Garmin permitted it that would be one simple solution. I would talk to Garmin to see what they recommend for a 4 place arrangement.
What was nice was the radio came out of the box all wired to the 37 pin connector and was ready to install.
Take care,
Glenn

[jaredyates]

In the 4-place intercoms that I have seen the audio (listening) jacks are in parallel. You'd need to have a 4-place circuit for the back seat folks to be able to talk over the intercom.

[swpilot3]

Thanks guys! After reading a little more about that GTR 200, I like it a lot!

[Glenn Patterson]

I read a comparison of radio actual power output for Icoms etc. The Garmin was the one radio that put out its full rated power. There is not significant difference in price between the Icom and the Garmin so it was an easy step to go with the Garmin. Following up on Jared's comment. If Garmin says it is okay to connect another pair in parallel off the copilot jacks then it is a simple modification. Just need a box for mounting the new jacks. The headphones are powered by the radio so I don't think that it can harm itself by any over current issues. This has me thinking as well.
Take care,
GP