Digital Display Problem - Becker

[westcoastoz]

I have a Becker BXP6401 Mode S transponder which is now a little over 4 years old. Our CT had not been flown since late June and a few days ago we took off on a 4 day trip, however the transponder digital display failed soon after power up. I tried recycling the CB etc. however it would not fix the problem. As we were flying outside CTA it was not an issue however I contacted radar and asked if they could see our SSR and they could.

Has anybody else had a similar problem with the Becker? Strange thing was that after a couple of hours flying, the display came good and never gave another problem over the 12 hours flying time during the trip.

Being winter here, it has been quite cold and damp in the hangar, however I would not have thought that would have been a problem for modern electronics, so I am curious if anyone else has had a similar problem. Last time I had a problem with it (not long after I bought it), I had to send it back to Germany for repairs, so am hoping this is only a temporary glitch.

[Roger Lee]

I have never heard of a Becker doing this, but almost sounds like a bad internal connection. It can be the cold if we are talking real cold or it sits outside.