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My VOR is kaput. Does anyone have an old one I can buy or can recommend somewhere I can find a replacement.

My old one is a Narco.

The radio or the gauge, Bob? I don't use my VOR NAV any more. If you send me a GPS NAV, I will trade you!

Bill
Grants Pass, Oregon

Mine has been dead for 8 years, and I don't miss it, and I don't intend to fix or replace it. I suppose I could use the space to store gum. But then, I'm happy being a VFR pilot...

It's kinda nice to have a working VOR for navigation, even if not used much it could come in very handy if other means give up the ghost.

Robert, good luck with replacing your VOR, whether it's the gage, antenna, radio, or whatever. Consider consulting your friendly local avionics professional to pinpoint the problem. If you know what the bad component is, you might try eBay.

As for the value of VOR -- my two cents:
VOR/Localizer/Glideslope offer truly "precion approach" capability. Professional airline pilots that I know prefer a precision ground-based radio navigation system to information received from satellites located 1,300 miles up in the sky.

GPS is great for Position, Time, and Velocity, but it sucks with altitude information. You need accurate altitude information when flying IFR. Having an instrument that is 500 feet inaccurate in altitude readings -- high or low -- can really ruin your day in an instrument approach.
Newer WAAS enabled GPS systems are better at altitude information.

Bill,

There is no radio. My old unit is a Narco stand-alone gauge. I've already had the avionics shop check it out. They said it is gettting power but the signal is very, very, weak. They said it would be cheaper if I just pulled it and send it to Narco. They said that's what they would do anyway, so it would be cheaper if I did it myself.

Me too. I only use VOR occasionally but I like having the option of using it. I have GPS & a Loran if that fails. I have an ADF, that never worked & I never learned to use anyway. It is just taking up panel space. My VOR that I like and know how to use is too weak to pick up signals. I hate having avionics that meet the definition of mass - has weight and takes up space!

My panel mount GPS is tied into the altitude encoder, but too bad the encoder's resolution is only good for rounding to the nearest 100 feet... Beats the altitude from the GPS almost every time though.

Robert, I have a guage...will show it to you soon. MM

But the encoder only gives you pressure altitude... when you have a nonstandard day... yikes! I've seen my encoder readout 300' off.