ACR LGT OUT OF RADIO CONTACT WITH ZTL FOR 150 NM.

Narrative

THE PROBLEM ORIGINATED WITH THE ACFT #1 COM RADIO; AFTER RECEIVING HDOF FROM ZTL TO FREQ 126.47. MY THIRD XMISSION ON 126.47 WAS; 'ZTL; COMPANY IDENT; HELLO; FL330.' AFTER SEVERAL SECONDS WE RECEIVED A SCRATCHY; NONSTANDARD RADIO TERMINOLOGY REPLY FROM ZTL ACKNOWLEDGING COMPANY IDENT FL330. PROCEEDING DIRECT TO THE VADOSTA VOR 114.8; APPROX 100 MI S OF ATLANTA; I ATTEMPTED TO CALL ZTL ON 126.47; THE LAST ASSIGNED FREQ BECAUSE OF ABNORMAL RADIO SILENCE. UNABLE RADIO CONTACT; CAPT ATTEMPTED CONTACT ON #1 COM WITH PUBLISHED ZTL FREQS WITHOUT SUCCESS; WHILE I CONTACTED FLT SVC ON 122.2 FOR APPROPRIATE ZJX FREQ; ON #2 COM RADIO. FSS XMITTED ZJX FREQ AND I ESTABLISHED RADIO CONTACT ON FIRST XMISSION USING #1 COM; RPTING; 'IDENT; FL330.' ZJX ACKNOWLEDGED. SEVERAL MINS LATER ZJX ADVISED US UPON REACHING ORLANDO DEST TO CONTACT ZTL SUPVR BY TELEPHONE. I ACKNOWLEDGED. MINS LATER ZJX ASSIGNED US A 090 HDG. HDG 090 AND FLYING APPROX 20 MI THROUGH FLT PLANNED RTE; I SUSPECTED RADIO FAILURE AGAIN. AFTER NO REPLY TO SEVERAL XMISSIONS I SWITCHED TO #2 COM RADIO AND CONTACTED ZJX. CTLR STATED HE DID NOT RECEIVE MY PREVIOUS RADIO CALLS AND I NOTIFIED HIM THAT I WAS NOW USING #2 COM. WE REMAINED IN RADIO CONTACT FOR THE DURATION OF FLT WITH CTL FACILITIES. AFTER CAPT RETURNED TO COCKPIT FROM TELEPHONE CONVERSATION WITH ZTL SUPVR I INQUIRED AS TO THE NATURE OF THE PROBLEM. CAPT BRIEFLY STATED THAT ATLANTA SUPVR WAS NOT REALLY UPSET; THAT WE DID NOT BUST ANYTHING AND THERE WAS NOTHING TO WORRY ABOUT. I QUESTIONED HIM FURTHER TO THE NECESSITY OF THE TELEPHONE CALL AND HE STATED THAT CENTER HAD TO MOVE AN AIRPLANE AND THEY COULD NOT CONTACT US. I THEN ASKED IF HE TOLD THE SUPVR WE HAD A RADIO FAILURE AND CAPT RESPONDED; 'I TOLD ATLANTA WE HAD NO RADIO FAILURE.' I COULDN'T BELIEVE HIS REPLY! THE #1 COM HAD PREVIOUS LOGBOOK ENTRIES WITH CORRECTIVE MAINT ACTION BEING; 'OPS CHK ON GND; OK.' THE RADIO WAS RERACKED BY MAINT IN MCO (BIG DEAL). I QUESTIONED CAPT AS TO THE NECESSITY OF FILING A NASA RPT CONCERNING THIS EVENT AND HE AGAIN STATED THERE WAS NO BUST AND THERE WAS NOTHING TO WORRY ABOUT. YEAH; SURE. I TRUST THE JUDGEMENT OF THIS PARTICULAR CAPT EVEN LESS THAN I TRUST THAT #1 COM. WE USED #2 COM FOR THE RETURN FLT TO IND WHEREUPON ARR THE RADIO PROBLEM WAS NOTED IN THE ACFT LOG. CAPT'S RESPONSE TO MY INQUIRY AS TO WHY HE TOLD ATLANTA SUPVR WE HAD NO RADIO FAILURE AND THEN PROCEED TO ENTER THE DEFECT IN ACFT LOG WAS; 'DON'T WORRY ABOUT IT; AFTER TODAY THIS PLANE WILL BE FLYING OUT OF DETROIT AND IT WON'T BE OUR PROBLEM. FLT ENGINEER AND COMPANY APPROVED JUMP SEAT RIDER WERE ALSO MONITORING RADIO ACTIVITY; OR LACK THEREOF THROUGHOUT THE FLT. CAPT DID NOT RETURN MY NOTES CONCERNING THIS EVENT AFTER CALLING ZTL BY TELEPHONE FROM ORLANDO; MCCOY ARPT; THEREFORE UNABLE PREVIOUS AND POST RADIO FREQS OR THE ZTL SUPVR TELEPHONE NUMBER.