ACFT EQUIP PROB. NDB AND COM PROBS DURING DEP CLB. RPTR CLAIMS THE NDB OPERATED NORMALLY WHEN ARRIVING AT THE ARPT; BUT WASN'T ON THE AIR DURING DEP AND THE CLRNC INCLUDED DIRECT TO THE NDB. ALSO; FLC WAS UNABLE TO CONTACT DEP CTL DURING DEP AT 3000 FT. SO; BEING VMC; THEY CLBED TO 6000 FT TO ESTABLISH COM.

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FLT WAS TO DEPART IFR IN VMC CONDITIONS. INITIAL CLRNC: R TURN; DIRECT TO XYZ NDB HOLD; CLB TO 3000 FT; EXPECTED FURTHER CLRNC TIME 12 MINS. AFTER DEP; R TURN WAS BEGUN TO NDB. NDB APPEARED OTS AS BOTH RMI NEEDLES DID NOT POINT TO WHERE THE NDB SHOULD BE. ALSO; DEP COULD NOT BE REACHED FOR SOME REASON. WHILE TURNING NDB ON GPS AND IN VMC CONDITIONS; I ESTIMATED WE HAD PASSED THE NDB AND WAS UNCOMFORTABLE AT 3000 FT IN UNFAMILIAR TERRAIN. WITHOUT CLRNC; I ELECTED TO BEGIN CLB TO 6000 FT; LCL MINIMUM ENRTE IFR ALT. OUT OF 4000 FT WE WERE ABLE TO ESTABLISH COM WITH DEP AND PROCEEDED NORMALLY. I WOULD ADVISE CONFIRMATION THAT DEP CAN ACTUALLY BE REACHED AT 3000 FT IN THAT AREA. CALLBACK CONVERSATION WITH RPTR REVEALED THE FOLLOWING INFO: RPTR IDENTED ACFT AS ISRAEL ACFT INDUSTRIES JET COMMANDER; 1123 WESTWIND. HE ASSUMED THE PROB WITH THE NDB WAS THAT IT WAS OFF THE AIR. WHEN THEY HAD ARRIVED AT THE SAME ARPT INBOUND; THE NDB WAS OPERATING NORMALLY; BUT WHEN DEPARTING WAS NOT WORKING. THE FLC HAD RECEIVED THEIR CLRNC THROUGH A LCL FSS; BUT WERE UNABLE TO CONTACT CHARLOTTE DEP CTL AS PART OF THEIR CLRNC. BECAUSE THEY WERE UNABLE TO CONTACT DEP CTL AFTER TKOF AND CLB TO 3000 FT THEY REMEMBERED THAT COM WITH THE FACILITY WAS DIFFICULT AT LOWER ALTS. THUS; THEY DECIDED TO CLB TO A HIGHER ALT; SINCE THEY WERE VMC; IN ORDER TO ESTABLISH COM. ALSO; THEY WERE NOT IN CLASS B AIRSPACE AND RPTR THOUGHT CLBING TO A HIGHER ALT WOULD NOT BE A PROB WITH ATC. NOT RELATED TO THE SPECIFIC ANOMALY OF THE INCIDENT; RPTR WAS THE PIC ACTING AS THE FO; AND APPARENTLY THERE WAS CONFLICT BTWN THE RPTR AND THE TRAINEE CAPT.