PA-28 pilot reported an alternator failure resulted in a return to the departure airport.

Attributes
ACN	1601347
Time
Date	201812
Local Time Of Day	0601-1200
Place
Locale Reference	ZZZ.Airport
State Reference	US
Environment
Light	Daylight
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	PA-28 Cherokee/Archer/Dakota/Pillan/Warrior
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 91
Flight Phase	Cruise
Route In Use	None
Flight Plan	VFR
Component
Aircraft Component	AC Generator/Alternator
Person 1
Function	Single Pilot
Qualification	Flight Crew Private
Experience	Flight Crew Last 90 Days 13 Flight Crew Total 77 Flight Crew Type 60
Events
Anomaly	Aircraft Equipment Problem Less Severe Inflight Event / Encounter Other / Unknown

Narrative:

While on a local area flight; aircraft had an apparent alternator failure. Communication 2 panel went blank; communication 1 panel still displayed but was unresponsive. Radio calls were not returned. Radio calls had successfully been made earlier in the flight; including position reports and interactions with other aircraft in the area. Upon diagnosing the electrical failure; I turned off all lights and radio panels but left the transponder on. I used my handheld radio to communicate with local area traffic the nature of my situation; and decided to proceed back to ZZZ to attempt a landing. Two-way radio communication was established with ZZZ tower via my handheld radio. Permission to enter the airspace and land was obtained; at which time I successfully landed and exited the runway and ramp environment; per instructions from ZZZ ATC.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: PA-28 pilot reported an alternator failure resulted in a return to the departure airport.

Narrative: While on a local area flight; aircraft had an apparent alternator failure. COM 2 panel went blank; COM 1 panel still displayed but was unresponsive. Radio calls were not returned. Radio calls had successfully been made earlier in the flight; including position reports and interactions with other aircraft in the area. Upon diagnosing the electrical failure; I turned off all lights and radio panels but left the transponder on. I used my handheld radio to communicate with local area traffic the nature of my situation; and decided to proceed back to ZZZ to attempt a landing. Two-way radio communication was established with ZZZ Tower via my handheld radio. Permission to enter the airspace and land was obtained; at which time I successfully landed and exited the runway and ramp environment; per instructions from ZZZ ATC.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.