Original Posted By: Phil Phillips
Subject: Pietenpol-List: Re: Handheld Advice>Earl,>>I have the same type antenna rig on my piet as Mike C. I just changed>from an STS to an ICOM. The new one they have was on sale at one of the>pilot shops in Pa. No VOR. Better Squelch. Works great. Talked to Flight>Service the other day from 50 or 60 miles out. Belt clip holds it on an>angle bracket next to my right knee.>>Craig>>________________________________________________________________________________
Pietenpol-List: Handheld Advice
Pietenpol-List: Handheld Advice
Original Posted By: Earl Myers
Subject: Pietenpol-List: Handheld Advice>When using a handheld radio in a Pietenpol or GN-1, can >someone give me a simple, basic, practical way to install>some kind of antenna. I don't understand antenna lingo or>such, just how is this best done. >>Mike C. >>________________________________________________________________________________
Subject: Pietenpol-List: Handheld Advice>When using a handheld radio in a Pietenpol or GN-1, can >someone give me a simple, basic, practical way to install>some kind of antenna. I don't understand antenna lingo or>such, just how is this best done. >>Mike C. >>________________________________________________________________________________
Pietenpol-List: Handheld Advice
Original Posted By: Gary Gower
Subject: Pietenpol-List: Handheld Advice>When using a handheld radio in a Pietenpol or GN-1, can>someone give me a simple, basic, practical way to install>some kind of antenna. I don't understand antenna lingo or>such, just how is this best done.>>Mike C.>>________________________________________________________________________________
Subject: Pietenpol-List: Handheld Advice>When using a handheld radio in a Pietenpol or GN-1, can>someone give me a simple, basic, practical way to install>some kind of antenna. I don't understand antenna lingo or>such, just how is this best done.>>Mike C.>>________________________________________________________________________________
Pietenpol-List: Handheld Advice
Original Posted By: Michael Brusilow
When using a handheld radio in a Pietenpol or GN-1, can someone give me a simple, basic, practical way to installsome kind of antenna. I don't understand antenna lingo orsuch, just how is this best done. Mike C. ________________________________________________________________________________
When using a handheld radio in a Pietenpol or GN-1, can someone give me a simple, basic, practical way to installsome kind of antenna. I don't understand antenna lingo orsuch, just how is this best done. Mike C. ________________________________________________________________________________
Pietenpol-List: Re: Handheld Advice
Original Posted By: TXTdragger(at)aol.com
>When using a handheld radio in a Pietenpol or GN-1, can>someone give me a simple, basic, practical way to install>some kind of antenna. I don't understand antenna lingo or>such, just how is this best done.>>Mike C.I have been flying with a handheld for years.I mounted the antenna on the aluminum fairing between the wing & centersection & brought the lead down the cabane strut to the cockpit.BTW: I mounted the portable GPS antenna the same way.Mike B Piet N687MB ( Mr Sam )________________________________________________________________________________
>When using a handheld radio in a Pietenpol or GN-1, can>someone give me a simple, basic, practical way to install>some kind of antenna. I don't understand antenna lingo or>such, just how is this best done.>>Mike C.I have been flying with a handheld for years.I mounted the antenna on the aluminum fairing between the wing & centersection & brought the lead down the cabane strut to the cockpit.BTW: I mounted the portable GPS antenna the same way.Mike B Piet N687MB ( Mr Sam )________________________________________________________________________________
Pietenpol-List: Re: Handheld Advice
Original Posted By: Michael D Cuy
-----Original Message-----
-----Original Message-----
Pietenpol-List: Re: Handheld Advice
Original Posted By: Michael D Cuy
Mike....CUY is it....?On the Champ, the antenna is mounted on the aluminum fairing between thefuse and wing. There was a second piece of AlYouMineum called a doublerrequired about 9" either side of the fairing where the antenna mounted thruthe fairing. I got one of those "bent" stainless cheapy antennas thru AS&S(I have had good and bad from both them and WKS). The doubler was riveted onWorks like a Champ! Reception is 5 x 5.The Great Tailwind has spoken................-----Original Message-----
Mike....CUY is it....?On the Champ, the antenna is mounted on the aluminum fairing between thefuse and wing. There was a second piece of AlYouMineum called a doublerrequired about 9" either side of the fairing where the antenna mounted thruthe fairing. I got one of those "bent" stainless cheapy antennas thru AS&S(I have had good and bad from both them and WKS). The doubler was riveted onWorks like a Champ! Reception is 5 x 5.The Great Tailwind has spoken................-----Original Message-----
Pietenpol-List: Re: Handheld Advice
Original Posted By: LaurenMWilliams(at)webtv.net (Lauren Williams)
Yeah, I'm sending in the clear, to any and all who might want to hear...Advisory Circular 43.13-2, Acceptable Methods, Techniques, and Practices Aircraft Alterations has a good section on Antenna Installations in Chapter 3. May I quote..." c. On fabric-covered aircraft or aircraft with other types of nonmetallic skin, the manufacturer's recommendations should be followed in order to provide the necessary ground plane. An acceptable method of accomplishing this is by providing a number of metal foil strips in a radial position from the antenna base and secured under the fabric or wood skin of the aircraft. (See figure3.2)"Figure 3.2 shows a sketch of a whip antenna centered in an 8-legged array of foil, and has a note that reads: "NOTE: THE LENGTH OF EACH FOIL RADIAL SHOULD BE AT LEAST EQUAL TO THE ANTENNA LENGTH."I've used this methodology to hook up a handheld external antenna on two Champs, and both worked well. Actually, I had access to "500 MPH tape", which is aluminum tape 2" wide and about .005" thick. Put the radials under the skin and covered them with pinked fabric strips to make sure they stayed where I wanted them.Try it, you'll like it!Ed ________________________________________________________________________________
Yeah, I'm sending in the clear, to any and all who might want to hear...Advisory Circular 43.13-2, Acceptable Methods, Techniques, and Practices Aircraft Alterations has a good section on Antenna Installations in Chapter 3. May I quote..." c. On fabric-covered aircraft or aircraft with other types of nonmetallic skin, the manufacturer's recommendations should be followed in order to provide the necessary ground plane. An acceptable method of accomplishing this is by providing a number of metal foil strips in a radial position from the antenna base and secured under the fabric or wood skin of the aircraft. (See figure3.2)"Figure 3.2 shows a sketch of a whip antenna centered in an 8-legged array of foil, and has a note that reads: "NOTE: THE LENGTH OF EACH FOIL RADIAL SHOULD BE AT LEAST EQUAL TO THE ANTENNA LENGTH."I've used this methodology to hook up a handheld external antenna on two Champs, and both worked well. Actually, I had access to "500 MPH tape", which is aluminum tape 2" wide and about .005" thick. Put the radials under the skin and covered them with pinked fabric strips to make sure they stayed where I wanted them.Try it, you'll like it!Ed ________________________________________________________________________________
Pietenpol-List: Re: Handheld Advice
Original Posted By: Doug Sheets
Michael D Cuy wrote:> When using a handheld radio in a Pietenpol or GN-1, can> someone give me a simple, basic, practical way to install> some kind of antenna. Mike C. Mike,The best and safest bet would be to get an old com antenna from anAP or someone else who is around aircraft that are being parted out. Youcould purchase a new one from Aircraft Spruce or Chief Avionics . Theytend to beway over priced when you understand that it a very simple device .Antennas are easy to build . I'm an FCC licnsedradio technician and have built dozens of antennas over the years .The trick in a piet would be providing a good ground plane under theantenna . On a typical light aircraft the aluminum skin provides avery good ground plane for the quarter wave vertical antenna to workwith . This could be done by sheeting the area under the antenna withthin aluminum to at least one quarter wave length in all directionsfrom the antenna mounting point . The wave lengthin Meters can be found by dividing the number 300 by the frequency inMega Hertz. For 121.5 Mhz this works out to 2.46 Meters , Onequarter of this is 0.61 Meters. Using the rough conversion of 39inches to the meter thisis roughly 23.79 inches. The size and shape of the ground plane is notcritical as long as it is at least one quarter wave at the lowestfrequency you expect to use . The antenna it self needs to be theright length in order to work well and not damage the transmitterportion of your hand held. Shielding the ignition system on you enginewould be another thing worth doing . This is something I'm planning towork on when I get my Piet project under way . I'm sure that a lotcan be done by just shielding the wires and leaving the plugs asstandard automotive types and not converting the engine to takeaircraft type plugs which are shielded and very expensive too . Take alook under the hood of a Corvette, GM had to shield the wires on theVet because the fiberglass body did not provide shielding as it doeson steel bodied cars. WHEN your all done you should find that yourhad held works better than it ever did with the rubber ducky antenna itcame with I have spent a few hours in a 1946 Aronica Chief with a setup like this and the hand held was fine except the audio volume isnot adequate to hear over the noise of the engine but with a two placeintercom and a pair of David Clarks it works like a dream as longas the batteries hold up.If money is no object you could purchase one of the new antennas forcomposite aircraft that are an etched circuit board to form a halfwave antenna that does not need a ground plant to work well . Thiscould be mountedinside the fuselage behind the aft seat . This would be a way ofhaving a radio with out the normal outwardsign of an antenna sticking out somewhereGene Tomblin________________________________________________________________________________
Michael D Cuy wrote:> When using a handheld radio in a Pietenpol or GN-1, can> someone give me a simple, basic, practical way to install> some kind of antenna. Mike C. Mike,The best and safest bet would be to get an old com antenna from anAP or someone else who is around aircraft that are being parted out. Youcould purchase a new one from Aircraft Spruce or Chief Avionics . Theytend to beway over priced when you understand that it a very simple device .Antennas are easy to build . I'm an FCC licnsedradio technician and have built dozens of antennas over the years .The trick in a piet would be providing a good ground plane under theantenna . On a typical light aircraft the aluminum skin provides avery good ground plane for the quarter wave vertical antenna to workwith . This could be done by sheeting the area under the antenna withthin aluminum to at least one quarter wave length in all directionsfrom the antenna mounting point . The wave lengthin Meters can be found by dividing the number 300 by the frequency inMega Hertz. For 121.5 Mhz this works out to 2.46 Meters , Onequarter of this is 0.61 Meters. Using the rough conversion of 39inches to the meter thisis roughly 23.79 inches. The size and shape of the ground plane is notcritical as long as it is at least one quarter wave at the lowestfrequency you expect to use . The antenna it self needs to be theright length in order to work well and not damage the transmitterportion of your hand held. Shielding the ignition system on you enginewould be another thing worth doing . This is something I'm planning towork on when I get my Piet project under way . I'm sure that a lotcan be done by just shielding the wires and leaving the plugs asstandard automotive types and not converting the engine to takeaircraft type plugs which are shielded and very expensive too . Take alook under the hood of a Corvette, GM had to shield the wires on theVet because the fiberglass body did not provide shielding as it doeson steel bodied cars. WHEN your all done you should find that yourhad held works better than it ever did with the rubber ducky antenna itcame with I have spent a few hours in a 1946 Aronica Chief with a setup like this and the hand held was fine except the audio volume isnot adequate to hear over the noise of the engine but with a two placeintercom and a pair of David Clarks it works like a dream as longas the batteries hold up.If money is no object you could purchase one of the new antennas forcomposite aircraft that are an etched circuit board to form a halfwave antenna that does not need a ground plant to work well . Thiscould be mountedinside the fuselage behind the aft seat . This would be a way ofhaving a radio with out the normal outwardsign of an antenna sticking out somewhereGene Tomblin________________________________________________________________________________
Pietenpol-List: Re: Handheld Advice
Original Posted By: Clay Spurgeon
Group- Thank you for the excellent advice onantennas for handhelds.....now if I can scrounge upsome cash to buy the handheld !Mike C. ________________________________________________________________________________
Group- Thank you for the excellent advice onantennas for handhelds.....now if I can scrounge upsome cash to buy the handheld !Mike C. ________________________________________________________________________________
Pietenpol-List: Re: Handheld Advice
Original Posted By: Mike Cunningham
Craig- Can I ask what Icon handheld you recently purchasedw/ no vor ? Perfect- I don't need the vor info.Mike C. ________________________________________________________________________________
Craig- Can I ask what Icon handheld you recently purchasedw/ no vor ? Perfect- I don't need the vor info.Mike C. ________________________________________________________________________________
Pietenpol-List: Re: Handheld Advice
Original Posted By: Michael D Cuy
x-mac-creator="4D4F5353"Earl,I have the same type antenna rig on my piet as Mike C. I just changedfrom an STS to an ICOM. The new one they have was on sale at one of thepilot shops in Pa. No VOR. Better Squelch. Works great. Talked to FlightService the other day from 50 or 60 miles out. Belt clip holds it on anangle bracket next to my right knee.Craig________________________________________________________________________________
x-mac-creator="4D4F5353"Earl,I have the same type antenna rig on my piet as Mike C. I just changedfrom an STS to an ICOM. The new one they have was on sale at one of thepilot shops in Pa. No VOR. Better Squelch. Works great. Talked to FlightService the other day from 50 or 60 miles out. Belt clip holds it on anangle bracket next to my right knee.Craig________________________________________________________________________________
Pietenpol-List: Re: Handheld Advice
Original Posted By: Michael Brusilow
Finally got a chance to try out the new Yaesu. I was supposed to meet withmy father who was flying the plane back to St. John's while I was drivingin on the hiway. I first heard one of the local planes at the pond whilein the car. From the ground and while travelling at 110 kph I was able totransmit and recieve an airplane at 25 miles using the built in antennaand it was quite readible. Later, from the ground at the dockside I had no problem talking to myfather when he was 35 miles out at 5000'. In the plane, 25 mile range transmissions were still readible. In short, Iam really pleased with this performance. The size is quite small andeverything is designed to be water resistant. Price wise, it is quitecomparable to the ICOM. I have the COMM only version and it was $339 USDwhen I bought it earlier this year.KenOn Fri, 20 Aug 1999, Michael D Cuy wrote:> Group- Thank you for the excellent advice on> antennas for handhelds.....now if I can scrounge up> some cash to buy the handheld !> > Mike C. > Ken Beanlands B.Eng (Aerospace)Calgary, Alberta, CanadaChristavia MK 1 C-GREN________________________________________________________________________________
Finally got a chance to try out the new Yaesu. I was supposed to meet withmy father who was flying the plane back to St. John's while I was drivingin on the hiway. I first heard one of the local planes at the pond whilein the car. From the ground and while travelling at 110 kph I was able totransmit and recieve an airplane at 25 miles using the built in antennaand it was quite readible. Later, from the ground at the dockside I had no problem talking to myfather when he was 35 miles out at 5000'. In the plane, 25 mile range transmissions were still readible. In short, Iam really pleased with this performance. The size is quite small andeverything is designed to be water resistant. Price wise, it is quitecomparable to the ICOM. I have the COMM only version and it was $339 USDwhen I bought it earlier this year.KenOn Fri, 20 Aug 1999, Michael D Cuy wrote:> Group- Thank you for the excellent advice on> antennas for handhelds.....now if I can scrounge up> some cash to buy the handheld !> > Mike C. > Ken Beanlands B.Eng (Aerospace)Calgary, Alberta, CanadaChristavia MK 1 C-GREN________________________________________________________________________________
Pietenpol-List: Re: Handheld Advice
Original Posted By: Ken Beanlands
try RST. they do the ants. in the ez's________________________________________________________________________________
try RST. they do the ants. in the ez's________________________________________________________________________________
Pietenpol-List: Re: Handheld Advice
Original Posted By: Craig Lawler
YUP, works fine for me too!-----Original Message-----
YUP, works fine for me too!-----Original Message-----
Pietenpol-List: Re: Handheld Advice
Original Posted By: TXTdragger(at)aol.com
Mike, I am confused. You tell me you fly without a radio and give me theincentive to fly NORADO for two weeks and love every minute of it when Ihave a radio because I fly out of a towered field. And now that I amconvinced NORADO is the way to go you up and start talking radio....?Seriously, we have a wire antenna mounted on the bottom of the fuselage justbehind the rear cockpit. You should be able to pick up one used for around$10 max. They come straight, 45 degree bend and (guessing here) 60 degreebend. We have the latter. Mounted on the bottom of the fuselage (inside),just behind the seat back, is a 2 foot by 2 foot piece of flat aluminum forthe ground plane that has been mentioned. Works great.TedP.S. You want to get a microphone that sounds good in an open cockpit. Ithink a helicopter mike will work well. Maybe someone else could help here. >Group- Thank you for the excellent advice on>antennas for handhelds.....now if I can scrounge up>some cash to buy the handheld !>>Mike C. >>________________________________________________________________________________
Mike, I am confused. You tell me you fly without a radio and give me theincentive to fly NORADO for two weeks and love every minute of it when Ihave a radio because I fly out of a towered field. And now that I amconvinced NORADO is the way to go you up and start talking radio....?Seriously, we have a wire antenna mounted on the bottom of the fuselage justbehind the rear cockpit. You should be able to pick up one used for around$10 max. They come straight, 45 degree bend and (guessing here) 60 degreebend. We have the latter. Mounted on the bottom of the fuselage (inside),just behind the seat back, is a 2 foot by 2 foot piece of flat aluminum forthe ground plane that has been mentioned. Works great.TedP.S. You want to get a microphone that sounds good in an open cockpit. Ithink a helicopter mike will work well. Maybe someone else could help here. >Group- Thank you for the excellent advice on>antennas for handhelds.....now if I can scrounge up>some cash to buy the handheld !>>Mike C. >>________________________________________________________________________________
Pietenpol-List: Re: Handheld Advice
Original Posted By: GMalley(at)aol.com
Mike on NX40772 my antenna was mounted in the vertical fin using stainless steel whip in a plastic sheath. It had a plug I think it was called a banana type that attached it to the coax. If you removed the fin theyou could unhook the antenna. I also have this similar arrangement in my Duster Sailplane only using a dipole type antenna.Craig Aho ________________________________________________________________________________
Mike on NX40772 my antenna was mounted in the vertical fin using stainless steel whip in a plastic sheath. It had a plug I think it was called a banana type that attached it to the coax. If you removed the fin theyou could unhook the antenna. I also have this similar arrangement in my Duster Sailplane only using a dipole type antenna.Craig Aho ________________________________________________________________________________
Pietenpol-List: Re: Handheld Advice
Original Posted By: seibert(at)swbell.net
This arrangement was described in detail in the BPA newsletter #33, page 7.It looks like it is worth trying if you want the antenna hidden. I amplanning to use this scheme.Al Swanson>Mike on NX40772 my antenna was mounted in the vertical fin using stainless >steel whip in a plastic sheath. It had a plug I think it was called a banana >type that attached it to the coax. If you removed the fin theyou could unhook>the antenna. I also have this similar arrangement in my Duster Sailplane only>using a dipole type antenna.>>Craig Aho >>________________________________________________________________________________
This arrangement was described in detail in the BPA newsletter #33, page 7.It looks like it is worth trying if you want the antenna hidden. I amplanning to use this scheme.Al Swanson>Mike on NX40772 my antenna was mounted in the vertical fin using stainless >steel whip in a plastic sheath. It had a plug I think it was called a banana >type that attached it to the coax. If you removed the fin theyou could unhook>the antenna. I also have this similar arrangement in my Duster Sailplane only>using a dipole type antenna.>>Craig Aho >>________________________________________________________________________________