Garmin 196 antenna inside fabric ?

[Phil]

Hello
Young friend of mine is finishing his EAA Biplane , he would like to
mount the detector/antenna inside the fabric so as to not show on the
outside of upper center section , the airplane is in the silver/aluminum
stage of painting , the alum. powder in primer is used to block UV , he is
wondering if it could also block the RF from the Sats., I told him that we
might get an answer off the group.
Thanks
Phil L.

[Philippe[_2_]]

Phil a écrit:

> Hello
> Young friend of mine is finishing his EAA Biplane , he would like
> to
> mount the detector/antenna inside the fabric so as to not show on the
> outside of upper center section , the airplane is in the
> silver/aluminum stage of painting , the alum. powder in primer is used
> to block UV , he is wondering if it could also block the RF from the
> Sats., I told him that we might get an answer off the group.

Just try, it may work....


--
02°44'45"E 45°30'50"N
Philippe Vessaire Ò¿Ó¬

[J. Severyn]

"Phil" > wrote in message
...
> Hello
> Young friend of mine is finishing his EAA Biplane , he would like to
> mount the detector/antenna inside the fabric so as to not show on the
> outside of upper center section , the airplane is in the silver/aluminum
> stage of painting , the alum. powder in primer is used to block UV , he is
> wondering if it could also block the RF from the Sats., I told him that we
> might get an answer off the group.
> Thanks
> Phil L.
>
If alum powder particles are small enough to be mostly encapsulated by the
primer so that conductivity of the finished surface is poor, the attenuation
might be low (high conductivity will attenuate the signal). Make a test
patch slightly bigger than the GPS antenna. Set up the GPS to look at the
sats received power (most GPSs have this capability). Move the finished
patch over the antenna and watch the received power. There is a very good
chance it will work. It all depends on the amount of Al powder in the mix.
J. Severyn
AF6QO
RV-9A N79LH

[Morgans[_2_]]

"Philippe" > wrote in message
news:2548283.koFCf946Em@GastonCoute...
> Phil a écrit:
>
>> Hello
>> Young friend of mine is finishing his EAA Biplane , he would like
>> to
>> mount the detector/antenna inside the fabric so as to not show on the
>> outside of upper center section , the airplane is in the
>> silver/aluminum stage of painting , the alum. powder in primer is used
>> to block UV , he is wondering if it could also block the RF from the
>> Sats., I told him that we might get an answer off the group.
>
> Just try, it may work....

How about making an inspection hatch for the antenna to be under, and make
the hatch out of fiberglass, or colored Plexiglas, or some other RF
transparent cover that does not need to be UV protected. I have no doubt
that you will need to be getting to the antenna once in a while anyway, so
that would kill two birds with one stone.
--
Jim in NC