Papa3[_2_]
October 27th 14, 04:15 PM
One comment and one question:
- Question: It was my understanding that neither pole of the dipole antenna was supposed to come into contact with the glider. I drew that conclusion from the statement in the manual: "The antennas must
not be subjected to physical pressure and may not be bent. Ensure
the antenna does not touch the cockpit windscreen." I would think that touching the instrument shroud is equal to touching the windscreen (canopy), no?
- Comment: In many modern gliders where the shroud needs to depart with the canopy in an emergency, such a mounting doesn't seem feasible. FWIW, my breakaway mounting uses two magnets (one on the stalk holding the dipole antenna and the other one glued to the underside of the shroud). Makes a very clean install (no holes, velcro, glue residue, etc.) and take only a few pounds to break away. No obvious problems with the magnets impacting any RF or GPS signals (at least none I've been able to find).
P3
On Sunday, October 26, 2014 11:27:49 PM UTC-4, Paul Remde wrote:
> Hi,
>
> A customer suggested this approach to mounting the PowerFLARM Core ADS‐B and
> FLARM dipole antennas. It is clever, simple and makes for a clean looking
> installation. 3 or 4 simple rubber grommets are used. I found the grommets
> at a local hardware store. The grommets have a hole diameter of ¼” and fit
> in a 3/8” hole. They seem to hold the antennas quite securely. If I find
> that they are not tight enough I’ll put some shrink tubing on the end of the
> antenna to make the fit more snug. The installation was very easy. The only
> slightly tough part was getting the 2 SMA connectors through the center
> grommet (before it was installed). After the first SMA connector was pushed
> through the grommet its cable made it more difficult to get the 2nd SMA
> connector through. Another approach would be to use a total of 4 grommets so
> each cable would go through its own grommet. The PowerFLARM Core’s GPS
> antenna is mounted just under the instrument panel cover – on top of a
> variometer.
>
> You can see a photo of the final installation and the grommet dimensions and
> additional PowerFLARM Tips here:
> http://www.cumulus-soaring.com/flarm/PowerFLARM-Tips.pdf
>
> What do you think?
>
> Best Regards,
>
> Paul Remde
> Cumulus Soaring, Inc.
- Question: It was my understanding that neither pole of the dipole antenna was supposed to come into contact with the glider. I drew that conclusion from the statement in the manual: "The antennas must
not be subjected to physical pressure and may not be bent. Ensure
the antenna does not touch the cockpit windscreen." I would think that touching the instrument shroud is equal to touching the windscreen (canopy), no?
- Comment: In many modern gliders where the shroud needs to depart with the canopy in an emergency, such a mounting doesn't seem feasible. FWIW, my breakaway mounting uses two magnets (one on the stalk holding the dipole antenna and the other one glued to the underside of the shroud). Makes a very clean install (no holes, velcro, glue residue, etc.) and take only a few pounds to break away. No obvious problems with the magnets impacting any RF or GPS signals (at least none I've been able to find).
P3
On Sunday, October 26, 2014 11:27:49 PM UTC-4, Paul Remde wrote:
> Hi,
>
> A customer suggested this approach to mounting the PowerFLARM Core ADS‐B and
> FLARM dipole antennas. It is clever, simple and makes for a clean looking
> installation. 3 or 4 simple rubber grommets are used. I found the grommets
> at a local hardware store. The grommets have a hole diameter of ¼” and fit
> in a 3/8” hole. They seem to hold the antennas quite securely. If I find
> that they are not tight enough I’ll put some shrink tubing on the end of the
> antenna to make the fit more snug. The installation was very easy. The only
> slightly tough part was getting the 2 SMA connectors through the center
> grommet (before it was installed). After the first SMA connector was pushed
> through the grommet its cable made it more difficult to get the 2nd SMA
> connector through. Another approach would be to use a total of 4 grommets so
> each cable would go through its own grommet. The PowerFLARM Core’s GPS
> antenna is mounted just under the instrument panel cover – on top of a
> variometer.
>
> You can see a photo of the final installation and the grommet dimensions and
> additional PowerFLARM Tips here:
> http://www.cumulus-soaring.com/flarm/PowerFLARM-Tips.pdf
>
> What do you think?
>
> Best Regards,
>
> Paul Remde
> Cumulus Soaring, Inc.