Hi,

Just to clarify. I sell the AmeriKing ELT for $195. Just $8 more than Tim.
I try to be competitive with Tim and other online competitors. One some
products I'm a little more, on some a little less.

Paul Remde
Cumulus Soaring, Inc.
http://www.cumulus-soaring.com

"Tim Mara" wrote in message
...
jphoenix wrote:
I installed mine this past weekend, the antenna is located forward and
under the instrument panel glareshield, attached to the rudder pedal
bracket and installed within 20° of vertical as required by the
manual.

AmeriKing, $206 including shipping from Paul Remde.

I have sold and installed the Ameri-King ELT's (I still sell these for
just $189.00) and other ELT's using a variety of antenna installations,
usually a rubber duck mounted on a metal ground plane in the baggage area
is the easiest and cleanest installation, providing you don't have a
carbon fiber or metal fuselage. I've also seen installations of the same
antenna type from some glider manufacturers mounted on simple brackets in
the cockpit that provide little of no ground plane....I have
"unscientifically tested" my own installations and they work, at least TX
with reasonable strength and range but I don't know how well the antenna
performs without some ground plane. Some time ago I did however speak with
someone at Ameri-King who told me then they actually certified their
AK-450 while it was simply sitting on a wing without an antenna attached
(there is also a telescoping antenna provided with the ELT so it can be
used as a portable unit as well). Consider though that handheld radios use
nothing more than the radio body as the grounding plane, and they do work,
although not with the same range or power as an external antenna, and it's
easy to see that most antenna installations will allow transmit, if even
at less than optimum.
Also keep in mind the ground plane doe not have to be a larger metal
plate......it can be wire "whiskers" like many base station antennas use,
or even foil tape (check out any heating supply or even the Home Depot and
you'll find a variety of foil tapes used mostly for heating ductwork and
the ground plane issue becomes a " non-issue" very simply.
best regards
Tim
Wings & Wheels
www.wingsandwheels.com