(answering several responses)

On Sat, 6 Mar 2004 18:57:48 -0800, "Tim Ward"
wrote:

I see M/C's got some nice copper mesh sheet. It probably would work
nicely, but they want $700 for a 11" square sheet....and I'd need two of
them. I bought a 36" square sheet of aluminum window screening for $5.
I'm hoping it'll work....

Have you checked www.digikey.com for a "shielded hood" for the
DB-whatever-it-is on the Microair? Their quantity 1 price will seem kind of
pricey, but it's certainly cheaper than 700 bucks -- probably more like 7.

Well, the problem isn't in the Microair's DB-25, since I had the same
problem with my Terra, which had a hard-wired rack. It must be some sort
of bleedover from the antenna itself, since the Microair is machined out of
a solid hunk a' aluminum.

Every bit of wire associated with the transponder was replaced when I
switched to the Microair...the transponder got its own circuit
breaker/power wire (the Terra shared a single breaker and a single 18-gauge
wire with the Comm radio...hey, *I* didn't install it), new encoder
harness, new coaxial cable to the repositioned antenna. So I figured the
problem was in the Narco, not the transponder.

I *am* glad I bought the unit from my friendly avionics dealer on my own
home field, instead of mail-ordering it. It gave me real-time access to
some technical advice. I emailed Microair with my problems and didn't
receive a response. I did state, in my email, that I knew the problem
wasn't with their device, but was hoping they'd have some suggestions.

On Sun, 07 Mar 2004 03:50:28 GMT, "Gerry Caron" wrote:

]OTOH, 6 - 16" long pieces of tape overlapped 1/4" results in a
]sticky sheet about 16" square.

One bit of curiosity I have, about the copper tape: How does the "sticky
side" affect electrical connection? Is the adhesive conductive?

(Snip)

]If the unit is metal, you shouldn't need to shield the unit itself
]with only a couple exceptions. Since we're dealing with a
]transponder (1090 MHz), the only other issue would be an aperture
]which could act as a slot antenna.

This may be *exactly* the problem I have. The metal case of the radio is
cut back to allow the connector to be external without grounding out... and
the cutout is just shy of the full width of the case. Also, there's a
wider slot orthogonal to the connector slot, where the plastic lock for the
connector slides in to.

Neat suggestion, though...I might try to wrap that last couple inches of
wiring harness and shield the openings somehow.

On Sat, 06 Mar 2004 18:48:11 -0800, Jim Weir wrote:

} Or send Jim a SASpaddedE and he'll send you what is left of a few
} rolls we've used around here for "magazine projects", if y'know
} what I mean.

I was visited by the RST fairy several years back, and still have a good
bit of a roll left after doing the ground plane for my plastic-pipe-fitting
antenna.

Also, little strips of it on the edges of the suitcase work neat for
picking out your suitcase as soon as it comes off the airport luggage
carosel...subtle, but instantly recognizable. Though, from the frequency
of the "Hi, we're the TSA, and we pawed through your bag" notes I get, I
get the impression the Federales get a bit suspicious... :-)

Ron Wanttaja