On Oct 9, 8:45*pm, Darryl Ramm wrote:
On Oct 9, 4:28*pm, chipsoars wrote:

I'm intending to upgrade over the winter and would like to know what
others have done - units, antenna type, location of unit and antenna
and performance validation.

thanks,

Chip F.

I had a Artex 406 MHz ELT and spend a day trying to work out where it
could be installed in an ASH-26E and gave up and sent it back. I
suggest you do what I did and buy a 406 MHz PLB and strap it on your
parachute harness in a Silver Parachutes "SMAK Pack". Likely a better
option than an ELT, which is unlikely to activate properly anyhow
(with current ELTs I believe it is around 60%, but I expect gliders to
be worse because of difficulty installing properly and likely lower
collision energies) even if you could work out where to to put the
antenna. And for a lot less money than a 406 MHz ELT you get a PLB
with GPS. And if you do bail out at a high altitude the PLB is with
you not some distance away in the glider. You just need to remind any
contest CDs that the SSA ELT rule is well intended but silly. A SPOT
messenger is another good option, especially with tracking. I fly with
both. SPOT tracking on the glider. PLB on my parachute harness.

Darryl

I fly with a SPOT and a PLB - a better solution than an ELT I agree. I
do wish I had some sort of impact trigger.

What you'd really like to have is a g-sensor permanently mounted in
the glider that could connect to and trigger whatever device you carry
in event of impact. I wonder if you could mod a PLB with a simple jack
that you could tie into. Would be a lot cheaper and you wouldn't have
to deal with FAA stuff since it's not an aircraft-mounted ELT.

9B