AeroElectric-List Digest Archive

Tue 04/08/08


Total Messages Posted: 7



Today's Message Index:
----------------------
 
     1. 12:03 AM - Re: Fat Wires & Brass vs. Copper (grjtucson)
     2. 12:07 AM - Re: PM3000 Wiring (grjtucson)
     3. 10:20 AM - Re: Re: Transponder for sale (mode S) ()
     4. 05:08 PM - Re: Re: Transponder for sale (mode S) (Michael Pereira)
     5. 06:23 PM - Re: Re: Transponder for sale (mode S) (Robert L. Nuckolls, III)
     6. 07:27 PM - Technological Stagnation - was Re: Re: Transponder for sale (mode S) (Bob White)
     7. 07:46 PM - Re: Re: Transponder for sale (mode S) (Ernest Christley)
 
 
 


Message 1


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    Time: 12:03:23 AM PST US
    Subject: Re: Fat Wires & Brass vs. Copper
    From: "grjtucson" <george@georgejenson.com>
    nuckolls.bob(at)cox.net wrote: > At 01:36 PM 4/7/2008 -0700, you wrote: > > > > > > > > Summary - 5 questions: > > 1. 2AWG welding cable OK for engine to firewall ground in lieu of braid? > > 2. 2AWG welding cable OK for 60amp PP alternator b-lead or should I downsize? > > > > > > Go 4AWG throughout . . . > > > > 3. .125 x .5 brass bar OK for contactor to contactor run (Van's specs same > > size but Copper)? > > 4. .063 x .5 brass bar OK for contactor to current limiter (no starter > > current)? > > 5. .050 x .75 x 5 copper bars/straps on either side of firewall, each > > soldered with brass tabs, with 3/16 brass bolts as ground setup OK? > > > > > > Go .032 brass for all and at LEAST 5/16 or better > yet 3/8" brass bolts for fat-wire terminals. Torque > to 80+ percent of maximum for the materials and thread > sizes. Check AC43.13 for values. Fantastic Bob, thanks for the help and for the work you continue to do. Simply extraordinary. George -------- George Jenson - Tucson, AZ - RV-7 Standard Build Empennage Completed 1/06 Wings Completed 11/06 Fuselage in Progress Read this topic online here: http://forums.matronics.com/viewtopic.php?p=175442#175442


    Message 2


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    Time: 12:07:47 AM PST US
    Subject: Re: PM3000 Wiring
    From: "grjtucson" <george@georgejenson.com>
    Vern, I'd love to hear more, particularly price, and assuming we're not overstepping things on the list. It sounds like exactly what I need. Bill, My PM3000 is older than that based on the manual provided. I haven't examined the intercom closely enough to confirm, but it's a fair bet that I don't have one of the newer ones. All, I'm likely to still be interested in rolling my own once I find out what buying one will cost (I'm frugal in the extreme). So if anyone can shed light on my questions, I'd be obliged. George -------- George Jenson - Tucson, AZ - RV-7 Standard Build Empennage Completed 1/06 Wings Completed 11/06 Fuselage in Progress Read this topic online here: http://forums.matronics.com/viewtopic.php?p=175443#175443


    Message 3


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    Time: 10:20:49 AM PST US
    Subject: Re: Transponder for sale (mode S)
    From: <longg@pjm.com>
    I agree completely with the technology costs and the apparent wallet choking by marketers. As this list has often found in the past, there are always alternatives to the big player designs. In the computer world, Linux has proven there is a cheaper, efficient way to include the entire world in the movement. I feel ADSB is just another government scam and just another excuse to act as big brother of the sky. I won't buy into that pork belly junket even if the entry level becomes $0.00. What a bunch of crap, they offer something for free and then steal your identity. Wait until you get the tax bill... If you can manage to keep the terrorists out of the country they won't fly your Cessna's and you won't need to spy on them. No, I'm not an isolationist, but let's exercise some control here. On Peter's note, I'll agree that mode S does not offer added value in itself but it still provides a low cost interface for traffic avoidance if you already have the unit. It's not so much that mode "S" is obsolete, we are just to ignorant or lazy to further develop the technology into something that adds value to the flight plan while not harboring data from our aircraft like we were all fugitives or gangsters. What the hell, we are all bored in the US and have lots of money, so why not build an entirely new system, ADSB or some other pipe dream which is neither economical or leading edge (by the time the government releases it). To be sure I talked business in here somewhere, keep an eye on http://www.mglavionics.com/ If there is anyone left with enough ambition and appreciation for cost vs. value, they will be the ones to release a low cost mode S or other for consumers. Don't expect the big dogs to help the little guy - they are getting too rich stealing from the rest of us. It's sort of like the alternator business. Most shops won't admit it, but an alternator costing $200 - $300 can be rebuilt for $50 or less (probably $10.00). I've never had a shop pass that saving on to me before. Have a great week of flying and try a flight plan-less trip (it keeps the tax man away and it's more fun). -----Original Message----- From: owner-aeroelectric-list-server@matronics.com [mailto:owner-aeroelectric-list-server@matronics.com] On Behalf Of Ernest Christley Sent: Saturday, April 05, 2008 10:19 PM Subject: Re: AeroElectric-List: Re: Transponder for sale (mode S) --> <echristley@nc.rr.com> Peter Pengilly wrote: > Mode S is mandatory in Europe? Mode S is already obsolete in the USA. > They are fighting for the next gen transponder (that will be even more > expensive). > > http://www.aopa.org/advocacy/articles/2008/080304ads-b.html > > The fact is Mode S does not do anything more for general aviation. > Even as a technology its based on OLD technology. So for the USA take > a wait see attitude. > > I find it amazing that a group of volunteers can develop a $200 laptop to distribute to children in third world countries that, as only one small part of the project, includes a mesh network technology that allows them configure themselves to talk to one another on the fly. A GPS signal (another $100) and a shared database (a correspondingly cheap FAA controlled ground-station) gives a complete information sharing system. Yet, we have a local representative advocating a "low-cost" ADS-B system that would cost around $3,000. It is simply freaking ridiculous how "those that know more than we do" continue to settle on technologies that are outdated and controlled by entrenched commercial interest to the detriment of us all. -- http://www.ronpaultimeline.com


    Message 4


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    Time: 05:08:40 PM PST US
    From: "Michael Pereira" <mjpereira68@gmail.com>
    Subject: Re: Transponder for sale (mode S)
    I don't really understand this. The cost of avionics is because of the low volume and the liability costs. Implementing Linux isn't going to cut the costs more than 20 bucks on a device. This is a huge deduction for something like a wifi router. It's noise if you're talking about a device like a garmin 430. I'm a full fledged linux bigot but linux isn't the answer to everything. For something like a mode-s transponder that does very little but must do it in real time, it probably isn't the right answer. (And if your answer is ever Windows you're asking the wrong questions). I don't see anyone getting rich in the GA aviation market other than probably the lawyers Cessna and Cirrus must have on retainer. Also, if I'm not mistaken both mode-s and adsb encode the n-number of the aircraft they are installed in, so there is no privacy difference. Adsb is self contained, it transmits a bunch of information, listens to broadcasts from other aircraft and ATC has passive receivers. If you're concern is government misbehavior you should be more interested in adsb than mode-s. Adsb you turn the device off and you're gone as far as atc is concerned. I assume most mode-s installations will be made concurrently with primary radar (like mode-c is). I imagine adsb can be made with more commercial of the shelf parts since it's basically a gps coupled with a microprocessor and a transmitter. That has to be easier than implementing something that interacts with a government provided radar infrastructure (which if I know the government well enough, probably isn't documented as well as it should be). But, forcing everyone to go to mode-s then a half heartbeat later adsb is annoying and can't be justified considering the expense it's going to put on aircraft owners. On Tue, Apr 8, 2008 at 10:17 AM, <longg@pjm.com> wrote: > > I agree completely with the technology costs and the apparent wallet > choking by marketers. As this list has often found in the past, there > are always alternatives to the big player designs. In the computer > world, Linux has proven there is a cheaper, efficient way to include the > entire world in the movement. > > I feel ADSB is just another government scam and just another excuse to > act as big brother of the sky. I won't buy into that pork belly junket > even if the entry level becomes $0.00. What a bunch of crap, they offer > something for free and then steal your identity. Wait until you get the > tax bill... > > If you can manage to keep the terrorists out of the country they won't > fly your Cessna's and you won't need to spy on them. No, I'm not an > isolationist, but let's exercise some control here. > > On Peter's note, I'll agree that mode S does not offer added value in > itself but it still provides a low cost interface for traffic avoidance > if you already have the unit. It's not so much that mode "S" is > obsolete, we are just to ignorant or lazy to further develop the > technology into something that adds value to the flight plan while not > harboring data from our aircraft like we were all fugitives or > gangsters. What the hell, we are all bored in the US and have lots of > money, so why not build an entirely new system, ADSB or some other pipe > dream which is neither economical or leading edge (by the time the > government releases it). > > To be sure I talked business in here somewhere, keep an eye on > http://www.mglavionics.com/ If there is anyone left with enough ambition > and appreciation for cost vs. value, they will be the ones to release a > low cost mode S or other for consumers. Don't expect the big dogs to > help the little guy - they are getting too rich stealing from the rest > of us. > > It's sort of like the alternator business. Most shops won't admit it, > but an alternator costing $200 - $300 can be rebuilt for $50 or less > (probably $10.00). I've never had a shop pass that saving on to me > before. > > Have a great week of flying and try a flight plan-less trip (it keeps > the tax man away and it's more fun). > > > -----Original Message----- > From: owner-aeroelectric-list-server@matronics.com > [mailto:owner-aeroelectric-list-server@matronics.com] On Behalf Of > > Ernest Christley > Sent: Saturday, April 05, 2008 10:19 PM > To: aeroelectric-list@matronics.com > > > Subject: Re: AeroElectric-List: Re: Transponder for sale (mode S) > > > --> <echristley@nc.rr.com> > > Peter Pengilly wrote: > > Mode S is mandatory in Europe? Mode S is already obsolete in the USA. > > They are fighting for the next gen transponder (that will be even more > > expensive). > > > > http://www.aopa.org/advocacy/articles/2008/080304ads-b.html > > > > The fact is Mode S does not do anything more for general aviation. > > Even as a technology its based on OLD technology. So for the USA take > > a wait see attitude. > > > > > I find it amazing that a group of volunteers can develop a $200 laptop > to distribute to children in third world countries that, as only one > small part of the project, includes a mesh network technology that > allows them configure themselves to talk to one another on the fly. A > GPS signal (another $100) and a shared database (a correspondingly cheap > > FAA controlled ground-station) gives a complete information sharing > system. > > Yet, we have a local representative advocating a "low-cost" ADS-B system > > that would cost around $3,000. It is simply freaking ridiculous how > "those that know more than we do" continue to settle on technologies > that are outdated and controlled by entrenched commercial interest to > the detriment of us all. > > -- > > http://www.ronpaultimeline.com > >


    Message 5


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    Time: 06:23:37 PM PST US
    From: "Robert L. Nuckolls, III" <nuckolls.bob@cox.net>
    Subject: Re: Transponder for sale (mode S)
    At 05:04 PM 4/8/2008 -0700, you wrote: ><mjpereira68@gmail.com> > >I don't really understand this. The cost of avionics is because of the >low volume and the liability costs. Implementing Linux isn't going to >cut the costs more than 20 bucks on a device. This is a huge deduction >for something like a wifi router. It's noise if you're talking about a >device like a garmin 430. Having been both a airframe-consumer and an OEM-supplier in the type certificated aircraft industry, I can share that as much as 1/2 the cost of a product has nothing to do with the economics of volume or even the development costs. The piles of paper generated before one achieves permission to sell to TC aviation are a significant portion of the development costs. Piles of paper to retain permission after certification are significant. The piles of paper generated to implement even the most rudimentary of fix or improvement to design are significant. Each pile of paper is subject to submission and review by the cognizant faction of The Administrator's staff with each reviewer having 90 days to respond. All the while, the manufacturer has folks drawing salaries charged against the work order for that product while they wait for reviewers to finish praying over the paper. I won't suggest that EVERYTHING we're required to do is not necessary or useful . . . but folks-who-know- more-about-airplanes-than-we-do have no stake in profitability or even performance of those whom they regulate. Like lawyers who bill by the hour, there's no incentive to bring any matter to closure soon. I've seen the in-boxes on a regulator's desk piled with a 91-day backlog of work . . . and he/she was proud of it. When I walked in with my request for an audience, I was greeted warmly and my little pile of papers for phase 4 of a 10-phase endeavor, my stuff went to the bottom of the 91-day stack. And you better not complain lest you find that your next project keeps dropping to the bottom of the stack every few weeks. It's easy to understand why this happens. EVERYONE wants to get a raise next year. Most everyone likes to move up in the ranks of their discipline every year. How does one advance excellence in presiding over a static set of rules with a static staff? Under static conditions, performance eventually goes asymptotic to perfection and advancement ceases. But if you create more rules and hire more staff to administer those rules, then the bar goes up and one can justify expecting and receiving more pay. Getting things done quickly has a poor return on investment for the career track. While Gates and IBM are capable of adding value to their products . . . regulation only ADDS cost. If Gates and IBM had the same hurdles to cross as manufacturers of products for aviation, we'd still be running 20 MHz 486 machines under CP/M for 3 to 10x the cost of a current off-the-shelf CPU. Bob . . .


    Message 6


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    Time: 07:27:17 PM PST US
    From: Bob White <bob@bob-white.com>
    Subject: Re: Transponder
    for sale (mode S) On Tue, 08 Apr 2008 20:20:20 -0500 "Robert L. Nuckolls, III" <nuckolls.bob@cox.net> wrote: > <snip> > While Gates and IBM are capable of adding value to > their products . . . regulation only ADDS cost. > If Gates and IBM had the same hurdles to cross as > manufacturers of products for aviation, we'd still be > running 20 MHz 486 machines under CP/M for 3 to 10x > the cost of a current off-the-shelf CPU. > > Bob . . . > > CP/M ran just fine on the 8080 and Z80 chips so it's doubtful the 8086 or any of the other advanced processors would have made it past the paperwork. :) Bob W. (I still have a CP/M machine that was working the last time I turned it on - about 10 years ago.) -- N93BD - Rotary Powered BD-4 - http://www.bob-white.com 3.8 Hours Total Time and holding Cables for your rotary installation - http://roblinstores.com/cables/


    Message 7


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    Time: 07:46:47 PM PST US
    From: Ernest Christley <echristley@nc.rr.com>
    Subject: Re: Transponder for sale (mode S)
    Michael Pereira wrote: > > I don't really understand this. The cost of avionics is because of the > low volume and the liability costs. Implementing Linux isn't going to > cut the costs more than 20 bucks on a device. This is a huge deduction > for something like a wifi router. It's noise if you're talking about a > device like a garmin 430. > The point wasn't that the OLPC uses Linux. The point was that the technology to implement a self configuring mesh network is both cheap and widespread. The point was that the people in charge think of $3,000 as "low cost", while the same task is being done for <$200. I realize that Garmin has to make a few pennies. I'm also an engineer, and I like to eat, too. But I don't expect the government to legislate that everyone by a Cisco C6500 to use the internet. That sort of equipment is just way overkill for the job. To say that the industry should pursue a technology direction that forces everyone to buy expensive equipment, when the same job can be performed...neigh, is being performed...by much cheaper equipment so that someone can make some money is a broken window argument. Part of the problem is the low volume, as you claim. And so they propose a system that will perpetuate the need to use low volume devices? All that would be required to implement the design goals that I've seen is a white-box GPS, the innards of a PalmVx, and a medium strength transceiver. The software is trivial, considering the number of examples with open source available (ie, the hard part is done already). There's nothing in the mix that would push a marginally successful product into the $3,000 range. I think most people involved with aircraft are jaded to the point they truly believe everything should cost thousands. You have not, because you ask not. -- http://www.ronpaultimeline.com




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