Today's Message Index:
----------------------
1. 05:36 AM - Re: Radio Help (Lagowski Morrow)
2. 06:44 AM - Re: Radio Help (Jim Ash)
3. 02:37 PM - Re: Radio Help (Steve Ruse)
4. 04:16 PM - 164 corvair engine (TGSTONE236@aol.com)
5. 04:25 PM - Fw: 164 corvair engine (TGSTONE236@aol.com)
6. 04:31 PM - Re: Windshild (jimd)
7. 04:37 PM - Windshield Size (Lagowski Morrow)
Message 1
| INDEX | Back to Main INDEX |
| NEXT | Skip to NEXT Message |
| LIST | Reply to LIST Regarding this Message |
| SENDER | Reply to SENDER Regarding this Message |
|
Dick, many thanks for sharing your experience! I've decided to try the
same approach and postpone getting new mags, wiring harness and plugs.
Where did you put the antenna and ground plane?--Jim Lagowski, NX221PT
----- Original Message -----
From: Dick Navratil
To: pietenpol-list@matronics.com
Sent: Thursday, May 29, 2008 10:58 PM
Subject: Re: Pietenpol-List: Radio Help
Many others will have great suggestions, but I just went thru this
problem and found 2 things that made a world of difference. First, I
took of the hand held antenna aninstalles a full sized VHF antenna.
Second, I grounded the antenna to a horizontal ground plate, approx
24"x18"
I went from having so much static that I couldnt communicate more that
1/2 mi., to hearing traffic 25+ mi out.
Dick N.
----- Original Message -----
From: Lagowski Morrow
To: pietenpol-list@matronics.com
Sent: Thursday, May 29, 2008 9:44 PM
Subject: Pietenpol-List: Radio Help
I just learned that I may have a problem communicating from my Piet
that has a 65 Continental with Bendix-Scintilla mags, unshielded wiring
and old time ceramic plugs. My intention was to use my handheld radio
with a plugged in headset. I have been advised that the static will be
so bad that I will basically be unable to communicate. What to do since
I will not fly without being able to transmit and receive clearly. I
would like to avoid the expense of new mags, shielded wiring and new
shielded plugs. I'm about a month away from engine fireup.
Am I stuck with getting new stuff or is there an alternative(s) out
there?--Jim Lagowski, NX221PT
href="http://www.matronics.com/Navigator?Pietenpol-List">http://www.mat
ronics.com/Navigator?Pietenpol-List
href="http://forums.matronics.com">http://forums.matronics.com
href="http://www.matronics.com/contribution">http://www.matronics.com/c
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
-----
Checked by AVG.
5/29/2008 7:27 AM
Message 2
| INDEX | Back to Main INDEX |
| PREVIOUS | Skip to PREVIOUS Message |
| NEXT | Skip to NEXT Message |
| LIST | Reply to LIST Regarding this Message |
| SENDER | Reply to SENDER Regarding this Message |
|
I apparently missed this thread and am catching up, so I beg forgiveness if somebody
has already been through all this.
I went through some radio problems with my Cub like you're trying to prevent. My
circumstances might have been a bit different becaause the Cub is tubular steel
construction and it completely surrounds the cockpit, creating a 'Faraday's
Cage'. It basically cages in the electro-magnetic field from the transmitter.
For the record, I had no problems (well, negligibly minor, you can hear the
engine in the headsets, but it ain't bad) from the ignition system. I was using
the little rubber duckie antenna and stuffing it in the seat pouch in front
of me, with a DC H10-30 headset and PTT on the stick (and an intercom when I fly
with a passenger).
The rubber duckie ain't the greatest antenna by design. It's a compromise of convenience
vs efficiency, with the decision personally favoring convenience a bit
too much. A perfect antenna will match the frequency you're using, which sounds
pretty ominous. If the antenna doesn't match the frequency, it loses efficiency
the further your frequency is from the antenna's natural frequency.
I got an antenna maybe 26-27 inches long (quarter wave), and hooked it up with
a ground plane. It's mounted above the wing, outside the cage effect. If your
plane is wood, the effect isn't anywhere near as great, but I have my questions
about the silver coat on the fabric.
My antenna isn't anything fancy; it's basically a stretch of stiff wire with an
insulated mount. I bought a cheap SWR meter for about $30 (15 years ago, when
I did this), and hooked it up between the radio and the antenna. Your transmitter's
energy is going two places; radiated RF and heat. No setup is perfect,
so you'll always have some heat loss, but the SWR (standing wave ratio) meter
will help you minimize it. I tuned my radio to the frequency I thought was most
important to me (121.5), hit the transmit button, and recorded the result shown
on the SWR. Then I clipped a little (maybe 1/2") off the end of the antenna
with some wire cutters and checked it again. The loss went down. Shorter antenna
= higher resonant frequency. The trick is knowing when to stop cutting.
One of the ways to deal with this is to use a lower frequency than you want and
cut just past it, then move the frequency up and go again. Your antenna will
resonate at this frequency either when it's receiving or transmitting, so performing
this procedure will improve the efficiency of both.
Note here that when you use the high-end (135 mhz) of the band, your antenna won't
really be matched to that frequency, so the further you get from the natural
frequency of your antenna, the worse it's going to get. It will still be waaaay
better than your rubber duckie.
Also don't forget to use good shielded cable and connectors between the radio and
the antenna.
Jim Ash
-----Original Message-----
>From: Lagowski Morrow <jimdeb@charter.net>
>Sent: Jun 3, 2008 8:33 AM
>To: pietenpol-list@matronics.com
>Subject: Re: Pietenpol-List: Radio Help
>
>Dick, many thanks for sharing your experience! I've decided to try the same approach
and postpone getting new mags, wiring harness and plugs.
>
>Where did you put the antenna and ground plane?--Jim Lagowski, NX221PT
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Dick Navratil
> To: pietenpol-list@matronics.com
> Sent: Thursday, May 29, 2008 10:58 PM
> Subject: Re: Pietenpol-List: Radio Help
>
>
> Many others will have great suggestions, but I just went thru this problem and
found 2 things that made a world of difference. First, I took of the hand
held antenna aninstalles a full sized VHF antenna. Second, I grounded the antenna
to a horizontal ground plate, approx 24"x18"
> I went from having so much static that I couldnt communicate more that 1/2 mi.,
to hearing traffic 25+ mi out.
> Dick N.
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Lagowski Morrow
> To: pietenpol-list@matronics.com
> Sent: Thursday, May 29, 2008 9:44 PM
> Subject: Pietenpol-List: Radio Help
>
>
> I just learned that I may have a problem communicating from my Piet that has
a 65 Continental with Bendix-Scintilla mags, unshielded wiring and old time
ceramic plugs. My intention was to use my handheld radio with a plugged in headset.
I have been advised that the static will be so bad that I will basically
be unable to communicate. What to do since I will not fly without being able
to transmit and receive clearly. I would like to avoid the expense of new mags,
shielded wiring and new shielded plugs. I'm about a month away from engine
fireup.
>
> Am I stuck with getting new stuff or is there an alternative(s) out there?--Jim
Lagowski, NX221PT
>
>
>href="http://www.matronics.com/Navigator?Pietenpol-List">http://www.matronics.com/Navigator?Pietenpol-List
>href="http://forums.matronics.com">http://forums.matronics.com
>href="http://www.matronics.com/contribution">http://www.matronics.com/c
>
>
>------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>
> Checked by AVG.
>5/29/2008 7:27 AM
Message 3
| INDEX | Back to Main INDEX |
| PREVIOUS | Skip to PREVIOUS Message |
| NEXT | Skip to NEXT Message |
| LIST | Reply to LIST Regarding this Message |
| SENDER | Reply to SENDER Regarding this Message |
|
Dick,
Could you please clarify your comment on the ground? The antenna
shouldn't actually be grounded to a plate, right? What you want to do
is attach the coax shielding (the outer braid) to a "ground plane" or
plate at the base of the antenna. The antenna itself and the coax
center signal wire should be insulated from everything else,
particularly the ground plane.
That is how I installed my antenna, it is on the bottom of the nose,
~30" behind the prop. It is an 1/8" brass brazing rod, routed through
two nylon bushings or "sleeves" that I bought at Home Depot. It all
cost me about $4, and I can transmit up to 125 nautical miles air to
air.
I bought an antenna book from RST Engineering for about $10 I believe.
It had good and relatively brief and simple explanations on how to
build several very effective antennas for aircraft. The book was very
well worth it. I don't see it on their website, but I'm sure you
could call or e-mail them about it. Three keys that stick in my mind
are 1) have a good ground plane 2) the antenna must be the proper
length and 3) keep the tip of the antenna away from other metal parts.
http://www.rst-engr.com/
Steve Ruse
Quoting Lagowski Morrow <jimdeb@charter.net>:
> Dick, many thanks for sharing your experience! I've decided to try
> the same approach and postpone getting new mags, wiring harness and
> plugs.
>
> Where did you put the antenna and ground plane?--Jim Lagowski, NX221PT
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Dick Navratil
> To: pietenpol-list@matronics.com
> Sent: Thursday, May 29, 2008 10:58 PM
> Subject: Re: Pietenpol-List: Radio Help
>
>
> Many others will have great suggestions, but I just went thru this
> problem and found 2 things that made a world of difference. First,
> I took of the hand held antenna aninstalles a full sized VHF
> antenna. Second, I grounded the antenna to a horizontal ground
> plate, approx 24"x18"
> I went from having so much static that I couldnt communicate more
> that 1/2 mi., to hearing traffic 25+ mi out.
> Dick N.
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Lagowski Morrow
> To: pietenpol-list@matronics.com
> Sent: Thursday, May 29, 2008 9:44 PM
> Subject: Pietenpol-List: Radio Help
>
>
> I just learned that I may have a problem communicating from my
> Piet that has a 65 Continental with Bendix-Scintilla mags,
> unshielded wiring and old time ceramic plugs. My intention was to
> use my handheld radio with a plugged in headset. I have been advised
> that the static will be so bad that I will basically be unable to
> communicate. What to do since I will not fly without being able to
> transmit and receive clearly. I would like to avoid the expense of
> new mags, shielded wiring and new shielded plugs. I'm about a month
> away from engine fireup.
>
> Am I stuck with getting new stuff or is there an alternative(s)
> out there?--Jim Lagowski, NX221PT
>
>
> href="http://www.matronics.com/Navigator?Pietenpol-List">http://www.matronics.com/Navigator?Pietenpol-List
> href="http://forums.matronics.com">http://forums.matronics.com
> href="http://www.matronics.com/contribution">http://www.matronics.com/c
>
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>
> Checked by AVG.
> 5/29/2008 7:27 AM
>
Message 4
| INDEX | Back to Main INDEX |
| PREVIOUS | Skip to PREVIOUS Message |
| NEXT | Skip to NEXT Message |
| LIST | Reply to LIST Regarding this Message |
| SENDER | Reply to SENDER Regarding this Message |
|
| Subject: | 164 corvair engine |
I just got back to Wilmington NC with a 1964 Corvair 110 hp motor that I
bought in Lexington NC today. If you are serious about wanting a motor, Barry
Owens has plenty of the ones we need for aircraft use or otherwise.
here is the information: Barry Owens
Cell # 336-250-966
358 Dixon St
Lexington NC 27292
hope this may help someone
Ted Stone /at work on Pietenpol
**************Get trade secrets for amazing burgers. Watch "Cooking with
Tyler Florence" on AOL Food.
(http://food.aol.com/tyler-florence?video=4?&NCID=aolfod00030000000002)
Message 5
| INDEX | Back to Main INDEX |
| PREVIOUS | Skip to PREVIOUS Message |
| NEXT | Skip to NEXT Message |
| LIST | Reply to LIST Regarding this Message |
| SENDER | Reply to SENDER Regarding this Message |
|
| Subject: | 164 corvair engine |
Correction I have a 1964 motor and I purchased a 1966 motor from Barry
____________________________________
From: TGSTONE236@aol.com
Sent: 6/3/2008 7:17:47 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time
Subj: Pietenpol-List: 164 corvair engine
I just got back to Wilmington NC with a 1964 Corvair 110 hp motor that I
bought in Lexington NC today. If you are serious about wanting a motor, Barry
Owens has plenty of the ones we need for aircraft use or otherwise.
here is the information: Barry Owens
Cell # 336-250-966
358 Dixon St
Lexington NC 27292
hope this may help someone
Ted Stone /at work on Pietenpol
____________________________________
Get trade secrets for amazing burgers. _Watch "Cooking with Tyler Florence"
on AOL Food_
(http://food.aol.com/tyler-florence?video=4?&NCID=aolfod00030000000002) .
(http://www.matronics.com/Navigator?Pietenpol-List)
(http://www.matronics.com/contribution)
**************Get trade secrets for amazing burgers. Watch "Cooking with
Tyler Florence" on AOL Food.
(http://food.aol.com/tyler-florence?video=4?&NCID=aolfod00030000000002)
Message 6
| INDEX | Back to Main INDEX |
| PREVIOUS | Skip to PREVIOUS Message |
| NEXT | Skip to NEXT Message |
| LIST | Reply to LIST Regarding this Message |
| SENDER | Reply to SENDER Regarding this Message |
|
I am at the same stage.. posted a while back and got a lot of pictures but no templates
or good mounting ideas. Made a windshield, but not too crazy about it.
Could I get the same info? Be nice if it was in some format it could stay on the
forum and be usable for, but I would be happy with it any way could get it.
Jim
Read this topic online here:
http://forums.matronics.com/viewtopic.php?p=186108#186108
Message 7
| INDEX | Back to Main INDEX |
| PREVIOUS | Skip to PREVIOUS Message |
| NEXT | Skip to NEXT Message |
| LIST | Reply to LIST Regarding this Message |
| SENDER | Reply to SENDER Regarding this Message |
|
I measured mine today and they are 9" high and 16" wide on the curve,
and mounted at a ~45 degree angle. The size came from experimenting with
my hand around the edges of my motorcycle windshield at 65mph.--Jim
Lagowski-- cabanes and center section of the wing installed today
Other Matronics Email List Services
These Email List Services are sponsored solely by Matronics and through the generous Contributions of its members.
-- Please support this service by making your Contribution today! --
|