---------------------------------------------------------- Pietenpol-List Digest Archive --- Total Messages Posted Tue 06/03/08: 7 ---------------------------------------------------------- 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 _____________________________________ Time: 05:36:02 AM PST US From: "Lagowski Morrow" 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.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 _____________________________________ Time: 06:44:15 AM PST US From: Jim Ash Subject: Re: Pietenpol-List: Radio Help 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 >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 _____________________________________ Time: 02:37:27 PM PST US From: Steve Ruse Subject: Re: Pietenpol-List: Radio Help 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 : > 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 _____________________________________ Time: 04:16:06 PM PST US From: TGSTONE236@aol.com Subject: 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) ________________________________ Message 5 _____________________________________ Time: 04:25:24 PM PST US From: TGSTONE236@aol.com Subject: Fwd: Pietenpol-List: 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 _____________________________________ Time: 04:31:57 PM PST US Subject: Pietenpol-List: Re: Windshild From: "jimd" 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 _____________________________________ Time: 04:37:25 PM PST US From: "Lagowski Morrow" Subject: Pietenpol-List: Windshield Size 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 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Post A New Message pietenpol-list@matronics.com UN/SUBSCRIBE http://www.matronics.com/subscription List FAQ http://www.matronics.com/FAQ/Pietenpol-List.htm Web Forum Interface To Lists http://forums.matronics.com Matronics List Wiki http://wiki.matronics.com Full Archive Search Engine http://www.matronics.com/search 7-Day List Browse http://www.matronics.com/browse/pietenpol-list Browse Digests http://www.matronics.com/digest/pietenpol-list Browse Other Lists http://www.matronics.com/browse Live Online Chat! http://www.matronics.com/chat Archive Downloading http://www.matronics.com/archives Photo Share http://www.matronics.com/photoshare Other Email Lists http://www.matronics.com/emaillists Contributions http://www.matronics.com/contribution ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- These Email List Services are sponsored solely by Matronics and through the generous Contributions of its members.