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1. 07:07 PM - Re: VOR/GS/LOC Antenna and Static Wicks (Bill Watson)
2. 07:28 PM - Re: VOR/GS/LOC Antenna and Static Wicks (Kelly McMullen)
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| Subject: | Re: VOR/GS/LOC Antenna and Static Wicks |
Okay, this is a very valuable thread that is helping me figure out a few
things that I should have figured out sometime ago. I'll share my
experiences in the hope it helps others and I'll ask some questions
looking for more insight.
First, my GPS setup is 100% by the book and works flawlessly.
I originally installed 2 Archers - a Nav and a Comm. The Archer Nav is
my sole Nav antenna but I had a whip or whisker for my other Comm. I
long ago got rid of the Archer Comm but I'll come back to that. I've
made a good number of ILS approaches to various airports in IMC. I fly
into a good number of larger airports and the ILS is assigned by
default. Generally no problem but I've consistently had problems with
the KAGC's ILS for 28.
I've been flying into KAGC a lot over the last few years and I often get
vectors for the ILS to 28. I noticed that my AP generally missed the
left turn for the intercept and the GS was jumpy. I would just have to
disconnect it to hand fly it. I gave up on the AP and still found it
difficult to get the intercept precisely so I just got in the habit of
requesting the RNAV and have no problems. Recently I decided to try a
few in VMC and found that the needles were simply unuseable**. I did a
few more tests at other airports and had no problems with needles -
steady as a rock. But not at KAGC 28. I've wanted to blame the ILS but
based on this thread, I'm convinced it's the Archer (my Archer is split
to feed two NAVs). At this point after 6 years, I'm planning to put
some whiskers on. It's not that I fly a lot of IMC or a lot of hard and
low IMC, it's just that I file every flight, I work to stay current,
most of it is east of the Mississippi and sometimes, not always
predictably, I do an approach to minimums. It all has to work.
I don't really understand exactly what static wicks do, when they are
most needed and why I might consider them. Based on this thread, I
think I encountered a single situation where I needed them. I'd
appreciate your comments and any pointers to more information. What
happened was this: About 5 years ago I flew from NC to Phoenix. Coming
into Phoenix from Santa Fe I was up over 10K and was slam dunked into
Phoenix's airspace. As I started a high speed descent I ran through
some snow virga (!!) and simultaneously lost the Nav radio I was using.
I swear there was lightening in my peripheral vision. I slowed down,
changed radios, declared 'unable', got some vectors, and finally put it
down in sunny Scottsdale.
The radio had been using a whisker antenna but was now dead. Got some
help from someone here on the list (it's been awhile but thanks again)
to try and trouble shoot it since I didn't want to fly across the
country with a single Comm. It stayed dead but during the course of
flying around Phoenix I discovered that the Archer Comm antenna just
wasn't performing well enough to be my sole antenna for such a cross
country trip. So I spent some time swapping antenna's on my working
radio to get home.
Was this possibly caused by some kind of static discharge? Is that what
might have killed my radio? Is that what static wicks are designed to
prevent?
Anyway, I continued to fly with the Archer Comm and actually used it as
my 'primary' radio. It worked fine most of the time. But occasionally
I'd have a comm problem and would have to switch to get maximum range.
Conversely my belly mounted whisker would have problems when on the
ground and I'd use the Archer. Finally I removed the Archer and mounted
a 2nd belly whisker. Now when I have problems on the ground (KCLT
ground at Wilson Air for example) I switch to the other radio on the
other whisker and I'm able to communicate. It's clear to me now that
the whiskers far outperform the Archer Comm, but that's pretty well
understood by Archer users. It's a sleek backup solution on the Comm side.
At this point I'm starting to shop for some Nav whiskers and the easiest
way to add them to my 7 yo plane. I'm thinking that I will not be
installing static wicks but think I need to recognize that as a
limitation though I'm not sure how to mitigate the risks in that area.
I need to learn more there.
Bill "haven't scared myself in the '10 yet and would like to keep it
that way" Watson
** so how can a successful ILS be completed in the soup with unuseable
needles? Jumpy needles overlaying a synthethic vision display with a
flight path marker can let you convince yourself that you just did an
outstanding job handflying thru some nasty turbulence, as long as you
turn off the flight director.... is that too much technology?
---
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Message 2
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| Subject: | Re: VOR/GS/LOC Antenna and Static Wicks |
IIRC Bill, I think it was your plane that I assisted with some crimpers
and/or connectors for your RG400 modifications.
I think if you replaced that Archer com antenna with a second nav antenna
so that each of your nav units had an antenna without a splitter, your
problem on the ILS would go away.
My previous plane had two navs, one with remote GS and the other with
built-in GS, all running off one cat whisker antenna, with two splitters to
get signal to all units.
On some approaches one of the ILSs would be weak and flakey (technical
term). I have to Archer Nav antennas, one each to individual nav coms with
GS. So far I haven't seen any problems.
Kelly
Sent from my IBM-360 main frame
On Mon, Jan 22, 2018 at 8:06 PM, Bill Watson <Mauledriver@nc.rr.com> wrote:
>
> Okay, this is a very valuable thread that is helping me figure out a few
> things that I should have figured out sometime ago. I'll share my
> experiences in the hope it helps others and I'll ask some questions looking
> for more insight.
>
> First, my GPS setup is 100% by the book and works flawlessly.
>
> I originally installed 2 Archers - a Nav and a Comm. The Archer Nav is my
> sole Nav antenna but I had a whip or whisker for my other Comm. I long ago
> got rid of the Archer Comm but I'll come back to that. I've made a good
> number of ILS approaches to various airports in IMC. I fly into a good
> number of larger airports and the ILS is assigned by default. Generally no
> problem but I've consistently had problems with the KAGC's ILS for 28.
>
> I've been flying into KAGC a lot over the last few years and I often get
> vectors for the ILS to 28. I noticed that my AP generally missed the left
> turn for the intercept and the GS was jumpy. I would just have to
> disconnect it to hand fly it. I gave up on the AP and still found it
> difficult to get the intercept precisely so I just got in the habit of
> requesting the RNAV and have no problems. Recently I decided to try a few
> in VMC and found that the needles were simply unuseable**. I did a few
> more tests at other airports and had no problems with needles - steady as a
> rock. But not at KAGC 28. I've wanted to blame the ILS but based on this
> thread, I'm convinced it's the Archer (my Archer is split to feed two
> NAVs). At this point after 6 years, I'm planning to put some whiskers on.
> It's not that I fly a lot of IMC or a lot of hard and low IMC, it's just
> that I file every flight, I work to stay current, most of it is east of the
> Mississippi and sometimes, not always predictably, I do an approach to
> minimums. It all has to work.
>
> I don't really understand exactly what static wicks do, when they are most
> needed and why I might consider them. Based on this thread, I think I
> encountered a single situation where I needed them. I'd appreciate your
> comments and any pointers to more information. What happened was this:
> About 5 years ago I flew from NC to Phoenix. Coming into Phoenix from
> Santa Fe I was up over 10K and was slam dunked into Phoenix's airspace. As
> I started a high speed descent I ran through some snow virga (!!) and
> simultaneously lost the Nav radio I was using. I swear there was
> lightening in my peripheral vision. I slowed down, changed radios,
> declared 'unable', got some vectors, and finally put it down in sunny
> Scottsdale.
>
> The radio had been using a whisker antenna but was now dead. Got some
> help from someone here on the list (it's been awhile but thanks again) to
> try and trouble shoot it since I didn't want to fly across the country with
> a single Comm. It stayed dead but during the course of flying around
> Phoenix I discovered that the Archer Comm antenna just wasn't performing
> well enough to be my sole antenna for such a cross country trip. So I
> spent some time swapping antenna's on my working radio to get home.
>
> Was this possibly caused by some kind of static discharge? Is that what
> might have killed my radio? Is that what static wicks are designed to
> prevent?
>
> Anyway, I continued to fly with the Archer Comm and actually used it as my
> 'primary' radio. It worked fine most of the time. But occasionally I'd
> have a comm problem and would have to switch to get maximum range.
> Conversely my belly mounted whisker would have problems when on the ground
> and I'd use the Archer. Finally I removed the Archer and mounted a 2nd
> belly whisker. Now when I have problems on the ground (KCLT ground at
> Wilson Air for example) I switch to the other radio on the other whisker
> and I'm able to communicate. It's clear to me now that the whiskers far
> outperform the Archer Comm, but that's pretty well understood by Archer
> users. It's a sleek backup solution on the Comm side.
>
> At this point I'm starting to shop for some Nav whiskers and the easiest
> way to add them to my 7 yo plane. I'm thinking that I will not be
> installing static wicks but think I need to recognize that as a limitation
> though I'm not sure how to mitigate the risks in that area. I need to
> learn more there.
>
> Bill "haven't scared myself in the '10 yet and would like to keep it that
> way" Watson
>
> ** so how can a successful ILS be completed in the soup with unuseable
> needles? Jumpy needles overlaying a synthethic vision display with a
> flight path marker can let you convince yourself that you just did an
> outstanding job handflying thru some nasty turbulence, as long as you turn
> off the flight director.... is that too much technology?
>
>
> ---
> This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software.
> https://www.avast.com/antivirus
>
>
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