Easy GPS source for ACK E-04 ELT
 

I recently purchased a RV-7 and spent this last week installing an ACK E-04 ELT. I was trying to figure out the best way to input a GPS source for the ELT. I did not want to break into the wiring harness for the GNS-480 at the moment, so opted for a separate GPS.

I originally looked at a Garmin 18x, but opted for a less expensive variant, the BR-355 GPS ($34 from amazon). I did not want to make a hack job of building in a 5V regulator and adapting connectors. Being that my background is in electronics, I went ahead and built a circuit board that had the same connectors. This is what I came up with.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1GQ1...ew?usp=sharing

https://drive.google.com/file/d/133P...ew?usp=sharing

The PCB mounts to the front of the ELT. The E-04 plugs into the 4 pin DIN connector. The BR-355 gps plugs into the 6 pin DIN connector. All it needs is 8-16V power into the 9 pin Sub-D. The Sub-D connector also has the serial lines from the GPS if you want to expert that to other avionics or ADSB receivers. A built in LED allows you to trouble shoot GPS connectivity without building the harness described in ACK?s manual.
With this someone could add GPS to their new or existing ACK E-04 pretty easy and cheap. Things get cheaper with higher quantity, so I was wondering anyone else would be interested in these PCB?s. I would just charge the cost of components. I estimate $15-30 depending how many people (not including GPS).

-Brian

Brian,

Did you ever get any bites on your offer? I installed a new ACK -E04 ELT on my project and am now trying to figure out how to wire up the GPS to it. As electronics and soldering are not my thing... (Dsubs and molex connectors - no problem.) The simplicity of your seemingly plug and play concept appeals to me.

Alternatively, any suggestions for a guy who just wants to make a simple connection to the ACK provided din connector?

The sailplane guys have had this figured out for a while, though it’s more expenssive:

http://www.cumulus-soaring.com/ack.htm

Scroll down to the last item, “Cable-E04-DB9m-LED-12V-0.3”. It’s $75, but works well to connect power and a gps antenna, and it includes the LED to verify GPS data. I used the Garmin antenna they recommended, and the setup works perfectly in my Cub.

.....with the G3X EFIS I connected the serial pin #41 off the GDU465 for the signal to the Ack, pin #35 provides signal ground, pins 31 and/or 32 provide power.

Seemed pretty simple when I did it.

Snoho3, I should have plenty of leftover parts. Let me look tonight. PM me your address and I will send a soldered board.

Awesome - will PM you. Thanks. Gotta love this forum.

BR-355 and ACK E-04 Baud Rates
 

Hello Freebird . . . I hope you are still monitoring VAF threads. I've been exploring the implementation of your BR-355 GPS solution with the ACK E-04 ELT.

I'm curious about the serial baud rate decisions made with your installation. My understanding is that the default BR-355 output of position data is at 4800 baud. Is this the baud rate you programmed the E-04 to receive, or was there a way to configure the BR-355 to transmit at another rate, perhaps 9600?

Very interested in knowing how these two components were integrated and what your experience was.