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ACK E-04 ELT false triggers when the avionics is turned on.

K=1/2mv^2

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Has anyone had any problems with their ACK E-04 ELT going off when the avionics is turned on? RV14a getting close to maiden flight, however the ELT unit does not like all our radios being turned on. We disconnected the remote cable and the GPS info cable, leaving the ACK E-04 ELT unit with only the coax, static suppression device, and its antenna connected, yet the ACK E-04 falsely triggers. The coax cable does not run with any other cables and has good integrity with no shorts to ground. Coax does end up going to ground at the antenna mount (by design). The closest antenna is on the bottom side about 4 feet forward of the ACK E-04 ELT. We disconnected the antenna from the coax, unit still false trips. It appears the energy from our radios is getting thru the plastic casing of the ACK E-04 ELT.

We can keep this from happening if we wrap the ACK E-04 ELT in aluminum foil. We are using the heavy-duty Reynolds wrap, aviation grade (2 layers). I would prefer a more professional solution than Reynold’s wrap. We are using the Dynon AFS AF-5600 in a dual EFIS configuration with SKYVIEW SV-COM-X25/H, Skyview SV-ADSB-472, Skyview SV-XPNDR-261, Avidyne IFD-440. We don’t even have to transmit on com to have the ELT false trip, which likely means this is triggering from the ADSB out.
 
I’ve been unable to troubleshoot my three false alarms thus far. Rewired, added suppressor, ran wires alone. Replaced remote and audio batteries.

After third alarm, third main battery, I just turned the **** thing off. Next step is to replace it with something better, although maybe I’ll try your foil technique!

Lots of posts on this issue. Company no help.

Phil
RV10, flying
Salt Lake City
 
Thanks for the help

Just knowing others are having similar issues means I am not alone. We have 6 hours of run time with the Reynolds wrap and no false trips with avionics on. I color matched the Reynolds foil to RV14 for a stealthy look.

AF1QipNznz3v9MIGfOaBtWZQVEH2HmaFaPH-6jKF45Ux
 
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ELT

Has anyone had any problems with their ACK E-04 ELT going off when the avionics is turned on? RV14a getting close to maiden flight, however the ELT unit does not like all our radios being turned on. We disconnected the remote cable and the GPS info cable, leaving the ACK E-04 ELT unit with only the coax, static suppression device, and its antenna connected, yet the ACK E-04 falsely triggers. The coax cable does not run with any other cables and has good integrity with no shorts to ground. Coax does end up going to ground at the antenna mount (by design). The closest antenna is on the bottom side about 4 feet forward of the ACK E-04 ELT. We disconnected the antenna from the coax, unit still false trips. It appears the energy from our radios is getting thru the plastic casing of the ACK E-04 ELT.

We can keep this from happening if we wrap the ACK E-04 ELT in aluminum foil. We are using the heavy-duty Reynolds wrap, aviation grade (2 layers). I would prefer a more professional solution than Reynold’s wrap. We are using the Dynon AFS AF-5600 in a dual EFIS configuration with SKYVIEW SV-COM-X25/H, Skyview SV-ADSB-472, Skyview SV-XPNDR-261, Avidyne IFD-440. We don’t even have to transmit on com to have the ELT false trip, which likely means this is triggering from the ADSB out.

Yes, I have had a similar problem although I had not proved the avionics caused it. I have had three turn-on events in the last 18 months and had conversations with Scott AFB. I will try the aircraft grade :D foil...is this an alien interference with out airspace???
 
Add me to the list. The only reason I haven't switched to another brand is because my panel is cut to accommodate this one. Junk.
 
As an avionics designer, it really bothers me that Ack put out a product with ZERO radiated susceptibility testing. If you look at the install manual, there is a big x in that test category. No testing performed. My hunch is they did, and …

Unfortunately, buyers assume these things are well designed and tested because they have a TSO. Nope. I’d like to know how they jammed this through the ACO. Considering this issue affects Cospas-Sarsat readiness, the FAA should have a chat with ACK.

Your problems are almost certainly related to RF susceptibility. I assume you have the “static protector” installed.

Now you get to be the EMI engineer and figure out how to fix this with a bandaid solution.

Shopping by lowest price can be expensive.

There are some good ELT products out there. I worked with some of those guys on the ELT specification update working group.

Oh, BTW, they didn’t test for ESD either, so don’t touch those connector pins.
 

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Search this forum and you'll see plenty of false activations reported. ACKs are junk.
 
Mine did it too

Mine worked fine for about 6 years, then it started tripping also. It did it more than once, sitting in the hangar with no one around and the plane unpowered. I was tracked down by a hangar neighbor who picked up the signal. I made sure to replace the "10 year" battery in the remote switch, and still had it trip in flight several times. Its now on the shelf and I replaced it with a Kannad 406 AF-Compact. I've heard success with the foil wrap solution, but I'm past that now.
 
Sometimes installers use a regular phone cable instead of the supplied cable. A standard phone cable does not have "rolled pairs", the ACK does. If the pairs are not "rolled", it can trigger an activation. If this is the case, get a phone plug crimper and some plugs, cut off the existing end, and install the new end turned 180 degrees. Just a thought.....
DAR Gary
 
Same issue

My plane has been flying for 1.5yrs and I also developed false triggers. No changes (other than a brand new paint job) or issues that should have led to it. I changed batteries, checked for corrosion, and confirmed all wiring. No smoking gun. The really irritating part is my audio panel never once alerted me that the elt was triggering. I was safely back in the hangar parked and driving home an hour later when I got a call from S&R. I have basically concluded it was static electricity build-up due to a brand new paint job and the fact I fly in such dry air in winter (Colorado). I will be trying the alien aluminum foil option. Great job ACK. They were zero help btw….”there’s nothing wrong with our unit, not a single one of the hundreds sitting in the back of our shop has ever gone off!” Ok clown, great way to get to the bottom of your faulty product. Also, yes report it to your local FAA station. If they get enough calls they will force ACK to fix their S..t.

As an aside, because of this I have added to my shutdown checklist to tune to 121.5 just before shutting down my avionics. That way I can know for sure if it’s triggering while the plane is on or if is after shutdown.
 
My false alarms

I have also had numerous ACK false alarms -- four and counting.

I thought I had narrowed it down to a faulty panel switch, which died at some point (for reasons unknown). But after I replaced that I still got false alarms.

If you have the separate little orange box (with its own battery) wired in, I think you should be hearing a beeping from that little speaker when the thing is activated, assuming the weird little battery is still good. Might not be audible in flight but definitely will be on the ground. The good news is that if you hit the test/reset button quickly after hearing the beeping (I think you may have as long as 30 seconds), it apparently doesn't alert the authorities. At least that was true the last time mine went off.

I will say this: its antenna performance is impressive. During one false alarm that I wasn't there for, mine managed to alert NORAD to my non-predicament through a closed steel hangar. :eek:

My plane has been flying for 1.5yrs and I also developed false triggers. No changes (other than a brand new paint job) or issues that should have led to it. I changed batteries, checked for corrosion, and confirmed all wiring. No smoking gun. The really irritating part is my audio panel never once alerted me that the elt was triggering. I was safely back in the hangar parked and driving home an hour later when I got a call from S&R. I have basically concluded it was static electricity build-up due to a brand new paint job and the fact I fly in such dry air in winter (Colorado). I will be trying the alien aluminum foil option. Great job ACK. They were zero help btw….”there’s nothing wrong with our unit, not a single one of the hundreds sitting in the back of our shop has ever gone off!” Ok clown, great way to get to the bottom of your faulty product. Also, yes report it to your local FAA station. If they get enough calls they will force ACK to fix their S..t.

As an aside, because of this I have added to my shutdown checklist to tune to 121.5 just before shutting down my avionics. That way I can know for sure if it’s triggering while the plane is on or if is after shutdown.
 
ACK Update

It appears I am a new member of the ACK false trip club. Here are a couple of clarifications; I get the false trips with the phone and GPS cable disconnected. Our maiden flight was successful and have not had any new false trips. The Aluminum foil has been working so far. There is a unique thing concerning the mounting location of the ELT in/on the RV-14a. From a radio frequency standpoint, the ELT is effectively externally mounted. When you look at the location with the fiberglass cover removed, the ELT is visible. I suspect if I moved the unit forward into the fuselage, it would have additional shielding and may reduce the false trips. For now I am sticking with the Reynolds wrap. Fl-Mike good info concerning RF susceptibility, I do have the static protector installed at the antenna. I suspect the plastic housing of the ACK ELT does not have any or adequate shielding. The aluminum foil will likely be our permanent solution (not elegant but functional) as I don’t want to re-cable for a different unit and the advanced dash is configured for the remote-control unit. I am confident the engineers at ACK would be impressed with the aluminum foil solution.
 
50 Hours & No false trips. Reynolds Wrap

So far so good.
The heavy-duty Reynolds wrap, aviation grade (2 layers) continues to work.
We can live with this fix for now, as we don't have another solution.


AF1QipNznz3v9MIGfOaBtWZQVEH2HmaFaPH-6jKF45Ux
 
To all posters in this thread...

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE (yes I'm shouting this)
File a Service Difficulty Report (Canada) or equivalent FAA document. The FAA doesn't know about faulty equipment if we don't inform them. Talking about it in this forum is great and helpful to others on this forum but it will do nothing to get the FAA to stop ACK from producing a cr@ppy ELT.

The only way we got Ameri-King shut down was through the massive weight of defect reports filed by owners and maintenance shops.

Please - take the time to file the report - it costs you nothing other than your time and there is zero possibility of recrimination or other negative outcome for you.

For those looking for an alternate ELT I will add that I have had excellent service from Kannad products. Not just the two of them that I own but also the not-insignificant fleet that I have installed for others or have recommended others install. So far the defect rate on these Kannad ELTs with which I have been involved (now 10 years of service on many of them) is zero.

(Disclaimer: if I was making money on my recommendations I would be rich... I bought and paid for my ELTs with hard-earned cash, I have zero affiliation with Kannad. They just make a good product and I am a happy customer.)
 
A data point...

I was speaking to my friend about your issue, and solution.

He indicated that he also had experienced a number of false triggers with the ACK ELT-04. He called ACK, described the issue and they asked him questions about the environment (humidity, temperature, etc.) and told him to return it to ACK for service. He received a new unit, and then inquired what they changed -- Per my friend, ACK acknowledged a circuit design issue and they replaced the control board with a new design. The replacement unit has been trouble free.

The date of the original units manufacture was ~2016.

You may want to reach out to ACK and let them know you're having issues...

B
 
I am having the same problem. I ended up wrapping it with aluminum foil just as you described. I have been running it this way for three years with no false activation since I started wrapping it. Mine is located behind the baggage bulkhead, so it is out of sight. I just keep wrapping it each time it is tested during the annual condition inspection.

BTW I did fill out an equipment deficiency form and submitted it to the FAA but never heard anything back from them.
 
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