Quote:
Originally Posted by carguy614
If you have poor performance from your wingtip Archer style antenna, you most likely have a poor bond to the skin. The element that is parallel to the rib must be bonded to the wing skin to form the ground plane. I use a small ground strap as well to ensure good contact. Take a look to be sure you have the coax braid attached to the bonded side of the antenna. Make sure the antenna radiator is not shorted to the bonded side, and that the insulator at the coax connector is installed correctly. Nothing at all metallic can cross over the radiator, and it is recommended that you run all of your wiring along the base leg of the radiatior parallel to the wing leading edge. The entire shebang should be installed so it rest's on the bottom of the wingtip.
Check your coax with a meter to be sure it is not shorted or open.
I'll bet you will find something here, as mine will pick up a VOR from 30 NM on the ground!! (sometimes)
That being said, never had any luck with the Archer comm.....
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I did all of the things that you mentioned and still I had what I viewed as unacceptable performance. With the SL30 connected to the Archer antenna I too could pick up VOR stations on the ground. The performance that I found to be unacceptable was:
1. HID lighting mounted in close proximity to the antenna (Duckworks leading edge landing light) would significantly reduce the range of the radio.
2. Even with the HID lights off, depending on the orientation of the aircaft to LOC/GS transmitters, the SL30 would either be tuned in very well, or reception would be somewhat sporadic. This issue in particular, to me at least, was unacceptable for IFR operations.
The installation of a cat whisker antenna solved these problems. I suppose it could have been an issue with my installation that I overlooked that was causing the trouble. But I spent a lot of time troubleshooting which involved removing and reinstalling the wing tip multiple times (a real pita). I finally gave up and went with the Comant antenna and have been trouble free ever since. YMMV